30 August: East Timor

Today is Popular Consultation Day, a national holiday in East Timor/Timor Leste. Some things you may not know about this country:

1. According to local legend, the island of Timor was created when an aged crocodile turned into an island to repay a debt to a boy who had helped it when it was ill. Hence the island is shaped like a crocodile. The people who live there are descendants of the boy. "Leaving the Crocodile" is a term used by the Timorese who emigrate.
2. The country comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor.
3. East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor. In 1975, the country declared independence, only to be taken over by Indonesia nine days later. East Timor was part of Indonesia until May 2002 when it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century.
4. Timor derives from the Indonesian word for East. Leste is the Portuguese word for East. So the name of the country translates as "East East".
5. The capital and largest city is Dili.
6. The highest mountain is Tatamailau at 2,986 m (9,797 ft). Until 1975, this mountain was also deemed to be the highest mountain in Portugal since it is higher than the highest peak in mainland Portugal. The name Tatamailau means "Grandfather of all". There is a three metre high statue of the Virgin Mary on the peak.
7. The currency in Timor-Leste is the US dollar, although the dollar here is divided into 100 centavos, not cents, and the coins are minted in Portugal.
8. Timor-Leste’s population was 1,231,116 in 2015. The total land area of Timor-Leste is 5,640 square miles (14,609 square kilometres). That's about the size of the Greek island of Crete with a population twice as big.
9. Timor-Leste grows Coffee, corn, sweet potatoes, Rice, soybeans, Bananas, mangoes, vanilla, Maize and cassava. Its industry consists of printing, handicrafts, soap manufacturing and woven cloth. The main exports include coffee, sandalwood, marble and oil.
10. If sending letters to East Timor, the words “via Darwin, Australia” should be added at the end of the address or the letter may never get there.