Mauritius

'You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.'
Mark Twain, Following the equator 1897

Mauritius Long known as a preferred holiday/vacation destination for royalty and the glitterati. Mauritius is an island country situated in the Indian Ocean. It is located about 2,400 kilometres off the South East Coast of Africa (or 500 miles East of Madagascar) and 3,943 kilometres away from the southwest of India. Mauritius forms part of the Mascarene Archipelago, and is all that remains of an ancient land mass that Asia and Africa was once a part of. The island covers an area of 1,865 square kilometres or 720 square miles, while its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers a vast area of about 1.8 million square kilometres which is a thousand times its land area. Mauritius was formed from 3 major volcanic eruptions that occurred over the last 12 million years to the last one "only" 20,000 years ago since the Serravallian geological era. Mauritius has a central plateau which is partially surrounded by mountains ranges in Port Louis and Moka, which points to being a boundary of big caldera. Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (Black River Peak) is the island's highest peak standing tall at 828 metres. The island country consists of a large collection of smaller islands in the Indian Ocean, some of the bigger islands are the Agalega Islands, ‘L'ile aux Cerfs’, 'Benitier Island', ‘Coin de Mire', Flat Island, Cargados Carajos, to name a few.

Mauritius is a democratic state based on the Westminster mode which consists of a President as the head of the State, and Prime Minister being the Head of Government. The Island was once known as Île de France when it was under French rule. The Republic is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Southern Africa the African Union and the Common Market for Eastern Southern Africa the African Union and the Southern African Development Community.

Mauritius is famous for its Post Office stamps of 1847 particularly its twopence blue stamp, the ‘Blue Mauritius’. This country is also known for home of the Dodo, the Dodo bird features as a fictional character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll).

Official Flag of Mauritius has been raised officially since 12 March 1968:

The Mauritian motto written in Latin is:Stella Clavisque Maris Indici (translated in English: Star and Key of the Indian Ocean)