Cristal water,
white sands on dreamy beaches where to lay and relax, under the sun or
the
shadow of a palm tree. All together, the 115 islands of Seychelles are
one of
the most beautiful heavens still existing on earth.
Normal
0
14
false
false
false
IT
X-NONE
X-NONE
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Tabella normale";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
The first time
Europeans heard about Seychelles was in 1502, following Vasco de Gama’s travel.
After various historical episodes – England and France contended the
sovereignty of the area for many years – finally Seychelles ended up under the
English government, and now they are a semi-presidential republic. The cultural
and social character of the islands, mostly matriarchal, is evident: the
control of the families is in the women’s hands, which often are unmarried,
whereas the male contribution is mostly economic. Families are often composed
by various generations of women which educate children together.
Being the Seychelles a small archipelago off
the coast of northern Madagascar, their organization is quite complicated, as
they need to be self-sufficient in everything. The main issue is education, a
problem which, in the last years, has found a definitive and complete solution:
institutions are in charge of citizens’ education since 1944, and the first
Technical Institute has been inaugurated in 1970; before, education was in the
hands of the Catholic and the Anglican Church, whose missionaries provided
teaching. After the foundation of the school and the training of teachers, many
other schools followed, and now literacy rate hits 90%, while 85% of elderly
people is able to read and write, thanks to the adult literacy classes provided
to increase the previous rate of 60%. Unfortunately, a university still does
not exist; however, a few university courses are going to be activated in
cooperation with London University, and they will be able to grant
internationally recognized titles.
Living at the Seychelles as a tourist will
bring no thoughts of this kind: the inhabitants of the archipelago not only
speak Creole, but also English and French, inherited from the past
colonisations; moreover, they are likely to assist tourists in order to have
them spending wonderful holidays in apartments or villas. The marvellous sea
surrounding the islands is crystalline and the beaches paradisiacal; staying on
an island far from anyone and anything will help you retrieving the ability to
relax and enjoy the joys of life. Gastronomy has been influenced by French
traditions, by the abundance of fish of the Indian Ocean and by the spicy and
strong flavours of the Creole cuisine; the traditional music as well comes out
of a mix of European, African and Indian cultures. It is quite curious fact
that an substantial part of family expenses of the island’s inhabitants is
constituted by events and parties of various kinds, such as weddings
anniversaries and engagements.
Seychelles islands are much more than a holiday
destination, they are a paradise to benefit from, in order to regain the
pleasure of living with no duties, surrounded by a luxuriant nature which hosts
the main marine birds colonies in the world, various species of orchids and the
rare black parrot of the Seychelles, a protected species and a national
symbol... The beauties and particularities to list are countless, but the best
thing is to see them all with your own eyes.
