Alor is the largest island in the Alor Archipelago
located at the eastern-most end of the Lesser Sunda Islands that runs through southern Indonesia,
which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores.
To the east of the island across the Ombai Strait
lie the islands of Wetar and Atauro, the
latter belonging to East Timor. To the south, across the Strait of Alor,
lies the western part of Timor. To the north lies the Banda Sea. To
the west lies Pantar and the other islands of the Alor archipelago, and further yet the rest
of the Sunda Islands.
Geography
Alor has an area of about
2800 km², making it the largest island of the Alor archipelago.
Kalabahi is the
only town on the island of Alor, with a metropolitan population of about
60,000. The variety of goods obtainable in Kalabahi is surprising considering
its size and location.
Alor is of volcanic origin and has
very rugged terrain. The region near Kalabahi is the only flat area. This is
why the Dutch placed
the capital and the main harbor (Alor-Kecil) of the area here in 1911.
"The best" snorkelling and
diving in Indonesia can
be found in the Alor archipelago. Due to intriguing and often very strong
currents it is best to snorkel or dive with someone who knows the area well.
Transportation to Alor by TransNusa Trigana Air, from Kupang, Denpasar and
Surabaya.
Economy
The island's infrastructure is only
weakly built. The inhabitants practice mainly subsistence agriculture. The
government seeks to change this with the help of international organizations.
In the villages vanilla, tamarind, almonds and other nuts are cultivated. In the forests sandalwood is
cut down for trade.
The latest geological explorations
have discovered valuable resources such as gipsum, kaolin, petroleum, natural gas, tin, gold, and diamonds.
Alor's highly-esteemed snorkeling and
diving promise an increase in tourism in the future. Depletion of the fisheries
has however damaged the coral reefs in recent years.
Religion
Over 168,000 people live on Alor.
Three-fourths are protestants, the rest are either Muslims or in a few villages Roman Catholics.
Animistic rites and traditions are still strongly practiced.
Language
More than 15 different indigenous
languages are spoken on Alor, the majority of them classified as Papuan or
non-Austronesian. These include Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika, Kelon, and Kui. In addition, Alorese (Bahasa
Alor; ISO 639-3: aol)
is a Malayo-Polynesian language which is spoken along the coast of
the western and southern Bird's Head of Alor Island and in places on
surrounding islands.
Many of the Papuan languages of Alor
are endangered and are no longer being actively
acquired by children. Some languages have fewer than 1000 speakers remaining. Significant
linguistic documentation efforts have been undertaken recently by Leiden
University.
The language of daily communication is
Alor Malay, a unique Malay variety with some
similarities to Kupang Malay. Indonesian is taught in schools and used widely
in media.
Sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alor_Island
Photography : Leonardus Nyoman / www.floresexotictours.com
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