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Moroni ( ar, موروني, ''Mūrūnī'') is the largest city, federal
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
, and seat of the government of the
Union of the Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean ...
, a sovereign archipelago nation in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
. Moroni means "at the river" (''mroni'' in Shingazidja). Moroni is the capital of the semi-autonomous island of Ngazidja, the largest of the three main islands of the republic. The city's estimated population in 2003 was 41,557 residents. Moroni, which lies along the Route Nationale 1, has a port and several mosques such as the Badjanani Mosque.


History

The early history of Moroni is uncertain. The earliest written evidence for settlement in the Comoros Islands comes no earlier than the 7th century, possibly by Arab navigations and Bantu-speaking agriculturalists, while ceramic finds from the 7th to 10th century demonstrate that the Islands were part of the developing Swahili civilization, but when Moroni itself was first settled is not known. By the middle of the second millennium, however, Moroni was clearly a well established town, engaged in trade networks throughout the Indian Ocean, and the Badjanani mosque, built in 1427, is a testament to the city's wealth, contemporary with the golden ages of other Swahili cities. Together with neighbouring port and royal capital Ikoni, Moroni was one of two centres of economic and political power of the kingdom of Bambao. Nevertheless, until the end of the nineteenth century it was just one of a number of large towns on the island, and it wasn't until the Sultan of Bambao, Said Ali ibn Said Omar, negotiated a treaty of Protectorate with France in 1886 that his town became the seat of the colonial administration. Moroni grew slowly through the twentieth century for, although it was now the capital of Ngazidja, it was not the seat of the territorial administration, which was located at
Dzaoudzi Dzaoudzi is a commune in the French overseas department of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. The commune of Dzaoudzi (sometimes called Dzaoudzi-Labattoir), made up of the twin towns of Dzaoudzi and Labattoir, is located on the small island of Petite ...
on
Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loca ...
, and in 1958 its population was still only 6,545. However, in that same year the decision was taken to move the capital of the archipelago from Dzaoudzi to Moroni, and the town slowly grew to become the largest in the country. An agreement on broad autonomy to the three islands was refused by the
Anjouan Anjouan (; also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and historically as Johanna or Hinzuan) is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, , its population is around 277,500 ...
representatives which resulted in an eruption of violence affecting Moroni in April 1999, during which Colonel
Azali Assoumani Azali Assoumani ( ar, غزالي عثماني; born 1 January 1959) is a Comorian politician and military officer who has served as President of the Comoros since April 2019. He was also president from 2002 to 2006 and 2016 to February 2019. He ...
assumed power in a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. In December 2003, the Moroni Agreement on Transition Agreements was signed by the island presidents of the Union of Comoros. In the run up to the 2006 elections, the government-owned Radio Ngazidja and private station Moroni FM were raided by armed assailants and forced off the air temporarily. In 2010, the U.S. Navy's
Seabee , colors = , mascot = Bumblebee , battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippin ...
s constructed Hamramba School in Moroni as a humanitarian project, in partnership with the local military and Comoros' federal government; construction methods included mixing concrete by hand before using buckets and wheel barrels to move the concrete to the school site.


Geography

The city is on the western coast of Ngazidja. Moroni has a rocky volcanic coastline, mostly without beaches. Settlements to the north of Moroni include Itsandra, Ntsoudjini, Ouellah, Bahani, Batsa, Vanambouani and Vanadjou, and to the south are Ikoni, Mvouni, Daoueni and Selea.


Landmarks

The historic town centre, the Medina, contains a maze of narrow alleys and ancient buildings but is poorly maintained. The old city centre is similar to but smaller than the old town of
Lamu Lamu or Lamu Town is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty, from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island ...
. There are many mosques, notably the Badjanani Mosque or ''Ancienne Mosquée de Vendredi'' (old Friday mosque), which is the oldest mosque in the Medina. It was originally built in 1427, and a minaret was added in 1921. The 300-seat theatre of the Alliance Franco-Comorienne serves as a venue for national and international performances, ceremonies, conferences, film screenings, and seminars. Other venues include the 700-seat Al-Kamar, the 500-seat Palais du Peuple, and the 300-seat Foyer des Jeunes de Foumbouni. Moroni has a few hotels and nightclubs. The nearby Karthala volcano is also an attraction for hiking when the volcano is dormant.


Climate

Moroni features a
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southe ...
('' Af''), with generally heavy precipitation throughout the year—only October sees on average less than of rain (roughly ). The average annual rainfall is and it rains during all months of the year. The monsoon season lasts from November to April. Humidity is in the range of 69 to 79 percent. Moroni's average temperatures throughout the year are relatively constant with a high in the range of and a low in the range of . The region experiences frequent cyclones and as the islands are located more than 10 degrees below the
equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can also ...
in the western part of the Indian Ocean, the climate is generally termed as "maritime tropical".


Mount Karthala

Moroni is situated at the foot of
Mount Karthala Mount Karthala or Karthola ( ar, القرطالة ''Al Qirṭālah'') is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the ...
, northwest from the volcano's crater. The high active volcano is reported to be one of the largest active volcanoes in the world, with a diameter of about , and erupting approximately every eleven years over the past two hundred years. The eruption of 2005 caused displacement of a large number of people due to volcanic ash.


Wildlife

The volcano which forms the backdrop of the Moroni city has numerous bird species including Comoro pigeon,
Karthala scops owl The Karthala scops owl (''Otus pauliani''), also known as the Grand Comoro scops owl or Comoro scops owl, is a small scops owl endemic to the island of Grande Comore in the Comoro Islands. Taxonomy The Karthala scops owl was formerly considered ...
, Comoro cuckoo-roller, Comoro drongo, Comoro thrush, Comoro bulbul,
Humblot's flycatcher Humblot's flycatcher (''Humblotia flavirostris'') or the Grand Comoro flycatcher, is a small passerine bird belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. It is the only member of its genus. Humblot's flycatcher is endemic to the island of Gran ...
, Comoro cuckoo-shrike, Kirk's white-eye,
Karthala white-eye The Karthala white-eye (''Zosterops mouroniensis''), also known as the Mount Karthala white-eye, Grand Comore white-eye, or Comoro white-eye, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. As suggested by its name, it is endemic to '' Philippi ...
, Comoro brush-warbler, Comoro green sunbird, and Comoro fody.


Demographics

, Moroni had a population of about 54,000.
Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
account for 98%, and there is a minority of
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. The official languages of the Comoros are
Shikomori Comorian (''Shikomori'', or ''Shimasiwa'', the "language of islands") is the name given to a group of four Bantu languages spoken in the Comoro Islands, an archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is nam ...
(a Bantu language closely related to Swahili),
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
and
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.


Places of worship

Among the
places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
, they are predominantly
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
mosques. There are also
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
churches and temples : Apostolic Vicariate of the Comoros Archipelago (
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
),
Protestant churches Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
,
Evangelical Churches Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
.


Economy

Goods produced on the island are
vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...
, soft drinks, processed and distilled essential oils, metal and wood products, and processed pozzolana (
cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...
); these are exported from the port. The tourist infrastructure is poorly developed. Financial institutions include Banque Centrale des Comores, Banque de Development des Comores, and Banque pour Industries et le Commerce. There are several markets in Moroni, including the old market and the larger market at Volo Volo in the north of the city.


Transport

The country's civil aviation authority, Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications de la Promotion des Nouvelles Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication chargé des Transports et du Tourisme, is located in Moroni, as is the National Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology. Moroni is served by the
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport (french: Aéroport international Moroni Prince Saïd Ibrahim, ar, مطار الأمير سعيد إبراهيم الدولي, AIMPSI) is an international airport serving Moroni in Comoros. It is named ...
, located at Hahaya, about north of the town. However, there are no direct flights to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. It is a civilian airport at an elevation of and has a paved runway which has dimensions of . Airlines which operate international flights to this airport are Air Tanzania, Air Austral and Kenya Airways. However, between the islands the local airlines, Int'Air Iles and AB Aviation operate. On 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626, en route from Yemen to Moroni, crashed into the Indian Ocean with 153 passengers and crew on board, many from France. There is a major harbour though small in size with regular transport to the
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n mainland and the other islands in the Comoros
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...
, as well as
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
and other
Indian ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
islands. The port is a small
quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...
of with a draught of , and hence is not suitable for large ships to enter as coral reefs pose a threat to safety. It supports a maximum vessel size of . The channel depth is , with an anchorage depth of , a cargo pier depth of and a terminal depth of . Within the harbour's mini industrial zone, a local container terminal was managed by Gulfcom Port Management SA during the period of 2006–2012, after which
Bolloré Africa Logistics Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
won the concession and it will partner with Cofipri, a
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
investment company. Storage facilities such as warehouses have been established to facilitate imports and exports and also for petroleum storage.


See also


References

Bibliography * * *


External links

* {{Authority control Capitals in Africa Populated places in Grande Comore