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Mombasa
City
Clockwise: Fort Jesus, Mombasa Town Hall, Mombasa Old Town, Nyali beach, sunset panorama, Moi Avenue's elephant tusks and Downtown Mombasa
Clockwise: Fort Jesus, Mombasa Town Hall, Mombasa Old Town, Nyali beach, sunset panorama, Moi Avenue's elephant tusks and Downtown Mombasa
Motto(s): 
Utangamano kwa Maendeleo
(Unity for Development)
Mombasa is located in Kenya
Mombasa
Mombasa
Location in Kenya
Country  Kenya
County Mombasa County
Founded 900 A.D.
Elevation
50 m (160 ft)
Population
 (2016)
 • Urban
1,400,000
 • Metro
3,000,000
Demonym(s) Mombasite
Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)
Area code(s) 020
Website mombasa.go.ke
Mombasa skyline
An aerial view of Mombasa skyline at sunset from the old town

Mombasa is a seaport city on the coast of Kenya, along the Indian Ocean. It is the country's oldest (circa 900 AD) and second-largest city (after the capital Nairobi), with an estimated population of about 1.4 million people in 2016. Its metropolitan region is the second largest in the country and has a population of approximately 3 million people. Administratively, Mombasa is the county seat of Mombasa County.

Mombasa is a regional cultural and economic hub; it has an extra-large port and an international airport, and is an important regional tourism centre. Located on the east coast of Kenya, it also is the home of one of the State House (Kenya), and is considered by some as a second capital in all but name. In Mombasa County and the former Coast Province, Mombasa's situation on the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading centre, and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location.

Description

Mombasa city has a population of about 939,000 per the 2009 census. It is located on Mombasa Island and sprawls to the surrounding mainlands. The island is separated from the mainland by two creeks: Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbour. It is connected to the mainland to the north by the Nyali Bridge, to the south by the Likoni Ferry, and to the west by the Makupa Causeway, alongside which runs the Kenya-Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior, linking them to the ocean. The city is served by Moi International Airport located in the northwest mainland suburb of Chaani.

Mombasa has a cosmopolitan population, with the Swahili people and Mijikenda predominant. Other communities include the Akamba and Taita Bantus as well as a significant population of Luo and Luhya peoples from Western Kenya. The major religions practised in the city are Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. Over the centuries, many immigrants and traders have settled in Mombasa, particularly from the Middle East, Somalia, and the Indian sub-continent, who came mainly as traders and skilled craftsmen.

Images for kids

  • Braun Mombasa UBHD

    Mombasa was under Portuguese rule from 1593 to 1698 and again from 1728 to 1729. Portuguese presence in Kenya lasted from 1498 until 1730.

  • Mombasa City Coat of Arms

    Mombasa City Coat of Arms

  • EAR 5608, Mombasa, circa 1953

    C. 1953 – A newly constructed East African Railways 60 class Garratt locomotive being unloaded at Mombasa, Kenya. The locomotive is seen here fitted with numberplate 5608, but it was renumbered 6002 at about the time it entered service.

  • Mombasa County

    Map of Mombasa's extent.

  • Mama ngina drive

    Renovated Mama Ngina Drive

  • Tudor, Mombasa

    Tudor, Mombasa

  • Moon Over Mombasa

    Moonlight view from Mombasa

  • Mombasa Harbour

    Old Town across Mombasa Harbour

  • Nyali Beach

    Seafront of Nyali Beach, north coast (from the Voyager Resort).

  • Diani Beach Sunrise Kenya

    Diani Beach

  • Hoping for custom (5232086317)

    Among the many sellers and vendors along Mombasa's beaches, this man walked up and down all day hoping for tourists looking for camel rides.

  • Downtown Mombasa

    Downtown Mombasa

  • Mombasa biashara street

    Biashara Street, Mombasa

  • Mombasa-MarketHall

    The Market Hall in Mombasa, Kenya, where especially spices are sold.

  • Mombasa Cement Logo

    A logo of Mombasa Cement Ltd (MCL), a large cement company in Mombasa that provides thousands of jobs to locals.

  • Moi Airport Mombasa 2010

    Moi International Airport

  • Mombasa Terminus

    Mombasa Terminus

  • Nairobi-NMombasa Highway

    Nairobi-Mombasa Highway

  • A general view of Mombasa Port on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast

    Mombasa port

  • Mombasa ferry

    Mombasa ferry

  • Catholic Church in Mombasa

    Holy Ghost Cathedral, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa

  • Image of Hindu Union Temple, Mombasa Kenya

    Lord Shiva Temple in Mombasa, Hindu Union of Mombasa

  • Shri Kutch Satsang Temple

    Shree Cutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple

  • Askari monument Mombasa

    Askari monument Mombasa

  • Mombasa Building

    Mombasa CBD Building

  • Mombasa beach sunrise

    Mombasa beach sunrise

  • Port of Mombasa

    Port of Mombasa

  • Mombasa old town view

    View of the old town

  • New Dwarikadham Temple, Nyali

    New Dwarikadham Hindu temple in Nyali

  • Tusks in City of Mombasa

    The Mombasa tusks, on Moi Avenue

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