If Mombasa Old Town were a person, it would without doubt be an old Swahili pirate with lots of delightful ancient travel tales and sporting an eye patch as evidence of his numerous adventures.
A 10-minute ride in a tuk-tuk from downtown Mombasa Town, past whistling coconut trees, will see you at the entrance of Mombasa Old Town.
The ancient town will then, as in a time travel tale, stretch out its arms and enfold you into its rich history, taking you years back.
Yet it is not Mombasa Old Town’s history that will take your breath away at first but its 18th century architecture — carved and curved beautiful old buildings, elegant balconies and coral walls whose designs were influenced by Portuguese and Islamic Arab traders.
A stroll in the narrow streets is a pleasant enough experience though it is highly unlikely you will explore the whole 180 acres which make up Mombasa Old Town.
A rich cultural melting point, Mombasa Old Town is home to a mixture of communities, among them Arabs, Asians, Swahilis and you might even bump into the occasional Portuguese who decided to stay behind after completing construction of Fort Jesus.
Historically, the town’s architecture was influenced by Mombasa’s trade culture.
The trade came about as a result of the town housing a port. The old port, it is said, still brings in spices from Zanzibar.
The people of Mombasa Old Town are as delightful and as mysterious as the town itself. The women and girls, resplendent in buibuis and kangas, and the men in long white kanzus, will more often than not send a warm smile in your direction.
And if you happen to have a minute, nay, an hour to spare, the good natured people, famed for their rich oral history, might tell you winding tales of invisible Djinnis (spirits) that live in the ancient walls of the town.
If, like me, you have a fetish for keepsakes, Mombasa Old Town will charm you as antique and curio shops full of treasures like Arabian vases and Aladdin lamps, Portuguese art, Asian rugs and Swahili artifacts are in abundance.
And if this treasure hunt leads you to Ali’s Curio Shop, then you are standing on the threshold of history. For Ali’s, with its coral walls, was built by the British in 1898 and it housed Mombasa’s first police station.
A keen listener might hear in the distance the sound of waves slapping against the sandy shore. The town is located on Tudor Creek and thus behind the buildings is the vast Indian Ocean. And if you listen some more, you might just hear the rustling palm trees whispering the dark secrets of the 15th century ivory trade.
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