Time Zone |
Africa/Sao_Tome |
Standard Time GMT / UTC |
UTC+0 |
Daylight Saving Time |
Daylight saving time is not observed in the current region. |
Time Zone |
Africa/Bissau |
Standard Time GMT / UTC |
UTC+0 |
Daylight Saving Time |
Daylight saving time is not observed in the current region. |
São Tomé and Príncipe is an island country in west-central Africa, consisting of the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe and the surrounding islets, with the capital, São Tomé, located in the northeastern part of São Tomé. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, about 200 kilometers from the African continent, the country was colonized by Portugal in the 15th century and became independent in 1975, with Portuguese as the official language and an economy based on agriculture (cocoa, palm oil) and tourism. It should be noted that "Java" is not a city or region of the country; Java is the main island of Indonesia, with cities such as Jakarta and Surabaya, and has nothing to do with São Tomé and Príncipe, possibly due to a confusion of names.
Located on the island of Bolama in southwestern Guinea-Bissau, Bolama is the country's historical city and the capital of the Bolama region, which was designated as the colonial capital of West Africa by the Portuguese colonizers at the end of the 19th century, and has retained the neoclassical style of the Governor's Palace, the Church of St. Joseph and other colonial-era buildings, with the mottled walls telling the story of the vicissitudes of life in the past hundred years or so. Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and mangrove forests, the city is rich in fishery resources, and the local people make their living by hand fishing and cashew nut cultivation. The unique culture of the Bijagós Islands blends here, with traditional music and painted wood carvings passed down from generation to generation. Despite its relatively modest infrastructure, the pristine natural landscape and deep history make it a unique window into West Africa's people and nature.