Every country and city has their own history, Nairobi being one of them. Something that i recently learnt is that Nairobi is a Masai word which means hot. Who would have guessed that. Anyway why am I writing about Nairobi. Its one of the most famous cities in Africa, mostly populated in Kenya.
In this blog am not writing about its population but the touristic features in it, ones that we don't about. Majority of people know only about the town center but where in particular. Talk about gallery centers: Alliance Française, Nyayo House.
Speaking of museums don't forget the Nairobi Museum. In our daily lives as we walk in town, most we tend to forget the one building that carries most of Nairobi's history from the mau mau period, our first Kenyan president the late honorable President Jomo Kenyatta, the Kapenguria seven, to Wangari Mathai's Nobel prize. Spend about Ksh100-200 only.
Nairobi tourism not only has just buildings with historic features in them, but we also has monuments and statues. The Jomo Kenyatta Monument at KICC, the statue field of marshal Dedan Kimathi just behind Hilton Hotel on Kimathi Street.
In this blog am not writing about its population but the touristic features in it, ones that we don't about. Majority of people know only about the town center but where in particular. Talk about gallery centers: Alliance Française, Nyayo House.
Speaking of museums don't forget the Nairobi Museum. In our daily lives as we walk in town, most we tend to forget the one building that carries most of Nairobi's history from the mau mau period, our first Kenyan president the late honorable President Jomo Kenyatta, the Kapenguria seven, to Wangari Mathai's Nobel prize. Spend about Ksh100-200 only.
 |
| Nairobi’s latest is the statue of nationalist Tom Mboya on Moi Avenue. This was unveiled by President Mwai Kibaki on the eve of Mashujaa Day October as a tribute to Mboya's remarkable contributions to this country, and to honour the departed hero and remind the nation of whom he was and what he stood for. |
Tom Mboya’s is the second statue to be gazetted as a national treasure, after that of freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi in 2007.
That was the year the government created a task force to carry out countrywide data collection to establish criteria for identifying, recognising, and honouring national heroes and heroines. Statues and monuments commemorate the historical in eternal present, beside adding to a city’s aesthetic beauty.
The Pope’s pyramid slab was erected to mark Pope John Paul II's pastoral visit in 1980 and for the African synod in 1985 at Uhuru Park, Nairobi.
The Nyayo Monument in Central Park was erected to commemorate 10 years of former president Moi’s rule in 1988 and 25 years of independence.
The monument has provided visitors with a memorial backdrop during photo sessions, besides being a reminder of the Moi administration.
The Sh100 note issued by the Central Bank of Kenya in 1989 featured the monument on one side.
Other Nyayo monuments with Kenyatta’s fly-whisk crisscrossing Moi’s fimbo to blend their two eras included The Nyayo Fountain at Uhuru Park.
Others were erected in all major towns in Kenya, prominently featuring President Moi’s ubiquitous “fimbo ya nyayo” and Kanu’s single finger salute, besides the two goblets resembling his rungu along the Malindi-Mombasa Road.
Galzon-Fenzi Memorial, was built in 1939 in memory of Galton Paul Fenzi, who founded the East African Automobile Association besides devising Kenya’s road system. Also called the Nairobi Milliary Stone as it was at the point from which distance from and to Nairobi and other parts of the country was measured.
It is situated at the junction between Kenyatta Avenue and Koinange Street. The monument currently resembles a grilled tomb.
Tours around a city or a country never cease, because if they do that means that the area in question no longer exists. Many would wonder why I picked Nairobi and nit other places. During our grand parents period, whenever they would tell you a story, Nairobi as a city would not miss in any of the sentences. From the time that Kenya was colonised, to the period it got its independence, Kenya especially Nairobi has had a massive growth. From small governmental buildings to tall buildings like the Times Towers. From the African wear that never dies to a modern version of it.
Feel free to travel with Heels and Valise Tours to learn more about Kenya and its different forms of tourism. A country is not always about a place but about the people and what they do to contribute to improvement and development of the area.
