A glance at the Seychelles

The first time Europeans heard about Seychelles was in 1502, following Vasco de Gama's travel. After various historical episodes - England and France contended the sovereignty of the area for many years - finally Seychelles ended up under the English government, and now they are a semi-presidential republic. The cultural and social character of the islands, mostly matriarchal, is evident: the control of the families is in the women's hands, which often are unmarried, whereas the male contribution is mostly economic. Families are often composed by various generations of women which educate children together.

Being the Seychelles a small archipelago off the coast of northern Madagascar, their organization is quite complicated, as they need to be self-sufficient in everything. The main issue is education, a problem which, in the last years, has found a definitive and complete solution: institutions are in charge of citizens' education since 1944, and the first Technical Institute has been inaugurated in 1970; before, education was in the hands of the Catholic and the Anglican Church, whose missionaries provided teaching. After the foundation of the school and the training of teachers, many other schools followed, and now literacy rate hits 90%, while 85% of elderly people is able to read and write, thanks to the adult literacy classes provided to increase the previous rate of 60%. Unfortunately, a university still does not exist; however, a few university courses are going to be activated in cooperation with London University, and they will be able to grant internationally recognized titles.

Living at the Seychelles as a tourist will bring no thoughts of this kind: the inhabitants of the archipelago not only speak Creole, but also English and French, inherited from the past colonisations; moreover, they are likely to assist tourists in order to have them spending wonderful holidays in apartments or villas. The marvellous sea surrounding the islands is crystalline and the beaches paradisiacal; staying on an island far from anyone and anything will help you retrieving the ability to relax and enjoy the joys of life. Gastronomy has been influenced by French traditions, by the abundance of fish of the Indian Ocean and by the spicy and strong flavours of the Creole cuisine; the traditional music as well comes out of a mix of European, African and Indian cultures. It is quite curious fact that an substantial part of family expenses of the island's inhabitants is constituted by events and parties of various kinds, such as weddings anniversaries and engagements.

Seychelles islands are much more than a holiday destination, they are a paradise to benefit from, in order to regain the pleasure of living with no duties, surrounded by a luxuriant nature which hosts the main marine birds colonies in the world, various species of orchids and the rare black parrot of the Seychelles, a protected species and a national symbol... The beauties and particularities to list are countless, but the best thing is to see them all with your own eyes.