Map

Leader

Ikililou Dhoinine took office in May 2011, after winning elections five months earlier.

Travel

Visa & travel advice

To enter the Comoros islands, nationals referred to in the chart above must present a passport valid for six months beyond the date of entry.

• Best period:

Comoros is tropical with relatively constant and stable weather. It has two seasons: the wet season is warmer and lasts from December to April. Temperatures usually reach around 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.5 degrees Celsius) during the wet season. The dry season is cooler, with lows dipping to around 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and lasts from May to November. The warmest month is usually March. Because of its proximity to the equator, Comoros isn’t particularly vulnerable to cyclones.

• Safety:

Because of violence during recent demonstrations, it is best to avoid such gatherings and large crowds. Despite having been relatively placid the past few years, the political situation in Comoros is fragile and subject to rapid change. Generally keeping a low profile and traveling light is your best strategy. Foreigners in Comoros haven’t been the targets of violent crime, but be on guard for pickpockets and petty thieves.

History

Comoros was frequented by travelers from Africa, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Arabia before the first Europeans encountered the islands. Arabic influence has been the strongest.

France colonized Mayotte in 1843 and by 1904 had annexed the remainder of the archipelago. In a 1974 referendum, 95% of the population voted for independence. The exception was Mayotte, which, with its Christian majority, voted against joining the other mainly Islamic islands in independence. Today it remains a French overseas territory.

The remaining Comoros Islands declared themselves independent on July 6, 1975, with Ahmed Abdallah as president. A month after independence, he was overthrown by Justice Minister Ali Soilih. This was only the beginning of Comoros's chronic instability: the country has gone through more than 20 coups since independence and has experienced several attempts at secession. Orchestrating at least four of these coups was a group of white mercenaries known as Les Affreux (The Terrible Ones), and their notorious leader, Frenchman “Colonel” Bob Denard. Denard fled Comoros in 1989, when 3,000 French soldiers were sent after him.

Arts & Culture

• Music:

Comoros is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, mostly an independent nation but also including the French territory of Mayotte. It is historically linked to both East Africa and France, and now has a strong Malagasy influence. Zanzibar's taarab music, however, remains the most influential genre on the islands, and a Comorian version called twarab is popular. Leading twarab bands include Sambeco and Belle Lumière, as well as star singer Mohammed Hassan. Comorian instruments include the 'ud and violin, the most frequent accompaniment for twarab, as well as gabusi (a type of lute) and ndzendze (a box zither). Sega music from nearby Mauritius and Réunion is also popular.

Modern musicians include Abou Chihabi, who composed the Comorian national anthem and who is known for his reggae-tinged pan-African variet music, reggae/zouk/soukous fusionists like Maalesh and Salim Ali Amir, Nawal, Diho, singer-songwriters and instrumentalists.

• Literature:

The first Comorian literature was in the form of folk tales and histories laid down in Arabic by princes, sultans and aristocrats.

A lot of comorian lieterature is in Shimasiwa but some writers to look out for are Aboubaca Said Salam, Said- Ahmed Sast ans Abdou Salam Baco.

• Film industry:

Comoros has no recorded cinematic history, but recently HMZ productions, a local company, produced the first Comoran (video) film named "Yéyamba Wandzé MDROU NDO ?". A second movie "Ganima Probleme", released in october 2002, a comedy about passion. A Hollywood drama, "Lorenzo's Oil" featuring Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon stirred some controversy. The film was supposedly shot at the Comoros for it's beautiful locations, but the first images in the actual film showing the surroundings was not recognised as being the Comoros. Next to this some tourist tapes have been produced as well as some theatrical registrations of music concerts. However none of these bear any cinematic significance. 


• Famous places:

One of the attractions in Comoros is Mount Karthala, which is an active volcano.

The Nouvelle Mosquee de Vendredi is a mosque in the Indian Ocean country of Union of the Comoros. The Vendredi Mosque is noted for its unique Comoran architectural style. The Nouvelle Mosquee de Vendredi in Comoros is situated in the country capital Moroni. The Vendredi mosque is used to hold daily prayers. Visitors to the mosque may enter the mosque in order to observe the internal architecture of the structure.

• Architecture history:

Comorians live in villages and cities, some of which are fortified. Mosques, palaces, public squares, stone and coral archways called the doors of peace, and tombs decorated with domes and pillars are examples of stone-built monuments. Sculpted wood and coral decorate niches, ceilings, and doors, featuring geometric or floral patterns and Koranic calligraphy. Houses are made of dark basalt plastered with coral lime, cob (mud mixed with straw from rice plants), and braided coconut fronds. Cement is slowly replacing stone, while sheet metal replaces braided coconut fronds. A typical house has two rooms, one private and one for to receiving visitors, and sometimes a living room. The courtyard is used for domestic activities. Boys sleep in bachelor quarters. Women dominate in houses, indoor courtyards, and alleys. Men's territory includes mosques and public squares.

Map

Leader

Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding president, took up his father's mantle to become head of state in April 2013 despite facing charges of crimes against humanity over election violence five years earlier.

Travel

Visa & travel advice

• Visa application form 22
• Passport Valid for at least Six Months
• One Passport size Photos
• Visa fees:

1. £30.00 -for single entry visa (Business or Tourism)
2. £60.00 –Multiple entry visa
3. £10.00–Transit visa.
4. £5.00- administrative fee (for referral visas only)

• Travel itinerary
• Supporting letter e.g. letter from company or Invitation letter for business visits/family visits. or
• Hotel bookings/details about places to visit if going as tourist.
• Applications for referred visas to forward triplicate copies of all the documents

• Best period:

Geography plays a large part in helping tourists choose the best times for visiting Kenya.

• Safety:

Be aware of the risk of street crime. Avoid carrying large amounts of cash and don’t wear expensive watches, jewellery or items of sentimental value. Leave your passport in the hotel safe and carry a photocopy for ID. Don’t accept food or drink from strangers as it may be drugged. Avoid walking around after dark, especially in isolated areas like empty beaches. If you’re attacked, don’t resist.

History

A part of Southeast Africa, the territory of what is now Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion from a West African center of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium AD. With the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the Bantu, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic areas of Africa, Kenya is a truly multi-ethnic state.

European and Arab presence in Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period, but European exploration of the interior began only in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, from 1920 known as the Kenya Colony.

The independent Republic of Kenya was formed in 1964. It was ruled as a de facto single-party state by the Kenya African National Union (KANU), an alliance led by Jomo Kenyatta during 1963 to 1978. Kenyatta was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi, who ruled until 2002. Moi attempted to transform the de facto single-party status of Kenya into a de jure status during the 1980s, but with the end of the Cold War, the practices of political repression and torture which had been "overlooked" by the Western powers as necessary evils in the effort to contain communism were no longer tolerated.

Moi came under pressure, notably by US ambassador Smith Hempstone, to restore a multi-party system, which he did by 1991. Moi won elections in 1992 and 1997, which were overshadowed by political killings on both sides. During the 1990s, evidence of Moi's involvement in human rights abuses and corruption (Goldenberg scandal) was uncovered. He was constitutionally barred from running in the 2002 election, which was won by Mwai Kibaki. Widely reported electoral fraud on Kibaki's side in the 2007 elections resulted in the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis.

Arts & Culture

• Music

The music of Kenya is very diverse, with multiple types of folk music based on the variety over 40 regional languages.[1]

Zanzibaran taarab music has also become popular, as has hip hop, reggae, soul, soukous, zouk, rock and roll, funk and Europop. Additionally, there is a growing western classical music scene and Kenya is home to a number of music colleges and schools.

The guitar is the most dominant instrument in Kenyan popular music. Guitar rhythms are very complex and include both native beats and imported ones, especially the Congolese cavacha rhythm; music usually involves the interplay of multiple parts and, more recently, showy guitar solos.

Lyrics are most often in Swahili or Lingala, but are also sometimes in one of the indigenous languages, though radio will generally not play music in one of the "tribal" languages.

Benga music has been popular since the late 1960s, especially around Lake Victoria. The word benga is occasionally used to refer to any kind of pop music: bass, guitar and percussion are the usual instruments.

Partially from 1994 and wholly from 2003 Kenyan popular music has been recognised through the Kisima Music Awards. A number of styles predominate in Kenya including Benga and Reggae have separate categories, and a multitude of Kenyan artists are awarded each year.

• Literature

Kenyan literature describes literature which comes from the African country of Kenya. Kenya has a long oral and written literary tradition, primarily in English[citation needed] and Swahili, the two official languages of the country.

One of the best known pieces of Kenyan literature is Utendi wa Tambuka, which translates to The Story of Tambuka. Written by a man named Mwengo at the court of the Sultan of Pate, the epic poem is one of the earliest known documents in Swahili, being written in the year 1141 of the Islamic calendar, or 1728 AD.

• Film industry

Kenya is situated in of the most violent aera's in the world, East Africa. The country is poor, government priorities are not focussed on building a local film industry. Since independence in 1963 Kenyans have been producing films at the average rate of one feature film every four years. Despite the fact that there are many Kenyan film professionals, the development of this industry is hampered by four major problems: 1) Finance: film production is an expensive venture and there are no local investors who have shown interest in it. 2) Post-production: through filming equipment is generally available, Kenya does not have a film processing laboratory - the 16mm facility that exists at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication has collapsed due to lack of spare parts and maintenance. 3) Lack of an enabling government film production policy. 4) Piracy - Kenya is a world black spot as far as this is concerned. During the past decades, Kenyan filmmakers have tried to break into the African cinematography market which is currently dominated by foremost American and french features.

Today over twenty film production companies in Kenya, working mostly on video and occasionally on film when the budgets allow. Legally film production is regulated by the government, in particular, through two Acts of Parliament: Cap 222; The Films and Stage Plays Act of Parliament and the Copyright Act. The goverment requires that private companies or individuals submit their applications through local agents who are accredited with the responsible Ministry. Crews wishing to film in Kenya have to meet filming requirements that are laid down by the Ministry. A government committee approves requests for feature films commercial films and documentary films. Notable local productions are: "Mlevi" (1968), So far, the only commercially viable Kenyan film production by Paul Singh. It starred popular former television personalities Mzee Pembe and the late Kipanga Athumani and singer Sal Davies, which was crowd puller in its days.

"The Bush Trackers" (early 1970s) by Gordon Parks, which starred Oliver Litondo and others. However, tragedy struck when Parks died in a freak plane crash at Nairobi Wilson Airports as he headed for filming location. His colleague Gary Strieker went ahead with the project but it was a box-office flop. Bush Trackers was the most ambitious undertaking in those years, by the late African-American film maker Gordon Parks (of the Shaft fame) who moved to Kenya in the early 1970s in the hope of developing. He believed Kenya had all the ingredients to become the African Hollywood .

• Famous places 

Nairobi National Park is just a 10 minutes drive from the center of Nairobi with only a fence separating the park’s wildlife from the metropolis. Nairobi’s skyscrapers can be seen from the park. Despite its proximity to the city and the relative small size of the park, Nairobi National Park boasts a large and varied wildlife population. Migrating wildebeest and zebra gather in the park during the dry season, and it is one of Kenya’s most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries.

Malindi provides a very nice introduction to the coastal tourist attractions in Kenya with its extensive coral reefs and beautiful beaches. There are surfing, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing and other water sports. The Malindi Marine National Park is protected and has fine beaches clear water and very colorful fish. Malindi is served with a domestic airport and a highway between Mombasa and Lamu.

Built in 1959, and a National Monument, Kenyatta House commemorates the place where negotiation for the country's independence took place. 

• Architecture history

In the cities, most people live in modern apartment buildings. In the countryside, typical housing styles vary from tribe to tribe. Zaramo houses are made of grass and rectangular in shape; rundi houses are beehive-like constructions of reed and bark; chagga houses are made from sticks; and nyamwezi are round huts with thatched roofs. Some rural people have adapted their houses to modern building materials, using bricks or cement blocks and corrugated iron or tin for roofs.

Map

Leader

A relatively new figure in Somali politics, the academic and civic activist Hassan Sheikh Mohamud beat the incumbent Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a run-off presidential vote in September 2012.

Travel

Visa & travel advice

Visitors to Somalia should register with the embassy representing their country in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or with their embassy or high commission in Nairobi, Kenya.

Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements for Somalia.

Sea and air ports are under the control of the local government meaning there may be differences in exact requirements.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently advises against all travel to Somalia.

• Best period:

The best time to visit to Somalia is in the cooler months between June and August and during January to early February. As both these seasons follow the rainy months in Somalia, they tend to experience milder weather with slightly lesser heat and humidity, compared to the rest of the year.

• Safety:

The northern region of Somalia, Somaliland, is the only area in Somalia considered fit for tourism and travel.

History

From the 7th to the 10th century, Arab and Persian trading posts were established along the coast of present-day Somalia. Nomadic tribes occupied the interior, occasionally pushing into Ethiopian territory. In the 16th century, Turkish rule extended to the northern coast, and the sultans of Zanzibar gained control in the south.

After British occupation of Aden in 1839, the Somali coast became its source of food. The French established a coal-mining station in 1862 at the site of Djibouti, and the Italians planted a settlement in Eritrea. Egypt, which for a time claimed Turkish rights in the area, was succeeded by Britain. By 1920, a British and an Italian protectorate occupied what is now Somalia. The British ruled the entire area after 1941, with Italy returning in 1950 to serve as United Nations trustee for its former territory.

By 1960, Britain and Italy granted independence to their respective sectors, enabling the two to join as the Republic of Somalia on July 1, 1960. Somalia broke diplomatic relations with Britain in 1963 when the British granted the Somali-populated Northern Frontier District of Kenya to the Republic of Kenya.

On Oct. 15, 1969, President Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated and the army seized power. Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre, as president of a renamed Somali Democratic Republic, leaned heavily toward the USSR. In 1977, Somalia openly backed rebels in the easternmost area of Ethiopia, the Ogaden Desert, which had been seized by Ethiopia at the turn of the century. Somalia acknowledged defeat in an eight-month war against the Ethiopians that year, having lost much of its 32,000-man army and most of its tanks and planes. President Siad Barre fled the country in late Jan. 1991. His departure left Somalia in the hands of a number of clan-based guerrilla groups, none of which trusted each other.

Arts & Culture

• Music:

Somalia has a rich musical heritage centered on traditional Somali folklore. Most Somali songs are pentatonic. That is, they only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale. At first listen, Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as Ethiopia, Sudan or Arabia, but it is ultimately recognizable by its own unique tunes and styles. Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between lyricists (midho), songwriters (lahan), and singers ('odka or "voice").

Instruments prominently featured in Somali music include the kaban (oud), often with accompaniment by small drums in the background. Bands such as Waaberi and Horseed have gained a small following outside of the country. Others, like Ahmed Ali Egal and Maryam Mursal, have fused traditional Somali music with rock and roll, bossa nova, jazz, and other modern influences.

• Literature:

Somali literature refers to the literary tradition of Somalia. It ranges from Islamic poetry and prose produced by the region's scholars and Sheikhs of centuries past to works of fiction from contemporary writers.

• Film industry:

During the forties and the fifties Somali actors and film technicians cooperated with Italian crews producing Fascist films in Somalia like "Dub aad" & "Soldiers of Bronze". From the late twenties to independence newsreels were shot of key events involving Italians.

The Somali film industry exists since Independence on July 1960. A steady growing number of production and distribution companies as well as actual cinema's were in private ownership form. After the revolution of 1969, the production, importation and distribution of films became completely monopolized by the government. Privately owned cinema's were replaced by State owned cinema's.

• Famous places:

Las Geel, rock paintings:

One of the main reasons for me to visit Somaliland were the rockpaintings of Las Geel. They are the best rockpaintings at the African continent I ever saw. They have the quality to become an UNESCO World Heritage site. First in 2003 a team of French archaeologists described and cataloged the paintings.

The Independence Monument is actually just a little bit out from the centre of Hargeisa.

The most interesting part of our trip from Berbera to Burao was the Golis escarpment with the Sheikh Pass. It seems to be one of the most dramatic roads in Somaliland.

• Architecture history:

A nomad camp may be surrounded by a fence made from thorn bushes to keep out predators. Animals are also kept in corrals made from thorn bushes. A prayer area may be set apart within the camp by a circle of stones.

Farmers make permanent homes that are similar to the aqal. Round huts called mundals are made from poles and brush or vines plastered with mud, animal dung, and ashes and covered with a broad, cone-shaped thatched roof. Rectangular huts, often with flat tin roofs, are called arish. Other homes are built from logs, stone, brick, or cement. Farmers have a few pieces of wooden furniture and decorative pottery, gourds, or woven goods.

City dwellers often live in Arab-style whitewashed houses made of stone or brick covered with plaster or cement. These are one-or two-story houses, with a flat roof. Bars cover the lower windows, which rarely have screens or glass. Wealthy Somalis, Europeans, and others may have traditional Western-style homes with tile roofs and walled courtyards. Many Somalis, even in the cities, do not have electricity and running water in their homes.

Somalia's largest cities are the ports of Mogadishu, Merca, Baraawe, and Kismayu on the Indian Ocean, and Berbera on the Gulf of Aden.