Mozambique — small and almost not visited by tourists, but a very interesting country. Wild African nature, safari tours, unusual local cuisine… And all this is adjacent to poverty and even poverty, which is found here, if not everywhere, then everywhere. However, only the most courageous tourists usually get into this country anyway, and nothing can frighten them.
Interesting facts about Mozambique
- Graça Machel was the wife of the President of Mozambique until 1986, and 12 years after his death, she married the head of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. So she became the only woman in history to be the first lady of two different states.
- Since ancient times, the inhabitants of Mozambique have been catching sea turtles on sticky fish – a rope is tied to the tail of the fish, and then the “bait” is thrown onto the shell of the nearest turtle. If the prey is very large, you have to use several fish at once, since one stuck is able to pull an animal no heavier than 30 kg out of the water (interesting facts about fish).
- Mozambique is the only state in the world whose flag depicts a machine gun Kalashnikov. This weapon also flaunts on the coat of arms of the country (however, she is not alone here – the brainchild of the Russian designer is also depicted on the coats of arms of East Timor and Zimbabwe).
- Although the majority of the inhabitants of Mozambique (over 80%) are engaged in agriculture, almost 90% of the fertile land available to the state remains uncultivated.
- About 70% of the population of this African country lives below the poverty line.
- The train station in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel in the early 20th century. The building looks more like a palace with a huge copper dome than a railway station.
- The Bazaruto Archipelago Marine National Park in Mozambique, consisting of 150 islands, is considered one of the most picturesque places on the entire African continent. Divers and travelers from all over the world come here to look at the ancient coral reefs and schools of tropical fish.
- Kissing causes deep disgust among the people of Mozambique.
- In Mozambique, there is practically no Internet or cellular communication anywhere. There is simply no proper coverage.
- The Mozambique army has a special sapper unit, consisting of marsupial rats. It turned out that these rodents are excellent at looking for explosives and other dangerous items left in local lands after the civil war.
- The Mozambique Channel, with a length of about 1760 kilometers, is the longest on the planet.
- Mozambique has the largest in Africa, the Cahora Basa hydroelectric power plant, with a capacity of 2075 megawatts.
- Mozambique was the first place south of the equator where a permanent settlement of Caucasian people arose.
- The stone church on the island of Mozambique was the first stone building built by Europeans in the southern hemisphere.
- Lake Nyasa, located between Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania, is the third deepest freshwater reservoir in the world (after Baikal and Tanganyika). The local lake ecosystem is the richest in number of species, and a significant part of them are not found anywhere else on the planet (interesting facts about lakes).
- Mozambique was the first country in the southern hemisphere in which firearms were used.
- The population density on the island of Mozambique is a record for Africa – more than 36 thousand people per square kilometer.