Nairobi City:“The Gateway to Africa”
Brief History
Nairobi is a Maasai word meaning a place of cool waters and it sprang up with the building of the Mombasa to Uganda railway. With its high altitude, healthy climate and fertile soil, it houses attractive parks and gardens alongside a cosmopolitan atmosphere and is ultimately an excellent starting point for a safari into the wilderness of Africa.
For those who wish to learn about the history, culture and wildlife of Kenya, the National museum has good displays, whilst the National Archives houses a superb collection of photographs and paintings. The Railway Museum has historic locomotives and exhibits that give a fascinating insight into Kenya’s development.
Shoppers will enjoy the city’s colourful markets and many of the local handicrafts include wood stone and ebony carvings, maasai dolls and beadwork, Kenyan gems(particularly tsavorite and tanzanite) and unique jewellery, clothes especially brightly coloured kangas and kikois are good buys, as are tie-dyed and silk-screened fabrics, batiks, hand woven items and tapestries. Antique shops have African art, masks, silver jewellery, carpets, brass, ceramics and household furnishings.
