About Nairobi

History:

Nairobi owes its origin to the construction of the Uganda Railway between Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean, and Lake Victoria by the British at the end of the 19th century. At that time, Kenya was part of a British colonial protectorate known as British East Africa. The site of present-day Nairobi, then little more than a Masai watering hole, was selected to be the headquarters for the construction of the railroad in 1899, when the tracks reached the area. That year the small settlement became the capital of the province, and in 1900 Nairobi was given township status. The township grew rapidly due to an influx of railway workers and the arrival of various groups of settlers in search of profit and adventure. These settlers included Asians, who came to dominate Nairobi's commerce; Europeans seeking land and wealth; European big game hunters; and Africans from all over British East Africa. Faced with an extremely diverse population, the colonial authorities developed a system of residential and commercial segregation by race.
In July 1919 Nairobi became a municipality. In 1923 the position of mayor was created. All mayors were European until 1962, when Nairobi's first African mayor took office. Nairobi developed as East Africa's leading manufacturing centre, particularly after World War II (1939-1945), and it achieved city status in 1950. Between the 1940s and the early 1960s In 1963 Nairobi became the capital of an independent Kenya.

Present Day Nairobi is the largest city in East and Central Africa. Capital of Kenya sometimes referred to as the City of the Sun or City of Flowers. The mostly broad streets are lined with Bougainvillaea, Hibiscus and Jacaranda trees. A large modern city with both an International Airport, Jomo Kenyatta and busy domestic Airport, Wilson from where most Safaris depart. A bustling diversity of economies, Nairobi features all religeous and polical denominations, a truly cosmopolitan culture comprising some 2 million people.

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