Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa. The capital, Maputo, is to the south, near the coast. The land area of the country is 308,642 square miles (799,509 square kilometers). The terrain ranges from tropical forests and swamps to mountains, meadows, sand dunes and beaches. The Zambezi River is an important natural resource, providing electricity through the Cahora Bassa Dam, one of Africa's largest hydropower projects. The Zambezi flows from west to east and divides the country into northern and southern regions which diverge, to some extent, in terms of culture and history as well as climate.
There are two main seasons: the wet season from November to March and the dry season from April to October. Drought is common, especially in the south. However, the country has also experienced devastating floods, the most recent in 1999. Mozambique has a great diversity of animals, including zebras, water buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, lions, hippos and wild animals. crocodiles. The country has created national parks and game reserves where these animals are protected.
Mozambique is ranked among the countries with the most beautiful train stations in the world. Take the example of Maputo Central Station. Indeed, Maputo surprises at every turn with its mix of architecture. Surrounded by colossal rationalist buildings in the heart of Baixa, it is the train station, listed as one of the most beautiful in the world. From the elegant main building is accessed two platforms covered by a roof full of wrought iron ornaments and supported by beautiful columns and ornate beams. There are also details from another era: wall clocks, huge ceiling fans, beautiful Portuguese tiles, carved wooden doors, iron benches, large bells ...
This station, built in a beautiful colonial building at the beginning of the 20th century on the plans of Gustave Eiffel, is still in operation. It has undergone a redevelopment of these quays, which today host exhibitions and local artists. It is also a famous place to come and listen to jazz concerts on certain evenings of the month. They take place in the bar / restaurant of the station. It is recommended to go there during rush hour to come and watch the movement of people.
The ‘Ponta de Ouro’ Partial Marine Reserve, which is Africa's first transboundary marine conservation area along with Kosi Bay in South Africa, is well known for its rich biodiversity. This is where 80% of the loggerhead and leatherback turtle nesting sites in Mozambique are concentrated. In 2015, however, it was estimated that at least 70% of the vulnerable population living along this coastline depended heavily on exhaustible fishery resources.
In 2018, the Ponta de Ouro Partial Marine Reserve merged with its land neighbor, the Maputo Special Reserve. These two protected areas now form a single whole, supervised by a dedicated and firmly established team which ensures coordination between organizations in the area. At the same time, steps have been taken to prepare a dossier aimed at inscribing the coast of the Ponta de Ouro Partial Marine Reserve as a World Heritage Site, in the extension of the adjacent South African coast.
Mozambican cuisine is mainly composed of cassava, millet flour, rice, fish or seafood. Ginger, lime, coconut milk and chili (piri-piri) are the basic flavors. . Mozambique's culinary tradition is marked by its history. As early as the Middle Ages, Arab traders transported spices through the Silk Road from India to Africa, to Mozambique.
In the 15th century, Mozambique became a Portuguese colony. Located on the shores of the Indian Ocean and placed on the Spice Route (a trade route connecting Portugal to India via the Atlantic, then via the Indian Ocean), it is always amply supplied with spices. Mozambican cuisine has intimately integrated the colors of Indian curries (caril) brought by these Arab and then Portuguese merchants. It was also inspired by the richness of Portuguese cuisine, for example by incorporating potatoes.
After independence, Mozambican cultural institutions underwent a fundamental transformation, as the new government sought to eliminate the influences of the colonial era. Some of these institutions remained closed, but most eventually reopened in a different form. Gustave Eiffel's famous iron house serves as an administrative center for some of the country's cultural departments. The Historical Archives of Mozambique, the Museum of the Revolution, the National Currency Museum, the Geology Museum, the National Art Museum and the Natural History Museum, all located in Maputo, contain the main collections, archives and libraries.
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Discover Mozambique. Ten interesting facts you should know about it.
Here we are this time in Mozambique, a country located on the southeastern coast of Africa.
Mozambique is a tropical dream country with a beautiful marine reserve and a young population.
But that's not all. Yes, Mozambique has a lot to offer and show about its heritage.
Are you ready to discover Mozambique?
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Let's get into it.
Geography and the weather of Mozambique
Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa.
The capital, Maputo, is to the south near the coast.
The land area of the country is 308,642 square miles.
The terrain ranges from tropical forests and swamps to the mountains, meadows, sand dunes and beaches.
The Zambezi River is an important natural resource, providing electricity through the Kahoura Besam Dam.
The Zambezi divides the country into northern and southern regions which diverge to some extent in terms of culture and history as well as climate.
There are two main seasons, the wet season from November to March and the dry season from April to October.
Drought is common, especially in the south.
However, the country has also experienced devastating floods, the most recent in 1999.
Mozambique has a great diversity of animals including zebras, water buffalos, elephants, giraffes, lions, hippos and crocodiles.
The country has created national parks and game reserves where these animals are protected.
Mozambique is ranked among the countries with the most beautiful train stations in the world.
Take the example of Maputo Central Station.
Indeed, Maputo surprises at every turn with its mix of architecture.
Surrounded by colossal rationalist buildings in the heart of Baixa, it is the train station listed as one of the most beautiful in the world.
From the elegant main building can be accessed two platforms covered by a roof full of wrought iron ornaments and supported by beautiful columns and ornate beams.
There are also details from another era, wall clocks, huge ceiling fans, beautiful Portuguese tiles, carved wooden doors, iron benches, large bells.
This station built in a beautiful colonial building at the beginning of the 20th century on the plans of Gustave Eiffel is still in operation.
It is also a famous place to come and listen to jazz concerts on certain evenings of the month.
They take place in the bar or restaurant of the station.
It is recommended to go there during rush hour to come and watch the movement of people.
It has a marine reserve.
The Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, which is Africa's first transboundary marine conservation area along with Kosi Bay in South Africa, is well known for its rich biodiversity.
This is where 80% of the loggerhead and leatherback turtle nesting sites in Mozambique are concentrated.
In 2015, however, it was estimated that at least 70% of the vulnerable population living along this coastline depended heavily on exhaustible fishery resources.
In 2018, the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve merged with its land neighbor, the Maputo Special Reserve.
These two protected areas now form a single whole supervised by a dedicated and firmly established team, which ensures coordination between organizations in the area.
At the same time, steps have been taken to prepare a dossier aimed at inscribing the coast of Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve as a World Heritage Site.
The Culinary Tradition of Mozambique
Mozambican cuisine is mainly composed of cassava, millet flour, rice, fish, or seafood.
Ginger, lime, coconut milk, and chili are the basic flavors.
Mozambique's culinary tradition is marked by its history.
As early as the Middle Ages, Arab traders transported spices through the Silk Road from India to Africa to Mozambique.
In the 15th century, Mozambique became a Portuguese colony.
Located on the shores of the Indian Ocean and placed on the Spice Route, a trade route connecting Portugal to India via the Atlantic then via the Indian Ocean, it is always supplied with spices.
Mozambican cuisine has intimately integrated the colors of Indian curries brought by these Arab and then Portuguese merchants.
It was also inspired by the richness of Portuguese cuisine, for example by incorporating potatoes.
A Land of Art and Culture
After independence, Mozambican cultural institutions underwent a fundamental transformation as the new government sought to eliminate the influences of the colonial era.
Some of these institutions remained closed but reopened in a different form.
Gustave Eiffel's famous Iron House serves as an administrative center for some of the country's cultural departments.
The National Museum of Ethnology, located in the northern town of Nampula, also has a large collection of Mozambican artifacts.
The Island of Mozambique, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 at the mouth of Mussoorie Bay in the Indian Ocean, contains a fort built in the early 1500s from stones imported from Portugal.
The town of Manica, located in the mineral-rich province of the same name, has a fine geology museum and similar collections are developed elsewhere.
Edison
Mozambique is a country whose people continue to this day to practice a deep tradition of respecting ancestors.
The curanderos are the traditional doctors in Mozambique.
They each have their own method of relieving patients and driving away evil spirits and are sometimes the only one practicing in the villages.
They often enjoy more listening than doctors trained in western medicine.
After the war, they assisted in peaceful reintegration of charred soldiers into their home communities through cleansing rituals that involved the whole community.
Its population is very young.
In Mozambique, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 make up half of the country's population.
Together they form a new generation, the first to not face colonization or the 16-year civil war that devastated Mozambique until 1992.
Statistics show they have enjoyed a better life, access to education and health services than previous generations.
Like everywhere else in the world, they are also more connected and master the use of new media and social networks.
This is especially true in urban areas where around 35% of the total population currently resides.
Projections indicate a share of 50% by 2040.
This generation has been strongly shaped by Mozambique's economic boom at the start of the 21st century.
They are full of hope for their future, better qualified than previous generations and above all, more prone to self-criticism than their parents regarding their relationship with Mozambican history, politics and traditions.
Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique.
Portuguese has been the official language of Mozambique since 1975 after independence.
In rural areas, Portuguese has not taken hold because the Bantu languages have remained very much alive as evidenced by the broadcast in the main national languages.
However, here too, as in the urban centers of Mozambique, Portuguese has developed a lingua franca to the detriment of local languages.
In fact, the civil war did more than school as it caused a huge intermixing of populations in urban centers which accelerated the spread of Portuguese at the expense of Bantu languages.
It should also be noted that the Portuguese spoken in Mozambique, while being aligned with that of Portugal, differs somewhat by certain specific lexical creations and certain distinct semantic connotations.
Mozambican Portuguese is strongly influenced in its vocabulary by the Bantu languages.
The Portuguese used in this country could be seen as a variety of Portuguese but with similar basic traits and distinctive traits.
On the north coast of the country, there are Muslims who share many cultural characteristics with the Swahili of Tanzania and Kenya.
For centuries, these peoples have been strongly influenced by Arab trade and customs.
It is estimated that around 4 million people are Muslims in Mozambique.
Sunni Islam encompasses the majority of believers.
In the central province of Zambesia, the identities of several groups were forged by Portuguese colonization.
During the colonial period, which imposed Catholicism as the official religion, Catholics enjoyed privileged status.
They are thus mainly located in the center of the country but also in the south.
They now represent around 3 million people.
Several forms of Protestant beliefs are also practiced in the country, which has 2 million followers.
About half of the population adheres to traditional and animist religions, which does not, however, make the practice of monotheistic religions incompatible.
Its flag stands out.
One of the first leaders in the struggle for independence from Portuguese rule was the National Democratic Union of Mozambique, Udenamo, whose flag was adopted in November 1961.
It had a green field divided diagonally in wooded plains of the country and black for the majority population.
Its white central disk suggested rivers and the Indian Ocean and its central red star indicated the common blood of all liberation fighters.
The same colors and symbolism were adopted by the Mozambique Liberation Front in 1962 when Udenamo united with another party.
For a short time after September 1974, the Frelimo flag flooded side by side with the flag of Portugal throughout Mozambique.
At the time of independence, on June 25, 1975, a new flag of Mozambique was hoisted.
This was in turn replaced in 1983 by a modified version of the Frelimo Party flag, the Frelimo flag inspired by the country's flag.
A yellow star was added to the red triangle, topped with an open book and a crossed hole, an assault rifle.
However, the green color of the Mozambican flag represents agricultural wealth, black represents the people and the African continent.
Red is the symbol of the people's struggles to conquer and keep their independence.
The white borders indicate that the country is peaceful.
The yellow star is a reference to the socialist history of the country.
The book represents education.
And finally, the machine gun symbolizes the determination of the people to defend their freedom.
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