Mombasa
can be disorienting to first-time visitors. A port city par excellence,
it's the kind of place where the world's languages compete to be heard
above the clamor of a city in perpetual motion. With an Indian Ocean
breeze, the pervasive smell of spices and a polyglot culture, steamy
Mombasa is coastal Kenya writ large.
Possessing the finest deep-water harbor in East Africa, Mombasa was always a city of trade. All the cultures of the Indian Ocean passed through en route elsewhere and many decided to stay, giving birth to a new people and a new language – Swahili. The result is a people, a language and a city born in the mingling of Africans and Arabs, Portuguese and Persians, all of whom celebrate the common theme running through their blood – swahili is the Arabic word for coast.
From the other direction, in the late 15th century, came Vasco da Gama, the advance party for colonial armies and administrators. The Portuguese burned Mombasa to the ground, plundered the African interior for slaves and then announced their intention to stay by building the astonishing coral fortress known as Fort Jesus. From afar, the Unesco World Heritage–listed fortress rises over the harbour like a protecting sentinel, its sand-coloured walls stained with tropical decay, its bulging towers suggestive of all that lies within. These walls are breached by intricately carved wooden doors that open onto an interior that demonstrates Swahili architecture's mosaic of styles, with frescoed walls and ceilings and swirls of Arabic calligraphy. With a museum dedicated to Swahili culture, richly decorated halls left by the Arabs, and the Passage of the Arches, which leads under pinkish-brown coral towards the sea, Fort Jesus is the story of Mombasa rendered in architectural form.
The Mandhry Mosque in the heart of Old Town is more subtle, blending elegant Arab-style flourishes with the reassuring geometrics of African design; the gently rounded minaret evokes a watchtower that could just as easily inhabit the deserts of Africa as its coast. Nearby, Mombasa's burgeoning Hindu population has marked its centuries-long presence in the city with the airy and open Lord Shiva Temple, with its intriguing sculpture garden, and the Swaminarayan Temple, whose colourful murals devoted to gods and the Hindu epics have all the subtlety of a Bollywood blockbuster. Opposite the spice market, the lovely Jain Temple, all dressed in white, is an elegant affair, its perfectly proportioned tiers and domes guarded by two black elephants at the entrance. Elsewhere, private dwellings seem designed to keep the outside world at bay, distracting would-be visitors with filigreed porches and balconies.
Even more than its people and architecture, however, Mombasa's Swahili cuisine is where many travellers fall in love with the city's array of cultural influences. Fresh seafood and lightly spiced curries share Mombasa's tables with cassava and sweet baobab seeds from Africa, samosas and bhajis from the Indian subcontinent, and Arab kebabs and haluwa (an Omani version of Turkish delight).
In this city with its face turned towards the sea, it is entirely appropriate that some of the best views come from the water. A traditional dhow, an old wooden sailing ship that has for centuries been the workhorse of Africa's Indian Ocean coast, is the most romantic option, and luxury versions provide fine views of the Old Town with an on-board meal at the end of it all. Highly regarded Tamarind Dhow has lunch/dinner cruises for US$40/70 with a cocktail thrown in. Seen from the harbour in the blinking lights of early evening, Mombasa can seem like the evocation of an Arabian Nights fairytale transplanted onto African soil.
Possessing the finest deep-water harbor in East Africa, Mombasa was always a city of trade. All the cultures of the Indian Ocean passed through en route elsewhere and many decided to stay, giving birth to a new people and a new language – Swahili. The result is a people, a language and a city born in the mingling of Africans and Arabs, Portuguese and Persians, all of whom celebrate the common theme running through their blood – swahili is the Arabic word for coast.
Exploring the city's past and present
Marco Polo arrived in the 13th century bearing spices and stories of faraway lands. The aromas in some quarters of the city, amid the peeling plaster of Hindu warehouses, still carry memories of Kerala in southern India. Nowhere is this more powerfully felt than in the sensory overload that is Mombasa's spice market. Sprawling across several city blocks in the tangle of lanes just back from the waterfront, the open-sided market has changed little in centuries, with great baskets of herbs and spices forming towers of exotic condiments. In this steam-bath climate, an air of languor dominates the market, the traders reclining amid their wares and rousing themselves whenever local women draw near with shopping lists to fill. But the air is also filled with the scents of cardamom, pepper, turmeric and curry powders, and this is the memory that lingers long after you've left.From the other direction, in the late 15th century, came Vasco da Gama, the advance party for colonial armies and administrators. The Portuguese burned Mombasa to the ground, plundered the African interior for slaves and then announced their intention to stay by building the astonishing coral fortress known as Fort Jesus. From afar, the Unesco World Heritage–listed fortress rises over the harbour like a protecting sentinel, its sand-coloured walls stained with tropical decay, its bulging towers suggestive of all that lies within. These walls are breached by intricately carved wooden doors that open onto an interior that demonstrates Swahili architecture's mosaic of styles, with frescoed walls and ceilings and swirls of Arabic calligraphy. With a museum dedicated to Swahili culture, richly decorated halls left by the Arabs, and the Passage of the Arches, which leads under pinkish-brown coral towards the sea, Fort Jesus is the story of Mombasa rendered in architectural form.
The Mandhry Mosque in the heart of Old Town is more subtle, blending elegant Arab-style flourishes with the reassuring geometrics of African design; the gently rounded minaret evokes a watchtower that could just as easily inhabit the deserts of Africa as its coast. Nearby, Mombasa's burgeoning Hindu population has marked its centuries-long presence in the city with the airy and open Lord Shiva Temple, with its intriguing sculpture garden, and the Swaminarayan Temple, whose colourful murals devoted to gods and the Hindu epics have all the subtlety of a Bollywood blockbuster. Opposite the spice market, the lovely Jain Temple, all dressed in white, is an elegant affair, its perfectly proportioned tiers and domes guarded by two black elephants at the entrance. Elsewhere, private dwellings seem designed to keep the outside world at bay, distracting would-be visitors with filigreed porches and balconies.
Even more than its people and architecture, however, Mombasa's Swahili cuisine is where many travellers fall in love with the city's array of cultural influences. Fresh seafood and lightly spiced curries share Mombasa's tables with cassava and sweet baobab seeds from Africa, samosas and bhajis from the Indian subcontinent, and Arab kebabs and haluwa (an Omani version of Turkish delight).
In this city with its face turned towards the sea, it is entirely appropriate that some of the best views come from the water. A traditional dhow, an old wooden sailing ship that has for centuries been the workhorse of Africa's Indian Ocean coast, is the most romantic option, and luxury versions provide fine views of the Old Town with an on-board meal at the end of it all. Highly regarded Tamarind Dhow has lunch/dinner cruises for US$40/70 with a cocktail thrown in. Seen from the harbour in the blinking lights of early evening, Mombasa can seem like the evocation of an Arabian Nights fairytale transplanted onto African soil.
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