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Traveling in Kenya |
Article Submitted by: Kevin Smith
Saturday, 15 March 2008
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Are you going travel to Kenya? Maybe you're going on safari or visiting
the Indian Ocean coast or maybe you're a young couple looking to spend
your gap years in Kenya, whatever the situation, it helps to know a bit
about the country you're going to be visiting. Food & Drink Kenya's national dishes appear on most menus. The country's beef, chicken, lamb and pork are outstandingly good, as are the wide variety of tropical fruits. Indian and Middle Eastern food is available in most areas. Some game-park lodges serve game. Dinner or lunch provides the opportunity to eat zebra, giraffe, impala, wildebeest, crocodile and other game meats. Waiters bring the skewers straight from the fire to the table, and the meat is sliced onto pre-warmed, cast iron plates. Most Kenyans eat maize, beans and maize meal. It is common to find chai (tea boiled with milk and sugar) and mandazi (doughnuts) are popular. Locally brewed beer (Tusker and White Cap) and bottled sodas may be found throughout the country. Traditional beer made with honey (uki) and locally made spirit distilled from maize (changaa) may sometimes be found. Shopping Khanga, kitenge and kikoi cloths may be bought in markets and the Biashara Streets of Nairobi and Mombasa. Makonde carvings are sold throughout the country, and young Kamba and Masai men sell carvings and necklaces on the beaches of the south coast. Note, the sale of souvenirs made of wildlife skins (this includes reptiles) are forbidden. Please be aware that the purchase of hardwood products made from ebony, mahogany, rosewood or teak is also illegal. Ebony has already become extinct in Kenya and Tanzania and is imported from other African countries - it can be recognized by its dark, heavy wood and high price. Social Conventions Western European habits prevail throughout Kenya and Tanzania as a result of British influences. Kenyans and Tanzanians are generally very friendly. It is important to be aware that a large percentage of the population in both Kenya and Tanzania are Muslim and when appearing in public places this should be respected. In major towns it is important that women cover their legs and shoulders. Not wearing shoes in Africa is disrespectful and an indication of extreme poverty and it is also extremely offensive to show the soles of your feet. Kenya Geographic Profile 580,367 sq km (224,081 sq miles). (Great Britain is 229,850 km²). Kenya shares borders with Ethiopia in the north, Sudan in the northwest, Uganda in the west, Tanzania in the south, and Somalia in the northeast. To the east lies the Indian Ocean. The country is divided into four regions: the arid deserts of the north, the savannah lands of the south, the fertile lowlands along the coast and around the shores of Lake Victoria, and highlands in the west, where the capital Nairobi is situated. Northwest of Nairobi runs the Rift Valley, overlooked by Mount Kenya. The climate in Kenya is diverse. The coastal areas are tropical, but tempered by monsoon winds. The lowlands are hot but mainly dry, while the highlands are more temperate with four seasons. Nairobi has a very pleasant climate throughout the year due to its altitude. Near Lake Victoria the temperatures are much higher and rainfall can be heavy. Kenya Demographic Profile 31,000,000. (Great Britain 58,800,000). Kenya is a multi-cultural society; in the north live Somalis and the nomadic Hamitic peoples (Turkana, Rendille and Samburu), in the south and eastern lowlands are Kamba and Masai and the Luo live around Lake Victoria. The largest group is the Kikuyu who live in the central highlands and have traditionally been dominant in commerce and politics, although this is now changing. There are many other smaller groups and although Kenya emphasises nationalism, tribal and cultural identity is a factor. A small European settler population remains in the highlands, involved in farming and commerce. Swahili is the official language and English, Kikuyu and Luo are also widely spoken. Kenya has a mostly traditional religion, with a sizable Christian population and some Muslims. Kenya Historical Overview Excavations in Kenya suggest that the region is the cradle of humanity, the home some 3.25 million years ago of Homo habilis, from whom Homo sapiens descended. What is certain is that, in more recent times, Kenya was the settling place of a huge number of tribes from all over the continent, with a long history of migration and settlement. During the recent centuries, the region became prosperous on the profits of trade, and also as an entrepôt for commerce from the Indian Ocean . The Portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, and having wrested control of the area's trade from the Arabs, absorbed Kenya into their commercial empire. By 1720 the Portuguese had been driven out by the Arabs, and for the next two centuries the region was largely ruled by Omani Dynasties from Arabia . During the 1820s, a local power struggle led to the British being invited into the region by the Mazrui Dynasty, and by the middle of the century both the British and the Germans were competing for control of the coast and its hinterland during the second great colonial period. By the 1890s the threat of the Masai tribesmen had, by a mixture of diplomacy and war, largely been neutralised, and the British were able to penetrate into the highlands. The Mombasa to Uganda railway line was constructed at this time, and Nairobi owes its present importance to the fact that it was a convenient staging point on the edge of the highlands. It soon became the headquarters of the British administration. By the early 20th century, the fertile lands to the north were attracting a large number of white settlers led by Lord Delamere who came into conflict with the local population. Many tribes, such as the Masai and the Kikuyu, were displaced. The movement for territorial, economic and political rights soon found an able leader in Jomo Kenyatta, who spent much of the 1930s and 1940s in Europe pressing the case for his cause. After World War II, this gathered pace. The fight for independence was a difficult and sometimes bloody affair, particularly the 3-year guerrilla war mounted during the 1950s by the nationalist Land Freedom Army (better known as the Mau Mau) against the British colonial authorities. Kenya was nonetheless an early beneficiary of Harold Macmillan's ‘winds of change' policy towards Africa. Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com |
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