Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya and the center of the coastal tourism industry. In Kiswahili it is called Kisiwa ya Mvita, which means "Island of War", due to the many changes in its ownership. The city has a population of around 900,000 and is located on Mombasa Island, which is separated from the mainland by two creeks; Tudor Creek and Killindini Harbor. The island is connected to the mainland to the north by a bridge, to the south by ferry and to the west by a causeway along which runs the Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior linking them to the Indian Ocean. The Muslim Miji Kenda/Swahili people mainly occupy the town but over the centuries there have been many immigrants from the countries of the Middle East and Indian sub-continent. More recent immigrants are peoples from the interior of Kenya brought to the area by opportunities to work in the tourist industry. Traditional dress for the Swahili women is a brightly colored, printed cotton sheet called a kanga, which may have inspirational slogans printed on it, and a type of black headdress and veil called a bui bui. Men wear a type of sarong, which is colored in bright bands, called a kikoy. There are several places to visit in Mombasa; Fort Jesus, build by the Portuguese and the Old Town, which is by now in bad need of repair but still shows plenty of examples of the old Arab architecture.
The Republic of Kenya is located in east Africa and lies astride the equator. It is bordered by Somalia on the east, the Indian Ocean on the southeast, Tanzania on the south, Lake Victoria (Victoria Nyanza) on the southwest, Uganda on the west, Sudan on the northwest, and Ethiopia on the north. The country is made up of several geographical regions. The first is a narrow, coastal strip that is low lying except for the Taita Hills in the south. The second, an inland region of bush-covered plains, constitutes most of the country’s land area. In the northwest, straddling Lake Turkana and the Kulal Mountains are high-lying scrublands. In the southwest are the fertile grasslands and forests of the Kenya highlands. In the west is the Great Rift Valley, an irregular depression that cuts through west Kenya from north to south in two branches. It is also the location of some of the country’s highest mountains, including Mount Kenya (17,058 feet, 5,199 meters high). People of African descent make up about 97% of the population; they are divided into about 40 ethnic groups, of which the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kamba, and Gusii and the Nilotic-speaking Luo are predominant. Small numbers of persons of Indian, Pakistani, and European descent live in the interior, and there are some Arabs along the coast. The official languages are Swahili and English although many indigenous languages are also spoken. About two-thirds of the population is Christian, while a quarter follows traditional religious beliefs; the remaining are Muslim or Hindu.
Mombasa has a warm, tropical climate. Winter months are slightly warmer than summer. The amount of rainfall depends essentially on the season. The rainiest months are April and May, while in January to February the rainfall is minimal. The average precipitation in April is around 4.7 inches (11.9cm). In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena) is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapour that is deposited on the earth's surface.
The Bantu language of Kiswahili (abbreviated to Swahili) is the official language of Kenya. There do exist many different verbal dialects of the language, based on the location on the town, but written Swahili is generally universal to that of eastern Africa. It originated on the east coast of Africa over 1,000 years ago and has since incorporated words from Arabic, Portuguese, Indian, German and English.
Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya and the center of the coastal tourism industry. In Kiswahili it is called Kisiwa ya Mvita, which means "Island of War", due to the many changes in its ownership. The city has a population of around 900,000 and is located on Mombasa Island, which is separated from the mainland by two creeks; Tudor Creek and Killindini Harbor. The island is connected to the mainland to the north by a bridge, to the south by ferry and to the west by a causeway along which runs the Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior linking them to the Indian Ocean. The Muslim Miji Kenda/Swahili people mainly occupy the town but over the centuries there have been many immigrants from the countries of the Middle East and Indian sub-continent. More recent immigrants are peoples from the interior of Kenya brought to the area by opportunities to work in the tourist industry. Traditional dress for the Swahili women is a brightly colored, printed cotton sheet called a kanga, which may have inspirational slogans printed on it, and a type of black headdress and veil called a bui bui. Men wear a type of sarong, which is colored in bright bands, called a kikoy. There are several places to visit in Mombasa; Fort Jesus, build by the Portuguese and the Old Town, which is by now in bad need of repair but still shows plenty of examples of the old Arab architecture.
The Republic of Kenya is located in east Africa and lies astride the equator. It is bordered by Somalia on the east, the Indian Ocean on the southeast, Tanzania on the south, Lake Victoria (Victoria Nyanza) on the southwest, Uganda on the west, Sudan on the northwest, and Ethiopia on the north. The country is made up of several geographical regions. The first is a narrow, coastal strip that is low lying except for the Taita Hills in the south. The second, an inland region of bush-covered plains, constitutes most of the country’s land area. In the northwest, straddling Lake Turkana and the Kulal Mountains are high-lying scrublands. In the southwest are the fertile grasslands and forests of the Kenya highlands. In the west is the Great Rift Valley, an irregular depression that cuts through west Kenya from north to south in two branches. It is also the location of some of the country’s highest mountains, including Mount Kenya (17,058 feet, 5,199 meters high). People of African descent make up about 97% of the population; they are divided into about 40 ethnic groups, of which the Bantu-speaking Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kamba, and Gusii and the Nilotic-speaking Luo are predominant. Small numbers of persons of Indian, Pakistani, and European descent live in the interior, and there are some Arabs along the coast. The official languages are Swahili and English although many indigenous languages are also spoken. About two-thirds of the population is Christian, while a quarter follows traditional religious beliefs; the remaining are Muslim or Hindu.
Mombasa has a warm, tropical climate. Winter months are slightly warmer than summer. The amount of rainfall depends essentially on the season. The rainiest months are April and May, while in January to February the rainfall is minimal. The average precipitation in April is around 4.7 inches (11.9cm). In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena) is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapour that is deposited on the earth's surface.
The Bantu language of Kiswahili (abbreviated to Swahili) is the official language of Kenya. There do exist many different verbal dialects of the language, based on the location on the town, but written Swahili is generally universal to that of eastern Africa. It originated on the east coast of Africa over 1,000 years ago and has since incorporated words from Arabic, Portuguese, Indian, German and English.
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