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Kavaratti
Kavaratti which is the headquarters of the territory, is situated
at 10o33' north latitude and 72o38 east longitude.
It lies between Agatti and Andrott but a little to the south and is 301Kms
from Kozhikode. The island is about 6kms in length and breadth is
about one km. At the southern end, the land shrinks to a width of 47 metres.
The lagoon on the western side is about 11/ 2kms wide.
The houses are concentrated within a small area and the compounds adjoin
one another. The narrow southern portion starting from where the inhabited
part ends is entirely government land. The government offices and the
quarters for officials are located in this area. This portion was once
separated from the inhabited are by a wall. Under the Bibi of Cannanore's
administration (A.D.1764) no islander was allowed to go south of the wall
without a pass.
The people here are skilled as stone masons and wood carves and their mosques
are architecturally superior to those of the other islands. The Ujira Mosque
with its intricate carvings in wood is a fine example of the skill of the
Kavaratti craftsmen. The patterns are intricate, picked out in harmonious shades
of pale green and dark red, they are very effective. The Jumah Mosque is a large
building and possesses the largest tank of any mosque in the islands. The
headstones in the graveyards are in green or blue stain with Koranic texts
carved on them. These reveal delicate skill in stone carving. For Tourism
options in Kavaratti Click here
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