Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Up with Geography: Comoros

Country Name:
Comoros

Capital:
Moroni

Continent:
None; it's an island chain off the east coast of Africa

Map:
Note: There is a fourth island that is claimed by Comoros but
officially belongs to France. I chose not to include it.

Neighbors:
None; the closest are Mozambique to the west & Madagascar to the southeast

Water Borders:
Mozambique Channel; Indian Ocean

Total Area:
863 square miles

Five Largest Cities:
Moroni, Moutsamoudou, Fomboni, Domoni, Sima

Famous Geographical Point:
Mount Karthala

Famous Person:
Nawal, singer/songwriter & musician

Book Set In/About:
Last of the Pirates: The Search for Bob Denard by Samantha Weinberg

A non-fiction book about a French mercenary who took refuge in the Comoros, where he helped to overthrow two presidents before being overthrown himself and then disappearing.

Movie Set In/About:
"L'Ivresse d'une Oasis (Ashes of Dreams)" (2011), directed by Hachimiya Alameda

I'm not completely sure what this is about, as the description doesn't seem to be written by a native English speaker, but it's a documentary and it involves a road trip across the Comoros so that sounds interesting.

Headline of the Day:
"Tanzania: Dar Strengthens Trade Ties with the Comoros" on allafrica.com.

2 comments:

Patricia said...

Such tiny islands. Coming from such a big country, I always wonder how things work when your entire country has less than a million people.

Also, in looking at Google Maps to get a sense of scale (they are teeny tiny compared to Madagascar) I got distracted by the Seychelles, a place my Aunts have visited.

balyien said...

I've wanted to visit the Seychelles ever since I saw it on an episode of House Hunters International. It looks beautiful! Did your aunts enjoy it?

I can't imagine living somewhere as tiny and isolated as Comoros, but I suppose if that's all you know, you're just used to it.