OUT&ABOUT: Mombasa, a melting pot of heritage

Sea shells displayed outside an antique shop. PHOTO| TOM MWIRARIA

What you need to know:

  • My first stop is Mwembe Tayari open air market which is well known for coconuts, spices from Pemba, Zanzibar and faraway shores.
  • The market boasts fruits of various kinds, vegetables and artistic wares. Each stall holder was almost a caricature of bubbly friendliness.

A pair of majestic tusks welcome me to Mombasa. The tusks were erected in 1952 to honour Queen Elizabeth when she made a maiden visit into the coastal town. The tusks form the letter M for Mombasa. That day, the sun was at its highest in a brilliant blue sky. The heat beat down on my head like I was sausage under grill. I could almost smell myself roasting but unlike oven heat, Mombasa heat is a humid.

MWEMBE TAYARI

My first stop is Mwembe Tayariopen air market which is well known for coconuts, spices from Pemba, Zanzibar and faraway shores. The market boasts fruits of various kinds, vegetables and artistic wares. Each stall holder was almost a caricature of bubbly friendliness. I weaved through the crowds with bags getting fuller by the minute. Stalls overflowing with produce, vegetables spilled onto the ground, stall holders hollering out their special deal. A panicked boy was searching for his missing dog. Others were gossiping in huddles. The air was perfumed with produce, spices and body odour. Lovers strolled hand in hand, casually browsing, while housewives hustled and bustled, and lengthily haggled over the price of cereals.

MWEMBE CLAY POTS

At one point I met an old lady named Fatima found. She had displayed relics that have travelled through the mist of time. You would just love the texture of her old clays and smoothness of the latter glazes. I was transfixed to the crafts for minutes trying to fathom the creativity that went into making the marvellous artefacts. Each was made by the master of their and stood out from another. Some were clones.

ABDALA SHUKA

From the artefacts, I moved further into the shuka territory. Abdala Shukas, a shop that deals with the Swahili shukas, drew me in with its brilliant patterns and colours. All of them testified to the beauty of Swahili fashion.

OLD TOWN

A visit to Mombasa is incomplete without visiting the Old Townthat sits on the peripherals of the pristine Indian Ocean. The town looks like a place frozen in time.Long gone are the days when the Portuguese administered the fort. The present dwellers are mainly Swahili, Arabs, Asians and Europeans. The rich architecture echoes a medieval Swahili culture. Ornamental outdoors, and highly-wrought balconies embroider the old buildings that elbow the thin streets.

Antiques crowd, the stuffy little shops, a glorious jumble of cultures and fashions through the long gone ages. There are Portuguese tea pots and African gourds, most covered in a fine layer of dust. At one of the desk sat an old man, his shop also antique. As I approach him he beams like a long-lost uncle. Though many items in his shop have lost their lustre, they stand strong with all glory and pride intact .As I slide my hand on the ornate chair, I feel the texture radiate the maker's emotions. I breathe in the aroma of wood that has never evaporated. It smells age and wisdom.

FORODHANI RESTAURANT

Forodhani restaurant in the Old Town serves savoury Swahili dishes. The atmosphere is like an elixir as the soft tendrils of breeze waft by.

MAMBA VILLAGE

My arrival at the Mamba village was greeted by gorgeous sound of children playing.

Mamba village is the East ‘Africa’s largest Nile crocodile farm with over 10,000 crocodiles among the mute and marvellous amphibian with alabaster teeth and spiky ash-grey coat is a 100-year-old Big Daddy. Big Daddy and his two 'wives' live separately in a pond at the extreme corner of the village. The giant man-eater crocodile was brought from River Tana after killing over seventy people in his life time, according to the James, a guide at Mamba Village. A poster on the barbs of the pond reads, ‘the last visitor was delicious, please send me some more'.

The centre offers horse riding, beauteous botanical garden, crocodile farm, horse riding, snake and spider farm, museum, Croco Villa and Spider farm, venue for events and accommodation. Mamba village is ideal for riveting photography.

JUMBA LA MTWANA

I conclude my travel at Jumbo la Mtwana (the Big House of Slaves).The magnificent grass- clad ruins was a 13th Century Swahili settlement. The ruins tell a tale of stunning architecture of the Swahili homes and mosques with its ornate and arched doorways. Within the area four mosques, a tomb and four houses have survived in recognizable condition. The houses include the House of the Cylinder, The House of the Kitchen, The House of the Many Pools, which had three phases, and the Great Mosque.