Entebbe
Entebbe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  Uganda |
| District | Busia District |
Entebbe is a city in Uganda with a population of approximately 90,500. It is located on the shore of Lake Victoria near the capital city of Kampala.
"Entebbe", in the local Luganda language, means a "seat", and was probably named that because it was the place where a Baganda chief sat to adjudicate legal cases. It first became a British colonial administrative and commercial centre in 1893 when Sir Gerald Portal, a colonial Commissioner, used it as a base. Port Bell went on to become Kampala's harbour. Although no ships land there now, there is still a jetty, which was used by Lake Victoria ferries.
The entrance to the national zoo is located near to the jetty, though foreign visitors have noted the seeming incongruity of wild monkeys sitting in the trees over the zoo's paths. The extensive National Botanical Gardens, laid out in 1898, are also in Entebbe.
Entebbe is perhaps best known to Europeans as the home of Entebbe International Airport, the main international airport of Uganda, which was started in 1947. It was from this airport that Queen Elizabeth II departed Africa to return to England in 1952 when learning of her father's death and that she had become Queen.
Entebbe is the home of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI).
See also
0°04′N 32°27′E / 0.067°N 32.450°E