Nairobi And It’s Surroundings
Nairobi (green city in the sun) is an attractive and growing city that stands on the edge of the Athi Plains and the gentle slopes of Limuru that rise in the Aberdares Mountains. It is an important business and social center with high-rise buildings and international hotels and a good selection of restaurants serving Indian, Chinese, French, Italian and other cuisine. All about the city are public parks and gardens full of shrubs and flowers and the main routes out of town are tree-lined avenues.
Interesting architectural buildings include Parliament, the Law Courts and City Hall. There are two cathedrals, the Jamia Mosque and the two Main Universities (Nairobi and Kenyatta). Towering above the city is the Kenyatta International Conference Center, designed and equipped for major international conventions, on top of which is a revolving restaurant which offers superb views of the city and surrounding country.
There is a national Museum and Snake Park, and an Arboretum with the finest collection of trees and shrubs in Eastern Africa. The McMillan Memorial Library has some excellent Africana among its 70,000 volumes, and the Aquarium has a fine collection of marine life from Kenya's coral reef.
The capital lies only 140 km (87 miles) south of the Equator, but its altitude of 1,745m (5,500 ft) above sea level ensures an exhilarating climate. Temperatures rarely fall below 10 ºC. (50 ºF.) at night or rise above 25 ºC. (77 ºF.) during the day. The population of Nairobi is about 3 million and the city area extends to 692 sq. kms (266 sq. miles).
There is a good selection of shops in the city from the sophisticated to the pavement stall, and the City Market is well worth a visit to see its vast colorful arrays of tropical fruits, beautiful flowers and exotic vegetables - on the upper balconies are stalls of local goods. There are several art galleries in the city exhibiting work by the country's leading artists. Within a short distance of the city center are ten golf courses, a motor racetrack, and a number of sports clubs. Nairobi Racecourse is a colorful, cosmopolitan and friendly scene, where first class horseracing takes place some forty Sunday afternoons throughout the year. Traditional dancing can be seen, particularly at Bomas of Kenya, a complete cultural center on the city outskirts. Nairobi is the starting point for the world famous Safari Rally, an annual event each Easter attracting international rally teams.
For evening entertainment there are a number of cinemas and theatres, of which the Phoenix Players Limited is one of the professional repertory company in tropical Africa, and the Kenya National Theatre specializes in amateur productions, music festivals and recitals. National nightlife does not complete with that of cities such as London, Paris, and Rome, but there are smart grill-rooms in the major hotels, casinos and a number of discotheques and nightclubs.
Nairobi enjoys a standard of health comparable to any leading city in Europe or America and has fine hospitals with excellent medical services. It is not difficult to obtain an appointment with specialists, general practitioners, surgeons and dentists.
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