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
Nairobi National Museum (Nairobi)
Museum Hill
Tel. 020 374 2131
Open: 9:30am- 6pm daily
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 City Market (Nairobi) Open: 8am- 6pm Mon- Sat Closed: public holidays
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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.