A Day in the historic centre of Mombasa

While trying to check-in online for my flight on Jambojet (an endeavour in which I believe no one has ever succeeded), I found out that my seven o’clock evening flight to Nairobi had been pushed back to half past eleven. I was quite put out by this, but it did allow us to spend the day in a much more leisurely way. We left the apartment at around ten, taking a tuktuk to the city centre only to learn that most of its establishments were closed as it was a Sunday. Still, we found one café that was open and sat down for some drinks before continuing to Fort Jesus.

Built by the Portuguese in 1596, Fort Jesus stands at the tip of Mombasa Island, facing the open Indian Ocean to the east. At the time of our visit, the main museum was undergoing reconstruction, but the outside areas were all pleasant enough to walk around, and we caught some nice glimpses of the coast from the walls. The fort also boasts a good collection of traditional Omani-style wooden doors, which are perhaps even more ornate than many of the carved doors in the city.

From the fort, we walked back into the old city, passing by Mandhry Mosque with its characteristically white oblong minaret. After eating lunch, we wandered around, finding our way to the Vasco da Gama Well, which somehow manages to draw freshwater despite being right by the sea. The well continues in its use to this day, as proved by the toothbrushes we saw stuck into the crevasse of its wall. Turning west, we walked past a few other historical but shabby buildings as well as the Basheikh Mosque before arriving at the Spice Market. We found it closed, but when the shopkeepers closing up inside heard that Bonnie wanted to buy some dried mangoes, they let us in for a few minutes.

Our last two stops in Mombasa lay father out, west of the historical centre: the Hindu Shri Cutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple and the Pembe za Ndovu – the Elephant Tusks. At the Hindu Temple, our arrival appeared to delay a friendly game of cricket that a few Indian boys were setting up in its hallways, but we were gone soon. I was quite surprised to find a park by the Elephant Tusks monument, and we were all even more surprised to discover that what we had assumed were bird droppings had been produced by hundreds of bats swarming the trees above our heads.

An ornate window in Mombasa
Some public item I could not identify
Mandhry Mosque
The minaret of Mandhry Mosque
A turret at Fort Jesus
The walls of Fort Jesus
Another view of Fort Jesus
A view of the sea from the fort
The walls of Fort Jesus
A building that was converted into a giftshop
A cannon
A traditional door
Portuguese drawings at Fort Jesus
More drawings
A view from the far end of the fort
Arches leading to the arsenal
The building opposite Mandhry Mosque
The view from the restaurant where we ate
Buildings on the square by the old port
The Vasco da Gama Well
Toothbrushes stuck in the crack of the wall
A building right next to another mosque
Basheikh Mosque
The street with Basheikh Mosque
An old building with columns
The Pembe za Ndovu

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