Victoria
Victoria, which is the capital of Seychelles, is situated on Mahe island. The British captain of an East India Company ship, Alexander Sharpiegh, made the first recorded visit to what is now called Victoria, in 1609.Frenchman Lazare Picault also anchored in its bay in 1744. Twelve year later, Nicolas Morphey claimed the islands for France and in the late 18th century Victoria was known as L’Establissement du Roi which in English meant The Kings’s settlement. About a quarter of Mahe’s population resides within Victoria. The modern streets and building blocks of the city makes the wooden and traditional buildings very obvious to the eyes. Most Seychellois spend hours of their week in Victoria. Shopping, meeting and business are the main cause and Saturdays see the colourful vegetable and fruit market in Market street surrounded by locals and tourists alike. Yards away is the fish market with local fisherman and fish mongers displaying their catch with pride and trying to make a living. Young, old, uniform or plain clothes, every one walks around the city in circle which can easily takes ten minutes to complete. As a small population, it is very likely that everyone you see is known by face or name. The noise of traffic and people calling across the streets greeting their friends and relatives are the natural noise of Victoria. Music and CD shops blaring out the newest and finest music to attract shoppers to walk in. The old man sat by his lottery ticket stand calling out encouraging people to try their luck in getting rich tonight. This is part of the sight and sound of The Capital.
Clock Tower in the Old days
How can one miss thy Clock Tower. The replica or sometimes referred to as little “Big Ben” of London was build 1903 as attribute to Queen Victoria and to celebrate Seychelles’ new status as a crown colony separate from the neighbouring Mauritius. Many local singers sings about the clock chiming twice when it doesn’t even chimes. The Catholic Cathedra in the north part of the city chimes instead even if everyone rarely looks in a hurry.
Another landmark in the city is the Pirates arms. That is the meeting place in Victoria which was once full of tourists having a breather and enjoying a cool drink and a snack and now packed with mostly local people meeting, drinking, having a snack and enjoying one of the local one-man bands. Next door to it is the amusement centre. Well positioned by he bar, giving people the opportunity to loose their minds over alcohol then just side step to the centre and spend their money in pressing buttons or pulling handles.
The Bicentennial monument is another landmark on the round about outside the Independence house which house, amongst others, the Immigration Office. The monument consists of three white wings which represents the element of Seychellois ancestry; their European, African and Asian inheritance.
Clock Tower Now
A visit of the capital is every visitors business and it will tell the whole history and show the faces of the beautiful country.
