In his travel book, In Search of King Solomon's Mines, Tahir Shah described Mendi in the late 20th century as a town with "a muddy main street", lined with "buildings with corrugated iron roofs and cement walls". He stops in a bar where "kerosene and sawdust had been sprinkled on the floor to keep away the flies."Tahir Shah, In Search of King Solomon's Mines (New York: Arcade, 2003), p. 195
