Turks - Turks

Map of the Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are practically an extension of the Bahamas, the archipelago is one of them Caribbean, but is already in the Atlantic Ocean.

Regions

The archipelago consists of three parts. In the slightly south east, the Turkic Islands are on the Turk Bank, a shallow water area. In addition to some uninhabited small islands such as Big Sand Cay, Cotton Cay, Long Cay and Gibbs Cay, there are two inhabited islands.

The Caicos Islands in the north-west are around 30 km wide Turks Island Passage separated from the Turkic Islands. The Caicos Islands are located in a quarter circle in the north of the Caicos Bank, also a shallow water area. The south of the Caicos Bank is formed by small, uninhabited islands, rocks, reefs and sandbars. These uninhabited islands include West Caicos, French Cay, White Cay, South Rock, Swimmer Rock, Pear Cay, Bush Cay, Little Ambergris Cay, the Fish Cays, Long Cay and Middleton Cay.

The Caicos Islands consist of four larger islands, but only three of which are inhabited, and a few smaller islands, four of which are inhabited.

Other goals

  • Big Sand Cay
This island is part of the Turkic Islands and is located south of Salt Cay. In 1850 a pirate treasure was found on the island by the English captain Delaney. Its value at the time was $ 130,000. Today the island is a breeding ground for sea birds and an egg-laying area for sea turtles.
  • Dellis Cay
The Dellis Cay is located in the small chain of Leeward Cays, northeast of Providenciales. Until the late 19th century, sponges were dived there. The island is 235 hectares and is privately owned. An exclusive hotel and villa complex are currently being built there under the supervision of the Mandarin Oriental group.
  • East Caicos
The island is 15 km wide in the northern part, in the southern part it is only 9 km wide. It has a size of around 46 km². In the northeast you can find the highest point, the 47 m high Flamingo Hill. In the sea in front of it is the dangerous Philips Reef.
Visitors will find near the only former village Jacksonville Caves with the drawings of the Lucayan Indians. For years, guano, the remains of birds' droppings from several centuries, was mined and sold as fertilizer.
There are also ruins of former plantations. In 1881 the East Caicos Company began developing land to grow sisal. Jacksonville Plantation on the west coast was established in 1882 and employed 300 to 400 workers. There was even a railway line about 22 km long, the wagons of which were pulled by mules. In 1912, of the original 20,000 hectares of land, just 1,200 hectares were cultivated. Today a narrow path leads to the overgrown ruins of several buildings.
Another plantation was the J. N. Reynolds cattle ranch at Breezy Point. Reynolds, born in Dublin, came to the island in 1856. After his death in 1890, the East Caicos Sisal Company took over the plantation. Since its decline, a large herd of semi-wild cattle has been roaming the island. On the northwest corner there are hardly any witnesses of this cattle ranch. The island is used as a breeding ground for various sea birds. One meets iguanas and wild donkeys there.
In 1940 there were renewed attempts at settlement. Nineteen Americans, led by a relative of J. E. Reynolds, came to East Caicos from Miami on behalf of the Standard Oil Company. The oil company's engagement came to an end quickly. All the settlers were brought back during the war. In 1968 the journalist John Houseman tried his hand at conquering the island. Like Robinson Crusoe, he lived with his family on one of the abandoned plantations and was taken care of from the air. Due to a lack of traffic routes, he quickly gave up. The last major attempt at island revitalization took place in 1970. A solar company from Bermuda wanted to take over the island and generate electricity on 520 hectares of land near Breezy Point.
Since 1998 there have been many plans to develop the country. The Canadian company Pagebrook wanted to build a deep-water port with a duty-free zone, a new town with six hotels and an 18-hole golf course on a 2,800 hectare site on the southeast coast. In 2000 the construction of a road from South Caicos to East Caicos was to begin. The government is currently trying to sell the island as a whole to an investor.
  • French Cay
This small island is about 30 km south of Providenciales and is part of the Caicos Bank. In the 17th century it served the French pirate Francoise L`Ollonois as a hiding place, he attacked passing ships. At that time the island still bore the name Blondel Cay. Blondel was a marine engineer from Haiti who was hired by the French to look into the possibility of building a lighthouse on the island. Today the uninhabited island is a nature reserve. Visitors need a permit to enter.
  • Gibbs Cay
This island east of Grand Turk is a popular destination for diving trips from Grand Turk. After 1780 the French built a small cannon position there, Fort Castries. Today it is a nesting place for sea birds. In the shallow waters, rays have got used to feeding. Tourists now come there regularly.
  • Little Water Cay
This uninhabited island is located off the northeast tip of Providenciales and is separated from it by a 400 m wide waterway. It is part of the Princess Alexandra National Park and day trips come regularly for swimming, diving and hiking. The North Shore Trail is a 170 m walk. The South Shore Trail is 220 meters long. There is a viewing platform on both paths. The path system is being expanded further. Access is permitted between 8.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. every day. The parking attendants can be reached by calling 941-5710. The island is home to over 3,000 protected rock iguanas, a species of giant lizard. It is forbidden to feed the animals.

background

Country description

The Turks and Caicos Islands are 885 km southeast of Miami, Florida and comprise over 40 islands. At the moment only nine of them are permanently inhabited. The islands are the tips of two submarine limestone plateaus that have "grown" over the past 135,000 years, the Caicos Bank to the west and Turks Bank to the east. Both plateaus are separated by an approximately 30 km wide and over 2000 meters deep channel, the Turks Island Passage.

All the islands protrude only a few meters out of the sea, there are no rain clouds that can rain down on the mountain slopes, so it is very dry. Drinking water is scarce, agriculture almost impossible.

The islands are a tax haven, there are over 16,000 mailbox companies.

In the last few years the population has grown by a third. On the one hand, small investors are increasingly being attracted with special conditions, and on the other hand, various international investment companies and corporations are constantly building new hotel and residential complexes.

history

The aborigines were Indians from the tribe of Lucayans and Tainos. They reached the archipelago from the Bahamas and through Haiti. They had their largest settlements on the islands of East Caicos and Middle Caicos. There their settlement was in the immediate vicinity of Armstrong Pond, where they extracted salt and traded with it. The Indians called the archipelago “Caya Hico” - islands lined up like pearls. Since 1976, the University of Florida has carried out archaeological excavations to research Indian culture on the Turks and Caicos Islands.

1492 sailed Christoph Columbus past the archipelago. There is no evidence that he went ashore there. On the other hand, there are historians who believe that it was today's Grand Turk Island that Columbus called "Guanahani". One of the most important proponents of this theory is the Spanish historian Fernandez de Navarette from the 19th century. The islanders take this theory so seriously that there was an international symposium on the island of Grand Turk in December 1989.

But you know that Ponce de Leon was on Grand Turk in 1512. There he met an old Indian whom he took with him as a scout. Some maps from this period show the island of Grand Turk under the name "Del Viejo", the island of the old man. A year later there were no more Indians in the entire archipelago.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the islands were a popular hideout for various pirates. The first European settlers came from Bermuda in 1678 to mine salt on the islands of Salt Cay, Grand Turk and South Caicos.

In 1700 the Bahamas tried unsuccessfully to take the archipelago. In the decades that followed, the islands were repeatedly occupied by the Spanish and French. From the 1750s, Bermuda residents lived with their slaves and employees on the archipelago all year round. Increasingly, salt was extracted.

In 1764 the parliament in London decided to subordinate the archipelago to the Bahamas. In 1767, Governor William Shirley sent a representative to Grand Turk.

In 1776 ships from the Bermuda Islands bypassed the British naval blockade and sold salt from the Turks and Caicos Islands to the warring parties in North America.

In 1783 a French contingent invaded the Turks Islands, Commander Horatio Nelson tried in vain to drive them away with his ship HMS Albemarle. It was not until the Treaty of Versailles that the island was reassigned to the British.

In 1789, about 100,000 British loyal to the king who had fought to maintain English rule during the American War of Liberation left North America. The refugees from North America went to Canada. Those from the southern states of Carolina and Georgia went to the Bahamas and the Caicos Islands and planted cotton. Later they received generous compensation from King George on the islands of North Caicos and Middle Caicos for their lost land in Georgia. With the help of slaves, large plantations were created, of which only a few ruins remain today.

Around 1790 there were 80 plantations on the Caicos Islands and 900 people lived there. However, the soil was of poor quality, so that the planting of cotton and sugar cane had to be stopped after 30 years. The plantation owners mostly went to other islands in the Caribbean, only a few came to Grand Turk to work there in the salt production.

In 1792 the Turks Islands were given so much independence that their own customs post was set up on Grand Turk. As a result, the ships and traders did not have to go to Nassau in the Bahamas to complete their customs declarations.

Between 1799 and 1848 the islands were ruled by the Bahamas. Taxes on salt were so high in those years that a quarter of the Bahamas' state revenue came from the salt fields of the Turks Islands. Persistent complaints from the islanders led to the separation from the Bahamas in 1848.

Between 1848 and 1874 the archipelago had its own president and an independent government. On September 30, 1866, a severe cyclone swept the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. The subsequent flooding destroyed a large part of the salt fields. 750 houses were destroyed, 63 islanders were killed. The economic emergency led to the annexation by Jamaica in 1874 and lasted until Jamaican independence in 1962. In 1874 the first sisal plants came to the islands. Larger plantations emerged from 1890, especially on East Caicos and West Caicos. The decline in cultivation areas began as early as 1906. In 1919 the price of sisal dropped due to cheaper offers from the Philippines. Only in the years from 1944 to 1956 was there another upswing in this industry as a result of the Second World War.

In 1901 3,083 people lived on the archipelago, 91 white people and 2,992 slaves.

In 1926 a hurricane destroyed all the islands between Grand Turk and Florida. To this day it is one of the worst cyclones in history.

In 1960 another severe cyclone swept the islands. The hurricane "Donna" destroyed all agriculture. In the years that followed, a group of seven American millionaires “discovered” the islands. Among them were the DuPonts and Teddy Roosevelt III. On the island of Providenciales, they bought land from the British colonial government to build an airfield and a deep-water port. The Third Turtle Inn was the first hotel to be built.

In 1976 the Turks and Caicos Islands received a new constitution.

In 1978 Burt Webber discovered the remains of a shipwreck in the area of ​​the "Silver Shoals" sandbar, the cargo was worth millions of dollars. Two years later, American treasure hunters discovered the remains of a 16th century wreck on Molasses Reef.

In 1985, Chief Minister Norman Saunders was arrested for drug offenses. The subsequent investigations led to the replacement of the Executive Council.

The income from tourism and offshore banking grew so strongly until 1989 that one could do without further British financial aid.

Flora and fauna

A number of low-growing palm trees can be found on the coasts of the islands: rush palm, iguana silver palm and silver palm. They are very slow growing trees that cannot be transplanted and reach a maximum height of nine meters. The iguana silver palm can only be found on the southern Bahama Islands and on the Caicos Islands. They were sent to the UN by the Red List of endangered plants. The very rare buccaneer palm, also a low-growing type, can also be found on the islands. One of the tallest growing palms is the Sabal palm, which can reach heights of up to 15 m.

The namesake of the Turks Islands could be a species of cactus that grows there, the Turkish hat, English "Turk's Cap".

On Great Sand Cay and Little Water Cay there are a large number of Turks and Caicos Rock Iguanas, Cyclura carinata. Because of the tender, tasty meat, the giant lizard was hunted by the islanders.

170 different bird species have been counted on the islands, including flamingos, ospreys and pelicans.

About 35 to 45 km southeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the Mouchoir Bank. Every winter, between late December and April, the entire herd of humpback whales moves there from the Atlantic Ocean. Around 2,500 whales pass this archipelago.

Political status

The archipelago is a British crown colony. The governor is appointed by the Queen of England. It governs national security, internal affairs and some court decisions. From 1993 to 1996 the governor was Martin Bourke and his annual budget was US $ 35 million. He has been replaced by John Kelly, who has Jamaican nationality, since 2000 this has been Mervyn Jones.

The Executive Council consists of the governor, six ministers, the state secretary, the finance secretary and the attorney general. The Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Council, consists of 13 members who are elected every four years, plus six members who are appointed and the Speaker of the House.

In 1988 the archipelago received a new constitution and a new electoral law, since then there are five electoral districts with 13 seats to be allocated.

Since 2008, there have been rumors of corruption among the blacks in the highest government circles. England set up a commission to investigate the rumors. As a result of the investigations, the island government was dissolved in March 2009. For an initial two years, the Turks and Caicos Islands will now be ruled directly from England again by the British Foreign Office. On the ground, Gordon Wetherell was installed as the new governor and given all necessary authority and power.

language

English is the official language.

getting there

  • Entry requirements: A valid passport and a return or onward ticket are sufficient for entry. Immigration Department, Grand Turk, Tel. 946-2939, 946-2972. Customs Department, Tel. 946-2801
  • Exit regulations: When leaving the country, all persons over the age of 12 have to pay an airport fee of 15 US dollars.
  • Foreign exchange regulations: There are no restrictions on the import or export of foreign currency.

Airfields

  • Jags McCartney Airport, Grand Turk, IATA Code - GDT, ICAO Code - MBGT, Runway 11/29, 6.335 x 150 Feet (2.095 x 50 m), Tel. 946-2233, Immigration Office, Aviation Fuel
  • Salt Cay Airport, IATA code - SLX, ICAO code - MBSY, runway 08/26, 2,677 x 80 feet (885 x 27 m), private airfield
  • Ambergris Cay Airfield, 5,700 x 100 feet (1,880 x 33 m) runway, private airfield, landing only with the permission of the owners
  • Middle Caicos Airport, IATA code - MDS, ICAO code - MBMC, runway 2,894 feet (955 m), runway has no lighting
  • North Caicos Airport, IATA Code - NCA, ICAO Code - MBNC, runway 08/26, 4.245 x 75 feet (1.400 x 25 m), the airfield is currently being expanded, immigration authorities, customs
  • Pine Cay [PIC], ICAO Code MBPI, runway 11/29, 2,500 x 40 feet (825 x 14 m), private airfield, no aviation fuel, landing only with permission
  • South Caicos Airport, IATA Code - XSC, ICAO Code - MBSC, Runway 11/29, 6,000 x 100 Feet (1,980 x 50 m), Tel. 946-3226, Immigration Office
  • Providenciales International, IATA Code - PLS, CAO Code - MBPV, runway 10/28, 7,600 x 150 feet (2,510 x 50 m), asphalt, good condition, immigration office, aircraft fuel
  • West Caicos, runway 08/26, 2,400 x 60 feet (795 x 20 m), the runway is classified as dangerous.

Charter flights

  • Air Charter Bahamas, Miami Springs. Tel.: (305) 885-6665, Fax: (305) 885-6664.
  • Providenciales. Providenciales is the seat of the national airline Air Turks & Caicos, ex Interisland Airways. Connects Providenciales to South Caicos and Grand Turk. International flights to Nassau (Bahamas), Kingston (Jamaica), Puerto Plata and Santiago de los Caballeros (Dominican Republic).
  • Global Airways, Airfield, North Caicos. Tel.: 946-7093, Fax: 946-7290.

Airlines

  • American Airlines. Tel.: 946-4948. Daily from Miami to Providenciales, Saturday and Sunday from New York to Providenciales.
  • Bahamasair. Tel.: 800-222-4262. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from Nassau, Bahamas to Providenciales.
  • British Airways. Tel.: (044) 191 490-7901. Sunday from London via Nassau to Providenciales.
  • Delta Air Lines. Tel.: 800-241-4141. Saturday, Sunday and Monday from Atlanta (USA) to Providenciales.

mobility

  • Danger Left-hand traffic!
  • A national driving license must be obtained to rent a car, motorcycle or scooter. The price is US $ 10 for cars and US $ 5 for scooters. The maximum speed is 20 miles per hour in built-up areas, i.e. 32 km / h and 40 miles per hour on other roads, which corresponds to 65 km / h.

Tourist Attractions

In 1992 the government designated 27 areas that have since been protected as national parks. These include the islands of French Cay, Gibb Cay and Round Cay. They enclose an area of ​​about 850 km². Of these, over 500 km² are ecologically particularly important wetlands that serve to protect species. The rest are both breeding grounds for seabirds and breeding grounds for sea turtles and a designated marine park. The Turks and Caicos National Trust, Tel. 941-5710, and the National Park Administration, National Parks, Tel. 941-5122, are responsible for all protected areas.

  • Columbus Landfall Marine National Park, Grand Turk
  • Grand Turk Cays Land & Sea Park, Grand Turk
  • Long Cay Sanctuary, Grand Turk
  • South Creek National Park, Grand Turk
  • Big Sand Cay Sanctuary, Salt Cay
  • H.M.S. Endymion Shipwreck, Area of ​​Historical Interest, Salt Cay
  • Salt Cay Area of ​​Historical Interest, Salt Cay
  • Conch Bar Caves National Park, Middle Caicos
  • International Ramsar Site, North, Middle & East Caicos Nature Reserve
  • Middle Caicos Reserve, Middle Caicos
  • Vine Point & Ocean Hole Nature Reserve, Middle Caicos
  • Cottage Pond Nature Reserve, North Caicos
  • Dick Hill Creek & Bellefield Landing Pond Nature Reserve
  • East Bay Island National Park, North Caicos
  • Fort George Land and Sea National Park, North Caicos
  • Pumkin Bluff Pond Nature Reserve, North Caicos
  • Three Mary Cays National Park, North Caicos
  • Admiral Cockburn Land & Sea National Park, South Caicos
  • Admiral Cockburn Nature Reserve, Long Cay, Middleton Cay, Six Hill Cays, South Caicos
  • Belle Sound Nature Reserve, South Caicos
  • Boiling Hole Area of ​​Historical Interest, South Caicos
  • Chalk Sound National Park, Providenciales
  • Cheshire Hall Area of ​​Historical Interest, Providenciales
  • Leeward Land & Sea Park, Provedenciales
  • Northwest Point Marine National Park, Providenciales, 8 km long reef system off the northwest coast.
  • Northwest Point Pond Nature Reserve, Providenciales
  • Pigeon Pond & Frenchman's Creek Nature Reserve, Providenciales
  • Princess Alexandra National Marine Park, Grace Bay, Providenciales
  • Sapodilla Hill Area of ​​Historical Interest, Chalk Sound
  • The Pigeon Pond and Frenchman's Creek Nature Preserve, Providenciales
  • Lake Catherine Nature Reserve, West Caicos
  • West Caicos Marine National Park, West Caicos
  • Princess Alexandra Nature Reserve, Donna Cay and Mangrove Cay
  • French Cay, Bush Cay and Seal Cay, Caicos Banks

activities

  • Swimming
  • fishing
  • Nature observation
  • Diving
  • hike

to buy

  • Handicrafts from straw
  • Wood carvings
  • Naive painting from Haiti

kitchen

In the last few years restaurants have shot up like mushrooms, especially on Providenciales Island. The chefs' offerings are just as international as the composition of the population. But the islands are a paradise for lovers of fish dishes. In addition to the large conch clams and the Caribbean lobster, grouper (perch), mahi mahi or dolphin (gold mackerel), red snapper, tuna (tuna) and wahoo are caught and offered.

Caicos Light Beer is brewed on the island of Providenciales, and Heineken beer is also widespread.

Sugar cane is no longer grown on the islands, but there is still a national rum called Premium Lucayan Rum.

nightlife

Only available on Providenciales Island.

public holidays

  • January 01, New Year, New Year
  • 2nd Monday in March, Commonwealth Day
  • Good Friday
  • Easter Monday, Easter Monday
  • last Monday in May, National Heroes Day, National Heroes Day
  • 2nd Monday in June, Queen's Birthday, the Queen's birthday
  • August 1st, Emancipation Day, the day of the liberation of slaves
  • last Friday in September, National Youth Day, youth day
  • 2nd Monday in October, Columbus Day, Discovery Day
  • October 24th, International Human Rights day
  • December 25th, Christmas, Christmas
  • December 26th, Boxing Day, Christmas Day

security

Drugs

  • Due to the lack of secure incomes and poor settlement, some islands are popular drug hubs. In Cockburn Harbor on the island of South Caicos you can even find signs that drug possession is a criminal offense. He is severely punished and can be sentenced to several years in prison.

crime

  • Crime is virtually unknown on all islands. Nevertheless, valuables should not be left open in the car or on the beach. Hotel rooms and apartments should always be locked and valuables should be deposited in the hotel safe.

police

  • The police headquarters and training center are located on Grand Turk Island. The police force is just over 100 men. Police stations are located on the islands of Grand Turk, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales and South Caicos.

climate

JanFebMarchAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec  
Mean highest air temperature in ° C282829303132323331313030O30.4
Mean lowest air temperature in ° C212122232526262827252422O24.2
Average water temperature in ° C262626272727282827272727O26.9
Precipitation in mm50353035604040508010010070Σ690

The Turks and Caicos Islands lie in the direction in which the cyclones move. Even if these pass the islands at a greater distance, violent storms and heavy rains can still occur.

literature

  • Frommer's Turks & Caicos, Wiley Publishing, New York, 1st edition, 2007, ISBN 0-470-04899-9

Web links

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