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Kenya is situated right along the equator, on the eastern coast of the African continent. Its coastal region is on the southeast, and to the east lies Somalia. Ethiopia is to the north, the Sudan to the northwest, and Uganda directly to the west. The southwestern border of the country is marked by Lake Victoria, and southward lies Tanzania. Kenya's geography is marvelously varied. While much of northeastern Kenya is a flat, bush-covered plain, the remainder of the country encompasses pristine beaches, scenic highlands and lake regions, the Great Rift Valley, and the magnificent Mount Kenya.
Nairobi
Nairobi Kenya's mile-high capital is only 0 mi/45 km south of the equator. Founded by the British little more than a 100 years ago, the city now has a population of more than 2 000 000. It's a modern commercial center with some interesting high-rises and lots of bustle. Visitors can find things not so common in other parts of Africa, such as nice theatres showing the latest films, expensive restaurants serving every type of food, as well as E-mail facilities, faxes and any other sort of modern technology you may want to use. The city is constantly alive, especially at night. Unfortunately, Nairobi has acquired a reputation of being a dangerous city and petty crime is rampant.
Besides being a convenient place to take care of administrative matters and contact people back home, Nairobi has much to offer to travellers. If you want to hang out, there is a wide array of restaurants, clubs, pubs and discos to choose from. While in Nairobi, be sure to visit the City Market, the National Museum, the Arboretum (excellent collection of East African flora) and the superb Kenya Railway Museum. Exhibits about the period leading to independence can be seen at the Kenya National Archives. There are casinos at the Safari Park Hotel and the Inter-Continental Hotel and there's also Sunday-afternoon horse racing.
This excursion to Langatta is often combined with a visit to the former home of Karen Blixen (who wrote under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen), author of Out of Africa. Blixen?s farmhouse, which was presented to the Kenyan government by Denmark, is now a museum - it's located nextdoor to the Karen College. Langatta also has The Bomas of Kenya which is a terrific cultural center that regularly hosts traditional song and dance performances.
A day trip (a two-hour drive each way) can be made to Lake Magadi to visit Olorgesailie in The Rift Valley for its prehistoric campsite. The scenic region inhabited by Masai farmers has a wide variety of birds.
Kenya has known the presence of humankind since the very earliest development of our species. Moreover, the region has long been a migratory path, passed through by wave upon wave of peoples from all over Africa and, later, from the Middle East as well. By the 10th century or so, the region had developed its own lingua franca, Swahili, which is a Bantu language heavily overlaid with Arabic. Among other familiar words, safari is Swahili, meaning simply travel.
With the arrival of the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century, the East African coastal region was for a time dominated by the Europeans. However, in 1729 the Portuguese were expelled, to be replaced by two Arab dynasties. Arab rule lasted until the end of the 18th century, when Kenya passed into the British sphere of influence. The country became independent in 1963. Although it has experienced its share of internal and external strife, Kenya has in recent years been moving toward a more stable, multi-party political system.
Kenya's population is overwhelmingly (97%) comprised of people of African descent, though that group is composed of over 70 different tribal groups. Among the most significant are the Kikuyu, Kamba, Gusii, Luhya, and Luo. Kenya's primary languages are English and Swahili, though regional tribal languages abound.
The other large ethnic groups include the Luo, Luhya, Kamba and Kalenjin- There are also some groups of people who form a very small population. This includes the tribe of El Molo.
A large proportion of the Kenyan population are Christians found mainly outside the coastal and eastern provinces. Muslims make up some 30% of the population found in the coastal areas and in the eastern side of the country - the rest is a combination of other minority religions such as Hindus, Bhuduist and those who follow their ancestral tribal beliefs.
Kenyan cuisine generally consists of stodge filler with beans or a meat sauce. It's really just survival fodder for the locals - maximum filling-up potential at minimum cost. If you had to name a national dish in Kenya, nyama choma (barbecued meat, usually goat), would probably be it. Kenyan food is not exactly designed for gourmets - or vegetarians. Beer drinkers, on the other hand, are well supplied. Kenyans love their beer almost as much as their dancing and there's a thriving local brewing industry.