Nairobi is called the "Green City in the Sun" and it's quite an appropriate description for the capital of Kenya with its all-year warm climate and surrounding forests. It started as a depot on the railway line linking Mombasa on the coast with Lake Victoria, developing to the largest city during the colonial period and eventually becoming the capital of an independent Kenya in 1963. Nairobi has a population of over 3.5 million and features with Kibera one of the largest slums in Africa. Its relatively high crime rate gives Nairobi its other moniker: "Nairobbery". Nonetheless, the city is the most important hub for commerce and trade in East Africa, and an increasingly diversified private sector has evolved in the last 10 years.
