Mombasa has long been known as the tourist capital of Kenya, both for locals and international visitors who enjoy the sandy beaches and tasty Swahili dishes.
Coming out of a devastating tourism slump due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the coastal city has, of late, been receiving hundreds of guests attracted by the new features at the 15th-century tourist attraction, Fort Jesus.
Visitors are welcomed to the Light and Sound show which has lasers, holograms and fireworks at Fort Jesus Museum in Mombasa. The show focuses on the castle’s 400-year-old turbulent history and one cannot get enough of it.
Over 700 people are taken through the forts' half a century diary shows which are staged every weekend.
The shows which are organized by Jays Pyrotechnics Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Company are planned in two forms with each of them taking a minimum of 40 minutes.
Jayshree Suchak and Zameer Noorali have worked in Hollywood and Disneyland productions respectively.
Jay and Zammer said they wanted to reignite life into a part where Kenyans had lived and experienced but was losing meaning by the day.
“Our intention is to bring to life a journey of this enchanting realm of history in 3D projection mapping, hologram, lasers, fire, water and designer fireworks,” said Zameer.
The fort lights are beamed with special effects and light up at around 7 pm when guests are settling down for the hour's show.
The northern wall of the fort lights up with an emulation of the Kenyan flag and accompanied by a recital of the national anthem.
After settling down, the guests are treated with an exemplary recital of how over 50 Portuguese soldiers managed to guard the fort against invasion by the Omanis until only one of them was left.
The show reminisces how Mombasa residents at that time took refuge inside the fort while hunger and disease frustrated the declining force which was trying to repel the invaders.
“You get an uncanny sense of the past when you get within these walls,” says the narration, as the mood of the past is re-enacted.
Visitors are then shown a projection of how life used to be before the fort was constructed hundreds of years ago.
The portrayal shows the fort's specifications, fortifications and plans which were meant to make it impenetrable by enemies.
“It was built in the shape of a man, as viewed from above, and the local Swahili were gang-pressed into providing labour for the two for the 20 years required to complete the fort,” the narration indicates.
The next scene follows the deaths, suffering, sieges and tortures that have been part of the fort’s history since the 1590s. Locals successfully managed to defend the fort nine times before the British colony possessed it and used it as a prison during the second world war.
The narration also showcases periods of peace that marked the industrial and trade revolution.
“We have had to heavily subsidize for tourists because of the steep levies restricting by museums such as Fort Jesus.”
Today, Fort Jesus is one of the most outstanding and best-preserved military fortifications in the world.
The company is planning similar shows in Diani which will include Mombasa cultures giving Kenyans a reason to visit the city to get the transforming memorable experience.
Kasim Khan and Sulaiman Isa Khan, the sons of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan were seen enjoying their time in Lamu in the last week of February 2021.
