Comoros

Remembrance of Comoros.

Sent by Sitti Nabaouiyat from Moroni, Grande Comore, Comoros.

The Comoros /ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر‎, Juzur al-Qumur / Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري‎ al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī / Qamarī) is a sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. Its capital is Moroni, on Grande Comore.

At 1,862 km² (719 sq mi), excluding the contested island of Mayotte, the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population, excluding Mayotte, is estimated at 798,000. Although speculated today by Arab countries that the name Comoros originated from Arab people who arrived in the islands much later, the name "Comoros" actually came from ancient Polynesian, Melanesian and Australian people who settled among the original African population B.C. "Comoros" was taken from the ancient Polynesian word; "Chammoras", one of their other settlements. These inhabitants had their own distinct language "Comorian" which was partly affected by the Arabs who arrived much later. The Union of the Comoros has three official languages – Comorian, Arabic and French – although French is the sole official language on Mayotte. (read further)