Explanation of Peter's SuriPics

Introduction

Very often a picture can say more than a thousand words, but sometimes an explanation of what is shown on a particular picture is required. The photographs on this site were taken during my holiday in Suriname in March 2001. This page gives a (brief) description of each photograph. I went to many places and I've tried to categorize the picture by the place they were taken. Most of them were taken in the Surinamese capital Paramaribo, but some of them were taken in other places like Nieuw-Nickerie, Albina and Brownsberg. You can view each picture by accessing the pictures overview or by clicking on the title of the particular discription of a picture on this page.

Paramaribo

Picture 1

The Square of independence (Onafhankelijkheidsplein) is the square in front of the former house of the governor. Nowadays that house is the presidential palace. It's the white house on the right side of the picture. The buildings on the left side of the picture are nice examples of historical houses with the Dutch influence. The white house behind the tree in the middle of the picture is the house of the late Madame Susanna Du Plessis. One of the best known stories of this cruel lady is that her husband silently fancied the breasts of one of their female slaves. The name of this beautiful slave was Alida. When Madame Du Plessis discovered this, she had the breasts of this young woman cut off and served them to her husband on a plate saying: "You liked Alida's breasts, huh? Well... Here they are!". Unfortunately the house is not very visible on this picture.

Another story of Madama Susanna Du Plessis is that on a certain day she was on her way to her estate. To get there she had to travel by making use of a rowing-boat that sailed across the Commewijne river. In the boat there also was a female slave with her baby that cried a lot and could not stop crying. Madame Du Plessis that she would make the baby stop crying and asked the slave to hand the baby over to her. She took the baby and kept it's head under the water until the baby drowned. After that the inconsolable mother threw herself into the water and died too.

Picture 2

The Square of independence (Onafhankelijkheidsplein) is near the Suriname River. On the left side of the picture is the Waterkant (Waterside). I am standing under a mango tree. These trees can be found everywhere in the country. The ground is very veritable and because of that it's not a problem to find fruit in Suriname.

Picture 3

The Suriname River with the Suriname bridge. Its official name is the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge. The bridge across the Suriname River is very important for the Surinamese development. It's easier to go to the other side of the river (Meerzorg). The district on the other side is called Commewijne will be developed. The Suriname River was a large obstacle, because the river is very wide. The distance to the other side of the river is about 1000 metres. See also pictures 58 and 59.

Picture 4

This is a picture of the Zwartenhovenbrugstraat. This is one of the main streets in Paramaribo. As you can see they drive on the left side of the road in Suriname. This is because when they started to build roads in Suriname, the English owned Suriname. The building on the left was a cinema when I was a little boy. Nowadays it is used as a church.

Picture 5

This is a picture of the Keizerstraat. The building on the left side is a Mosque. The building on the right side is a Synagogue. These two buildings are next to each other and this doesn't cause any problems. Here is the proof that Muslims and Jews can live next to each other.

Picture 6

The Wanicastraat. This one way street is another of the main roads in Paramaribo. Wanica is the name of the area around Parmaribo. The district that is west and south of Pararibo includes this area and for that reason it is called Wanica. A very important road is the Pad van Wanica. This road takes you from Paramaribo to Zanderij where the airport is. After Indira Gandhi died this road was renamed after her to the Indira Gandhi weg.

Picture 7

The building on this picture is the St. Stephanusschool. It is a primary school. When I was a little child I went to that school. The school is a Christian school and was founded in the 1940's and it is a good thing to see that the school still is used.

Picture 8

I was a pupil at this school from 1980 until 1985. During those years it was very common that every school day started with an appeal of all the pupils. The Surinamese flag was raised and everybody sang along with the Surinamese anthem.

Picture 9

This house is a well known luxe hotel in Suriname. The Anton Dragtenweg is the road from the center of Parmaribo to Leonsberg near the mouth of the Suriname River. Many houses on the Anton Dragtenweg have a view on the river.

Picture 10

This is one of the beautiful houses on the Anton Dragtenweg. In the neighbourhood of that road (Blauwgrond and even Rainville) one can find very beautiful villas.

Picture 11

This place is called Spanhoek. The street at the behind is the Heiligenweg. The building on the left side is the main office of TeleSur, the Surinamese Telephone Company. In the middle you can see a traditional bell tower.

Paranam and Suralco

Picture 12

I got the chance to get a tour in Paranam / Suralco. This company has bauxite mines and processes the bauxite so that it can be exported to make aluminium out of it.

Picture 13

Paranam is a small town in the district of Para. The Martin Luther King road also known as the "Highway" is the road that leeds from Paramaribo to Paranam. This used to be one of the most beautiful roads in Suriname, but nowadays many parts of the road are distroyed. This really is a pity.

Picture 14

An office in Paramaribo. Since it is very warm in Suriname the offices open early and close at half past one in the afternoon. The same goes for most of the shops. Some shops will open their doors from 4 PM until 8 or 9 PM again though.

Paramaribo part 2

Picture 15

This is the orphan home of the Arya de Waker institution. Children in this orphan home learn about the Hindu religion and to take care of themselves. Many of them become volunteers as they become adults. A street behind the building of the institute is named after this institution.

Picture 16

Next to the building of the orphan home is a Mandir. This Mandir is owned by the Arya the Waker institution. Here we are on our way to visit the Mandir.

Picture 17

A Mandir is a place where Hindu people pray. Unfortunately I cannot tell you what the symbols on this picture mean.

Picture 18

The Mandir is very beautiful. The construction is also beautiful to observe.

Picture 19

The upper hall in the Mandir is the main hall where the people pray.

Picture 20

From the Mandir you have a view on the Wanica straat and you can see a Mosque. Approximately 30% of the Surinamese inhabitants are Muslims.

Picture 21

The several parts of the Mandir are so colorful. This makes the Arya de Waker Mandir very beautiful.

Picture 22

The Arya de Waker Mandir was built using gifts. It took almost 20 years before it was finished in 2000. And the result is very beautiful to see.

Picture 23

The Arya de Waker Mandir can be found at the Wanica straat. This picture gives a good impression of what the Mandir looks like, but it sure is worth seeing with your own eyes.

Picture 24

Traditional houses at the Kleine Combé near the Fort Zeelandia. These houses show the Dutch influence too.

Picture 25

This is another picture of the Square of Independence (Onafhankelijkheidsplein). The tower in the middle is the tower of the former department of finance. In front of this department is a statue of Johan Adolf Pengel. See also the pictures 1 and 2.

Picture 26

The Square of Independence with the Presidential Palace is in the middle. Before Suriname became a Republic this was the governors house. It is near the most of the other governemental buildings.

Picture 27

This is a monument on the Square of Independance. Right of the monument (Outside the picture) is a short street with the name "Abraham Crijnssenweg". Abraham Crijnssen is the Zeelander who conquested Suriname in 1667. Zeeland is a province in the Netherlands. On the background of the picture is the Presidental Palace.

Picture 28

Nowadays The Fort Zeelandia is a museum. If you want to visit the museum, you have to remind that the museum is closed on mondays.

Nickerie

Picture 29

This is the building of the local government in Nickerie. The pictures 29 to 31 were taken in Nieuw Nickerie. This is the capital of the district Nickerie in the West of Suriname. This district is known because it is the place where the Surinamese rice is produced. If you drive through this district you will see countryside area that looks similar to Dutch polders as can bee seen in the Netherlands.

Picture 30

This is the best known street of Nickerie, the Oost - West kanaal (East - West canal). This canal divides the town in an East and a West Side. Any person that visits Nieuw Nickerie needs to have a picture of this canal in his collection.

Picture 31

These are houses on near the Oost - West kanaal (East - West canal). You might get the impression that Nieuw Nickerie is a very small town, but if you take the 'polders' also in account, Nieuw Nickerie is a town with a reasonable size. The Corantijn polder is the polder between Nieuw Nickerie and the Corantijn River.

Picture 32

The river on this picture is the Corantijn River, which is the border between Suriname and Guyana. Guyana is the country west of Suriname. It is possible to go to Guyana by ferry. The pier is in the middle of the picture. The land on the other side of the river is Guyana.

Picture 33

The house behind me and my friend on this picture 33 is the customs house. If you want to make a day-trip to visit Guyana it is only possible when you've got a multiple entry visa. So before you go to Suriname you must make clear to the authorities in Suriname that you want to visit Guyana. Then and only then this is possible. I don't know if Guyana requires extra authority papers to enter the country, but you probably will have to make extra arrangements to visit the country.

Paramaribo part 3

Picture 34

This picture was taken while driving across the bridge across the Suriname River. It shows Beekhuizen, a neighbourhood in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname.

Picture 35

This picture also was taken while driving across the Wijdenbosch bridge. Even on this picture it is noticable that the bridge is rather high. The view is nice though.

Picture 36

While driving across the Jules Wijdenbosch bridge you can see the small port of Paramaribo. All products which are imported and exported are transported via this haven.

Picture 37

This is a view from the Suriname bridge on the Centre of Paramaribo. The brown thing in the water of the Suriname river is a capsized boat with the name the Goslar. This boat has been in the Suriname river since the Second World War. The Goslar was a German ship. During the war the Germans had plans to conquest Suriname to gain access to the bauxite to make aluminum, that would be used for military airplanes. When the Germans sent the Goslar to Suriname, somebody sabotaged the ship and opened a hatch of the ship. Because of that the boat capsized.

Marowijne - Albina and Galibi

Picture 38

This picture was taking while we were on a boat from Albina to Galibi. Albina is a small town in the Marowijne district. Albina is on the Surinamese border with French Guiana. If you want to go to Galibi you have to go by boat. The boat trip from Albina to Galibi lasts about 1.5 hrs.

Picture 39

The area of Albina and Galibi is very beautiful. Some parts of the woods are almost untouched. We went to Galibi to see the turtles at night. I thought that we would see small turtles, but I was quite surprised that the turtles were quite big. These turtles had longitudinal diameters of about 80 centimetres and the guide told us that in July and August turtles of 2 metres visit that area to lay their eggs. This area is definitely worth a visit and remember to stay at least one night to see the turtles. We were not allowed to take pictures of the turtles, because the turtles are protected by law and that area is a reserve.

Picture 40

The people living in Galibi are American Indians, the original inhabitants of the American continent. Indians can be found in several parts of Suriname. Their culture and habits are things worth learning from. Another place worth visit to learn from the Indian people is Paloemeu. Besides that the nature in that area is great. It is possible to make excursions to mountains in that area.

Picture 41

This picture was taken during a boat trip across the Marowijne River. The town you can see in the distance on picture 30 is called St. Laurent du Maroni. This is a town in French Guiana. French Guiana is owned by France and the official language spoken in that country is French. Maroni is the French word for Marowijne. The Marowijne River is part of the east border of Suriname. East of Suriname is French Guiana. French Guiana is best known for the fact that this country has a rocket base in a town called Courou.

Picture 42

This photograph was taken when we were almost back in Albina. St. Laurents is on the other side of the river. It is possible to take a ferry from Albina to go to French Guiana. The Marowijne River is wide, just like the Corantijn and the Suriname River. Another big river in Suriname is the Coppename River. Unfortunately these pages don't include a picture of that river.

Picture 43

Albina is a little town founded by the German soldier August Kappler. He named the town after his wife Alwina. The older local people also know the town as Kaplari. In the 1980's many people who lived in Paramaribo spent their weekends in Albina. The area is nice and the beach of the Marowijne River is nice. It is a place where you can relax easily. In the interior war that started in 1986 the greater part of this town was destroyed. This really is a pity, but it is noticeable that efforts are made to rebuild the village.

Another town that was destroyed is Moengo (Mungo). This town is known because of the bauxite mines in its area. The distance between Moengo and Albina is about 50 kilometres. On the road from Paramaribo to Albina is a junction to this old town.

Commewijne - Stolkertsijver

Picture 44

Stolkertsijver is a little village on the road from Paramaribo to Albina. While travelling from Paramaribo to Albina or vice versa this is an ideal place to rest. The parrot in picture 33 is just one of the many beautiful birds you can find in Suriname.

Picture 45

This picture was also taken in the small village Stolkertsijver. The river you can see in this picture Commewijne River. It is one of the smaller rivers in Suriname. This picture was taken on the way back from Albina to Paramaribo.

Kraka

Picture 46

The pictures 35 to 37 were taken at a place called Kraka. Kraka is in the southern part of the district Para almost on the border with the district Brokopondo. The Brokopondo district is known because this is the district of the Prof. Dr. Ir. Van Blommenstein Stuwmeer. This is a storage lake created in the 1960's.

Picture 47

The water is kept in the Prof. Dr. Ir. Van Blommenstein storage lake by a stuw. The stuw can be found in a little village called Afobaka. The stuw is equipped with turbines and these are used to generate electricity. The major part of this power is used by Suralco in Paranam and by the Surinamese capital Paramaribo. The road on this picture leads to Afobaka.

Picture 48

The road on this picture is the same road as in picture 36, but in the direction of Paranam and Paramaribo. As you can see by the big pylon in the picture there is an electricity line next to the road. This power line is used to transport the electricity generated in Afobaka to Paranam (Suralco) and Paramaribo.

Brokopondo - Brownsberg

Picture 49

An area you should see definitely is Brownsberg (Browns mountain). The air is nice and clean. The mountain is part of a nature reserve. You can visit several waterfalls on the mountain. This picture was taken on the plateau, which is the central place on the top of the mountain. From that place you can follow several paths to different places.

Picture 50

As you can see on this picture the view is great! It shows the Prof. Dr. Ir. Van Blommenstein (or Afobaka) Store Lake. On a clear day you even can see Afobaka. This is the place where the turbines to generate electricity are. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great when this picture was taken, so you can't see Afobaka on this picture. It would have appeared on the left side of the picture.

Picture 51

You may think that I am leaning on the fence, but that is not true. You should be careful, because it's a long way down if you fall over it. The storage lake on the picture was created by man. The creation of this lake was one of the biggest projects in Suriname during the 1960's. It was hard for the people who lived there, because they had to move to different places. The most of the local inhabitants moved to a place called Brownsweg. This little town was built especially for these persons.

Picture 52

The park is beautiful and every effort is made to keep it that way. In the left corner of the picture you can see a sign written in Dutch. It says: "Keep the park clean". Unfortunately it is necessary to have a sign like that in such a beautiful park. But I guess that anywhere people can be found that pollute the environment unnecessarily.

Picture 53

This picture shows a map of the area, while you can see one of the sleeping houses on the plateau. Picture 44 shows the view on the southern part of the mountain. The trees of which you can see the tops on the pictures are very high. On the right side of the picture you can see the Storage Lake.

Picture 54

The house on this picture is one of the sleeping accomodations for the guests of the park with a view on the storage lake. The view is very nice: very high trees, mountains and of course lots of water.

Picture 55

This is the view on the southern part of the mountain. The trees of which you can see the tops on the pictures are very high. On the right side of the picture you can see the Storage Lake.

Picture 56

This is the wood on the Plateau. These trees look like they are part of a park, but at a certain point you notice that you are in a forest.

Picture 57

We saw monkeys in the trees at Brownsberg. Because the monkeys are at a high level in the tree and because the monkeys move fast they are very hard to photograph. Unfortunately there is no picture of the monkeys available on this site.

Picture 58

This picture was taking while walking through the Brownsberg area. There are a few creeks and waterfalls in that area. Both pictures were taken during daytime, but because of the trees it is very dark below the trees. The effect of the rays of the sunlight through the leaves as shown in the picture is also beautiful to see with your own eyes.

Picture 59

This is the tree where the path to the Irene and Leo waterfall splits into two junctions. The turn to the left will take you to the Leo waterfall and the other way to the Irene waterfall. Another thing you can see is that some people don't have respect for the natural environment and write their name on a tree!

Picture 60

The trees in this area are very high. As you can see the bottom part of many of the trees is bigger than I am. My length is about 5'11" or 1.80 metres.

Picture 61

It's a 75 minutes walk from the Brownsberg plateau to the Leo waterfall. When you arrive at the waterfall you are descending from a hill and you see something similar as on this picture.

Picture 62

This shows the Irene Waterfall from a very close distance. This picture was taken while standing on one of the rocks near the waterfall. The water falling from the waterfall looks nice. For the local people it is drinkable, because they are adjusted to it. We were advised not to drink from the water, because our resistance might not be able to cope with this water.

Picture 63

This picture shows the waterfall from a short distance. Just to make things clear: I don't know the boy and the girl on this picture. They were just there sitting by when I took the picture.

Picture 64

I am sitting on one of the rocks of the Irene Waterfall. Because it had not been raining for weeks there was not much water falling from the top side to the down site of the waterfall.

Picture 65

This photograph was taken while descending to the Leo waterfall. Unfortunately the waterfall is not very visible on the picture. Another nice thing is the sound of the running water while descending the hill.

Picture 66

The Leo Waterfall is at a higher level than the Irene Waterfall. The water falling from the Leo Waterfall floats through a creek to the Irene Waterfall.

Picture 67

This picture was taken after completing the trip to the waterfalls. I will remember my day at Brownsberg as a very beautiful day.

Picture 68

The view across the storage lake is better in the afternoon hours than in the morning. My friend is holding the fence on the picture, but he is not leaning on the fence.

Picture 69

This picture gives a survey of the monkeys in Suriname. "Japi japi foe Sranan" means: Monkeys of Suriname.

The monkeys shown at the are from left to right and from the top to the bottom:

• red-handed tamarin, "saguwintje" (Saguinus midas midas)
• white-faced saki, "wanaku" (Pithecia pithecia)
• squirrel monkey, "monkimonki" (Saimiri sciureus)
• brown capuchin, "keskesi" (Cebus apella apella)
• bearded saki, "bisa" (Chiropotes satanas chiropotes)
• weeper capuchin, "bergi keskesi" (Cebus nigrivittatus)
• spider monkey, "kwata" (Ateles paniscus)
• red howler monkey, "babun" (Alouatta seniculus)

For more information about the monkeys I refer to the information provided by Stinasu, the foundation for nature conservation in Suriname.

Paramaribo part 4

Picture 70

This picture was taken at the Heiligenweg. This part of the street is renamed to the Kodjo, Mentor and Present Square. These three persons were slaves who escaped and tried to start a revolution to stop the slavery. The text on the memorial tablet is Dutch (English translation is available) and says:

Present, 20 jaar, geboren in Suriname
Kodjo, 30 jaar, geboren in Afrika
Mentor, 20 jaar, geboren in Suriname

Deze verzetsstrijders werden hier levend verbrand op 26 januari 1833

Onthuld d.d. 26 januari 2000 door:
De voorzitter Feydrasi, Afrikan Srananman Iwan R. Wijngaarde
De minister R.O., Y. Ravales - Resida
Voorzitter Naks, E. Baarn - Dijksteel

The translation of the this text is:

Present, 20 years old, born in Suriname
Kodjo, 30 years old, born in Africa
Mentor, 20 years old, born in Suriname

These resistance warriors were burnt while they still were alive at this spot on januari 26th, 1833

Revealed d.d. Januari 26th, 2000 by:
The chairman of Feydrasi, African Surinamese Iwan R. Wijngaarde
The minister of R.O., Y. Ravales - Resida
The chairman of Naks, E. Baarn - Dijksteel

This spot is in the middle of the city near the Suriname River. So the oppressor punished them on a place so that everyone could see this as an example of what would happen to you if you did something similar. Very cruel, huh?

On this same square a statue of Mahatma Gandhi can be found. This obviously was an impressive man to the whole world but Suriname has a bond with India and Gandhi since the ancestors of about 30% of Suriname's inhabitants are from India. After Indira Gandhi was murdered in 1984 one of the most important roads in Suriname - The pad van Wanica (path of Wanica) which leads from Paramaribo to the Johan Adolf Pengel airport at Zanderij - was named after her: The Indira Gandhi weg.

Picture 71

The Van 't Hogerhuysstraat is a very big street in the South Side of Paramaribo. This street leeds to the Martin Luther King weg also known as the Highway. This road leeds to Paranam. The blue sign next to the street looks very much a Dutch ANWB sign to give directions to the destinations Mungo (Moengo), Albina, Paranam and Zanderij where the Johan Adolf Pengel airport is. As you can see they drive on the left side of the road in Suriname. That's why the sign points to pass the roundabout leftwise.

Picture 72

If you drive on the road to the Jules Wijdenbosch bridge you notice that Suriname has invested a lot of money to make everything around the bridge look nice.

Commewijne - Nieuw Amsterdam

Picture 73

Nieuw Amsterdam is a village near the Commewijne river in the Commewijne district. It obviously is named after Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. In the colonial era this happened very often. New York used to be called New Amsterdam and nowadays a town with the name New Amsterdam can be found in Guyana.

Picture 74

Commewijne used to be a district with many estates. There used to be a sugar factory where sugar was produced from sugar-cane. One of the products of the estates.

Picture 75

The open-air museum in Nieuw Amsterdam has a collection of all kinds of machinery. These devices remind of the old days, but sometimes it is not clear what the machinery was used for.

Picture 76

The open-air museum in Nieuw Amsterdam, Commewijne is interesting to visit. Even if you know the history of Suriname it still is nice to see the left-overs to get an impression of how things were during the colonial days.

Picture 77

Palm trees are always nice to see. The small trees below the palm tree are banana trees. Suriname has several kinds of bananas. There are regular bananas, which you can eat immediatly and bananas which need to be boiled first. There is even a subdevision in both kinds of bananas.

Picture 78

The canon on this picture is a left over of the early days of Suriname. It probably was used too during those days.

Picture 79

The open-air museum is located at the spot where the former Fort Nieuw Amsterdam used to be. This fort was used to defend Suriname and therefore canons can be found at the museum.

Picture 80

This is the place where the Suriname river (Coming from the left side of the picture) meets the Commewijne river (Coming from the right side of picture). Together they flow into the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the flow of the water parts of the land were lost and the road also was damaged. That's why the road was redirected at this point.

Picture 81

The Jules Wijdenbosch bridge has a nice effect in the twilight. Suriname is near the equator. Paramaribo is on six degrees north latitude. Because of that the sun always goes down at approximately the same time and the twilight is not that long. Within 20 minutes Suriname changes from bright light to very dark.

Picture 82

It was a beautiful evening when this picture was taken and the bridge combined with the sky around it creates a nice effect. They say that a nice sunset promises a beautiful next day and in this case the saying appeared to be true.

Short trip to Lelydorp, Wanica

Picture 83

This is a small house on the Van Hattemweg. This road is in the neighbourhood of Lelydorp. Lelydorp is the capital of the district Wanica. This village used to be called Kofi-Djompo, but it was renamed after the Dutch engineer Cornelis Lely, who was responsible for very impressive projects in the Netherlands. This engineer was also a governor in Suriname from 1903 to 1905.

Back in Paramaribo

Picture 84

The bapt room of the St. Petrus & Paulus Cathedral in Paramaribo can be found behind in the church in the right corner. The reason that in old churches the bapt room is behind the church has to do with the old believe, that a person is born with the original sin and that the only way a person can be cleared from that is by the bapt. The bapt is done in separate room to keep the sin away from the church.

Picture 85

I was baptised in the St. Petrus & Paulus Cathedral in 1975. This baptismal font did already exist in 1975, so this baptismal font was used when I was baptised.

Picture 86

The St. Petrus & Paulus Cathedral is the biggest wooden building in this part of South America. As you can see almost everything was built from wood.

Picture 87

In the 1970's the Cathedral was renovated, but errors were made during renovation. Because of that the construction is not very reliable and the Cathedral has to be renovated again. The Cathedral is listed on the worlds list of monuments and a special fund is opened to pay for the costs of the renovation.

Picture 88

In many Roman Catholic Churches statues can be found. People might get the impressions that the people in the church worship these statues, but that is not true. The statue has a similar meaning as keeping a picture of a friend or loved one. This does not necissarily mean that you adore that person.

Picture 89

The view from the towers of the Cathedral is nice. On this picture you can see the north side of Paramaribo. At the right top corner you can see a street. This street is called the Prins Hendrikstraat, named after the husband of the Dutch Queen Wilhelmina.

Picture 90

The pictures 90 and 91 are pictures of houses in the newer parts of Paramaribo. Many people are poor, but many other people can afford nice places to live. Sometimes this is so strange to notice, because many houses are very impressive and you notice immediatly that wealthy people are living there, but as soon as your view leaves their fence you see the poorness, because the street where the house resides is damaged.

Picture 91

The houses in the neighbourhoods Rosenberg and Bel-Air are quite expensive. The name Bel-Air should say enough. Think of the famous neighbourhood Bel-Air in Los Angeles, California in the United States. The Surinamese neighbourhood Bel-Air is behind the very known Johannes S. Mungra straat. Mr. Mungra was a very important man for the Surinamese history and that is why an important street is named after him.

Picture 92

The President Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge seen from Paramaribo, Beekhuizen. The bridge is named after the president who built it, but the "Suriname Bridge" would be a better name, because the bridge is built across the Suriname River and it's the most important bridge of Suriname. The bridge was opened in May 2000.

Picture 93

The bridge across the Suriname River was built by the well-known Dutch company Ballast Nedam. Many people see the bridge as a bad thing, because Suriname had to pay a very high price to have it built, but this should be seen as an investment. Meerzorg is the small town on the other side of the river. This town will develop itself much faster, because the distance with the capital Paramaribo has become much smaller. The ground on the other side of the river has already increased in value and this development will continue.

Picture 94

This is a house in a neighbourhood called Tourtonne 3. People in that neighbourhood have quite nice houses. This neighbourhood is not too far from the city. Two main roads will lead you to the city: the Tourtonnelaan and the Wilhelminastraat named after the late Dutch Queen Wilhelmina.

Picture 95

This is a corner of the living room of the house on the previous picture. Many people in Suriname have a television set, but most of the people spend their evenings outside, because the outsite temperature during the evening is very pleasant.

Picture 96

Every house in Suriname has at least a small yard. Many people own a front yard and a back yard. This is possible, because approximately 425,000 people live in a country with a surface area of 163,820 square kilometres, which is 63,775 square miles. To give an impression: Suriname is five times the size of the Netherlands and has a population that is a little bit more than half of the population of Amsterdam.

Picture 97

The street on the right side of this picture is the Coperinicusstraat. On the left side is the Jan Steen straat, named after the famous Dutch painter Jan Havickszoon Steen who lived in the 17th century. The neighbourhood where these streets can be found is approximately 20 years old.

Picture 98

Picture 64 shows a traditional house on the ground of 's Lands Hospitaal. The traditional house shows the way houses were built and has many similarities with Old Dutch houses.

Picture 99

This is a picture of 's Lands Hospitaal. It is a hospital that can be found at the Graven straat. It is one of the eldest hospitals Suriname has. I was born in that hospital in 1974. Nowadays the hospital still is used.

Picture 100

This is the top side of the Rosa Kerk. See also the description of the next picture.

Picture 101

The church on these pictures is called the Rosa Kerk or Rosa Church. Since the Cathedral in Paramaribo cannot be used, this church is used as Cathedral for now until the Cathedral will be renovated. When I was a little boy I received the Holy Communion for the first time in this church. As you might know I am Roman Catholic. This church can be found at the Prinsenstraat.

Picture 102

This is the top side of the St. Petrus and Paulus Cathedral. The Cathedral was built from 1883 to 1885, because the first big church in Suriname was distroyed in a big fire in 1821 and the people wanted to have a new church. The towers were added at a later stage at the beginning of the 20th century. It is possible to make an excursion to the Cathedral. When I was there you could visit the Cathedral every monday, wednesday and friday at 10.00 AM. A very nice man tells about the history of the Cathedral and guides you through the church. You also are allowed to climb the tower. The view across Paramaribo is worth seeing.

Picture 103

This picture shows the St. Petrus and Paulus Cathedral also know as the Cathedral, since it is the only Cathedral in Suriname. This building was built using only wood. It's the largest wooden building in that part of South America. I was baptised at this Cathedral in 1975. It can be found at the Gravenstraat, not far from the Square of Independence and also in the neighbourhood of Kerkplein (Church Square).

Picture 104

This is the street that leads from the Gravenstraat to the Kerkplein. It is called the Noorderkerkstraat. Next to the Cathedral is an impressive building, the Surinamese bank. Unfortunately no picture of this building is available on this site. On the Kerkplein a statue of Simon Bolivar, a very important man to the whole continent of South America, can be found.

Picture 105

The St. Petrus and Paulus Cathedral can be found at the Graven straat next to the Surinamese bank. The late Dutch missionary Petrus Donders also known as Peerke Donders is buried in the Cathedral. This important man lived in the 19th century and worked in Batavia in the interior of Suriname. He helped and treated leprous persons. When he died in 1887 he was buried at the local cemetery at Batavia, Saramacca - Suriname. In 1900 his body was moved to the Cathedral. In 1982 pope John Paul II declared him blessed.

Picture 106

The domineestraat is one of the most important shopping streets in the centre of Paramaribo. On the left side of the middle of the picture is the Krasnapolsky Hotel.

Picture 107

One of the most known parks in Paramaribo is called the Palmentuin, which means Palm Garden. This name is given to the park because many palm trees are in the park.

Picture 108

This picture was taken at the Kleine Combé weg, near the Fort Zeelandia. The houses behind the woods are traditional houses used during the time of the slavery. The owners of slaves and plantations used to live in these houses.

Picture 109

This is the notorious Fort Zeelandia. It is notorious, because in the 19th century many cruelties took place within this fort. It's used as a museum nowadays. The Fort is next to the Suriname River. The water on the right side of picture 75 is the Suriname River. On the right side of the picture you also can see a statue of the late Dutch Queen Wilhelmina looking at the Suriname River.

Picture 110

This Picture shows the statue of Queen Wilhelmina. Before Suriname became independent in 1975 the statue was located on the square that nowadays is called the square of Independence, formerly the square of the Governor. Nowadays a statue of Johan Adolf Pengel is placed at the spot where the statue of Queen Wilhelmina was placed. Mr. Pengel died in 1970 and was a very important man to the Surinamese history.

Picture 111

A picture of the Waterkant. Waterkant stands for Waterside. It's the street aside the Suriname River in the neighbourhood of the square of Independence. The Waterkant is the best known street of Suriname. The Surinamese portal Waterkant Net is named after this street.

Johan Adolf Pengel Airport - Zanderij

Picture 112

The departure hall of the Johan Adolf Pengel Airport also known as Zanderij Airport. The airport is near a little town called Zanderij. At the background behind the window you can see the K.L.M. Boeing 747 airplane that took me back to the Netherlands. While leaving Suriname I felt that Suriname is a part of me and that it will never ever take 15 years again to visit Suriname.

Contact Peter Troon: pajtroon@dds.nl.
ICQ-Number: #3900785.

This page: Copyright © 2001 Peter A. J. Troon

Note: This page is part of the Peter Troon Site.