Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MAPUTO
21 / POP 1.59 MILLION
With its Mediterranean-style architecture, waterside setting and wide avenues lined with ja-
caranda and flame trees, Maputo is easily one of Africa's most attractive capitals. It's also
the most developed place in Mozambique by far, with a wide selection of hotels and res-
taurants, well-stocked supermarkets, shady sidewalk cafes and a lively cultural scene.
The heart of the city is the bustling, low-lying baixa, spreading out northwards and east-
wards from the port. Here, Portuguese-era buildings with their graceful balconies and
wrought-iron balustrades jostle for space with ungainly Marxist-style apartment blocks.
Galabiyya
-garbed men gather in doorways for a chat, Indian traders carry on brisk busi-
ness in the narrow side streets and women wrapped in colourful
capulanas
(sarongs) sell
everything from seafood to spices at the massive Municipal Market.
A few kilometres away, along the seaside Avenida Marginal, life moves at a more leis-
urely pace. Fishermen stand along the roadside with the day's catch, hoping to lure custom-
ers from the constant parade of passing vehicles; banana vendors loll on their carts in the
shade, with Radio Moçambique piping out eternally upbeat rhythms in the background; and
local football teams vie for victory in impromptu matches in the sand.
Maputo is pricier than elsewhere in the country, especially for imported goods brought in
on the toll road linking Johannesburg and the South African economy with Maputo's port
and the sea. Yet there's enough selection to make it a good destination no matter what your
budget. Getting to know the city is a highlight of visiting Mozambique and essential to un-
derstanding the country. Don't miss spending time here before heading north.
History
Long before Europeans discovered Maputo's charms, the local Ronga people were living
here, fishing, whale hunting, farming and trading. In 1545 Portuguese navigator Lourenço
Marques happened upon Delagoa Bay (now Maputo Bay), in his journey up the southern
African coastline. His reports attracted other traders, who established temporary settle-
ments offshore on Inhaca and Xefina Grande islands as bases for ivory trading forays to the
mainland. Yet the Portuguese attention to the area was fleeting. They soon turned their
sights northwards, all but abandoning their activities in the south.
Lourenço Marques - as the area later became known - took on a new importance in the
mid-19th century, with the discovery of diamonds and gold in the nearby Transvaal Repub-
lic. Around 1898 it replaced Mozambique Island as the capital of Portuguese East Africa. A
new rail link with the Transvaal, built in in 1894, and the expansion of the port fuelled the
