11 Facts About Nairobi City

NAIROBI (credit: apsce)

You can tell that Nairobi is unique if you have experienced being stuck in traffic watching a giraffe walking across the city horizon. Nairobi is a city of contradictions: it is progressive and free, crazy and attractive, packed with of narratives that are not featured in travel guides. Below here are 11 facts that are sure to change your perspective on the city, regardless of whether you are a tourist looking into understanding the atmosphere or a resident who has not had the chance to do more research.

1. Nairobi City Hosts The Only National Park Within a Capital City in The World: Picture yourself sipping a cup of coffee in a downtown coffeehouse while lions within close proximity take a nap. With commercial buildings dominating in the background, Nairobi National Park, which is only 7 km from the city center, is inhabited by zebras, giraffes, rhinos, and additional ones. You may have an official meeting at 9 AM and go on an adventure by 10 AM, which is unique in the entire globe.

2. Nairobi City Derives Its Name From a Maasai Phrase: Because of the Nairobi River, which continuously traverses the city, the Maasai called the location Enkare Nyrobi, or "place of cool waters," prior to the towering buildings and intersections. The pastoralists who used to hydrate their livestock in the city could be surprised by its bustling streets, however the name kept going on.

3. Nairobi City Was Originally a Railway Depot: Nairobi was founded in 1899 as a basic supply stopover for the Uganda Railway, not with extravagant colonial ambitions. What the British engineers wanted was a midway position. 100 years later, the muddied stopover has developed into the geopolitical and economical center of East Africa.

4. Nairobi City Has a Forest Within Its Urban Core: Nairobi's greener core is Karura Forest. It is currently an attraction for jogging enthusiasts, monkeys, butterflies, and tree huggers after almost being destroyed by real estate developers. Covering more than 1,000 hectares, it is evidence that, with strict protection, the natural world can coexist with urban expansion.

5. Nairobi City Hosts Africa’s Largest Slum: Almost a million individuals live in Kibera, a place that is frequently talked about yet hardly understood. Although it is a symbol of the city's differences, it additionally serves as a hub for creativity, resiliency, and togetherness. Social entrepreneurs, creative individuals, and NGOs from there, who have ended up being successful, influence stories that transcend hardship.

6. Nairobi City is The United Nations (UN) Headquarters in Africa: The sole significant UN headquarters in the Global South, the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), is located in Nairobi. This indicates that the city is a major player in international diplomacy, particularly when it comes to environmental and human settlement concerns.

7. Nairobi City is Built on Land Once Considered Uninhabitable: Nairobi's swampy and mosquito-infested location turned off early colonialists. Yes, there are now more than 4 million people living in the metropolis that was previously considered uninhabitable. The transformation of unwanted terrain into an energetic city is practically expressive.

8. Nairobi City Has a Railway Museum With Rare Locomotives: Only a few residents visit the museum located close to Nairobi Railway Station, yet the majority deserve to. Steam locomotives from the early 1900s, a number of which had unsettling histories of the "Lunatic Express," are on display at the Nairobi Railway Museum. It is a hidden treasure if you are interested in history or simply inquisitive.

9. Nairobi City Has a Booming Tech Ecosystem Known as “Silicon Savannah”: Put Silicon Valley out of your mind. Silicon Savannah, a thriving technological sector in Nairobi, is home to companies like iHub, BRCK, and M-Pesa (yep, this is where mobile money first appeared). Young people in the city are creating applications and platforms that address actual African issues, such as infrastructure and educational opportunities.

10. Nairobi City’s Uhuru Park Was a Focal Point For Political Protests: Uhuru Park served as the engine of Kenya's pro-democracy revolution prior to it being turned into a picnic location. Patriotic Kenyans, frequently at significant danger to their lives, came here in the 1990s to seek political reform. It is now a representation of liberty that has been achieved and struggled for.

11. Nairobi City Has a Vibrant Matatu Culture: Phrases, flashing lights, loud music, and artwork. It is uniquely Kenyan, inventive, and crazy. No one ignores the experience that it brings, even when residents roll their eyes and tourists stare.

Summary: More Than Just a City Indeed

Nairobi's unfiltered appearance makes up a portion of its attractiveness. It is a location where enthusiastic technologists and critically endangered species coexist. Where popular resilience coexists with the legacy of colonialism. It attracts you with sunsets over the Ngong Hills and upsets you with traffic. Consider carefully the following time that you are enticed to use hashtags or headlines to describe Nairobi. It is more than simply Kenya's capital; its citizens are continuously writing its history. Your are an essential component of a phenomenon that is unfiltered, lively, and genuine whether you are wandering through Karura Forest, caught in a matatu traffic jam, or watching elephants on the horizon of the city.