Friday, January 8, 2016

Visit East Timor


Visit East Timor


East Timor Tetum:Timór Lorosa'e, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste(Portuguese: República Democrática de Timor-Leste, Tetum:Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste), is a sovereign state inMaritime Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclaveon the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The country's size is about 15,410 km2 (5,400 sq mi).

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East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until November 1975, when theRevolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) declared the territory's independence.

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Nine days later, it was invaded andoccupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. The Indonesian occupation of East Timor was characterised by a highly violent decades-long conflict between separatist groups (especially FRETILIN) and the Indonesian military.
In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory. East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002 and joined the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. In 2011, East Timor announced its intention to gain membership status in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by applying to become its eleventh member. It is one of only two predominantly Christian nations in Southeast Asia, the other being the Philippines.
"Timor" derives from timur, the word for "east" in Indonesian andMalay, which became Timor inPortuguese and entered English as Portuguese Timor. Leste is the Portuguese word for "east", resulting in "Timor-Leste" (East-East). In Tetum the name isTimór Lorosa'e, from Lorosa'e (lit"rising sun") the word for "east" in that language.
The official names under the Constitution are República Democrática de Timor-Leste in Portuguese and Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste in Tetum.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) official short form in English and all other languages is Timor-Leste (codes: TLS & TL), which has been adopted by the United Nations, the European Union, and the national standards organisations of France (AFNOR), the United States (ANSI), United Kingdom (BSI), Germany (DIN), andSweden (SIS), all diplomatic missions to the country by protocol and the CIA World Factbook.
Located in Southeast Asia, the island of Timor is part of the Maritime Southeast Asia, and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. To the north of the island are the Ombai Strait, Wetar Strait, and the greater Banda Sea. TheTimor Sea separates the island from Australia to the south, and the Indonesian Province of East Nusa Tenggara lies to East Timor's west.
Much of the country is mountainous, and its highest point is Tatamailau (also known as Mount Ramelau) at 2,963 metres (9,721 ft). The climate is tropical and generally hot and humid. It is characterised by distinct rainy and dry seasons. The capital, largest city, and main port is Dili, and the second-largest city is the eastern town ofBaucau. East Timor lies between latitudes 8° and 10°S, and longitudes 124° and128°E.
The easternmost area of East Timor consists of the Paitchau Range and the Lake Ira Lalaroarea, which contains the county's first conservation area, the Nino Konis Santana National Park. It contains the last remaining tropical dry forested area within the country. It hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated. The northern coast is characterised by a number of coral reef systems that have been determined to be at risk.
East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum. English and Bahasa Indonesia are sometimes used and designated as working languages. Tetum belongs to the Austronesian family of languages spoken throughout Southeast Asia.
The 2010 census found that the most commonly spoken mother tongues wereTetum Prasa (mother tongue for 36.6% of the population), Mambai (12.5%),Makasai (9.7%), Tetum Terik (6.0%), Baikenu (5.9%), Kemak (5.9%), Bunak (5.3%),Tokodede (3.7%), and Fataluku (3.6%). Other indigenous languages largely accounted for the remaining 10.9%, while Portuguese was spoken natively by just under 600 people.
Under Indonesian rule, the use of Portuguese was banned and only Indonesian was allowed to be used in government offices, schools and public business. During the Indonesian occupation, Tetum and Portuguese were important unifying elements for the East Timorese people in opposing Javanese culture. Portuguese was adopted as one of the two official languages upon independence in 2002 for this reason and as a link to Lusophone nations in other parts of the world. It is now being taught and promoted with the help of Brazil, Portugal, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Visit East Timor
Indonesian and English are defined as working languages under the Constitution in the Final and Transitional Provisions, without setting a final date. Aside from Tetum, Ethnologue lists the following indigenous languages: Adabe, Baikeno, Bunak, Fataluku, Galoli, Habun, Idaté, Kairui-Midiki, Kemak, Lakalei, Makasae, Makuv'a, Mambae, Nauete, Tukudede, andWaima'a. It is estimated that English is understood by 31.4% of the population. As of 2012, 35% speak, read, and write Portuguese; which is up significantly from less than 5% in the 2006 UN Development Report. Visit East Timor
East Timor is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (also known as the LusophoneCommonwealth) and of the Latin Union.  Visit East Timor
According to the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, there are six endangered languages in East Timor: Adabe,Habu, Kairui-Midiki, Maku'a, Naueti, and Waima'a. Visit East Timor

The culture of East Timor reflects numerous influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic and Indonesian, on Timor's indigenous Austronesian and Melanesian cultures. East Timorese culture is heavily influenced by Austronesian legends. For example, East Timoresecreation myth has it that an aging crocodile transformed into the island of Timor as part of a debt repayment to a young boy who had helped the crocodile when it was sick. As a result, the island is shaped like a crocodile and the boy's descendants are the native East Timorese who inhabit it. The phrase "leaving the crocodile" refers to the pained exile of East Timorese from their island. Visit East Timor
The cuisine of East Timor consists of regional popular foods such as pork, fish, basil, tamarind, legumes, corn, rice, root vegetables, and tropical fruit. East Timorese cuisine has influences from Southeast Asian foods and from Portuguese dishesfrom its colonisation by Portugal. Flavours and ingredients from other former Portuguese colonies can be found due to the centuries-old Portuguese presence on the island.
There is also a strong tradition of poetry in the country. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, for example, is a distinguished poet.Architecturally, Portuguese-style buildings can be found, along with the traditional totem houses of the eastern region. Visit East Timor

These are known as uma lulik ("sacred houses") in Tetum andlee teinu ("legged houses") in Fataluku.Craftsmanship and the weaving of traditional scarves (tais) is also widespread.An extensive collection of Timorese audiovisual material is held at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. These holdings have been identified in a document titled The NFSA Timor-Leste Collection Profile, which features catalogue entries and essays for a total of 795 NFSA-held moving image, recorded sound and documentation works that have captured the history and culture of East Timor since the early 20th century. The NFSA is working with the East Timor government to ensure that all of this material can be used and accessed by the people of that country. In 2013 the first East Timorese feature film, Beatriz's War, was released.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

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