The history of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, dates back to 1899 when a railway depot of Uganda Railway was constructed in an uninhabited swamp area which today is known as Nairobi. The rapid urbanization & expansion brought about by this railway resulted in Nairobi becoming one of the largest & the capital city of Kenya.

Nairobi derives its name from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nyorobi" meaning the "place of cool waters". Alternately it is also referred to as the "Green City in the Sun". The city of Nairobi experienced widespread growth under the British rule & this continued until 1919 when the city was declared a municipality. Several coffee plantations & mixed agricultural farms where set up. Finally in the year 1954, Nairobi was granted the status of a city.

Post independence, Nairobi witnessed a rapid growth in population & economy which created pressure on the infrastructure of the city such that, water shortage & power cuts became a common occurrence. Better city planning in the past few years however has eliminated most of these problems. While this capital city of Kenya has seen several ups & downs along the years, one of the most shocking events in the history of Nairobi is the bombing of the US Embassy by Al-Qaida on 7th August 1998. The incident killed over 400 people & left more than 5,000 people seriously injured.

Today the city of Nairobi is striving hard to maintain & develop its protected lands like the Nairobi National Park because of the rapidly increasing concrete jungles. In spite of all this, Nairobi continues to serve as a massive tourist industry with its endless parks, museums & other attractions.