The coral pillar
And its Lisbon cross.
Mgiganteus — CC BY-SA 3.0 · pkithome — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lebu Ayiga — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ruslik0 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A coral-stone pillar on a rocky headland facing the Indian Ocean in Malindi, set up by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498 on his first voyage to India, and one of the oldest European monuments still standing in Africa. Da Gama stopped at Malindi when its sultan welcomed him, unlike hostile Mombasa, and gave him a pilot versed in the monsoon winds who helped him cross the ocean to India. Some accounts say this pilot was an Arab, though historians disagree about who he was. The pillar is topped by a cross of stone brought from Lisbon and ringed by a low wall. You will not need long here, but the view of the bay, the reef and the surf from the headland is lovely, especially at sunset. Entry is a small fee within the Malindi museum sites, and it pairs with the Malindi Museum in the old town and the beaches.
And its Lisbon cross.
Above the reef.
Over Malindi bay.
Rocky headland at the south of Malindi bay
As a marker of his visit and alliance with the Sultan of Malindi, who gave him a pilot who helped him reach India in 1498.