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Mutsamudu is the second-largest city in the
Mutsamudu was likely founded in 1482. It grew into a prosperous Swahili port, funneling traffic between the Swahili ports of Mozambique and Madagascar. Later Arab, Persian, Indian, Somali, and Malagasy sailors and traders settled in the town. By the 1700s, it was the most prosperous town in the Comoros Archipelago. During an expedition along the Swahili Coast in 1773, the commissioner Frederick Holtzappel visited the town. He expressed his admiration, noting that the houses were built with stone, whitewashed inside and out, had plank painted ceilings, and were thatched with coconut leaves. He also observed several two-story houses belonging to the "Turkified" elite. There were numerous public baths in town, and all of the elites had baths in their houses. According to Holtzappel, the men wore white linen gowns and turbans, as well as silk clothing and daggers with silver sheaths.
Mutsamudu has two parallel main streets. The medina from the 15th century is located between them. The citadel was constructed in 1786 with help of the British to protect the city from Malagasy slave raisers. It was badly damaged in 1950 at the landfall of a cyclone.
Mutsamudu enjoys marine tropical weather. The main temperature range extends from 27
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. It ...
. It is also the capital and largest city on the island of 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 ...
as well the former home of former Comorian president Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi
Sayyid Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi ( ar, أحمد عبدالله محمد سامبي, born 5 June 1958) is a Comorian Islamic leader and politician, and former President of Comoros. He is popularly known as 'Ayatollah'. After easily winning the ...
. It now houses a deep water port, an ancient citadel, and narrow streets with many shops and small crafts. The population in 2010 stood at 25,471.
History
Mutsamudu was likely founded in 1482. It grew into a prosperous Swahili port, funneling traffic between the Swahili ports of Mozambique and Madagascar. Later Arab, Persian, Indian, Somali, and Malagasy sailors and traders settled in the town. By the 1700s, it was the most prosperous town in the Comoros Archipelago. During an expedition along the Swahili Coast in 1773, the commissioner Frederick Holtzappel visited the town. He expressed his admiration, noting that the houses were built with stone, whitewashed inside and out, had plank painted ceilings, and were thatched with coconut leaves. He also observed several two-story houses belonging to the "Turkified" elite. There were numerous public baths in town, and all of the elites had baths in their houses. According to Holtzappel, the men wore white linen gowns and turbans, as well as silk clothing and daggers with silver sheaths.
Geography and climate
Mutsamudu has two parallel main streets. The medina from the 15th century is located between them. The citadel was constructed in 1786 with help of the British to protect the city from Malagasy slave raisers. It was badly damaged in 1950 at the landfall of a cyclone.
Mutsamudu enjoys marine tropical weather. The main temperature range extends from 27°C
The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...
to throughout the year. The hottest period in Mutsamudu is from the month of December to the month of April. Comparatively cooler weather is experienced from the month of May to the month of November. There is significant rainfall in most months of the year, wettest month is January.
The entire Comoros islands are regularly swept by violent winds and sometimes by tropical cyclones with significant human and material damage. The most important of tropic cyclones recorded in Comoros occurred in 1950 and damaged the Mutsamudu citadel. Cyclone Elinah in 1983 and Cyclone Feliksa killed a few people but affected thousands of people's lives.
Economy
Mutsamudu is the only deep water port of the Union of the Comoros, constructed in 1982. Three quarters of its cargo consists of transhipment for containerized cargoes destined to the two other islands. The main import products shipped from the port are rice, cement, sugar, flour and petroleum products. Main export products are ylang ylang,clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
s and 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 ...
.
References
Populated places in Anjouan 1482 establishments 15th-century establishments in Africa Populated places established in the 1480s {{Comoros-geo-stub