Island of Mozambique

The Island of Mozambique is a former Portuguese trading-post on the route to India. The island was a major Arab port and boatbuilding centre long before Vasco da Gama visited in 1498. The Portuguese established a port and naval base as early as 1507, while the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte, built in 1522, is considered the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere.

Year	Decision	Comments
1991	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription

Reviews

Elizabeth Latham (United States):
Monsoon winds have been blowing traders from India to Ilha de Moçambique (Island of Mozambique) since the 10th century. In the early 1500s Vasco de Gama arrived in Ilha and built a Portuguese fort out of blocks of the coral reef surrounding the island, claiming the territory for his nation.

After nearly 500 years of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained its independence in 1975. The fort was used as a military barracks during Mozambique’s bloody civil war and later as a school. As the population on Ilha surged during the civil war, the fort fell into disrepair. Poverty-stricken Ilha residents searching for firewood found the window casings and wooden support beams of the fortress to be a cheap source of fuel. While wandering the streets of Ilha this August, we came upon a man using an axe to chip away at a large beam that clearly had come from the fortress. He reminded me that when people are hungry today, they can’t worry about preserving cultural treasures for tomorrow.

Like its fort, Ilha itself is truly a unique place to visit. Although Ilha is less than three kilometers long, it has a population of over 14,000 people. Natural beauty and incomprehensible squalor coexist side-by-side on this tiny island.

Most of the population on the island live in shanties made of sticks, straw, and the occasional piece of corrugated iron. While water is now piped onto the island, it is not sufficient to provide sanitation facilities to the island’s residents. Cholera outbreaks are common, while the beautiful beaches are used as bathrooms.

Although the sanitation problem in the reed town prevents the island from being an ideal beach resort, there are many other reasons for exploring Ilha. At night the streets are pitch black, making star gazing from the middle of the road a fabulous experience (don't worry – there are very few cars on Ilha). Small museums offer a glimpse into the island’s colorful past. For example, the governor’s palace is furnished with beautiful carved furniture from Goa, India. Moreover, the natural beauty of the area is breathtaking. The teal and blues of the water are calm and inviting. You can hire a local boat to take you on a day of sailing around the coral reefs.

Despite the island’s poverty, there are several very comfortable guest houses and small hotels that have reasonable rates. You will find they are equipped with modern conveniences like hot water and comfortable beds equipped with mosquito nets.

Ilha’s many restaurants offer an interesting fusion of cuisine. Traditional Matapa (the green leaves of a staple tuber cooked with local cashew nuts), curries, fresh seafood, and Portuguese style dishes predominate. Pizza and French-inspired foods can be found as well,and fresh fruit is plentiful.

If you are looking to contribute to the local economy by shopping, there are a few shops which sell unique handmade crafts and jewelry. Most markets are set up for locals and with creativity can be a great source of gifts. The morning market by the water is bustling with people selling vegetables, freshly harvested sea salt, palm frond brooms, fabric, and—if you need something to store all these items in—plastic containers from China. There are also shops where you can buy African print clothing: men’s lounge pants and long sleeve shirts as well as women’s “skorts” and dresses.

While discovering Ilha, I learned that the government, realizing that the fort was an important part of Mozambique’s history, turned to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for help. In partnership with other United Nations organizations, UNESCO has been working with local authorities and contractors to restore the fort to its former state. This has been no small task - over the years, attempts to patch up problems resulted in faulty repairs that resulted in chunks of concrete breaking off of walls and ceilings. To ensure that local contractors are taught proper preservation techniques for this unique structure, UNESCO works almost exclusively with local contractors. UNESCO is also partnering with the United Nations Development program to ensure that preservation contributes to poverty reduction. Thus, the fort will not only be a tourist attraction, but will also be a venue for community gatherings as well as a source of clean drinking water for Ilha residents, thanks to the rehabilitation of the fort’s original 16th century rain water collection system.

An island rich in culture and history, Ilha de Mozambique is a truly unique place; a place of pizza and curries, vibrant markets and soiled beaches, medieval architecture and shanty towns. For those that enjoy diversity and getting off the beaten path, Ilha is fabulous place to find yourself.

-Elizabeth

Date posted: September 2009

Llewellyn Jones (South Africa):
The Lonely Planet says the Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island) is one of the country’s most fascinating destinations. It describes the Island’s architectural charms and social heritage – dating back many centuries before European colonisation – in the most alluring terms. It says the Island is between 200m and 500m wide and about 3km long. I have read the descriptions and suggestions for things to do on the Island many times over, but absolutely nowhere does it mention the fact that the Island has 14 000 inhabitants, half of whom crap on the beach on a daily basis. When an Islander says:- “I’m just going to the bog,” he, or she means that they are actually going to take a lazy stroll down to the beach and, depending on the urgency, possibly dig a little hole in the soft, golden sand and take a crap. Afterwards, depending on how well bred he or she is, they will step into the warm, tropical bidet to clean off. Then it’s just a matter of zipping up, tucking in and making themselves generally presentable, maybe nodding a greeting to a neighbour who hasn’t noticed the tide coming in, before strolling back to hearth and home relieved, refreshed and happy.
It even seems like a bit of a social event sometimes. You can see them lining up in the late afternoon, five or six squatting in a row, hotly debating where the fish are biting best as you stroll along the beachside boulevard trying to ignore the fact that there is a group of men, or women – never men and women together – taking a communal crap just yards to your right.
Without actually mentioning the crap, the Lonely Planet says an effort is being made to clean up the beaches, and that holidaymakers can swim at the beaches on either side of the 16th century fort at the north-eastern tip of the island. The guide goes on to warn would-be swimmers not to venture away from these two beaches as strong tides make it dangerous to swim around the northern and southern ends of the island.
Strong tides. That’s it. Nothing else! No mention of turds bobbing up and down on a gentle tropical swell. Maybe it’s just me, but I would have thought that the possibility of catching a dose of dysentery or ecoli poisoning merely by taking a refreshing dip in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, would have been a far more compelling and appropriate warning.
When my wife and I were discussing possible destinations for a romantic island vacation over New Year, I might have said something like: “While it may appeal to my sense of adventure, swimming around in ocean of shit, beating off flies, doesn’t really appeal to my sense of romance and relaxation. Maybe we should look for another option.” I certainly wouldn’t have booked a ten-day vacation on the island.

George Warrington (United Kingdom):
I went to the island shortly after the war ended, so this review may be rather out of date. It was an unforgettable experience. I flew from Maputo to Nampula and drove in a battered taxi for three hours through the rain soaked jungle. It took three hours because of the huge craters from mines littering the road. I would say about 40% of the local people had injuries or were maimed from mines. The Island of Mozambique lies like a glittering pearl in an blue-green lagoon. It is reached via a single-track concrete pillared causeway built by the Portuguese in the sixties. During the war the population, migrating to the coast from inland, expanded from 3000 to 25000 in a few years, and the population continues to rise, placing unsustainable pressure on the scant resources of this tiny island. Water shortages are common, there is strepticocca all over the coral surrounding the island from unprocessed human effluent. This situation may well have improved since my visit, but the floods of a cuple of years ago cannot have improved the situation. The island itself is beyond comparison in the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar, Kilwa, Mombasa, even Lamu, cannot hold a candle to it in terms of historical importance, beauty, charm, variety... The 17th century Portuguese fort is magnificent, the baroque gateway carved from stone and white coral, and the old bronze cannon still there, rotting in their emplacements. The ancient chapel on the tip of the island being restored by a small team of dedicated craftsmen; the governors palace, a Visconti-esque fantasty of tattered damask curtains and Indo-Portuguese furniture; the fabulous Neo-classical Hospital, once the healthcare marvel of the Indian Ocean, now a decaying hulk; the old slave-huts and Admiralty, the fruit and spice market, the mosque, the beaches, the old colonial palaces and houses -all beautiful. I can't recommend it highly enough. Be careful what you drink; theres hardly anything to eat except lobsters and pineapples; its highly malarial there; negotiate your boat trips, including fuel, before you set off; there are marvellous beaches across the lagoon on the island with the lighthouse. Everyone should go there NOW, before it is restored and commercialised to death. This is bound to happen sooner or later - its just too good an opportunity to miss!

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