... through the lens

Covering a considerable chunk of East Africa, Kenya is neatly girthed across the middle by the equator and bisected by the southerly course of the jagged Rift Valley. The country has a varied altitude featuring lofty mountains and escarpments, open plains and stony deserts, Grey crowned fertile rolling hills and forested crane valleys and a beautiful 480-km (300-mile) tropical coastline. This wealth of natural habitat is protected in over 50 national parks and reserves, and many more private conservancies.

With the exception of the big apes, Kenya is home to a full complement of East African animals and is also one of the best places on the continent for bird-watching. The long sunny days and the azure Indian Ocean, with its colourful marine life, ensure a perfect environment for diving or a laid-back holiday on the coast.

Kenya's rich ethnic heritage is evident from the traditionally dressed Maasai and Samburu people tending their livestock, while a long Swahili tradition has left its mark in the architecture and Islamic way of life on the coast and in the Swahili language.

The diversity in Kenya's ethnic groups today is derived from a long history of migration, settlement and fusion of older cultures. Thousands of years ago, the Cushite, Bantu and Nilotic peoples roamed East Africa and settled into hunter-gatherer and pastoral communities. The first millennium saw the intermingling of Persians and Arabs with tribes on the coast, which gave rise to Swahili culture, while the 19th and 20th centuries witnessed the arrival of white settlers from Europe and indentured labour from India. In more recent years, refugees from strife-torn neighbouring countries have filtered into Kenya. Some indigenous communities retain a way of life in scattered settlements that has changed little over the centuries. Each group has its own social and political organisation, and a deep sense of kinship that governs individual behaviour, rites of passage and marital customs. By contrast, since the arrival of the colonists, many other ethnic groups have adopted a Western way of life. The result is a multicultural society, and while ethnic Africans dominate, there are pockets of Indian traders, farmers of European descent and a multi-national community of businesspeople. Kenya has one of the fastest rates of population growth in the world - in just 80 years, the population has risen from three million to an estimated 30 million. Settlements are distributed unevenly around the country, with the arid north being more sparsely populated than the fertile west. The urban population, about 25 per cent of the total, is concentrated in the large cities of Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu.

Kenya's constitution guarantees freedom of worship, and the majority of Kenyans are actively religious. Christianity was introduced by early missionaries in the 19th century and today some 70 to 80 per cent of the population is Christian. Most are regular churchgoers and Protestant, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches are prolific across the country. Islam was introduced during the centuries of trade with the Arabian Peninsula and people on the coast are mainly Muslim. There are also substantial communities of Hindus and Sikhs among the Indian populace in urban areas.

On becoming independent in 1963, Kenya had a good transport infra-structure and an economy dominated by agriculture. Today, it is one of the world's leading producers of tea and coffee and also exports exotic vegetables and fresh flowers to Europe. In fact, Kenya is the world's largest exporter of roses, and tea alone generates an income of US$600-700 million.

In the 1970s, when long-haul destinations grew in popularity with European holiday-makers, tourism became increasingly important to the Kenyan economy. While Kenya once attracted fearless adventurers and big-game hunters, today its wildlife, natural attractions and location - only a 9-hour flight from Europe - ensure that it is East Africa's principal holiday destination with a good tourism infrastructure that supports tens of thousands of jobs. In good years, tourism can earn Kenya in excess of US$800 million, which makes the sector the country's biggest foreign exchange earner. Tourism experienced a slump after the terrorist bombings in Nairobi in 1998 and in Mombasa in 2002, but the industry recovered quickly and, by 2006, Kenya received a record two million visitors. The sector has expanded considerably in recent years and visitors now have a greater choice of destinations and activities.

Kenya's economy has experienced a number of cycles of growth followed by downturns and stagnation, caused by anything from drought to political instability and corruption. Nevertheless, given that Kenya does not rely on mineral wealth like other countries in the region and has been under pressure from an influx of refugees, its economic growth has been overall steady. Per capita income grew at least threefold between 1975 and 2006. Kenya was removed from the International Monetary Fund's list of countries requiring debt relief in 2005, and today it is considered a self-sufficient developing nation. Nairobi, the capital, is now the primary communications and financial hub of East Africa. A wide range of foreign firms have branches in the city, and foreign investment in turn further supplements economic growth.

Kenya is a republic and multiparty state with a unicameral National Assembly. The president is both head of state and head of government, and appoints the vice president and cabinet. Since independence in 1963, Kenya's politics has been dominated by the terms of two presidents. President Jomo Kenyatta, who governed from 1963 to 1978, is often referred to as the Father of the Nation for his contribution to Kenya's independence and for steering the new republic through a period of economic empowerment. His successor, Daniel arap Moi, governed from 1978 to 2002 and is criticised both for reverting Kenya to a one-party state for a time and for excessive corruption.

In 2002, Mwai Kibaki succeeded Moi as president, but his popularity was short-lived as he failed to address many of his electoral promises. His win in the 2007 elections was reputedly rigged and his main contender, Raila Odinga, was believed to be the legitimate winner. The dispute led to a brief violent reaction across the country, which resulted in many deaths and a rapid downturn in the economy. The United Nations stepped in and by mid-2008 a power agreement between Kibaki and Odinga had been negotiated.

Kenya is a land rich in biodiversity. Its natural environment is split into many distinct zones, from rainforest, high moorland and wetlands to semidesert, thornbush scrub and grassland savannah. These habitats harbour over 7,000 species of plants and trees, more than 25,000 species of animals and in excess of 1,000 species of birds. This concentration and variety of flora and fauna is greater than that in many other African countries, owing largely to Kenya's two life-giving rainy seasons.

The impact of humans in this region dates back millions of years, and there is archaeological evidence to show the existence of hominids (early man). Over time, they were followed by migrant hunter-gatherer tribes, who roamed across the land in search of resources, and eventually pastoralists, who introduced agriculture. In the late 19th century, agriculture was boosted by the advent of European settlers, who were attracted by Kenya's climate and fertile soil. They laid out plantations and terraced fields in the verdant western hills and valleys. As a result, wildlife was forced into the agriculturally unproductive savannah, where big-game hunters depleted substantial herds of large animals. By the 1940s, the need to establish national wildlife reserves was recognised, not only to protect big game, but also to protect natural habitats and maintain large areas for water catchment.

Wildlife numbers were further decimated during the poaching scourge that plagued East Africa over the 1970-80s. In 1989, President Moi set alight a huge stock of confiscated ivory in a much publicised and successful bid to stamp out poaching; this contributed to a subsequent worldwide ban on ivory trade. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) was formed in 1990 to take on the poachers, and it now employs thousands of officers in game management, anti-poaching and conservation activities. Animal numbers have steadily increased in national parks and private conservancies, which have contributed to wildlife protection and increased the mobility of animals on migration routes.

In recent decades, Kenya has produced a number of internationally acclaimed musicians, writers and sportspeople. These include Kikuyu pop star Joseph Kamaru, who has sold over half a million records worldwide, and Ngugi wa Thiong, a noted novelist and playwright since the 1960s.

The introduction of cricket, rugby and golf during the colonial years has made both watching and playing sports a popular activity among Kenyans. They love playing football, although the national team, Harambee Stars, has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. However, Kenya is best known for its phenomenally successful world-class distance runners. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kenya scooped 13 medals, including a gold in the men's marathon for Samuel Kamau and a silver in the women's marathon for seasoned ru nner Catherine Ndereba. Kenya also hosts the annual Lewa Marathon. Other popular sports are as diverse as car rallies, horse racing and deep-sea fishing events.

Text based on "Kenya (Eyewitness Travel Guides)" by Philip Briggs
Photos by Vera Koubkova