Mombasa

Overview

Mombasa has been a Swahili trading port for at least a thousand years, and it shows. The island city has been fought over by Portuguese, Omani, and British forces, and Fort Jesus - built by the Portuguese in 1593 and now a UNESCO World Heritage site - changed hands nine times in two centuries. The Old Town behind it is a compact quarter of narrow lanes, carved balconies and Indian and Arab merchant houses, best walked in the early morning. Beyond the history, Mombasa is a working city of a million and a half people rather than a resort: the tourist beaches are north at Nyali, Bamburi and Shanzu, or south at Tiwi and Diani across the Likoni ferry. Haller Park, a rehabilitated limestone quarry north of the city, is a genuinely interesting piece of ecological restoration and an easy family outing. The food is the other reason to stop - Swahili coastal cooking, biryani and street snacks are at their best here.