Malindi

Malindi
Municipality
Pillar of Vasco da Gama
Malindi Location in Kenya
Coordinates: 3°13′25″S 40°7′48″E / 3.22361°S 40.13000°E / -3.22361; 40.13000
Country	Kenya
County	Kilifi County
Founded	13th – 14th Century
Re-settled	1861
Population  (2019)[1]
• Total	119,859
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)

Malindi is a town lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa.

Malindi has a tropical savanna climate (As in the Köppen climate classification). The area shows classic examples of Swahili architecture. Malindi developed as part of Swahili Civilization in the 5th–10th centuries.

The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama met Malindi authorities in 1498 to sign a trade agreement and hire a guide for the voyage to India, when he erected a coral pillar.

During World War II Malindi was one of only two towns in East Africa bombed by the Italians. This happened on 24 October 1940.^[2]

After the World War II Malindi began developing into a resort.^[2] Malindi is home to the Malindi Airport and Broglio Space Centre (the previous San Marco Equatorial Range).

1. ↑ "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume II: Distribution of Population by Administrative Units". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Martin, Esmond Bradley (2009) [originally published in 1970]. Malindi. Past and Present (New ed.). The National Museum of Kenya.