Mombasa Old Town Mombasa Old Town Old Town is an area of Mombasa, Kenya. Situated on the south-east side of Mombasa Island, the Old Town covers an area of , and is inhabited by a mix of local, Arab, Asian, Portuguese and British settlers. In 1997, the Old Town and Fort Jesus were submitted by the National Museums of Kenya for selection in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. The area is located to the east of Mombasa Island, adjacent to Tudor Creek. Buildings in the Old Town are influenced by Mombasa's trade culture, with many examples of Portuguese and Islamic architecture. The
Mombasa Mombasa Island. Importantly, both of these names have linguistic and spiritual connections with Central Africa. "Mkisi" is considered the personification of "ukisi" which means "the holy" in kiKongo. "Kongowea" can similarly be interpreted as the Swahili locative of "kongo" which denotes the essence of civilizational order in central Africa. These legends can be read as an acknowledgment of the Bantu-speaking origins of the Swahili people. Shehe Mvita superseded the dynasty of Mwana Mkisi and established the first permanent stone mosque on Mombasa Island. Mombasa's oldest extant stone mosque, Mnara, was built c. 1300. Shehe Mvita is remembered as a Muslim