Where are the Bahamas? The capital of the state, sights

When it comes to the Bahamas, many seem to be luxurious beaches, surrounded by sprawling palm trees, the blue sea and the bright sun. And this is understandable, since the tourism industry is really well developed here. But what is more interesting about this territory? We'll talk about this in this article.

Bahamas on the map

The state, called the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is located north of the Caribbean Sea, southeast of the island of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago consists of 700 islands of different sizes and coral reefs that occupy a space of 250 thousand km. Only 30 of them are habitable.

The land area can be compared with the area of Jamaica. The Bahamas consists of the Caicos Islands and the Turks, on which the UK's overseas land is located. The largest of them - Andros, Big Bahama, New Providence, Eleuthera.

The abundance of coral reefs, magnificent sandy beaches have turned into a popular and popular resort Bahamas. Tours to these places are especially popular in the winter (from November to May).

Climatic conditions

The climate on the islands is tropical, mild, and trade-wind. There are abundant precipitation in May-June, and also in autumn (September-October). In January, the average air temperature is 21 ° C, in July - about 30 ° C. Strong hurricanes are frequent between June and October.

Population

The total population is 353 658 people. 85% - mulattoes and negroes, 12% - Europeans, 3% - Hispanics and Asians. Literacy of the population is 95.6%. Despite the diversity of the peoples inhabiting the Bahamas, the language (state) is English. Along with him, immigrants from Haiti use Creole Haitian.

The capital of the state

All tourists arriving in the Bahamas begin to get acquainted with this unusually picturesque territory from the capital of the state. It is located on the island of New Providence. It is a very small islet (the smallest in the archipelago of the Bahamas). The capital of Nassau is a small and modern city, which is famous for the whole world by a harmonious combination of ultramodern buildings and colonial architecture. Once a noisy and small village, founded by pirates, has turned into a wonderful modern city of Nassau (Bahamas).

A lot of original and colorful buildings surround the port promenade and harbor, business districts are always lively, and numerous shops and markets offer tourists goods from different countries.

At the beginning of the 20th century, after the construction of the international airport and the deepening of the harbor, the Bahamas (the capital in particular) hosted up to a million tourists annually. And by the 1970s, when the bridge to Paradise Island was built and Cable Cable was landscaped, the city began to host up to 2.5 million guests a year.

Bahamas: attractions

At the beginning of our trip we will get acquainted with some of the islands that cause the interest of tourists.

Grand Bahama is located in the north of the archipelago. It is the second most visited tourist island in the country. Despite its name, it is not the largest island. He attracts tourists with snow-white shores, vast forests to and a rich animal world. The most popular area is Freeport.

Andros

The largest island of the archipelago. It is covered with extensive palm groves. In addition, it grows mahogany, pine. The forest here, according to the islanders, is populated by aggressive little red-eyed elves. They call them "chikcharniz."

The island is poorly populated, only on its eastern shore can be found shabby shacks, surrounded by old cars and abandoned refrigerators. Therefore, Andros is visited most often only by extreme divers, who are attracted here by the third longest barrier reef in the world. It stretches along all the coasts of the island. The city of Andros Town also refers to the sights of this island, together with the old lighthouse and the beautiful beach of Somerset Beach. In the town of Red Bay, located in the north-west of Andros, there are descendants of Seminole Indians, who are famous for their skill in weaving various items of straw.

Eleuthera

Bahamas, photos of which often decorate the covers of glossy magazines, attract very wealthy tourists to rest. As a rule, they prefer this small island, which is traditionally considered to be elite. Luxury resorts and various clubs alternate with magnificent villas and fine restaurants.

Of particular note is the Harbor Island reef, located in the north-west of Eleuthera. Here is a bright and distinctive city of Dunmore Town, a wonderful beach and excellent sites for snorkeling and diving.

Long Island

Tourists do not visit all the Bahamas. The map shows that Long Island is an elongated island (one hundred kilometers in length and five kilometers in width). It is practically not visited by tourists. And completely in vain. This is the most picturesque island of the archipelago, which has many untouched corners of human civilization.

The landscape of Long Island is formed by a combination of hilly terrain, washed by the surf of the coast, which are washed by the abundant sea life by the waters, sandy beaches. In the north of the island there is a long white beach - one of the most beautiful in the western hemisphere.

Cathedral of Nassau

But not only is the Bahamas famous for its interesting nature. The capital of the country is famous for its architectural constructions. One of them is the Cathedral. This is the largest religious building in the country. Construction of the cathedral is attributed to the end of the XVII century. Near him you can see a lot of memorable tablets with the names of people who died here in times of epidemics.

The Staircase of Queen Victoria

In Nassau (Bahamas) there is an unusual staircase. She was cut down in the limestone cliff slaves in the XVIII century. She has sixty-five steps. The current name was received much later. This happened during the celebration of the 65th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign.

The staircase passes along the wall of the fort. On the opposite side a small waterfall carries its waters. At the very bottom, the steps have a rest area. And from the upper steps there is a fascinating view of Nassau.

Houses of Parliament

This small two-story building is located in the heart of Nassau, on its main square. It was built in the beginning of the XIX century, for the meetings of the colonial government. The first officials from Britain appeared here in the middle of the XVII century. And today there is a direct influence in the state from London, as the Queen of Great Britain is still the head of the country's Parliament.

The Parliament building has an antique portico, which is decorated with four columns. Like all buildings on the square, it is painted in a rich pink color. It looks especially beautiful in the evening hours.

The Bimini road

These are two almost parallel, paved stone slabs that are under water. Some plates reach a length of six meters. The road is located at a depth of nine meters, through perfectly clear water, it is perfectly visible from the sea surface. Its length is five hundred meters, width - ninety meters.

This is not the only unusual find. Not far from the road, Bimini stretched the sleeve, which has a J-shaped form. It is also laid out with such plates. Here, under the water, other strange constructions were discovered, such as platforms and concentric circles.

Alice Town

Today, many are attracted to the Bahamas, photos of which you can see in our article. They have in their territory a lot of different clubs. In Alice Town is the most famous of them. In it he began writing his novel "To Have and Have Not" by E. Hemingway. Tourists are shown this historical monument, which presents unique photographs of the famous writer, his personal belongings.

Royal Victoria Garden Gardens

Exceptional vegetation is famous for the Bahamas. The capital of Nassau on its territory has a unique botanical garden, built here in the beginning of the XIX century.

In the gardens of Royal Victoria Garden, a rare collection of plants from tropical countries is collected. There are more than three hundred species. A huge number of rare varieties of orchids braid the trees and fill the air with a delicious aroma.