Luxury Indian Ocean LUXURY INDIAN OCEAN #8 EDITION 2019 | Page 41

Eden Island, la nouvelle marina et zone résidentielle haut de gamme de Mahé
Eden Island, the new marina and premium residential area of Mahé
Colourful buildings, bustling markets, mouth-watering street food and
endless blue skies... Welcome to Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles,
a picturesque port city fringed with mist-capped mountains and a
gorgeous turquoise lagoon.
Located on Mahé, the largest of the Seychelles’ remote scatter of islands,
it is the country’s largest settlement and its cultural and administrative
nerve-centre. Yet with its population of only 27,000 people and its
unhurried, easy-going atmosphere, Victoria is not only Africa’s smallest
capital city but also an undisputed capital of slow-living.
If you can bear to tear yourself away from the country’s postcard-perfect
beaches, it’s well worth spending a day roaming Victoria’s quaint streets
and immersing yourself in its wonderful food, history and culture.
Fresh fruits and winding alleyways
Despite the fierce heat, the best way to get a sense of this pint-sized
capital is to explore it on foot. Start your day with a gentle stroll along the
old town’s winding alleys, lined with charming little shops and colourful
wood and stone houses built in the early 1900s.
The morning – particularly on Saturdays – is the best time to visit Sir
Selwyn Selwyn Clarke Market. Beneath brightly coloured arcades, you’ll
find stalls gleaming with freshly-landed fish, bright fruits and vegetables,
and fragrant spices, as well as handmade souvenirs. Throngs of local
Seychellois cram through the covered market’s wrought-iron gates,
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good-naturedly haggling for the wares on offer. Sip water from a freshly-
opened coconut as you peruse the stands and watch local fishermen
negotiate the price of their day’s catch.
As you leave the market, go around the corner to Quincy Street and
admire the riot of colours that is the Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar
Temple. Built in 1992, it caters to the roughly 5,000 Hindus living in
Victoria. Take off your shoes to visit the temple outside of ceremony
hours.
Heritage and history
On the street, you’ll probably find that people speak to you in both
French and English, as well as in Seychelles Creole. For a taste of the
city’s colonial past, walk over to the Clock Tower on Independence
Avenue (known as Lorloz in Seychelles Creole). Erected by the British
in 1903, it has since become a local landmark.
Along the avenue and on Francis Rachel Street nearby, you can admire
Victoria’s many other colonial-era buildings, including its courthouse,
post office and State House – previously the residence of the Seychelles’
British administrators, and now the home of the country’s President.
Spend a leisurely hour in the newly re-opened National Museum of
History, housed in the former Supreme Court building (erected 1885).
Its exhibits include displays on local entomology, “gris-gris” magic,
musical instruments and the World War II – with a particularly
compelling section on the African slave trade that thrived here during
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