16 
MOMBASA TO NAIROBI. 
in 1586. Not many years after a Portuguese admiral battered the city to the 
ground; next it was ravaged by an “irregular” savage tribe; and Portugal 
returned in 1630 to construct the massive fortress whose ruins still overlook 
the sea. Next it was the turn of the Arabs, whose archers shot the garrison 
to death after its surrender. Another Portuguese fleet avenged the outrage, 
and in 1665 the fortress fell before the five months’ siege of the Arabs. The 
Arabs held complete possession of the island from 1698 to 1826, when the 
Sultan of Zanzibar, after four years of terrific warfare, conquered the Battle 
City and adjoining territory. Then followed over fifty years of wars and 
feuds in which Mombasa was dragged back and forth, wrenched and tortured 
in every joint, until the coming of peace and order under the protection of 
Great Britain; and now what is left of the old Portuguese fort overlooks the 
mansions and bungalows of European officials and merchants, surrounded by 
large and elegant gardens. 
NEW MOMBASA, THE BRITISH CAPITAL. 
New, or British, Mombasa, which lies nearer the ocean than the old, con¬ 
tains also the government buildings and the cathedral. A noticeable feature 
of the modern town is the intricate network of tramways, which not only 
cover the chief thoroughfares, but branch off to every house; and coolies are 
seen everywhere, pushing along the private cars which transport the aristo¬ 
cratic Europeans to and from their offices. Although the two or three hotels 
in Mombasa are but indifferent, there is an excellent club, which is patronized 
by Englishmen, Americans and travelers in general. The East India Bank is 
also an important feature of the modern city. New Mombasa has a hearty 
welcome for white visitors, but, unfortunately, possesses no harbor worthy of 
the name. Some two miles to the southeast, however, is a sister port of 
Kilindini, whose harbor affords anchorage for ships of the largest tonnage 
and which even rivals the far-famed Delagoa Bay in Southeast or Portu¬ 
guese Africa. Kilindini harbor, therefore, first receives the important pas¬ 
sengers and cargoes destined for British East Africa and Mombasa. The 
trade in ivory and hides has also gone to the more convenient port, and it is 
not beyond the possible to foresee a shifting of the government headquarters 
and the railroad terminus to this admirable commercial center. 
