History of Nairobi History of Nairobi The earliest account of Nairobi's history dates back to 1899 when a railway depot was built in a brackish African swamp occupied only by a pastoralist people, the Maasai, as well as the agriculturalist Kikuyu people who were both displaced. The railway complex and the building around it rapidly expanded and urbanized until it became the largest city of Kenya and the country's capital. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nyorobi", which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, Nairobi is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun." The former swamp
Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family, Nairobi administrative building for the archbishop's office was being built by the Chinese construction company Zhongxing Construction in 2011. The cathedral is the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Nairobi. The current archbishop is John Njue who was made a Cardinal in 2007. The Archdiocese of Nairobi contains an estimated population of 4 million people of which 1.6 million are thought to be Catholic. These 4,000 Christian communities are served by 182 clergy, eight university level education facilities and several places for retreat. Services are available through-out the week within the Cathedral and one of the chapels is always open. In addition