Mayotte

Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeast Africa, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique.

Did you know that:
1. Mayotte Island is geographically part of the Comoros archipelago, a small group of islands lying between the northern tip of Madagascar and East Africa in the Indian Ocean.
2. The island is surrounded by reefs and the main harbour at Dzaoudzi is very well-protected. There are many anchorages inside the reef and diving is excellent.
3. The climate is tropical, with two seasons: the dry season lasting from May to October, with an average temperature of 24°C, and the rainy season from November to April, when both temperature and humidity are higher. The cyclone season is from December to March.
4. The native languages of Mayotte are: Shimaore, a dialect of the Comorian language (a close relative of Swahili); Kibushi, a western dialect of the Malagasy language (the language of Madagascar) heavily influenced by Shimaore and Arabic; Kiantalaotsi, another western dialect of the Malagasy language also heavily influenced by Shimaore and Arabic; Arabic, essentially learned in the Quranic schools. But the only official language of Mayotte is French.