Mombasa is Kenya's second largest city and a major port and trading centre of the East African Coast. It is an island which is linked to the mainland via a bridge to the north, ferry to the south and man-made causeway to the west. A blend of ancient and modern, this bustling, steamy, rundown swahili town is more of a commercial centre than resort. There are no beaches here and the hotels tend to be modest. Most tourists visiting Mombasa are bused in from their beach resort for shopping and sight-seeing. There are dozens of mosques and temples, pungent open markets and mazes of narrow lanes with street stalls. Mombasa has a long and complex history, best appreciated by a visit to Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, and the Old Town.