We set out from Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana in the north of South America, and after lunch in Laurent du Maroi, 170 km later, we arrived at Albina, a coastal city in Suriname, on the opposite shore of the river, in small canoe-like boats.

We were going to enter the country, but the customs officers were lying down at the baggage control desk, taking a nap. When they saw us they looked at us as if to say “where did they come from”, anyway they went to their rooms with slow movements, first we entered Suriname after a long time of checking the forms and passports. Usually when you enter through the customs gates that are not used much outside of airports, similar incidents always happen, maybe we were the first to enter through this gate with Turkish passports.

We set off with the waiting minibus and after 3 hours we arrived at Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, on the banks of the Suriname River. To be honest, looking at the surroundings, there were nice restaurants, model cars, roads and people, more than we expected. A short tour of the surroundings in the evening, it was the third week of December, New Year’s preparations were complete, people were in the mood for fun.

**

In the morning, a tour of Paramaribo, one of the most dynamic capitals of Guyana, 15 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean, on the banks of the Suriname River with a population of 260 thousand people with different cultures and ethnic structures and an architecture that is almost a synthesis of Amsterdam and the wild west. The old city area, which is on the UNESCO Historical Heritage List, the wooden buildings specific to the region, the market area, church, mosque, synagogue, a very lively place.

To tell the truth, I am a little surprised. Modern cars, beautiful buildings, restored buildings from the colonial period, a well-maintained and neat city. Of course, if you go to the two back streets, you can see the poverty in the middle from the people walking around. It is possible to see the same situation in all underdeveloped countries, generally the middle class people have disappeared, a segment that is rapidly getting rich as a result of corruption and living in luxury. On one side, there is wealth, lots of casinos and others.

The place where slave trade was carried out in the past and the Independence Square, a place with a lot of stories. We are in a small-scale market where the traditional clothes of the Maron ethnic group brought from Africa as slaves are sold. Clothes with lots of colors, each pattern having a meaning.

**

We came to a huge, well-maintained mosque, we said let’s go in and see, it is not going to disappear, it is only open on Tuesdays and Fridays, we said we came from Turkey and we will pray, the guard on duty said come tomorrow and pray for two days! I could not find out which sect or cult it is. There is a Muslim population here, so it is possible to come across a mosque. Right next to it is a synagogue belonging to the Jewish community, there are 150 Jews here, 80 congregants come to the synagogue. Still, it is a clean and well-maintained temple.

The weather is hot and humid. The Surinamese guide asked, the synagogue and the mosque are side by side, they have a shared parking lot, there have been no problems with parking between the two communities for years, they have very good neighborly relations, they help each other in everything, but why are they fighting in the Middle East, why are they killing each other? What is the reason? The question came from a difficult place, we couldn’t answer!

We walk around, the streets of Paramaribo are full of beautiful air-conditioned stores, wide roads, colorful people, most importantly people who obey the lights and traffic rules. We go to the neighborhood market, exactly where I wanted. These places are the real face of the society, you can find all kinds of colorful and beautiful people, all kinds of vegetables and fruits.

One of the places to see is the Roman Catholic cathedral in the city center, completed in 1911, one of the largest wooden churches in South America. The church, which is a completely wooden structure that is very well preserved and still works, is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site.

We go to see the dolphins that live in the area where two big rivers, the Suriname and Commewinje rivers, meet and flow into the Atlantic Ocean near Paramaribo, which are pink at first but turn black as they grow.

After short rains, the sun, heat, humidity, life is not easy here. We sail around the place where the two rivers meet in long thin boats resembling canoes, so that we can see the pink dolphins. When we say river, we mean like the sea. We sail around, there are no dolphins, if not, we land and we are in a village nearby, the nature and forest are magnificent. We sail around the river again, apparently the dolphins are curious about us and they started to roam around. The baby dolphins are pink, they start to turn gray as they grow, only their belly area remains pink. After being together for a while, everyone goes on their way. A pleasant experience.

In the evening, we finished the day with a nice meal and pleasant conversation at a nice restaurant.

There are many casinos that attract attention, and there is a casino spread over a large area at the entrance of the hotel we are staying at, there are also customers, it is usually full. It’s a strange situation but most of them are locals, I watch one of the gambling tables, dollars are flying in the air. It’s obvious that it’s an organized business world, you can easily spend the money you earn. The man is sitting sideways on the couch, chatting on the one hand, and pulling the slot machine’s lever. I watched for a while, as if he didn’t care what was happening, just the satisfaction of pulling the lever.

**

Let’s briefly look at the history and culture of Suriname.

The Republic of Suriname is a sovereign state located on the Atlantic coast of the South American continent. It borders Brazil to the south, Guyana to the west and French Guiana to the east. It is the smallest country in South America with a surface area of ​​165,000 km². The majority of the population of the country, which has a population of 600 thousand, lives in the capital Paramaribo on the north coast.

It was discovered by Spanish sailors in the 16th century, became an English colony in the 17th century and became a Dutch colony in 1667 with the Treaty of Breda as a result of the Dutch-English War. In 1975, Suriname separated from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and gained its independence. It still has strong economic, diplomatic and cultural ties with the Netherlands.

During the colonial period, plantations were established around the rivers around a Dutch private company called the Suriname Society and slaves were brought from Africa to provide the labor needed here. However, some of these slaves escaped to the interior of the colony and established their own societies. The colony was nationalized in 1795 and slavery was banned in 1863.

In addition to Africans, workers were also brought from the East Indies and India to fill the labor shortage on the plantations, and over time the children of the workers who arrived established their own communes here and began e-commerce. Indians are active in some areas such as textiles and food in Suriname.

There are many ethnic, religious and linguistic groups in Suriname. The Indians, whose lineage is based on workers who came here to work, are the largest ethnic group in the country, while the Maroons, whose lineage is based on African slaves, are in second place. The Maroons, meaning black people of the forest, are the descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped from the plantations in the past and settled in the interior of Suriname. The Surinamese Maroon culture is one of the best-preserved pieces of cultural heritage outside Africa. Colonial wars, land seizures, natural disasters and migrations are the most important factors determining Maroon history. There are six different Maron groups or tribes in Suriname that are related to each other.

In addition, Creoles, a mixture of African and white races, are a mixed race and are the majority. While Dutch is the official prestige language, a significant portion of the population speaks Sranan Tongo, a Creole language based on English. In other words, you can communicate with almost everyone in Suriname in English.

If we look at the demographic structure; 27% are Creole, 23% are East Indian, 18% are multiracial, 16% are Maronites, descendants of enslaved Africans, 10% are Javanese, 2% are indigenous, 1.5% are Chinese, and there are various ethnic structures, mostly of Dutch and Portuguese origin, as well as a small number of Europeans, Lebanese and Jewish. In the past decades, a significant number of Brazilians, Guyanese and new Chinese immigrants have settled in Paramaribo.

According to 2020 data, 52.3% of the country is Christian, 18.8% Hindu, 14.3% Muslim, and 5.6% believe in indigenous religions. The number of individuals who are Buddhist and Jewish is less than 1% each, while 1.9% belong to other religions. The proportion of the population that does not belong to any religion is 6.2%.

Paramaribo remained the capital of Suriname during the colonial period and after Suriname’s independence in 1975. The old city has suffered many devastating fires over the years, most notably in January 1821 when more than 400 buildings were destroyed by fire, and in September 1832 when 50 buildings were destroyed by fire.

Paramaribo is the business and financial center of Suriname, and although it does not produce much, almost all of the income from the country’s main exports, gold, oil, bauxite, rice, and tropical wood, is generated by companies located here. All banks, insurance companies and other financial and commercial companies are headquartered in Paramaribo. Approximately 75% of Suriname’s GDP is generated here.

Founded as a Dutch colonial town in the 17th and 18th centuries, the historic city center of Paramaribo, located on the left bank of the Suriname River, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. The original architecture and street plans of the buildings have been largely preserved.

Trade and business are generally in the hands of the Chinese, Indians and Dutch, and are not cheap compared to Turkey. Apart from minor incidents, there are almost no criminal incidents, so it is a country that can be considered as safe as you would expect.

**

In the morning, we head to the south of Suriname to the Browmsberg Natural Park in a four-wheel drive vehicle equipped for the terrain conditions.

Home to many plant and animal species that have attracted the attention of gold seekers since the 19th century, the 12,000-hectare forest area has been open to visitors since 1969 and also has social facilities such as accommodation and restaurants.

We have reached the middle of the country, we leave the road and head towards the forest area. The southernmost tip of the Amazon forest. The roads are gradually deteriorating and the big vehicle is struggling. The clay soil is very slippery from the rain, the car is moving sideways, we are on a path between sliding and going. We are starting to struggle, we get out of the vehicle at risky places and continue on our way on foot, we are in the middle of the adventure. We were able to come to the summit by rocking and rolling. The road is really tough. After sorting out the lunch boxes we brought with us, we rest a little and then go to a waterfall somewhere deep in the forest. The weather is very nice, we started to dive into the depths of the forest. Only the guide knows the way, if you lose the way and get lost, it can be difficult to return, you will spend the rest of your life here. We walk through the trees with machetes in our hands to cut the branches in our way or to use them when needed. Absolute jungle. And here the adventure begins, when we were quite far from the vehicle, it started raining like crazy, although the weather was very nice 15 minutes ago, and it had been very hot for two days. Some of us have raincoats but they are not enough, the rain is hitting us like bullets. Also, the paths have become slippery, we are holding on to branches and trees to avoid sliding down the slope. Rumors have started, slight panics like where did we come from, what will happen and how will we get back. Whatever harm we have done to the rain god, it gets more intense as we talk. We are no longer wet, we are no longer feeling the rain, we are trying to walk through the water flowing like a stream without falling. My only concern is to save my camera, which I tried to protect with everything I had on me, without getting wet. We had just reached the waterfall, the decision to turn back. We try to go back but the ground is very slippery, water flows between your feet. Anyway, we finally made it to the car without any injuries. Then guess what happened, the crazy rain stopped suddenly and the sun came out. Everyone was wet and covered in mud from head to toe. We came back to the hotel. My only consolation was that I was able to save my camera, I recorded the rest in my memories as excitement. Despite all this, magnificent nature, very beautiful forest. In fact, these were the message of mother nature saying “you are making me very sad”.

We finished the day with a pleasant meal that enjoyed the day in the evening.

**

We are walking around the capital of Suriname, Paramaribo, to see how the social life, bazaars and markets are.

In the new buildings, a new architectural style has been created by gradually combining European architecture and construction techniques with South American cultural materials and handicrafts.

The urban texture between 1680-1800 is still used despite the fact that a major infrastructure renovation could not be done due to the low economy in the last thirty years. The building lines have not been changed much in the new buildings either and high-rise buildings have not been built in the city center. Since traditional buildings are made of wood and are vulnerable to fire, they have suffered great damage as a result of fires many times in the past.

We are walking around the back streets of the city. Walking is one of the best ways to learn and get to know the environment and the people. We are in the museum where traditional colorful clothes are exhibited, how nice and colorful clothes, hats and headscarves with different meanings. The museum manager is a polite and elegant lady, we are chatting about the traditions of Suriname, when she said in passing that she really wanted to come to Turkey and go to the city of Mardin, I wondered why. He said that he watched Turkish TV series about Mardin and that he really wanted to see this cultural city.

We are in an art gallery, there are works on sculpture and textile, really beautiful and creative works. The subjects generally covered are traces of slavery in the past. I was very impressed by one work, an African dressed in white swinging on a white swing in a cage in a dark world. Make your own interpretation. You should not be prejudiced in some cases. There are certain good artists.

Well-maintained and beautifully preserved colonial houses, churches and finally a coffee shop where there are hundreds of well-maintained palm trees.

There is a statue of Simon Bolivar in one of the squares, and generally everywhere in South and Central America where there is a struggle for independence, there is a statue of Simon Bolivar. Who is he, in short;

He led Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia to gain their independence against Spanish colonialism, he is known as the “Great Liberator”. According to some, he is a revolutionary folk hero, according to others, a savior who despises liberalism, a soldier who despises militarism, a republican who admires monarchy, a Venezuelan military and political leader.

Bolivia, which gained its independence under the leadership of Simon Bolivar in 1825 after many years of war, was also named Bolivia in honor of Bolivar.

**

The minimum wage here is around $250, it is a place where tourism has not yet developed, so there are not many tourists, we have not seen any. In the capital city Paramaribo, there are many hotels, many nice stores, nice restaurants and they are all full, when we go to a restaurant during the week, there is no room. There are dozens of casinos and the customers are generally locals. The fact that there are so many casinos suggests the possibility of dirty money circulating. It is difficult to understand how this happens. Considering that the industrial, manufacturing and agricultural sectors are not strong!

Apart from petty thefts, there are not many major crimes such as injury, murder, extortion in Suriname, there seems to be calmness.

We are going to the palm garden, it has cooled down a bit after the rain. Our last night in Surinam, we finished the day after a pleasant conversation.

 

With love

Hayrettin Kağnıcı

December 2024