Saturday, May 25, 2013

Kampala, Uganda, Africa

Invitation to Kampala -my city.



Kampala is the capital of Uganda and the largest city in the country.  
Location:

Kampala is located in Uganda East Africa and the city’s coordinates are: 00 19N, 32 35E.
Brief History

Kabaka Mutesa 1 had chosen the area that was to become Kampala as one of his favorite hunting grounds. It was made up of hills and wetlands. It was a bleeding ground for many game animals particularly the Impala. When the British colonialists came they named one of the hills the hill of Impala. Due to the large number of impala. The Baganda used this reference in their local language (Luganda) - 'Akasozi K'empala. So K’empala became 'Kampala due to repeated usage, and when the colonialists wanted a name for the city they adopted Kampala.

Major Attractions:
The are several major attractions in Kampala but the main ones are; Kasubi tombs which are located on Kasubi hill 5 kilometers from the city centre. It is a burial ground for 4 kings of Buganda and it is therefore significant for the loyal family and the entire Buganda kingdom. Then we have the Rubaga cathedral located on Rubaga hill. Many religious people come to the cathedral to warship and are one of the landmark buildings in Kampala. 
The Uganda museum is the oldest museum in Uganda formerly it was locate at Fort Lugard on old Kampala hill and now it is on kitante hill.
The bahai Temple located on kikaya hill 4 miles from Kampala city centre. It is the mother temple of Africa.


The Namugongo Martyrs’ shrine is situated 12 kilometers from Kampala city centre in Namugongo.



 It is where the Uganda martyrs were executed by Kabaka mwanga due to their failure to withdraw from their new adopted faith –Christianity. Namugongo shrine has been visited by many people Notably Archbishop Robert Runcie of Canterbury in 1984 and in 1993 pope John Paul II. In the whole country including the city Kampala June 3rd is a public holiday in honor of the massacre of the Uganda martyrs.

Food and accommodation
The hospitality industry in Kampala is well developed as evidenced by the CHOGUM 2007 conference and several international conferences that take place here every year. We have international hotels like the Sheraton hotel, Serena hotel, and Hilton hotel which is now under completion. We have several hotels which have achieved international standards, hotels like Speke Hotel, Emin Pasha Hotel, Fairway Hotel, Protea Hotel Kampala, Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, and Golf Course Hotel, Grand Imperial, Mosa Court Apartments, Kabira Country Club and several others.
 When it comes to food there are many choices depending on the occasion you can enjoy dinner from a 5 star restaurant you can spend from 50cents USD to your highest limit. In fast food we have international brand like Nandos and Steers both on Jinja road, we have Domino's Pizza and several others.  There are a variety of restaurants to pick from Ugandan and the other available are Belgian, Chinese, Japanese, French, Turkish Mediterranean and Indian.

Night life and partying
Kampala has a very active night life from a slow and quite Ugandan bar to the fire of capital pub past 2: AM Kampala night life does not end well past the next day. I think there are very few cities across this continent that can rival our night life. We have several bars that include Al’s bar in Kansanga, Capital pub in Kabalagala, Rock Garden at speak Hotel, Bubbles O’Leary which is an Irish pub, steak out in Wandegeya; we have several night clubs which include Club Silk and Ange Noir.
Transport


In Kampala there are several means of transport which include bus, Taxi. Here we have to types of taxis one is a 14 sitter and the other we refer to it as special hire taxi. You can also use Bodaboda (Motor bike). You can also get a car from car hire services around the city for a self drive.
Security
Kampala is generally safe both day and night. We Ugandans are some of the most resilient people in the World:  We have seen wars, overthrows, dictators; bombing attacks come and go but for the last 27 years there has been stability in Kampala save for the 2010 terrorist attack.
Welcome to the city that never sleeps.

2 comments:

  1. When one mentions Uganda, my mind rings bananas, can I find plenty of them in Kampala city? Am from East Africa but I have never been to Kampala city, are the people welcoming enough to their fellow African tourists or attention is only given to the white tourists? What about charges for tourist attraction sites, do they differ on race or they are standard rates?

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  2. Hello Gelleh, I hope your okay, There is plenty of matooke inn Kampala.people are very welcoming.

    Welcome to Kampala

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