June 21, 2015

1687 FRANCE (Mayotte) - Aerial view of Mamoudzou and the Point Mahabou


Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France, which consists of an archipelago located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. The capital, and also the biggest city and prefecture, is Mamoudzou (known as Momoju in the local Shimaore language), located on Grande-Terre (or Mahoré), the main island of archipelago. The former capital was Dzaoudzi, but Mamoudzou was chosen as the capital in 1977. In the 1985 census, 12,026 people were recorded in the main town. Most of Mayotte’s shops, restaurants and businesses are concentrated in Mamoudzou, and the neighbouring industrial zone of Kaweni.

In Mamoudzou is also the only park of Mayotte, the Park of the Point Mahabou, located on a promontory that rises to 53m. Every weekend, many Mahorais meet there, around a barbecue, to walk, or to jogging. The women come often to gather flowers and leaves to make necklaces available for tourists. In the park is also the tomb of Andriantsoly, the Sultan of Mayotte (1832-1843) who sold the island to France after a brutal reign, for an personal life annuity of 1,000 piastres (5,000 francs).and some promises. He was assassinated in 1847 on Petite-Terre. On the postcard can be seen also the market (the blue building) and the tourist office (the pink building), close to the marina.

About the stamp
The stamp is part of the definitive series depicting Marianne, issued on  July 16, 2014, about which I wrote here.

References
Mamoudzou - Wikipedia
Le parc de la Pointe Mahabou (french) - jpmarcillaud.blogspot.ro

Sender: Rouwaida
Sent from Mamoudzou (Mayotte / France), on 09.02.2015
Photo: Kostia Schaub

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