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TIMOR
The easternmost island of the Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Island
Group), Timor is the largest of the group. The island is 480
km long and 80 km wide with a population of 1.3 million. Kupang,
the capital of West Timor, is only a short flight from Darwin,
Australia, or less than 2 hours from Denpasar, Bali. Formerly
divided between the Dutch in the West and the Portuguese in
the East, when Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945
the western portion of the island was returned to the Republic
while the east remained with the Portuguese, and then annexed
into the Indonesia territory in July 1976. The first Europeans
to reach Timor were the Portuguese who arrived from Malaka at
the turn of the 16th Century.
The western half is mountainous, with much of the land consisting
of rugged, rocky hills, high plateaus cut by deep valleys, and
loose-soiled, grassy terrain. A central mountain range marches
down West Timor, peaking at 3,000 m. Aromatic sandalwood has
been Timor's "tree of destiny", which the Hindu Javanese traders
discovered in the 16th Century. One of the most characteristic
features of the island's landscape is trees and lontar palms.
Lontar palms cover up to 50% of the total land area of West
Timor. Timor's flora and fauna resemble both Asia and Australia's.
Timor is the transition point between humid, tropical Indonesia
and the more temperate Australia. Landscapes during the dry
season are similar to the Australian bush parches. They turn
brown, leaves fall, rivers and wells dry up. Kupang, the capital
of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, is a lively town of more than
200,000 people. There is almost nothing left of historic Kupang.
Only a large, flat carved stone remains of Fort Concordia, built
by the Dutch in 1653. The town side of Fort Concordia, is where
in 1789, Captain Bligh's 41-day boat voyage ended, when he was
forced off H.M.S Bounty by mutineers.
Don't miss Kupang's provincial museum. Here, you will see an
excellent display of ikat clothes from the region, weapons,
musical instruments, and carved wooden and stone ancestral figures,
and excellent Dongso-style drums found on Alor Island.
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