The History Of Nairobi For Visitors

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. It is the most famous cities in Africa politically and financially. It’s humble beginning in’99 as a simple railway depot linking Mombasa to Uganda, The town grew fast to become the capital of British East Africa in’07 and eventually the capital of Free Kenyan republic in’63. Nairobi actually means “The place of cool waters” however it is popularly known as “Green City in the Sun” for its dense tree cover and plenty of green spaces through out the city. Their famous park is Uhuru Park.

This park borders the central business district and the neighborhood Upper Hill. Uhuru Park is centre for outdoor speeches, services and rallies. 2004 Nobel Peace Price winner Wangari Maathai saved the park from being develop into a business area. Other notable open space includes the Central Park, Jeevanjee Gardens, City Park, Bomb Blast Memorial Park and Nairobi Arboretum.

Workers hired for the Ugandan Railway project connecting Lake Victoria and the coastal city of Mombasa were housed in Nairobi. After the completion of the railway in’00, Nairobi progressively grew in importance. Today, there’s a Railway Museum in Nairobi that includes various historical objects, and wonderful photography through Nairobi’s history.

An international city. Modern Nairobi is an economic giant of East Africa. Businesses and organizations from across the world are based in Nairobi, including the United Nations Environment Program UNEP and United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN HABITAT). With such a large number of international residents, it’s no coincidence that the restaurants in Nairobi are a match for those in major European and American cities.

You can find the rich live in high end suburb while majority live in slums. In fact half of the populations have been estimated to live in slums. With this condition of living, they struggled with rising crime thus earning reputation for being dangerous and even named as “Nairobbery”. They claim that the biggest reason for the city’s alarming crime rate is police corruption.

Tourists to Kenya are very much interested to go out for a safari, rather than visiting Nairobi, which has a popular Railway Museum and a National Museum. The National Museum has in its store the testimony for Kenyan culture and the native people’s lifestyle. Collections made by Joy Adamson, the author of the book ‘Born Free’ which describes the events related to the rescue, are on display in the National Museum. By looking at the exhibits one can feel her deep love for Africa. However most of the tourists skip these interesting pieces without visiting the city.

From the Railway Museum, the Moi Avenue takes the path straight inside the heart of Nairobi. Nairobi city is adorned by two extensive green parks, Uhuru Park and Central Park. It is a pleasant experience for the people who take shelter in the benches under the shades of wide trees grown for many years. A man made lake is available in the Uhuru Park. But for the mind work of the Nobel Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, the Uhuru Park would have vanished among the concrete structures. Continuous protests and international support during’89 preserved the Park. Nairobi has full fledged western type hotels. Hence tourists after a hard trekking in the nearby jungles or forests are able to have a restful evening with a delightful dinner of their own choice. The Safaris have both single day trips and multi day trips. Nairobi National Park with an area of 120 square kilometer, is situated just within a half an hours drive and is suitable for a one day trip.

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