Mombasa Kenya: Mombasa Lifestyle, culture, Mombasa people, attractions, tribes & population

Mombasa is the best summed up as a feeling-love it or loathe it, there’s something about the salty heat, the humid air, the sounds of the city and the sensation of the dust sticking to your sun screamed skin that evokes an instant sense of place.

If this is your first stop after visiting the interior, you could hardly ask for a more distinctive introduction to Kenya’s coast, and its perfect place to help you fall into the naturally languid rhythm of Swahili life while still enjoying the modern comforts of home.

Mombasa is the largest city on the Kenyan coast and also the largest coastal port in East Africa. The city sprawls across a low-lying island at the mouth of a broad inlet, providing a natural anchorage for ships. Traders have been coming here since at least 12th century and the goods from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Congo (Zaire) still pass through here on their way overseas.

The Mombasa city’s population is overwhelmingly African, many of whom are Swahilis, but there is a remarkable range of races and cultures here, from Africans to British expats, Omanis, Indians and Chinese.

Most package tourist stay in the beach resorts north or south of town, but leaving Mombasa out of your itinerary completely would be a shame. The most interesting part is the character Old Town, with its narrow, winding alleyways, historic Swahili houses and the remains of the mighty Fort Jesus.
History

Mombasa has always been at the centre of the coast’s key events, a crucial stronghold for local and invading powers ever since the Arab-Swahili Mazrui clan emerged as one of the most powerful families in 9th century East Africa.

The first Portuguese forays into Arab territory took place here in 1505, when Dom Francisco de Almeida arrived with a huge armada and leveled the city in just 1 ½ days. The plundered remains were soon rebuilt, but in 1528 Lisbon struck again as Nuna da Cunha captured the city, first by diplomacy (offering to act as an allay in Mombasa’s disputes with Malindi, Pemba and Zanzibar) and then by force. Once again Mombasa was burned to the ground while the invaders sailed to India.

The Portuguese made a bid for permanency in 1593 with the construction of Fort Jesus, but the hefty structure quickly became a symbolic target for rebel leaders and was besieged incessantly. During the 17th and 18th centuries Mombasa changed hands dozens of times before the Portuguese finally gave up their claim to the coast in 1729.

Waiting to step into the power vacuum were the sultans of Oman, who had defeated the Europeans and occupied the Fort Jesus after an incredible 33 month siege in 1698. The city remained in their control until the 1870’s, when the British intervention ended the slave trade and gained for the empire a foothold in East Africa.

Mombasa subsequently became the rail-head for the Uganda railway and the most important city in British East Africa protectorate. In 1920, when Kenya became a fully fledged British colony, Mombasa was made capital of the separate British coast Protectorate.

Today the cut and thrust of politics and power play largely passes Mombasa by, but it’s still Kenya’s second city and a crucial social barometer for the coast province as a whole.

Robert is a travel expert with Landmarksafaris.com. Degreed in tourism management, he has authored more than 1000 articles on Kenya East Africa travel. Select your Mombasa beach and inland safari here