The South American state of Suriname is a small country, as well as other states of this continent, once a colony. Since the acquisition of independence by Suriname many years have passed, for which the local culture has had anew to bloom. Surinamese life is colorful and unlike life in other countries of South America.
Suriname – the smallest state in South America, its area is only 163 821 square kilometers. Previously, it was called the Netherlands Guiana.
The motto of the state is “Justice, piety, faith!”.
Suriname since the XVII century was a colony of the Netherlands, and gained independence only in 1975. The official language, however, remains Dutch. By the way, this is the only country in South America, where they speak this language.
The southern half of Suriname is practically not inhabited, it is covered with tropical rain forests and savannah.
In Suriname, there was once a single railway branch, but it has been abandoned for 15 years already.
In Suriname, because of the proximity to the equator for a year there are as many as 2 rainy seasons, which last for a total of about 200 days a year. More than here, rains are only in the Netherlands and in Belgium.
In Suriname, only 1100 kilometers of asphalt roads, but there are more than fifty airports.
Scientists continue to detect in the jungle of Suriname previously unknown animals (only during the expedition in 2005, managed to find 24 new living things, including a frog with luminous purple spots).
The Braunsberg National Park is one of the world’s largest unspoilt stretches of evergreen rainforest.
Telephone boxes in Suriname are yellow.
Surinam Pipa is a frog that lives only in the territory of this country.
Residents of Suriname, according to local traditions, can politely and slightly intrusively greet on the street, even with people they do not know (and do it several times).
The center of Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, is called the unpronounceable word Onafhankelininesplein, which means “Independence Square”.
Every year before Easter in Paramaribo there is an impressive parade Avond-Virdaaga, which lasts 4 days.
15. In Suriname there is an even larger festival – Surifest (Festival of the country). This noisy and incendiary event lasts all December.
Because of economic difficulties in Suriname, there is only one university – an institution founded in 1968, produces doctors, economists and lawyers.
The Surinamese language (Sranan Tongo), spoken by a significant part of the country’s population, consists of only 340 words (in English, for comparison, about 250 thousand words).
In the middle of the Suriname River is a German cargo ship, which was sunk in 1940. It is not planned to remove the rusty skeleton – a beacon was attached to its board, and it will lie on the bottom until it finally collapses. In addition, paying tribute to this local landmark, in 2000 a bridge was opened, the lines of which repeat the bend of the ship.
In Suriname, pagers are still actively used, since cellular communications and the Internet are available only in the capital and its suburbs.
