|
Current Weather
in Fuerteventura:
General: The island's
colourful past can be traced in a variety of ancient
buildings, monuments, archaeological sites and
museums.
The first settlers are believed
to have arrived here from North Africa - the word
Mahorero or Maho is still used today to describe
the people of Fuerteventura and comes from the
ancient word 'mahos' meaning a type of goatskin
shoe worn by the original inhabitants. They lived
in caves and semi-subterranean dwellings, a few
of which have been discovered and excavated revealing
relics of early tools and pottery. In antiquity,
the island was known as Planaria, among other
names, in reference to the flatness of most of
its landscape.
In the 11th century BC, the
Phoenician settlers arrived in Fuerteventura and
Lanzarote. In 850 BC, the island was mentioned
by Homer in the Odyssey, the Canary Islands as
Insulae Fortunatae.
Several Spanish and Portuguese
expeditions occurred in about 1340 around the
island and the island were inhabited by Maurs
and were afflicted with European slave holders.
In 1405, the French conqueror
Jean de Bethencourt took the island and gave his
name to the former capital, Betancuria, on the
west coast (Puerto Rosario took over the mantle
as island capital in 1835). The name of the island
itself is believed to have come from Bethencourt's
exclamation "Que forte aventure!" ("What
a grand adventure"). A less romantic explanation
is that the name simply means "strong wind".
In 1852, the free trade zone
was extended by Isabella II to the Canary Islands.
The military rule over the island which began
from 1708 dissolved in 1859 and Puerto de Cabras
(now Puerto del Rosario) became entirely the new
capital.
Ajuy beachThe Canary islands had the right to
self-govern in 1912.
In 1927, Fuerteventura and
Lanzarote became part of the province of Gran
Canaria.
By the 1940s the island had
an airport (just west of Puerto del Rosario on
the road to Tindaya, still visible today).
Tourism arrived in the mid-1960s
with the building of the present airport at El
Mattoral and the first tourist hotels.
The seat of the island government
(cabildo insular) is in Puerto del Rosario. A
total of 74,983 people (2003) live on the island.
Since the island is close to
Africa, many illegal African immigrants try to
enter the European Union through it, by a dangerous
boat trip from Morocco.
Currency: EURO - The
euro is divided into 100 cent. All coins can be
used in all member states. There are €2,
€1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c and 1c coins. All
euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination
on both sides. Notes are issued in the following
values: €500, €200, €100, €50,
€20, €10, €5.
Language: SPANISH -
Spanish the fourth most widely spoken language
in the world according to some sources, while
other sources list it as the 2nd or 3rd most spoken
language. It is spoken as a first language by
about 352 million people.
Country Code: ES - Tel:
+34
|
