We are in the coastal area of Kenya in Malindi town. Today we look at the oldest Portuguese chapel in East Africa. The Portuguese presence was due to the famous explorer Vasco Da Gama, the first European to successfully link Asia to Europe via Africa. On his way to India, he stopped at Malindi to replenish supplies and he met a sheik who at the time was in charge of the town that was largely Muslim-dominated. Malindi was in constant wars with Mombasa and the sheik decided to align himself with the Portuguese to gain an upper hand over his neighbors. The Sheikh and Vasco Da Gama established a good relationship which resulted in the Islamic authorities granting him permission to erect a church, St. Francis Xavier Chapel Malindi.
