Mombasa

The Arab port was first mentioned by Al-Idrisi in 1151 . It was the largest center of slave trade in eastern Africa. In 1331, the famous traveler ibn Battuta spent one night in the city. He noted the craftsmanship with which wooden mosques were built. In 1415, Zheng He's Chinese fleet visited Mombasa harbor. In 1498, Vasco da Gama stayed here on his way to India.

In 1502, the Portuguese bombarded Mombasa with ships. At this time, the local sultan managed to declare independence from Kilva . In 1528, the Portuguese again attacked the Sultanate, and in 1593 they built the majestic Fort Jesus . In 1638, Mombasa was officially declared a Portuguese colony. Managed from Goa .

Since the middle of the XVII century. the Portuguese in Mombasa were attacked by the rulers of the Oman sultanate , until in 1699 Imam Sultan ibn Safe removed the Portuguese from the port in December 1698. The governors of the Omani Sultan began to rule the city. But there was another short period of Portuguese rule in Mombasa - from March 12, 1728 to September 21, 1729.

At the beginning of the XIX century. The African-Arab dynasty of Mazrui, which ruled Mombasa, rebelled against the Omani Sultan, who at that time was located in Zanzibar . In 1824, Mazrui recognized the British protectorate over Mombasa. In 1828, in response to this, the ships of the Zanzibar Sultan attacked Mombasa. This war lasted until 1837 and ended in the victory of Zanzibar. Mombasa became the property of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman .

However, in 1875, Fort Jesus was attacked by the British gunboats Nassau and Rifleman . After the artillery duel, the fort was taken by storm, the era of British rule in East Africa began ^[3] .

In 1888, Mombasa became the center of operations of the British East African Company .

In 1890, Great Britain and the German Empire entered into the Zanzibar Treaty , according to which the exchange for the transfer by the United Kingdom of Helgoland to Germany recognized, in particular, that Mombasa is a protectorate of Britain.

Since 1895, when Kenya became a British colony, Mombasa became its capital.

In 1906, the capital of the colony became Nairobi ^[4] .

Mombasa is located 440 km southeast of the Kenyan capital, the city of Nairobi . The city center is located on a coral island in the Indian Ocean, and some areas on the continent. The island is separated from the mainland by two channels - Tudor Creek and Hilindini Harbor. The terrain is flat.

The vast majority of the population of the city are Sunni Muslims . According to the 2009 census, the population of the urban agglomeration is 939,370 people ^[5] . The population of Mombasa is represented mainly by a group of Midjikenda peoples and the Swahili people. Other ethnic groups include Arabs, Kamba , Watayta.

The dynamics of the population of the city by years:

Source: ^[6]

Mombasa is the most developed region of the country, the economic capital and the main port of Kenya. The standard of living is much higher than the national average. There are two seaports in Mombasa: the Old Port, where ships operating regionally based flights are based, and Kilindini (New Port), receiving container ships, tankers, refrigerators, ocean-type cruise ships, warships. During World War II, it was one of the main naval bases of Great Britain. This port is also leased by Uganda , South Sudan , Burundi , Rwanda , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In terms of cargo turnover, it ranks second in Africa after the Cape Town port ( South Africa ); in 2010, cargo turnover amounted to 5.4 million tons. From Mombasa are exported: coffee, tea, oil products, cement, leather and skins, meat and meat products, canned pineapples, spices, sisal and other traditional African goods. Imported: oil, various equipment, agricultural machinery and other vehicles, metals.

Mombasa is also a significant center of international tourism. Near it on the seashore are resort villages, there are beaches in Mombasa itself.

• Fort Jesus (1593), it houses the National Museum. UNESCO World Heritage Site .
• Old city
• 20 mosques, the largest of which is Mandry (1570), the Anglican Cathedral of St. John (XX century, architecture is close to the Moorish style), the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit with a silver dome, the Hindu temple of Shiva in the Jamhuri Park, famous for its park sculptures.
• Souvenir market.
• Monument "Tusks of Mombasa" (1952).

Mombasa is a twin city of the following cities:

•   Seattle , Washington , USA
•   Long Beach , California , USA
•   Honolulu , Hawaii , USA

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  In the coastal part of the city

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  Fort jesus

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  Colonial era market building

In the 1985 film “ From Africa ” by Sidney Pollack , Mombasa is presented as a port from where travelers depart for Europe via the Suez Canal .

In a 1987 Indian film, Mr. India , a song about Mombasa is performed ^[7] .

Most of the events in the story “Consummation in Mombasa” by the Moscow writer Andrei Gusev take place in Mombasa and in the nearby town of Mtvapa ^{[8] [9]} .

Musical composition "Mombasa" performed by Finnish singer Taiska ^[10] .

“One ticket to Mombasa” (“Menolippu Mombasaan”) is a Finnish film made in 2002 ^[11] .

• Mombasa - Kenya City