Nairobi

Nairobi

 

Travel Destinations in Nairobi

Nairobi is the largest city Kenya as well as its capital. The city is near the equator. It is the largest city in East Africa. The population of the city is estimated between three and four million inhabitants, the statistics are underestimated due to the presence of huge slums around the city, the estimation of the population of which is extremely difficult. Kenyan capital became famous in 1998. On August 7th it became the site of a terrorist attack against American embassy that took lives of 223 people.

 

National Archives (Nairobi)

Moi & Luthuli Aves

Tel. 020 222 8959

Open: 8:15am- 4:15pm Mon- Fri

8:15am- 1pm Sat

Closed: public holidays

www.kenyarchives.go.ke

 

Nairobi National Museum (Nairobi)

Museum Hill

Tel. 020 374 2131

Open: 9:30am- 6pm daily

www.museums.or.ke

 

Railway Museum (Nairobi)

Tel. 020 204 9169

Open: 8:15am- 5pm daily

August 7th Memorial Park (Nairobi)

Moi & Haile Selassic Ave

Tel. 020 341 062

Open: 7am- 6pm daily

Arboretum (Nairobi)

Arboretum Rd

www.naturekenya.org

City Market (Nairobi)

Open: 8am- 6pm Mon- Sat

Closed: public holidays

 

 

Previously, in the place of the modern city, uninhabited swamps were located. In 1899, a supply station for the Uganda Railway was built here, which soon became the headquarters of the railway. The city received its name by the name of the reservoir, which in Masai sounds like Ewaso Nyirobi (Evaso-Nairobi), which means "cool waters". In 1900, the city was completely rebuilt after the outbreak of the bubonic plague that erupted there, which caused the old city to be completely burned.

The reason for choosing the construction site of the Nairobi station was its location in the middle between the cities of Mombasa and Kampala. In addition, there was a rich network of rivers that helped to supply the settlement with water, and the altitude made this area cool enough for a comfortable stay. Moreover, at an altitude of 1661 m above sea level, the air temperature is too low for the survival of malaria mosquitoes.

In 1905, Nairobi became the capital of the British protectorate, replacing Mombasa. The city began to grow due to the administration and tourists who came to Kenya to hunt. British colonialists used Nairobi as a starting point for exploring the region. All this prompted the colonial government to build several impressive hotels in the city, most of which were hunters.

Under British rule, Nairobi continued to grow, and many British settled in the suburbs. In 1919, the city became a municipality. In February 1926, E.A.T. Dutton drove through Nairobi on his way to Mount Kenya and wrote about the city in his book:

 

"Maybe one day Nairobi will be laid out with tarred roads, with avenues of flowering trees, flanked by noble buildings; with open spaces and stately squares; a cathedral worthy of faith and country; museums and galleries of art; theatres and public offices. And it is fair to say that the Government and the Municipality have already bravely tackled the problem and that a town-plan ambitious enough to turn Nairobi into a thing of beauty has been slowly worked out, and much has already been done. But until that plan has borne fruit, Nairobi must remain what she was then, a slatternly creature, unfit to queen it over so lovely a country."

 

The continued growth of the city, however, provoked the wrath of the Masai and Kikuyu peoples who previously owned these lands. At the end of World War II, these frictions grew into a Mau Mau uprising. For participating in the uprising, Jomo Kenyata, the future president of Kenya, was arrested and imprisoned, although there was no evidence linking him to the uprising. As a result, in 1963, Kenya gained independence from Britain, and Nairobi became the capital of the new republic.

After gaining independence, Nairobi began to grow rapidly, which resulted in an excessive burden on urban infrastructure. Outages of electricity and water often happen, although in recent years more rational urban planning has helped to partially cope with these problems.

In 1998, the U.S. Embassy was attacked by al-Qaeda terrorists in Nairobi, killing more than 200 people. At this place a memorial was erected.

September 21, 2013 in Nairobi there was a terrorist attack. 16 terrorists attacked the Nakumatt Westgate shopping center and were taken hostage. On September 23, Kenyan security forces launched an assault on a shopping center. On September 25, 2013, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyata announced the completion of the operation to destroy terrorists. As a result of the attack, 67 people were killed, more than 150 were injured.