History of Guyana, Guyanese Recipes, Travel to Guyana

Discover the History of Guyana

Welcome to Guyana, land of many waters, the only English-speaking country on the continent of South America and the Caribbean's southernmost State. Guyana is surrounded by Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname. Guyana boasts the Kaieteur Falls which is the tallest waterfall in the world. It has a population of 750,000 peoples representing people from Indian, Africa, China, Europe and the Amerindians. The romance of place names in Guyana derives from the fact that the names came from the native Guyanese, the Amerindians. The Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French and English colonizers all aspired to possess the land, and later enslaved the Africans were brought in followed by indentured Portuguese, Indians and Chinese to work the plantations. The country's name itself "Guyana" is of Amerindian origin, meaning "land of many waters". Some of the landmark in Guyana includes the Kaieteur Falls, the St. Georges Cathedral. Find out more information about Guyana.

Guyanese Food Recipes

If you have an appetite for the easy-going appeal of mouthwatering fast food, there is a wide selection of delectable Guyanese food of varied cultural origin ranging from Creole, Indian, Chinese, Brazilian. Guyanese food is another testament of the cultural mix with cook-up, metem, pepperpot, curry, roti, cassava bread, chowmein, fried rice, fish rolls, black cake, bara, cheese roll, dhal, curry, gulab jamun, jalebi, mauby, mithai, roti, vermicelli. The names of old-time cakes and confectionary really capture the imagination, stirred by Guyanese culinary creativity: Sweet break, coconut biscuit, black cake, coconut roll, jackass collar, tennis roll, salara, white-eye, bull stones and Chinese cakes. The cakes were usually washed down with homemade ginger beer, sorrel, passion fruit juice, mauby or pine drink. The names of the fish that Guyanese like to ea are even more exotic: hoorie, cuffum, gilbacca, packoo, patwa, hassa, tilapia, kaasie, yarrow and ubiquitous banga mary. View a complete listing of Guyanese recipes and recipes from the world.

Travel To Guyana

What to do when you're in Guyana? Guyana, for all its size and diversity, is a surprisingly simple place, with quite a lot to do if you know where to look. At the top of the list, of course, of flora and fauna to explore, might rivers, teeming rapids, arid a host of resorts, the Rupununi, country houses on the Essequibo, a rainforest canopy walkway. Any visit to Guyana's capital, Georgetown, would be lacking without a stop at the Lighthouse in Kingston, the Benab and St George's Cathedral, the tallest wooden building in the world. Other sites of significance are the newly built Caricom Secretariat, the City Hall and Law Courts and the Parliament Building, the seat of the Guyanese legislature. Close by is the Stabroek Market.

However, a trip to Guyana is not complete without visiting Kaieteur Fall, or any of the country's many spectacular waterfalls. The Botanical Gardens in Georgetown are regularly visited by more than 200 species of bird making the location bird-watcher's paradise. The gardens are also home to the West Indian manatee, or sea cow.

Music of Guyana

Guyanese have always been a very musical people, and over the years this has expressed itself in both the folk-aena and the more formal musical genres. Much has been happening in the past few years in Guyana, as the natural tendency towards self-expression has led to more and more artists creating and performing their works for the consumption of the public.

The Tradewinds

The Tradewinds have become identified with their witty and insightful creations about life in the West Indies. The Tradewinds, formed in 1966, have become one of the most revered groups in the West Indies led by the "Guyanese Country Singer", Dave Martins. The Tradewinds recorded more than 100 original hit songs including "Wong Ping", "Copycats" and the 1997 release "Gie Dem Shiv" which is a tribute to Guyanese-born West Indian Cricket star Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Some of the songs by the Tradewinds are: Cricket In Jungle, Copycats, Honeymooning Couple, In Guyana, Mr. Rooster, Mrs. Macmillan, Not a Blade of Grass, West Indian, Alphabet, Where Are Your Heroes, Women In Love, You Can't Get etc. Listen to over 20 songs by the Tradewinds.

Terry Gajraj

Known as the "Guyana Baboo" hails from Berbice, Guyana. He has recorded 29 albums and over hundred songs during a 15 year span.

Listen to a few songs by Terry Gajraj.

Cricket in Guyana and the West Indies

Sports have always played a major role in the lives of Guyanese people and over the years, the country has demonstrated that it can produce outstanding sports men and women. Cricket, established by the British, has been played by every ethnic and social group in Guyana. Over the years, no fewer than six Guyanese captains have led the West Indies cricket team, the most notable of which being Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper and Ramesh Sarwan.

In cricket, tow of the world's leading batsmen are Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan both Guyanese. A brand new stadium has been built to host the Super 8 matches of the 2007 World Cup Cricket Series. More cricket news and live scoreboard.

Guyana Attractions

Besides, the historic sites, the museums and the old and historic buildings are also popular places for sightseeing in Guyana. City Hall, where offices of the Mayor of Georgetown and city councilors are held, the Light House which was once built with the purpose of guiding ships into Demerara River from the Atlantic Ocean, Demerara harbor Bridge, the longest floating bridge in the world, the Parliament Building, Stabroek Market, main shopping center in the country, St. Georges Cathedral, considered as world's tallest wooden building a5re places where thousands of tourists gather every day.