Accommodation Coast Mombasa
|
Description
Mombasa, the second largest municipality in Kenya with a population of roughly 670,000, lies four degrees south of the equator on the western flank of the Indian Ocean. Its climate is tropical, marked with high humidity, high temperature, strong ocean winds, and the intense brilliance of the midday sun that glares off lime-whitewashed stone houses. Mombasa consists of a small island, three miles long and 5.5 square miles in area, connected to the mainland by bridges and ferries. Mombasa's coastline is sheltered by a coral reef running parallel to the shore about one mile out from the high-water mark. Beaches of fine sand and gentle slope provide ideal sites for a rapidly developing hotel and cottage resort industry. Most of Mombasa sits on loose, sandy soil, but the eastern part stands on a porous coral base. Local building materials include coral, mud, wattle, thatch, and stones. For centuries, Mombasa served as a vibrant trading center. Swahili merchants served as middlemen, exporting products from the East African interior in exchange for goods purchased from Indian Ocean merchant ships. Especially during the 19th century, Swahili caravans traveled far into the interior in search of slaves and ivory, and some of these traders established inland trading posts. Modern shipping has taken over the long-distance ocean trade routes once traveled by dhows, the Swahili's wooden sailing vessels. Cities such as Mogadishu and Mombasa, now major industrial ports, have attracted many migrants from the East African interior. Swahili now contains many English words and has become the lingua franca of much of East Africa, spoken by more than 130 million people.
|
||||||||||||||||
Who's Online
We have 11 guests onlineTravel Destinations
P.O. Box 5355-00200
Nairobi,Kenya.
Tel:+254-20-7789196
Fax:+254-20-7786382
Cell:+254-722-370833
+254-710-729021
+254-710-230632
