THE KENYA COAST -Mombasa

The Kenya Coast is, for convenience, divided into four regions. Apart from the town and port of Mombasa , these are the south coast which stretches from Mombasa to the Tanzanian border; the north coast covering the beaches from Mombasa to Kilifi; Malindi and Watamu and the Lamu archipelago. Each of these areas has its own devotees, some returning year after year without sampling the competitors.

Mombasa

Mombasa is Kenya 's second largest town and its only sizeable port. It has a recorded history stretching back nearly 2000 years and was mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea a pilot's guide to the Indian Ocean written by one Diogenes, a Greek living in Egypt , around the end of the first century AD. Mombasa was again mentioned by Ptolemy in the second century but then remained in relative obscurity, despite the development of a series of city states by migrant Arabs, until the adventures, traders and conquerors visited the town beginning with Vasco Da Gama in 1498.

The colonization of the coast by the Portuguese was a hit and a miss affair with invaders sometimes showing interest and sometimes the opposite. But it was an era of strife between the Catholic Portuguese and the Muslim Arabs. Portuguese hegemony was finally extinguished with the capture of Fort Jesus by the Arabs in 1699 just over a hundred years after it was build. The next hundred years was a miserable record of petty wars between the minor sultans and of maladministration by the Omani Arabs based in Muscat . Trade, except in slaves, came to a halt until an army was sent, in 1822, by the Sultan of Oman to crush the warring states and re-establish commercial activity. Some form of Arab government existed in what became known as the coastal strip until the region was declared a British sphere of influence following the treaty of Berlin 1885. The town of Mombasa is build on an island. Less than a century ago the builders of what was then called the Uganda Railway attached the island to the mainland by a causeway. To the north new toll bridge spans Tudor Creek, with views of the old habour, linking the town with north coast beach resorts. On the south side a frequent car and passenger ferry service plies across Kilindini Creek, close to the entrance to the modern port area with its multitude of wharfs and deep water berths, carrying tourists to the splendid beaches of the south coast. Mombasa town itself is a mystical mixture of ancient and modern with a cosmopolitan population blending Africa , Arabia , Asia and Europe . The people who live in this old but vibrant gateway to Kenya and Africa now number almost 600,000.

Fringing the dhow harbour is the old town, a maze of narrow streets and pedestrian lanes with quaint shuttered houses and open fronted shops. The smell of spice is always present. Dominating the entrance to the dhow harbour is Fort Jesus , which is open to visitors and which houses an interesting museum displaying antiquities from the length of the Kenya coast. Also on display are finds from the Portuguese warship the Santa Antonio D'Atanna which sank near the fort in 1697 while trying to raise the Arab Siege. A wide array of African crafts and curios, together with some antiques, are available from shops and sidewalks vendors, but a shopping highlight is a visit to Biashara Street where the shops compete for the purchaser's eye, and his pocket, with dazzling displays of locally woven fabrics and prints. Visitors find a visit to the Kamba carvers village near the airport a worthwhile experience. Scores of workers can be seen at work and one can follow the process of carving from log to the completed artistry. There is a shop selling the finished works. From Mombasa it is possible to make short excursions to many of the beach resorts or alternatively to seek the cool air of the Shimba Hills. There are several interesting archaelogical sites nearby especially Jumba la Mtwana - the Slavemaster's house - a well maintained ruin with one of four mosques although virtually intact slipping imperceptibly into the ocean. To reach Jumba you cross Mtwapa Creek where there is a substantial aquarium with an underwater viewing tunnel displaying sharks, rays and other fascinations from the nearby ocean. There is also a deep sea fishing centre catering too, for water skiers and gogglers. The world famous rehabilitation project at the Bamburi Cement Factory certainly merits a visit. Sterile quarries have been turned into a sublime oasis, covering 35 hectares, where wildlife and birds inhibit the forests, glades, pools and streams. The Bamburi Nature Trail is easily found and should not be missed if only as a wonderful example of reclamation of wasteland.

With its contrasting cultures and its easy pace, Mombasa is a town appreciated by most tourists, not necessarily as a final holiday destination but as a place to savour during coast visit. <next page>