Pacific Ocean, Oceania Continent We are going to Tongatapu with a population of 30 thousand, where Nuku’alofa is the largest island and capital of the Kingdom of Tonga in the Polenesia region. It is one of the first settlements to see the new day, in the easternmost part of the world, that is, the closest to the day change line.

The Kingdom of Tonga, east of Fiji, south of Samoa and north of New Zealand, is a collection of islands with a population of 110 thousand and a total area of 747 km². The official language of Tonga, which is governed by the monarchy method, is Tongan and speaks English according to their own accent. In Tonga, around 1000 people in total, belonging to the minority Sunni sect, live in a Muslim group, which is immediately noticeable by their clothing.

The only kingdom located in the Pacific, Tonga’s largest islands are Tongatapu, Vava’u, and Ha’apai. In total, only 36 of the 169 reef and coral islands are inhabited. The capital city, Nuku’alofa, is also the largest city and commercial center of the country.

A very distinctive feature of the Kingdom of Tonga is that unlike the island countries in Oceania, it was never occupied and colonized by the Europeans. While the United Kingdom was a part of the United Kingdom in foreign affairs, it gained its full independence in 1970 and was also accepted as a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The official flag of the country, adopted in 1875, is in the form of a red cross placed in the middle of a white rectangle in the left corner, on a red background.

It would not be right to say that Tonga is a very developed place economically, but the country has luxury resorts, beautiful buildings, clean and smooth roads, nice cars, and it is clearly seen that there is a certain order. When you want to cross the road, all vehicles stop and give way to you, people are respectful to each other.

Especially middle-aged and older women wear embroidered, while men wear something like a cloth-like apron on their waist. This apron with different patterns and embroideries is very meaningful for funerals, weddings, births or similar occasions. The circle area that you wrap around your waist represents your being, your self and your personality, this area should be respected, meaning everyone should respect each other.

There was a big fire in the capital city Nuku’alofa in 2006 and most of the city was burned. The Chinese government largely covered the fire damage and in return received permission to invest in Tonga. China has started to invest heavily in the Pacific Islands for years, as well as in Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

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We are going to the Free Wesleyan Tonga Church. The church, which is a magnificent structure with carvings on its exterior, cannot be used today because it was badly damaged by the fire. It’s actually a separatist church. Tonga first met missionaries from different Christian denominations in the early 1800s, but the London Free Wesleyan Missionary Society was more influential among them. In 1885, King George Tupou and missionary Reverend Shirley Waldemar Baker split from the Australian Methodist church to establish the Free Wesleyan Tonga Church. This branch of Christianity has a significant influence on the country, especially since Wesleyanism is the official religion of the Kingdom of Tonga, the monarchy. Churches are like an important part of social and cultural life for most Tongans. Churches can be seen even in the most remote parts of the country. In Tonga, as in other Pacific island countries, there are many churches belonging to almost every denomination.

On a large area, there is the Royal cemetery arranged for all the kings and their families who have served until now. It is well-kept, clean and neat, but we cannot go inside, it is open to visitors on special days, so we look from the outside.

To the south of the capital, Nukuʻalofa, is the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Kingdom of Tonga. It is a well-kept, beautiful palace built in 1867, made of wood, right by the sea. If you look at the palace, which was opened to the public in some periods, over the rocks on the quay, its simplicity and beauty are noticed.

We looked, the flag is not flying in the palace, this means that the king is not in the palace. We would visit if there was!

Triliton, consisting of three coral limestone slabs, each weighing approximately 30 to 40 tons, 5.2 m high, 5.8 m long and 1.4 m wide, located about 30 km from the capital Nukualofa, Ha’amonga ‘a Maui , a structure consisting of two vertical stones and three pieces of stone connecting them from the top. (Triliton is the name given to a structure consisting of two large vertical stones supporting a third stone placed horizontally at the top. Often used in the context of megalithic monuments. The most famous trilitons were those at Stonehenge in England.)

The structure is called the “Stonehenge of the Pacific”, a monument considered to have been built by King Tuʻitātui around 1200 AD at the entrance to the royal residence Heketa, in honor of his two sons, to symbolize brotherhood and unity of Tonga.

There are many legends about Ha’amonga’a Maui. The most common story is that the triliton was made by the demigods of Maui. Because no other mortal could lift such giant stones, it is said that Maui took the stones and carried them in a giant canoe. Stories about four brothers named Maui, mythical deities with supernatural powers who are considered to be the first inhabitants of these places, are found in the culture of most Pacific Islands. But one of the most interesting aspects of the depictions of the Maui demigods is their concern for humans and their pursuit of immortality for the human race.

King Taufa’ahau IV of Tonga in 1967. Tupou suggested that the triliton had astronomical significance regarding the solstices and equinoxes, but no scientific evidence was found to support this.

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December, unlike the northern hemisphere, is right in the middle of the southern hemisphere summer, with a temperature of 30 degrees and humid weather.

We are visiting the Catholic church, we learned that there will be a funeral, we decided to wait to see the ceremony. They said that the funeral is on the way, it will come in a few minutes, it has been more than half an hour, the deceased is not around. We asked, where, will he not come, the answer was, “Don’t trust what is said about time in Tonga, it will come in the day,” apparently even the funeral is not in a hurry.

Most of the Pacific countries closed abroad during the pandemic and it was decided to open to tourism in the beginning of December 2022, and we are among the first to arrive. As such, the organizations are not fully settled, the disruptions draw attention, but there is nothing to do, the Polynesia region, especially the Republic of Tonga, is among the places where tourists come the least.

There was a university in Tonga until 2000, it was closed due to different reasons. After 2000, Fiji State University opened some departments here, higher education runs through these departments.

The large-winged bat, known as the flying fox, is called the flying fox, especially because its head and ears are fox-like. One of the places where this species is most commonly seen is some forested areas of Tonga. Since they look, we thought we’d see them too and went to visit them. Bats are generally animals that sleep hanging from trees during the day and hunt at night. Some of them woke up to our noise and took off, we saw them in the air.

Mythological stories abound in these geographies, one of which is the huge rock known as “Tsunami Rock”. A huge round rock weighing thousands of tons stands far from the sea. Many stories have been written about this rock mythologically coming from the sea with waves thousands of years ago, you should listen to it in your spare time!

Similar event “blue hole” blue hole story. It is important that the ocean waves spurt up like a fountain from the holes or gaps formed between the coral rocks! There are a lot of stories on that too. When there is nothing much to do, fiction is usually made over such events, and similar stories are produced in many geographies.

Another place to visit is where Captain James Cook first set foot here. They built a monument in his memory. Born in Yorkshire, England, James Cook is a sailor and explorer. He is especially famous for his cruises in the Pacific Ocean and the island explorations he made during these cruises. His niece Tahora was married to the Ottoman Religious Scholar Ebubekir Efendi. The man is considered our distant relative.

We go to the ancient king tombs of the king and his family of that period in Langi, the old capital of Tonga. Not much remains, but apparently it was a great monument when it was built.

One of the best places to get to know the people of the country is the local markets, for this we go to Talamahu Market in the capital Nuku’alofa. Friendly people, you can communicate easily. This is a popular market place with a wide range of food products such as vegetables and fruits, as well as traditional and cultural handicrafts and souvenirs. Whatever you look for, you will find such a place.

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Another remarkable issue is that the Kingdom of Tonga is the only country in the Pacific geography that has not been colonized, that is, it has never been under the hegemony of another state in its history. As such, it was remarkable that many civilizations, unique cultures and traditions accumulated in these lands where their own race lived for hundreds of years, and that there were artifacts belonging to them.

The economy of Tonga, which is a small island in a geography open to the effects of seasonal and external factors, is highly dependent on the money sent by Tongans living in countries such as the USA, New Zealand and Australia, a small amount of vegetable and fruit exports, and foreign aid.

Economic activities in the country are limited to tourism and agriculture. 70% of the population earns their living from agriculture. The Tongan Government emphasizes the need for the development of the private sector, encourages investments, tries to pay more attention to the health and education sectors, but it seems that there is not much progress. Rising youth unemployment, inflation, rising public service expenditures and high external debt are among the most important economic problems facing the Tongan Government. Although there is production and great opportunity, there is no fishing, but the continuation of the system is with the support of the Australian and New Zealand governments.

Despite all this; 1 US dollar = 2.41 TOP (Currency, Pa’anga). 1 dollar = 18.90 TL in Turkey.

There are chicken restaurants everywhere, people do not like fish in the island country. Although the ocean fish is not tasty, it would be fine with sauces or something. The problem is you have to get up early in the morning to catch fish and that’s the hard part!

Despite everything, the Kingdom of Tonga is one of the rare places that tourism has not polluted yet.

From here we head to Vanuatu, another Pacific island country in the Melanesia region.

 

Best regards,

Hayrettin Kagnici

December 2022

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