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Zarrin (Seychelles)

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Ibn Majid (1470) is the only author to mention the place.

 

Taken from: Connecting Continents: Archaeology and History in the Indian Ocean World edited by Krish Seetah.

 

The Seychelles Islands include granitic high islands and numerous coral islands, both atolls and raised coral islands, such as Aldabra. The Seychelles may have been the “Zarin” islands noted in Arabic records dating 1460-1530 but they were probably uninhabited when Vasco da Gama sailed by in 1502, and certainly so when settlement began in 1770. Common speculation about pre-European discovery has not yielded anything except stories.

 

The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa. It's home to numerous beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves, as well as rare animals such as giant Aldabra tortoises. Mahé, a hub for visiting the other islands, is home to capital Victoria. (The islands on this picture are the inner islands, the outer far-off islands are way smaller.)