Kenya

Kenya is the original safari country. It maintains its rank among the best wildlife viewing countries today, offering the classic safari experience.

Kenya is located in Eastern Africa. The country is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. It encompasses savannah, lake lands, the dramatic Great Rift Valley, and mountain highlands. The Republic of Kenya is named after Mount Kenya.

The highlands are bisected by the Great Rift Valley, with a fertile plateau lying to the east. The Kenyan Highlands is the site of the highest point in Kenya and the second-highest peak on the continent: Mount Kenya, which reaches a height of 5,199 m (17,057 ft) and is the site of glaciers. Mount Kilimanjaro stands at (5,895 m or 19,341 ft) is a dormant volcano and can be seen from Kenya to the south of the Tanzanian border. Kenya’s climate varies from tropical along the coast to temperate inland to arid in the north and northeast parts of the country.

Fossils found in East Africa including Kenya have shown that humans inhabited the area for more than 20 million years as hunters, gatherers, and later farmers. By the first millennium AD, farmers along Kenya’s coastline formed communities that established trading relations with Arabs. This led to the introduction of Islam and Arabic influences in the country.

Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate established by the British Empire in 1895 and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920 till independence from British colonial rule in 1963.

Kenya has 60 national parks and many game reserves devoted to wildlife habitats including the Masai Mara where more than one million wildebeests migrate a great distance from the Serengeti in neighboring Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya. This Serengeti Migration of the wildebeest is listed among the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. The migration has been a popular event for balloonists, photographers, and filmmakers.

Agriculture is the second largest sector after service. Kenya tea and coffee are traditional cash crops, while fresh flowers are a fast-growing export. Kenya is the world’s 3rd largest exporter of cut flowers. To speed their export, Nairobi airport has a terminal dedicated to the transport of the flowers.

The country has a diverse population. There are an estimated 47 different communities including the native ethnic groups. The Bantus are the largest ethnic group (60%) and Nilotes (30%). Foreign-rooted populations include Somalis, Arabs, Asians, Indians, and some Europeans.

The two official languages are Swahili and British English. Many ethnic groups and tribes in rural areas speak only their native languages.
The majority of Kenyans are Christian (85.5%). Islam is the second-largest religion, comprising 10.9% of the population. Indigenous beliefs are practiced by 0.7% of the population. And nonreligious Kenyans make up 1.6% of the population.

There is no singular dish that represents all of Kenya’s wide cuisine. Different communities have their native foods. Though common food staples are maize and other cereals depending on the region. The foods that are usually eaten are Ugali, millet, and sorghum porridge and with various grilled meats, beans, and stewed greens or other vegetables. Kenya normally has three meals in a day, breakfast, lunch, and supper. And Kenya has made the British tea time custom in the country. They have tea time from 10 a.m. and again from 4 p.m.

Kenyan beer is decent. There is one major brewer whose flagship brand is Tusker Lager. And there are excellent selections of non-alcoholic drinks, from fresh fruit juices. Sugarcane and ginger juice is a local specialty, as is Swahili tea, which is black tea with ginger. Ginger is popular in sodas as well. Try the local ginger ale brand, Stoney.

Information from Wikipedia