This island city is separated from the mainland by Tudor creek and Kilindini harbour.
This island city is separated from the mainland by Tudor creek and Kilindini harbour. Westerners first discovered it when Vasco da Gama made landfall here and claimed it for Portugal, and it is sometimes claimed to have been visited by Zheng He and his great Chinese fleet as well. Portugal turned into a trading center for slaves, coffee and spices; from this period dates Fort Jesus, which was later on used by the British as a prison. In 1698, the sultanate of Oman claimed suzerainty over it, but it would actually be dominated by the sultanate of Zanzibar afterwards. Reverting to native control in 1963, its long history of conquests and shifting allegiances lends the city its Swahili name of 'the island of war'. Today, however, it is a major tourist center, known for coral reefs, white beaches, and medieval Arabic culture, FTP, identify this city, the second-largest in Kenya.
This island city is separated from the mainland by Tudor creek and Kilindini harbour.
{Mombasa}