Moroni, Comoros

For other places, people and things with the same name, see Moroni.
Moroni
موروني Mūrūnī
City Centre of Moroni, Capital of the Comores, with Central Mosque and Harbor Bay. Photo by Sascha Grabow.
Moroni is located in Comoros
Moroni
Location of Moroni on the island of Grande Comore
Coordinates:
Country  Comoros
Island Grande Comore
Capital city 1962
Population (2003)
 - Total 60,200 (estimate)
Time zone Eastern Africa Time (UTC+3)

Moroni (in Arabic موروني Mūrūnī) is the largest city of the Comoros islands and since 1958 has served as its capital. In Cormorian, Moroni translates as "in the heart of the fire", perhaps alluding to the city's proximity to Mount Karthala.[1] The city's estimated population in 2003 was 60,200 residents.[2][3]

Contents

History

Moroni was founded by Arabic settlers possibly during the 10th century CE as the capital of a sultanate connected commercially to Zanzibar in Tanzania.[1]

Geography

The city is located on the western coast of Grande Comore (also known as N'gazidja) island. Moroni is served by the Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport (IATA airport code: HAH). There is also a harbour with regular transport to the African mainland and the other islands in the Comoros archipelago, as well as Madagascar and other Indian ocean islands. Moroni is located at .

Commerce

Exports include vanilla, cocoa, and coffee.

Tourism

Moroni has many excellent beaches. The Ancienne Mosquée du Vendredi (Old Friday Mosque) is a popular tourist spot.

Moroni beach

City Centre of Moroni, Capital of the Comores, with Central Mosque, Harbor Bay and the surrounding area. Photo by Sascha Grabow.

Mosque with typical Comoro male in front of it, in the City Centre of Moroni. Photo by Sascha Grabow.

Climate

Moroni features a tropical rainforest climate, with generally heavy precipitation throughout the year. Moroni generally sees a copious amount of precipitation throughout the course of the year, with only October seeing on average less than 100 mm of rain. Like many other cities with this climate, Moroni average temperatures throughout the year are relatively constant. Temperatures, though very warm, are not quite as oppressive due in part to the frequent rainfall.

Climate data for Moroni
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: BBC Weather [4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lonelyplanet.com
  2. ↑ USA Today Travel Guides.
  3. ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica
  4. ↑ "Average Conditions Moroni, Comoros". BBC Weather. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT004970. Retrieved August 18, 2009.