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Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is known as "the white and blue city" in Kenya. It is the country's oldest ( 900 A.D.) and second-largest city The World Factbook. . Cia.gov. Retrieved on 17 August 2013. after Nairobi, with a population of about 1,208,333 people according to the 2019 census.
Mombasa's location on the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading centre, History of Mombasa | Mombasa, Kenya. . Mombasainfo.com. Retrieved on 17 August 2013. and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location. Kenyan school history books place the founding of Mombasa as 900 AD. It must have been already a prosperous trading town in the 12th century, as the Arab geographer al-Idrisi mentions it in 1151. It was a part of the Kilwa Sultanate from approximately the early 14th century until the dissolution of the sultanate in 1513. The oldest stone mosque in Mombasa, Mnara, was built 1300. The Mandhry Mosque, built in 1570, has a minaret that contains a regionally specific ogee arch. The city later came under the occupation and control of the Omani Empire in the late 17th century.
In the late pre-colonial period, it was the metropolis of a plantation society, which became dependent on slave labour based around the ivory trade. Throughout the early modern period, Mombasa was a key node in the complex and far reaching Indian Ocean trading networks. Its key exports then were ivory, millet, sesamum and .
Today, Mombasa is a tourism-based town, home to one of the state houses, with an extra-large seaport and an international airport.
Significantly, the names of both the queen and the city have linguistic and spiritual connections with Central Africa. "Mkisi" is considered the personification of "ukisi", which means "the holy" in kiKongo. "Kongowea" can similarly be interpreted as the Swahili locative of "kongo", which denotes the essence of civilizational order in central Africa. These legends can be read as an acknowledgement of the Bantu languages-speaking origins of the Swahili people.
Shehe Mvitaff superseded the dynasty of Mwana Mkisi and established the first permanent stone mosque on Mombasa Island. Mombasa's oldest extant stone mosque, Mnara, was built c. 1300. Shehe Mvita is remembered as a Muslim of great learning and so is connected more directly with the present ideals of Swahili culture that people identify with Mombasa. The ancient history associated with Mwana Mkisi and Shehe Mvita and the founding of an urban settlement on Mombasa Island is still linked to present-day peoples living in Mombasa. The Thenashara Taifa (or Twelve Nations) Swahili lineages recount this ancient history today and are the keepers of local Swahili traditions.
Most of the early information on Mombasa comes from the writings of Portuguese chroniclers in the 16th century.
The famous Moroccan scholar and traveller Ibn Battuta (13041368/1369) visited the area during his travels to the Swahili Coast. He noted the city, although he stayed only one night. He wrote that the people of Mombasa were Shafi'i Muslims, religious people, trustworthy and righteous. Their mosques were made of wood, expertly built. (2025). 9780330418799, Picador. ISBN 9780330418799
The exact founding date of the city is unknown, but it has a long history. Kenyan school history books place the founding of Mombasa as 900. It must have been already a prosperous trading town in the 12th century, as the Arab geographer al-Idrisi mentions it in 1151. The oldest stone mosque in Mombasa, Mnara, was built 1300. The Mandhry Mosque, built in 1570, has a minaret that contains a regionally specific ogee arch. This suggests that Swahili architecture was an indigenous African product rather than being adopted from non-African Muslims who brought stone architecture to the Swahili Coast.
During the pre-modern period, Mombasa was an important centre for the trade in spices, gold, and ivory. Its trade links reached as far as India and China. Oral historians today can still recount this period of local history. Indian history shows that there were trade links between Mombasa and Cholas of South India. Throughout the early modern period, Mombasa was a key node in the complex and far-reaching Indian Ocean trading networks. Its key exports were ivory, millet, sesamum and .
Ivory caravans remained a major source of economic prosperity. Mombasa became the major port city of pre-colonial Kenya in the Middle Ages and was used to trade with other African port cities, the Greater Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, India and China.
Sixteenth-century Portuguese voyager Duarte Barbosa wrote,
"Mombasa is a place of great traffic and has a good harbour in which there are always moored small craft of many kinds and also great ships, both of which are bound from Sofala and others which come from Khambhat and Malindi and others which sail to the island of Zanzibar."
The Portuguese had since had encounters with the city several times; first under Francisco de Almeida in 1505, later under Afonso de Albuquerque in 1522 to quell an attempted mutiny by the sultan's nephew in Pemba and Zanzibar, and finally the destruction of the city under Nuno da Cunha again in 1528 after the Malindi sultan failed to pay tribute.
In 1585, a military expedition of the Ottoman Empire, led by Emir 'Ali Bey, successfully captured Mombasa, and other coastal cities in Southeast Africa from the Portuguese. However, Malindi remained loyal to Portugal. The Zimba overcame the towns of Sena and Tete on the Zambezi, and in 1587 they took Kilwa, killing 3,000 people. At Mombasa, the Zimba slaughtered the Muslim inhabitants, but they were halted at Malindi by the Bantu-speaking Segeju and went home. This stimulated the Portuguese to take over Mombasa a third time in 1589, and four years later they built Fort Jesus to administer the region. Between Lake Malawi and the Zambezi mouth, Kalonga Mzura made an alliance with the Portuguese in 1608 and fielded 4,000 warriors to help defeat their rival Zimba, who were led by chief Lundi.
After the building of Fort Jesus, Mombasa was put by the Portuguese under the rule of members of the ruling family of Malindi. In 1631 Dom Jeronimo, the ruler of Mombasa, slaughtered the Portuguese garrison in the city and defeated the relief force sent by the Portuguese. In 1632 Dom Jeronimo left Mombasa and became a pirate. That year the Portuguese returned and established direct rule over Mombasa. Timothy J. Stapleton, A Military History of Africa, p. 114
Mombasa was briefly returned to Portuguese rule by captain-major Álvaro Caetano de Melo Castro (12 March 1728 – 21 September 1729), then four new Omani Liwali until 1746, when the last of them made it independent again (disputed by Oman), as the first of its recorded Sultans:
Mombasa became the capital of the Kenya Colony Protectorate of Kenya, sometime between 1887 and around 1906. The capital was later moved because medical officers warned that the ground was swampy, and urged Sir James Hayes Sadler, then Commissioner of the East Africa Protectorate, to plead with London to move the town elsewhere to mitigate potential disease. Nairobi has since been Kenya's capital to date.
The Mombasa tusks, one of the city's best-known monuments, were originally constructed in 1952 by the British administration of the Kenya Colony, commemorating the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the city.
In 2018, as part of an effort to increase tourism, Mombasa County Governor Hassan Joho issued a directive requiring that all buildings in the Old Town and the Central Business District be painted white with Egyptian blue trim and banned all signs from their walls or canopies. Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works County Executive Tawfiq Balala stated that the city wanted to be "the most photographed in Africa".
Located near the equator, Mombasa has only a slight seasonal temperature variation, with high temperatures ranging .
As a seaport, Mombasa is subject to detrimental consequences of a fluctuating climate. In October 2006, Mombasa experienced a large flood that affected 60,000 people.
Like the rest of Kenya, climate change is already creating challenges for the city: coastal erosion has become a problem for infrastructure in Mombasa. Due to rising sea levels, the coastline has been eroding at per year. This has increased the number of annual floods.
Kizingo: Considered the prime residential area of Mombasa. The State House of Mombasa, Provincial Headquarters, The Mombasa Law Courts, and the Municipal Council are located in Kizingo. The Aga Khan Academy, Aga Khan High School, Serani Primary School, Serani High School, Santokben Nursery School, Coast Academy, Jaffery Academy, Mombasa Primary School, Loreto Convent, Mama Ngina Girls' High School and the Government Training Institute (GTI) Mombasa are all in Kizingo as well.
Central Business District: The Mombasa central business district across the TSS building roundabout, Moi Avenue, and Nyerere Avenue is densely populated. Organizations such as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and businesses such as Banks (ABSA, I&M Ltd, Bank of India Ltd), Insurance Firms (Nomura Insurance Brokers, Masumali Meghji Insurance), and Audit Firms (Anant Bhatt LLP, Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, Mazars LLP, Deloitte LLP, and PKF LLP) are located here.
Kibokoni: Part of Old Town with Swahili architecture. Fort Jesus is in Baghani.
Englani: Part of Old town between Kibokoni and Makadara.
Kuze: Part of Old Town with Swahili culture and architecture. Originally flourishing with Swahili people but becoming a more cosmopolitan neighbourhood.
Makadara: Part of Old Town consisting of a high number of descendants of Baloch people former soldiers who settled within this area before it developed into a town. The name is derived from the Arabic words "Qadru r-Rahman" meaning "Decree of (God) the Merciful".
Ganjoni: Primarily a middle class residential area, home of second biggest dry dock of Africa after the one in South Africa.
Tudor: Another middle class residential area with homes and shops. The Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) is situated in this neighbourhood.
Kongowea is a densely populated area with 15 villages, two sub-locations and an estimated population of 106,180 residents. Kongowea is a cosmopolitan settlement mainly inhabited by people from mainland who migrated into the city in search of employment, mainly in service and manufacturing sector. The area is adjacent to the rich suburb of Nyali which employs a portion of the village residents. They are mainly hired as cheap labour as watchmen, gardeners, masons for up coming houses and house help. The most well known villages inside Kongowea include Kisumu Ndogo, Shauri Yako and Mnazi Mmoja, despite being located in this prime area, many residents live under extreme conditions – poor sanitation, high crime rate and lack of basic essential amenities like schools, hospitals and tap water. Kongowea is also home to one of the largest open-air markets in the African Great Lakes.
Bamburi is an outlying township (fifteen minutes drive) along the Malindi road. It is home to Bamburi Cement factory, the largest cement plant in the East African region. Other notable features in the area are the Jomo Kenyatta public beach, commonly known as Pirates, and Haller Park, a nature trail and wildlife conservatory. Kiembeni Estate, also in the Bamburi area, hosts around 100,000 residents. The estate has its own supermarket, several retail shops, salons and boutiques, and a number of licensed drinking dens. The establishments include The Shilla Bar, Turkey Base, Stars Garden and Sensera pub. Kiembeni is arguably the largest estate in Mombasa, and growing even faster.
Other areas include, Shanzu, Mkomani, Bombolulu, Kisauni and, across the Mtwapa creek, the popular area of Mtwapa, which is already located in Kilifi county.
The North Coast has an entertainment industry which attracts locals and tourists.
Diani Beach: a beach resort area situated over the Likoni Ferry on the south coast of Mombasa. It is located some 36 km (22 miles) south of Mombasa city on the mainland coast and is a prime resort for many local and international tourists. Diani Beach has an airport at Ukunda town to cater for tourists who fly there directly from Nairobi Wilson or any other airports and airfields in the country.
Mikindani, a suburban area: This is an outlying township on the mainland along the Nairobi Highway. It is built in the heavy industrial sections of Changamwe and mainly accommodate the working class who either work in the industries, the town centre on the Island and the Port at Kilindini harbour.
Miritini: outlying township on the Mombasa Nairobi Highway which is first growing as a suburban area.
Changamwe: Industrial area which contains the Kipevu power generation projects, the Kenya Oil Refinery Company facility and housing estates such as Chaani and is the gateway to the Moi International Airport. The area has administrative offices of the D.O and the chiefs who serve the administrative division.
Migadini & Chaani: They are two adjacent estate that are located east of Airport road and east of Kenya Port Authority. They are bordered by Port Reitz, Magongo and KPA
Port Reitz: Is a suburb on the mainland which contains a beach, oil refineries, housing estates etc. Moi International Airport and the Port Reitz District Hospital are in Port Reitz.
Mombasa has a cosmopolitan population, with the Swahili people and Mijikenda predominant. Other communities include the Kamba people and Taita people Bantu people as well as a significant population of Luo and Luhya people. Gusii, Agikuyu, peoples from Western Kenya. The major religions practised in the city are Christianity and Islam.9780 Kenya 2009 Census Over the centuries, many immigrants and traders have settled in Mombasa, particularly from the Middle East.
Kilindini is an old Swahili term meaning "deep". The port is so-called because the channel is naturally very deep. Kilindini Harbour is an example of a natural geographic phenomenon called a ria, formed at the end of the last glacial period when the sea level rose and engulfed a river that was flowing from the mainland.
Mombasa is a centre of coastal tourism in Kenya. Mombasa Island itself is not a main attraction, although many people visit the Old Town and Fort Jesus. The Nyali, Bamburi, and Shanzu beaches are located north of the city. The Shelly, Tiwi, and Diani Beach beaches are located south of Mombasa. Several luxury hotels exist on these beaches, while the less expensive hotels are located further away.
Mombasa's northern shoreline is renowned for its vibrant 24-hour entertainment offers, including both family entertainment (water parks, cinemas, bowling, etc.), sports (watersports, mountain biking and gokarting), culinary offers (restaurants offering a wide range of specialties from Kenya, China, Japan, India, Italy, Germany and other countries) and nightlife (bars, pubs, clubs, discothèques, etc.).
Other local industries include an oil refinery with a capacity of a day, Mombasa Refinery – A Barrel Full . Abarrelfull.wikidot.com (8 December 2012). Retrieved on 17 August 2013. and a cement factory capable of producing over 1.1 million tons per year. The major intercontinental undersea telecom cables reach shore next to Mombasa, connecting the African Great Lakes to the rest of the world and supporting a fast-growing call centre business in the area. The estimated real GDP growth for Kenya in 2016 is 5.7-6.0%. This growth will be in response to the construction of a railway system from Nairobi to Mombasa which will aid in trade and transportation between Kenya's two major cities.
Mombasa will become a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in which certain industries such as tea, garments, and footwear will be exempt from certain taxes to promote domestic growth. This is in response to the deficiencies in Export Processing Zones (EPZ).
The Kenyan Dock Worker's Union is situated in Mombasa and has roughly 5,000 members.
President Kenyatta has made it a priority to deepen economic ties with Asia at the onset of his presidency. Japan has played a role in financially sponsoring the expansion of the Mombasa port in phase one and two of the expansion project.
At 44%, the rate of youth unemployment in Mombasa is more than double the national average of 21% (2016).
Within Mombasa, most local people use (mini-buses) which are extremely common in Kenya, to move around the city and its suburbs. The auto rickshaw—a motor vehicle with three wheels—is widely used as transport around the city and its suburbs. No more than three passengers may be carried. A boda-boda is originally a bicycle taxi but have long since been replaced by motorcycles.
As a result of the increase in more luxurious hotels along the south coast and a lack of a direct bridge linking with Mombasa island, visiting tourists have the option of flying directly from Nairobi into the South Coast airstrip at Ukunda.
The Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway is under construction (as at 2018). With a total of three bridges, it will finally connect the mainland to the south coast easing the burden on the ferry services. Mombasa Gate Bridge will connect the mainland to Likoni, this will eliminate the usage of the unsafe ferry which has claimed hundreds of lives.
International schools which provide International curricula, normally practice the IGCSE system (British curriculum), The Islamic curriculum and the IB curriculum (International Baccalaureate) such as
All these schools are English based and they provide the same curriculum as either British, Islamic or IB which are recognised internationally. There are in 12 International Schools in Mombasa.
The last exam paper of year 12 or 13 which is highschool, comes from either the Middle East, United States or England depending on the system they follow.
Mosques represented in the city include:
Other places of worship within Mombasa include the Sikhism Shree Guru Gobind Singh Sabha Temple and the Shree Parshva Vallabh Jainism Temple.
Musicians of note are Mombasa Roots, Safari Sounds, and Them Mushrooms. Mombasa has been the home or base for former greats such as Fundi Konde, known for his song "Tausi"; Fadhili Williams and Nyota Ndogo.
Recently, hip hop, reggae, Soul music, blues, salsa music and (among the Indian community) bhangra have become popular, especially amongst the youth. Mombasa is mainly a tourism centre with hundreds of entertainment spots of all kinds including night clubs, bars, hotels, and fancy restaurants.
Mombasa is represented in the nationwide rugby league by Mombasa RFC. The city is also host to a leg of the national rugby sevens circuit, being one of only six city hosts. The Mombasa leg is referred to as the Driftwood sevens, and the annual tournament is extremely popular, attracting thousands of fans from across the country.
The 2007 World Cross Country Championships were held in Mombasa. Mombasa Marathon is competed annually in Mombasa. The town also hosts the biennial classic edition of Safari Rally and annually a Kenya National Rally Championship round.
Scuba diving takes place mostly within the Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve, which is managed and maintained by Kenya Wildlife Service. The park has a length of about .
In the film Out of Africa, Mombasa is the train destination as the seaport for voyages to Europe via the Suez Canal, and Mombasa is indicated as downriver ("This water must go home to Mombasa").
Mombasa is featured in Paul Schrader's 2014 film Dying of the Light as the hiding place of terrorist Muhammad Banir. It is also a prominent setting in Schrader's 2017 re-cut version, Dark.
A futuristic Mombasa is a pivotal setting in the popular Halo franchise, with much of Halo 2, Halo 3, and all of taking place in the city. The games are set in the year 2552 and Mombasa serves as the capital of the fictional East African Protectorate. The city is a megalopolis divided into "Old Mombasa" and "New Mombasa", filled with immense skyscrapers and an space elevator. New Mombasa is the main battleground of the Covenant's invasion of Earth, as they focus their campaign in and around the city in search of a massive, technologically advanced Forerunner artifact buried nearby. Old Mombasa is largely destroyed by "glassing" (bombarded by plasma until melted) during the battle and excavation process; it likely is glassed again shortly after (along with much of modern-day Kenya and Tanzania) during the events of Halo 3. Reconstruction efforts begin at some point after Halo 3. More recently, New Mombasa has appeared as the setting of the multiplayer maps "Bazaar" and "Streets".
Mombasa is featured in the 2010 movie, Inception, where Cobb meets Eames and Yusuf before the job takes place.
In the Warren Zevon song "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner", Mombasa is one of the key locales related to the protagonist's quest.
The Finland pop hit "Mombasa" (by Taiska) is about the city. Mombasa; Taiska listing; accessed October 2015
In the US, the Walt Disney World resort recreated a Kenyan village in the Africa section of the Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park named "Harambe", which is modelled after Mombasa. The village features a store called the "Mombasa Marketplace". Mombasa Marketplace ; Mouse Planet Guide; Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom; accessed October 2015
In the Indian movie Mr. India, Mombasa is mentioned in the popular song "Hawa Hawaii".
The Indian Bollywood movie Company was shot partly in Mombasa.
Most of the events in the 2017 story "Consummation in Mombasa" (by Andrei Gusev) take place in Mombasa and in the nearest district Mtwapa. Review of "Consummation in Mombasa" — on the site of public fund "Union of writers of Moscow", 2020 “Consummation in Mombasa” — in Lady’s Club, 2017 «Консуммация в Момбасе» by Andrei Gusev, 2017.
One-Way Ticket to Mombasa (Menolippu Mombasaan) is a 2002 Finnish film directed by Hannu Tuomainen.
Popular blackgaze band Deafheaven titled the last song of its 2021 album, Infinite Granite, with the name of the city. The lyrics make reference to the beaches and general uplifting scenery of Mombasa.
In The Thief and the Cobbler, Richard Williams' unfinished movie, the antagonist Zigzag brings King Nod "a plaything from far south of Gaza, a bountiful maiden from Mombasa" at the beginning of the film.
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