17/05/2013: Today we landed in Dili, where we are
staying for 5 days.
Dili is the capital of East Timor, also known as The
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
The capital counts 193,563 inhabitants and is situated
at the beach.
When I flew over this island, I already noticed how
beautiful it was, beautiful blue sea, blue sky and a beautiful nature. The
island has in fact 620 kms of sandy beaches. This is paradise, undiscovered and
therefore authentic.
During the flight, I read about its history and nature
and I’d like to share that with you:
Climate:
The island has a dry season, from May to November, and
during that dry season the average is 20° to 33° C. Around October or November,
humidity arrives, and monsoon cloud activity builds up. From December to April
they have the wet season, with average temperatures of 29° to 35° C. During the
wet season, they have heavy rains and flooding.
In the mountains like the Ramelau Range, with the
country's highest point “the Foho Tatamailau” at2,963 m the day temperatures
are warm to hot but very cold at night.
Tropical cyclones and tsunamis may occur (I hope they
don’t occur now ;-))
Economy
It is a poor country. 90 % of the people are employed
in agriculture. The only significant export product is coffee and that’s also their
most important source of income. (the coffee is very strong, so I hope you like
sugar in your coffee;-))
Other sources are oil and gas (there is an agreement
with Australia)
Languages
Tetun, Portuguese, and numerous Indonesian languages
and yes… some speak English! ,-)
Geography - Demography
In 2010 it counted 1,066,582 people; the currency is
USD and the original people are Timorese, Indonesian and Chinese.
Neighbouring countries are Australia (with the
Australian city Darwin just around the corner) and Indonesia.
History
East Timor is one of the newest nations (2002).
It has been ruled by numerous colonies like
Portuguese, Dutch, Australian, Indonesian, ...
In 1974 the Portuguese decolonised but only 9 days
later, the Indonesia invaded. During that time it has known a lot of violence
and bloody wars including torture, execution, and imprisonment for expressing
political views,.. More than 200,000 Timorese died from famine, disease, and
fighting since the country’s annexation.
The Santa Cruz massacre in 1991, in which at least 450
youngsters died, according to Indonesia only 20 died and went all over the
world. A movie has even been made about the massacre and the 5 Australian
journalists killed in that war. Due to international pressures, Indonesia
allowed United Nation forces to enter into East Timor on September 12, 1999 and
by the end of October the last of the Indonesian soldiers had left East Timor.
The natives, with support of UN, managed to regain their country in 2002. In
2011 peace returned and responsibility could be handed over to the natives.
It has a rich culture and intriguing history. You can
still notice the influences and certainly the Portuguese! You can visit
Portuguese ruins: archaeologist have found human settlement from 1,300 years
ago: The Ile Kére Kére caves. They are situated at the eastern tip, close to
the village Tutuala. Its main cave is called Lena Hara. It proves the
occupation by humans for 30-35,000 years. On the picture you can see the
paintings.
So far about this beautiful country. I wish I had the
time to visit the ruins and see the beautiful nature but my diary is full with
appointments and the little time off I have, I have to rest. Seems like a have
a jet lag. We are staying in Dili hotel Esplanada. It’s a beautiful hotel and
city. When I arrived, I got a beautiful scarf, which was a sign of welcoming
me. In the morning I went for a walk and took a picture of this beautiful
sight.
So far so good, let’s do some business now and move on
to our next destination!
Best wishes
Valerie
