Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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DILI — If there’s one piece of advice you can’t escape when traveling in Timor-Leste, it is to get out of the capital and head inland.
For the East Timorese, the mountains hold a special reverence. While surrounded by bountiful oceans, rich in both contested resources and plentiful fauna, the East Timorese have always looked toward the highlands — towards the safety of their clouded, vast interior — not out to sea.
The mountains have long provided sanctuary for the Timorese. During the four centuries of Portuguese rule, the colonists barely explored the hinterland. One local told me that during their rule, the Portuguese only managed to build several kilometers of roads.
Their exploration of the island was so minimal that it was not until the early 20th century, according to Beloved Land author Gordon Peake, that the Portuguese even charted the entire island: “Even in the latter half of the 19th century, fewer than 100 colonists lived beyond the city… for centuries, no one seemed particularly certain even of where the island ended.”
As the Portuguese held firm on the coast, Timorese looked down from the hills above, often detached from their distant occupiers. Once Portugal decolonized, the Indonesians invaded, and the mountains again provided safe haven.
The Mountains: Timor Leste's Blessing and Curse
I don't want to give away the surprise ending but there is a pipeline involved.
For the East Timorese, the mountains hold a special reverence. While surrounded by bountiful oceans, rich in both contested resources and plentiful fauna, the East Timorese have always looked toward the highlands — towards the safety of their clouded, vast interior — not out to sea.
The mountains have long provided sanctuary for the Timorese. During the four centuries of Portuguese rule, the colonists barely explored the hinterland. One local told me that during their rule, the Portuguese only managed to build several kilometers of roads.
Their exploration of the island was so minimal that it was not until the early 20th century, according to Beloved Land author Gordon Peake, that the Portuguese even charted the entire island: “Even in the latter half of the 19th century, fewer than 100 colonists lived beyond the city… for centuries, no one seemed particularly certain even of where the island ended.”
As the Portuguese held firm on the coast, Timorese looked down from the hills above, often detached from their distant occupiers. Once Portugal decolonized, the Indonesians invaded, and the mountains again provided safe haven.
The Mountains: Timor Leste's Blessing and Curse
I don't want to give away the surprise ending but there is a pipeline involved.
