3 Oldest Buildings in Kenya
Molly Ajando
1. Karen Blixen
Sitting at the foot of the famous Ngong Hills, is an ancient farmhouse that is now a national museum and has history that spans over 100 years.
It is located about 15 km from the Nairobi central Business District in the affluent Karen region.
It was built in 1912 with it's first owner being a famous Danish Author, Karen Bror.
The Karen Blixen sits on a 4500-acre farm and later when purchased by Remy Martin. The farm was further divided into 20 acre pieces .This action paved way for the current Karen suburb.
In 1985, Karen Blixen became globally famous when oscar winning film "Out of Africa", based on Karen's autobiography, was filmed on the property.
As a result, the national museums of Kenya acquired the house and transformed it into a museum.
2. Lord Egerton Castle
It is located in Njoro and was built by Lord Egerton between 1938 and 1952.
Lord Egerton purchased a 21, 116 acres of land from Lord Delamere's family as he was of age and needed to settle and marry from his status that royal lineage demanded.
He fell in love with a young woman from Queen Elizabeth's lineage and built a 4 roomed cottage to impress her but she was not impressed. She referred to it as a 'dog kernel'. He built a bigger house but again, she wasn't impressed. Heartbroken, he carried on with the construction while the love of his life married a wealthy British Lord in Australia.
He gradually added floors, blocks, rooms and alleyways to the castle. Upon completion, the mega structure was breathtaking and shared the Neuro-classical mansion designs associated with powerful and famous English Families.
It's materials were all imported from abroad. Interior decorations from China, fireplace marbles from Italy and the walls and staircases were covered using British Oak. It has 52 rooms. The largest Marvel of the property is a giant organ player . Standing the height of almost two storeys. It is complete with 411 massive sound pipes and a cabinet.
Today the castle is owned by Egerton University, a Kenyan public university ,and attracts huge numbers of visitors.
3. Treetops Lodge
Located in Aberdare National Park in Nyeri, 3-hour drive from Nairobi City. It was built in 1932.
Queen Elizabeth 11 was declared queen while in this lodge, following the demise of her father, in 1952.
In 1954, tragedy struck and the Treetops Lodge was closed down and eventually burnt down during the 1950s Mau Mau uprising.The Mau Mau rebels razed the entire tree house in response to a shoot- to -kill order that had been issued against them. However, 3 years later, in 1957, the Treetops Lodge was rebuilt.
Aberdare Safari Hotels Limited is the current owner of the lodge. It's capacity stands at 36 entire rooms with thrilling game viewing experiences.
