The Seychelles is made up of more than 100 tiny islands
The Seychelles is made up of more than 100 tiny islands that dot the face of the endless deep. Millions of years ago, these islands were stranded in the western Indian Ocean after Africa and Asia drifted apart. Wherever you come from, Seychelles will be far away from home. And this is indeed a key attraction for many who want to get away. It lies northeast of Madagascar, and is 1,593 Km east of the African coast at Kenya.
The Arabs are thought to have been amongst the earliest visitors, having come by as early as the ninth century. But it was Vasco de Gama- the celebrated Portuguese explorer, who formally discovered the uninhabited islands in 1505. For many years thereafter, the islands were a hiding place for pirates- thus the whispers of hidden treasures that occasionally surface. In 1756, the French claimed the islands and subsequently became the first settlers. They named them Sechelles -after King Louis XV’’s finance minister.
As the Seychelles islands were unoccupied before the French period, its people have no common native ancestry. Here, Africans, Indian, Asians, Chinese, Europeans, and Arabs met in various circumstances, mingled and the times rolled. Today, Seychelles prides itself in the resulting rich Creole culture. The spoken tongues are Creole (French based), English and French. The 115 islands of the Seychelles stretch a vast 400,000 sq km. Only 33 of the islands are inhabited, with a population of about 82,000 (2005). About 56 other islands are strictly set-aside as Natural Parks and Reserves to preserve their incredible natural beauty and rare species of flora and fauna. This has put Seychelles on the world map as the country with the largest proportion of natural resources protected in conservation sanctuaries.
Author: Andrew Muigai Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_84251_29.html Photo USAID
