In Mombasa the primary religion is Muslim, but as a whole Kenya is predominately Christian. There is no conflict between religions. Mombasa is an island connected by 3 bridges with only about 1.5M people living there. There are two towns, old and new town. Old town was built by Arabs and Portuguese. I asked how come there are so many Indians here in Kenya. Well back in the day they helped build the railroad lines by the British. After the project was done, they had an option to go back to India or stay in Kenya. Majority stayed. I love to see diversity.
Side bar Mombasa it HOT!!!!!!!
You can not go to Kenya and not visit the infamous elephant tucks. I repeat you can not go to Kenya and not visit the infamous elephant tucks. The tusk were built in 1952 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II. It welcomes you into the city of Mombasa and also connects the port of Mombasa. The elephant tusk are not real tusk from an elephant.
Next stop I visited Mama ngina drive. This is where the first settlement of Mombasa happened. Today it is a park/picnic area. You’ll see several choirs here practicing hymns. It was so beautiful hearing the different melodies. Music does something to my spirit. The oldest tree is located here. It is 500 years old.
Fort Jesus is 429 years old. It was built by the Portuguese to protect from outside invaders. Back in the day Mombasa was a trademark for trade. The fort is shaped like Jesus being crucified on the cross. The Chinese people came 23 years before the Portuguese. They (men) came to teach how to make clothes. They ended up marrying the women here and today they have a town called Shanga. Majority of the people in this town look Chinese. I am not a history buff person. I always ask for the important stuff because I won’t remember a lot of the information. It was a nice tour.
After I went to the old town to see how it looked. It was so HOT I cut the tour short. I couldn’t stand the heat.
What I learned about the old town:
- It is mixed with Christians and Muslims
- Houses were built by Arabs and Portuguese. The Portuguese couldn’t stand the heat so their houses are built with balconies.
- The people who live here are very rich! It may seem like they are not but they are. They are the “true” owners of Mombasa.
Later on in the evening I went for a sunset cruise. I booked it with Swaleh and his number is +254729291128. It was a cool hour ride. The sunset was to die for. Who doesn’t love a sunset?
