Moroni, Comoros

For other uses, see Moroni (disambiguation).

Moroni موروني Mūrūnī
Moroni Location of Moroni on the island of Grande Comore
Coordinates: 11°45′S 43°12′E / 11.75°S 43.2°E / -11.75; 43.2
Country	Comoros
Island	Grande Comore
Capital city	1962
Population (2003)
– Total	60,200 (estimate)
Time zone	Eastern Africa Time (UTC+3)

Moroni (in Arabic موروني Mūrūnī) is the largest city of the Comoros islands and since 1958 has served as its capital. In Comorian, Moroni translates as "in the heart of the fire", perhaps alluding to the city's proximity to Mount Karthala.^[1] The city's estimated population in 2003 was 60,200 residents.

Moroni, here with harbor bay and central mosque

^[2][3]

History

Moroni was founded by Arabic settlers possibly during the 10th century AD as the capital of a sultanate connected commercially to Zanzibar in Tanzania.^[1]

Geography

The city is located on the western coast of Grande Comore (also known as N'gazidja) island. Moroni is served by the Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport (IATA airport code: HAH). There is also a harbour with regular transport to the African mainland and the other islands in the Comoros archipelago, as well as Madagascar and other Indian ocean islands. Moroni is located at 11°45′S 43°12′E / 11.75°S 43.2°E / -11.75; 43.2Coordinates: 11°45′S 43°12′E / 11.75°S 43.2°E / -11.75; 43.2.

Commerce

Exports include vanilla, cocoa, and coffee.

Tourism

Moroni has many excellent beaches. The Ancienne Mosquée du Vendredi (Old Friday Mosque) is a popular tourist spot. The city is featured in the game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

• 

  Moroni beach

• 

  Mosque with typical Comoro male in front of it, in the City Centre of Moroni.

Climate

Moroni features a tropical rainforest climate, with generally heavy precipitation throughout the year - only October sees on average less than 100 mm of rain. Like many other cities with this climate, Moroni's average temperatures throughout the year are relatively constant. Temperatures, though very warm, are not quite as oppressive due in part to the frequent rainfall.

Climate data for Moroni
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	34 (93)	34 (93)	35 (95)	34 (93)	33 (91)	32 (90)	31 (88)	31 (88)	31 (88)	33 (91)	34 (93)	36 (97)	36 (97)
Average high °C (°F)	30 (86)	30 (86)	31 (88)	30 (86)	29 (84)	28 (82)	28 (82)	27 (81)	28 (82)	29 (84)	31 (88)	31 (88)	29
Average low °C (°F)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	23 (73)	21 (70)	20 (68)	19 (66)	19 (66)	19 (66)	20 (68)	22 (72)	23 (73)	21
Record low °C (°F)	20 (68)	20 (68)	20 (68)	20 (68)	17 (63)	14 (57)	14 (57)	14 (57)	15 (59)	16 (61)	18 (64)	19 (66)	14 (57)
Precipitation mm (inches)	345 (13.58)	311 (12.24)	300 (11.81)	296 (11.65)	233 (9.17)	215 (8.46)	194 (7.64)	118 (4.65)	117 (4.61)	91 (3.58)	102 (4.02)	220 (8.66)	2,543 (100.12)
Source: BBC Weather [4]

References

Africa portal

1. ^ ^{a b} "Lonelyplanet.com". Lonelyplanet.com. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/comoros/grande-comore/moroni. Retrieved 2010-07-03. 
2. ^ USA Today Travel Guides.^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica (2008-04-24). "Encyclopedia Britannica". Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/392714/Moroni. Retrieved 2010-07-03. 
4. ^ "Average Conditions Moroni, Comoros". BBC Weather. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT004970. Retrieved August 18, 2009.