Kenya is the main tourist center of East Africa. Its capital, Nairobi, also possesses its own unique attractions. When you look around Nairobi, you see not only tall modern buildings, but also short scrubby cactuses filling up large green spaces around the city.Of course you might have quite a few reasons to visit Kenya, but a safari is one of the best reasons to visit this spot.
When you first set foot in Nairobi — which means a “green and watery place” in the local language — you will be surprised by the startling contrasts of skyscrapers and open vistas that bring to mind safaris.When it comes to safaris, there are many alternatives. Something you need to be careful about is to make sure that there are not too many people in the vehicle you use for the safari, so that you can easily take photos and not be jostled around too much. The animals that everyone who heads to Africa for a safari wants to see are categorized into the “five greats” group. These are: elephants, bison, rhinos, leopards and lions. It is not unusual to see a pride of lions pass right in front of your vehicle just when you least expect it. Or to witness a female lion chasing a group of impalas grazing in the grass next to you. One thing to be noted: You must never take anything to feed the animals while on a safari, and you must never get out of the vehicle.
Apart from safaris, there are lots of other places to head to in Kenya. There is of course the National Museum in Nairobi, where African life is on display for all to see. And the Nairobi Parliament buildings are worth seeing for their architectural style. And there is the Nairobi National Park, full of animals such as elephants, giraffes, zebras and lions, which you may or may not already have seen on a safari.
Make sure you always carry water in your bag when you are traveling in Kenya. Water is at a premium in the country, with some people not even being able to obtain it to wash themselves; you might encounter young children scrubbing their bodies with sand to get clean.
Make sure you drink the coffee
There are lots of great places to eat in Nairobi. You can find restaurants boasting Ethiopian, German, Chinese, Italian and Japanese cuisine. The most famous local dishes in Kenya are called “ugali” and “nyama choma.” The main ingredient of Kenyan dishes is corn, which is of course the main ingredient in the famous dish “ugali.” To make ugali, corn, milk and water are cooked together until they become thickened. Ugali is then consumed with meat and vegetable dishes. As for nyama choma, it is made from grilled meat or fish. After you eat a meal in Kenya, you must definitely make sure you drink some of the delicious coffee, which is world renowned for its taste and quality. If you don’t like coffee, tea, called “chai” here, is served up local style, with milk. Make sure you also get a chance to taste delicious fruits such as pineapple, mango and coconut before returning to your country. Even if you can find these fruits back home, there is almost no chance they will have the same taste as the ones you sample in Kenya.
Haggle for your goods when shopping
The Kigali market lies between Nairobi’s Kigali and Tubman boulevards and attracts more tourists than any other open markets in the city. You can find almost anything here, from the colorful knitted bags called “kiondo” to carved decorations made from soap or wood, from jewelry to just about anything else that comes to mind. Make sure you have either a guide or someone who knows the area and how to bargain. This will ensure a much cheaper price for everything you get.
When to go?
In the months of January and February, when the rains begin in Kenya, everything is bright green and even the animals start to look healthier. Through April and May, the rains get so heavy they may even hinder tourism and travel in Kenya. Then the hot and dry days of the year begin. In the month of August, you can witness the migrations of grazing animals. The dry season is the optimal time to see these animals as it becomes more difficult for lions to hide behind the dried grasses of the plains.
Heading for Kenya is very easy from Turkey; take a Turkish Airlines (THY) flight straight to Nairobi from İstanbul. The airport is just 15 kilometers from the city, and you can grab a taxi into town.
(Today’s Zaman)
