JAMAICA - Countries of the World

Countries of the World
JAMAICA

HI!I AM KATIE ELIZABETH FROM GUYANA.I AM FOURTEEN YEARS OLD.THIS IS MY BLOG ON JAMAICA.

WELCOME TO JAMAICA!!!
Jamaica is a tropical paradise with caribbean beauty.
Rio Grande River,Blue Mountains,north shore beaches are some tourist attractions of Jamaica.Jamaica offers visitors abundance of activities,including windsurfing,scuba diving,sailing,tennis,golf,and horseback riding.When the sun goes down, visitors may enjoy their nightlife under the beat of reggae in Jamaica's exotic nightclubs or restaurants.

JAMAICA:THE ISLE OF SPRINGS

The Jamaican National Flag which came into use on August 6, 1962, Jamaica's independence Day, was designed by a bipartisan committee of the Jamaica House of Representatives.

Jamaica is an island in the West Indies.It is a little smaller than Connecticut. The island is made up of coastal lowlands, a limestone plateau, and the Blue Mountains, a group of volcanic hills, in the east.

Anthem:
"Jamaica, Land We Love"

Eternal Father, Bless our land

Guard us with thy mighty hand

Keep us free from evil powers

Be our light through countless hours

To our leaders, Great Defender,

Grant true wisdom from above

Justice, truth be ours forever

Jamaica, land we love

Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica, land we love

Teach us true respect for all

Stir response to duty's call

Strengthen us the weak to cherish

Give us vision lest we perish

Knowledge send us, Heavenly Father,

Grant true wisdom from above

Justice, truth be ours forever

Jamaica, land we love

Jamaica, Jamaica, Jamaica, land we love

Motto: "Out of many, one people"

Agriculture: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks.

Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications. Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone.

Land area: 4,181 sq mi (10,829 sq km); total area: 4,244 sq mi (10,991 sq km)

Population (2007 est.): 2,780,132 (growth rate: 0.8%); birth rate: 20.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 15.7/1000; life expectancy: 73.1; density per sq mi: 665

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Kingston, 937,700 (metro. area), 590,500 (city proper)

Monetary unit: Jamaican dollar

Languages: English, Jamaican Creole

Ethnicity/race: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%

Religions: Protestant 61.3%, (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%

Literacy rate: 88% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005

Blue Mountain Coffee Beans in a picker's hand.

JAMAICAN PROVERBS

Too many cousins ruin the shopkeeper.

Chips never fly too far from the block.

A cheap bargain wastes money.

Man builds the house, but woman makes the home.

The best ground has weeds.

If you saw what the river carried, you would never drink the water.

Blue Mountains (Jamaica)

The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region of Jamaica. They include the island's highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 7,402 ft. From the summit, accessible via a walking track, both the North and South coasts of the island can be seen. On a clear day with clear skies the outline of the island Cuba can be seen clearly.

The famous Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is cultivated on the lower slopes. The higher slopes are preserved as forest. Hagley Gap and Mavis Bank are farming communities located on Blue Mountain with Hagley Gap being nearest the Blue Mountain Peak. Both towns rely upon the areas rich fertile soils for growing the Blue Mountain Coffee, considered by many the finest coffee in the world and by far the most expensive.

Foods:
Ackee and saltfish.The national breakfast dish is ackee and saltfish. Ackee is cooked and looks (and tastes) much like scrambled eggs. You won’t find ackee for sale in the United States because it is poisonous until it’s ripe.

Bammy.This fried bread is made from cassava flour and is served with fried fish.

Blue drawers.See Duckanoo, below.

Bulla. A spicy bun.

Bun.[A favorite Easter dish, bun is a spicy bread eaten with cheese.

Christmas cake.Visit a Jamaican home near the holiday season and, along with a glass of sorrel, you’ll be served Jamaican Christmas cake. This delicious confection includes raisins, cinnamon, cherries and, in some cases, prunes.

Coco bread.Ah, a warm, buttered piece of coco bread and a sandy beach... no one could ask for much more than that. This heavenly bread is best right out of the oven.

Corn pone.Cornmeal gives this pudding its name. It’s made with coconut, sugar and spices.

Cowcod soup.Another one of those infamous Jamaican aphrodisiacs, cowcod soup is usually sold at roadside stands and includes bananas, pepper and white rum.

Curried goat.You just don’t get any more Jamaican than curried goat. Look for it on any traditional island menu. It’s especially popular at festivals and parties.

Cut cake.This sweet cake is made with diced coconut and ginger toffee.

Duckanoo.The recipe for duckanoo was brought from Africa. This delicious dessert is made with cornmeal, coconut, spices and brown sugar, all of which are tied up in a banana leaf (hence its other names, Blue Drawers and Tie-A-Leaf) and slowly cooked in boiling water.

Escovitch.Escovitch is a style of cooking using vinegar, onions and spices brought to Jamaica by the Spanish Jews. In Jamaican grocery stores you can also find bottled escovitch sauce to make the preparation easier.

Escovitch fish.A contribution by the Spanish Jews who lived on the island nearly 500 years ago, this fried fish marinated with vinegar is a spicy way to enjoy the local catch.

Festival.This bread is frequently served with jerk and is similar to hush puppies.

Fish tea. This spicy soup looks and tastes much better than it sounds. Like a fish bouillon, this broth captures the taste of the sea. Watch out for fish bones when you eat this popular favorite.

Fritters.These deep-fried breads usually contain codfish or conch and are served as an appetizer.

Gizzada.A coconut tart.

Jamaica's National Tree
The National Tree is the Blue Mahoe (Hibiscus elatus) , a valuable timber for export.

Jamaica's National Fruit

Ackee (Blighia sapinda)

Jamaica's National Bird
Doctor Bird (Trochilus polytmus)

The "Doctor Bird" or Swallowtail Humming Bird lives only in Jamaica and is one of the most outstanding of the 320 species of Humming Birds.

Jamaica's National Flower
The National Flower is that of the Lignum Vitae tree (Guiacum officinale) , whose name, 'wood of life' is believed to reflect its medicinal properties.

MUSIC

Reggae

Jamaica's popular music has achieved world fame through the emergence of reggae, a music form that emerged from traditional indigenous Jamaican music with African and Black American roots. Many reggae artistes have won international fame for original compositions, recordings and performances--notably the late Robert(Bob) Marley. For his cultural contributions, Marley received Jamaica's third highest national honour--the Order of Merit.

JAMAICA FESTIVAL a national salute to local talent and ingenuity in local vernacular "a bam bam." How appropriate that the phrase introduced to the nation in 1966 by Toots and the Maytals in their winning festival song, can be used to aptly describe Jamaica Festival itself. A major training opportunity for thousands of Jamaicans, Jamaica Festival's mandate was (and still is) to focus attention on "Things Jamaican" Jamaican creativity and cultural awareness across socio-economic levels.

Brown Noddys
One of the most important faunal resources in the Portland Bight Protected Area are the resident, vagrant and migrant forest, wetland, sea and shore birds.

The islands many attractions range from the stunning scenery of the Blue Mountains to the country's vibrant reggae music heritage; from its idyllic beaches to soft adventure activities such as river rafting.
Ocho Rios is now Jamaica's second largest tourist resort, as well as a popular stop for cruise ships. It is also home to the popular Dunn's River Falls, one of the most photographed places in the world !

Caribbean Dove

Starfish Trelawny is situated on the North Coast of Jamaica. The property is located in Falmouth, between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, 23 miles east of Montego Bay, and it is just a 35 minute drive from Donald Sangster International Airport.

Crayfish

Sandals Ocho Rios & Golf club.

Snook

Hurricane Dean passed near Jamaica on 20 August, 2007.It caused great destruction.

Hurricane Ivan caused widespread damage in Jamaica when it hit the caribbean in 2004.

Cockpit Country is threatened by Bauxite Mining.
Cockpit Country is a rugged, inaccessible area of inland Jamaica. These very characteristics have given it special importance.

Flower

Alligator Pond

Jamaica

Landscape on the way to Y's Falls

A Water Fall

A sorrel flower

Folly Point(Portland)/The Majestic

Emancipation Park(Kingston)

A Church

Independence Park is a stadium in Kingston,Jamaica.

Thanks for visiting my site.Jamaica is a beautiful island.

PICTURES OF FRANCE

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JAMAICA (Countries of the World) - Author : KATIE ELIZABETH - Jamaica

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last update : 2008-05-03

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