Moroni, Capital of the Union of Comoros:

One of largest cities of the archipelago and an important political, economic and social hub

Moroni is the capital of the Union of the Comoros. Located on the western coast of Grande Comore island (also known as N'gazidja), Moroni is inhabited by more than 30000 people and is home to many Islamic and civilizational monuments. Though it became a capital of Comoros only since 1962, it has preserved some of its long history inherited from the reign of the sultans. Being a coastal city, Moroni was targeted by waves of migrants, which imbued it with a historical value through which it disseminated the social awareness among all cities and villages of the Union of the Comoros.
The temperature in Moroni varies between 32.8 ° C degree at maximum and 15.5 °C degree at minimum, i.e. an average temperature of 25.3° C degree.
One of the largest cities in the Union of the Comoros, Moroni is not only the administrative capital of the country, but also serves as an economic, tourist and trade hub.

The city has numerous mosques, including the Great Mosque built in the 15thcentury
Shops and markets

At the heart of Moroni, there are many ancient houses dating back to the times of Sultans who ruled over the city. The doors of these houses preserved the inscriptions engraved thereupon. On the northern side, these houses stretch to the avenue of Ministries in front of the new headquarters of the local Parliament. To the eastern and southern sides, visitors can see the traditional houses of the Irungudjani and Bacha Districts, which used to be inhabited by the servants of Sultans. Most of these buildings were transformed into shops, trade centres and hash houses, while some others serve today as public spaces offering entertainment and traditional games such as card games and domino. On the eastern side of the city, there lies a series of stores, shops for ready-to-wear clothes and jewelry. In front of these stores and shops stands the small traditional market, which hosts many trade activities practiced by salesmen and purchasers coming from all the provinces of the island. In the north of the city, there is a new large market, named Volo Volo, which was built by the Chinese. Marked especially by its heavy traffic, this market offers a wide variety of products (agricultural products, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish) in addition to ready-to-wear garments for men and women. A third market was recently inaugurated in the Charma District by the N'gazidja local government. It is just as crowded as the Volo Volo market.

The Beaumer stadium plays host to major concerts and events
The Moroni Museum

In front of the “Le Sélect” restaurant and the France plaza, which is replete with banking institutions, visitors will find the headquarters of the National Center for Documentation and Scientific Research, which is considered as the repository of the Comoro culture. It includes a museum, a library, a store selling works written about the Comoros and a video centre producing documentaries on the ethnology and geography of the Archipelago. The museum displays the traditions of the Comorian history as well as their natural milieu.
The room devoted to history features old objects discovered by excavations and pottery shards dating back to the 19th century. Visitors can see also some red and black bowls that were used by the earliest inhabitants of these islands. In addition to some rare manuscripts, there are also some surviving copies of the Holy Quran, as well as some portraits dating back to the 19th century of the sultans and kings who ruled this country, along with several other traditional items: cookware, instruments of music, furniture, etc, which all attest to the colourful and rich history of this country.
The second room of the museum is dedicated to the natural milieu of the islands: a beautiful collection of birds, butterflies, shellfish and herbariums including a herbarium used in the Comorian traditional medicine. In this room, visitors are presented also with the history of Karthala volcano’s eruptions.

The future of the capital

Visitors who take the road from the museum to the avenue of the Corniche will cross the avenue of the Arab League, which leads to the Koli district. On their way, they will come across the building of the Ministry of Migration to the left of the headquarters of the Comorian Court. In this District, visitors will find ministerial buildings on both sides of the same avenue. Before reaching these buildings, there is an avenue with a single direction leading to the Al-Mâarouf hospital and the Volo Volo market, then the international airport of Prince Said Ibrahim Airport, also called Hahaya Airport, and finally the avenue of the Corniche nearby the sea. The Presidential Palace is located at the end of the Corniche Avenue. Throughout this long avenue, visitors will enjoy the fascinating landscapes of the sea and the many coves on the coast. They will see the faculty of Imam Shafi’i, of the University of the Comoros, and go through a harbour used by fishermen to construct outrigger canoes. Moving to the right side, a road is leading to the Ambassador District. Around this road, there is a number of magnificent buildings, hotels and Tennis clubs, in addition to the headquarters of the Franco-Comorian cultural centre. Nearby the Franco-Comorian cultural centre, there is a crossroads leading to the Oasis District, which hosts the Kenyan, Australian, French, Madagascan and Yemeni airline companies, in addition to an Indian restaurant.
To brace itself for the festivities due to be staged as part of its selection as an Islamic Culture Capital for 2010, Moroni has embarked on urban redevelopments involving its streets and lands, as part of a comprehensive plan.