The city of Mombasa has a long history. Back in the XII century, it was irreplaceable. In its markets, gold, spices, ivory, and iron were exchanged for silk from India, ceramics from Persia and China. Residents of the city wore gold jewelry and lived in houses with two or three floors each. The first of the Europeans in Mombasa was the Portuguese. The famous navigatorVascodaGama brought his ships to Mombasa harbor in 1498. Having learned about the riches of the Black Continent, the Portuguese decided to take possession of all commercial ports in East Africa. Four times they almost completely burned and plundered Mombasa until they finally captured the city. .. Until the end of the 17th century, the Portuguese managed to retain control of Mombasa. Then, for another hundred years, the city was ruled by the Omani Arabs, who knocked the Portuguese out of their main fortress - FortJesus. In 1888, Mombasawas taken over by the British. .. The importance of the city has grown even more since the British pulled a branch of the first Ugandan railway in Africa from Mombasa westward into the interior of the continent. It cost £5. 5 million to build it. The best engineers and a huge number of workers from India were involved, many of whom chose to stay in Kenya, including Mombasa. Mombasa remained the capital of Kenya until 1906, when British colonial authorities decided to move the capital to the interior of the continent, Nairobi. .. Ask the Kenyan man what"s good about Mombasa, and he"ll answer without hesitation: beaches! Mombasa has become a famous world resort with beautiful beaches, warm seawater, and humid climate. It seems that nature itself has created this place for recreation. Today, this city with a population of one and a half million people is much more like a modern metropolis than the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. Residents of Mombasa are unpleasant, nobody cares about anybody here, just like anywhere else in Moscow or New York. And because of the hot and very humid climate, traffic is slow, as if slow. And it seems that no one is in a hurry here. .. In many of the towns and villages where we stayed during our trip to Kenya, we were almost the only Europeans. In Mombasa, everything is completely different. There are almost as many Europeans here as there are Africans. Mombasa seaport, the largest port on the east coast, is visited by ships from all over the world. And around the historical sites wander crowds of sunburned tourists, as if it were not Africa, but Europe. Mombasa is a provincial town. It is dirty and has almost no cultural life. Tourists come here only on excursions, and the rest of the time is spent on the beaches near the hotels. The main street of the old town of Mombasa was once called VascodaGamaStreet. But the Turks, who conquered the city in the XVII century, renamed this and all other streets in the city. However, the names of the streets on the houses, as it is customary in the civilized world, are not written here. And everyone can call the street or alley as they wish. .. The facades of the few old houses that have survived in the city center are in Arabic style. With carved front doors, stairs, and balconies. But inside many buildings are rebuilt. Newly appeared here "new moments" buy houses in the old city - many buildings, over the past 400 years, have become rather dilapidated and cost no more than 10 thousand dollars. Residents are happy to agree to move in. As a result, in the old city, there are mansions, the roofs of which are crowned not weathercocks, and plates of satellite television. From the old cruel battles in the city remained a lot of old ship guns. They can be seen not only in Forte Jesus - the main fortress of the city but also just lying at the intersections or the gates of prestigious hotels. One of the biggest is the gun, raised from the German cruiser Koenigsberg, sunk by the British in 1915 near Fort Jesus. The modern seaport in Mombasa has become the second largest port in Africa after Cape Town. Today, all Kenyan exports pass through it: tea and coffee, leather and cotton. This port is vital not only for Kenya but also for other East African countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, and East Zaire. The Sultan of Zanzibar, the Portuguese, the Turks and the British, who at different times ruled the city, tried to change the look of Mombasa. But history has put everything in its place. And Mombasa remained a typical Muslim city, where today it is difficult to find traces of European influence. .. In Mombasa, near Fort Jesus, there is the summer residence of the President of Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi.
Here, the 77-year-old leader of an independent state, who has been ruling the country for 23 years, likes to stay during the summer holidays.