Day Trips

Mombasa is the chief port city of Kenya, situated on a coralline island in a bay of the Indian Ocean. The island is linked to its mainland municipal territory of 100 square miles (259 square km) by causeway, bridge, and ferry and has an area of 5.5 square miles (14.25 square km). It is the country's second-largest city, after the capital Nairobi, with an estimated population of about 1.2 million people. Mombasa is a regional, cultural, and economic hub, boasting an extra-large port and an international airport. It is an important regional tourism center due to its sandy beaches. The city has a rich history and was visited in 1331 by the Arab traveler Ibn Baṭṭūṭah and in 1498 by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama. It has been continually fought over, passing among the Arabs, Persians, Portuguese, and Turks until 1840, when the sultan of Zanzibar finally gained control. It came under British administration in 1895 and was the capital of the East Africa Protectorate until 1907. Mombasa's many historical and cultural attractions have made it a popular tourist destination. The old city is strongly Middle Eastern, with narrow streets, high houses with carved ornamental balconies, and mosques and temples. It is the site of Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese (1593–95) and now a museum. There are Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals. A Hindu temple built in 1952 has a gilded dome. Industries include shipbuilding and repair, metal and cement works, sugar processing, a fertilizer plant, and an oil refinery at Changamwe.