`
Travelin' Cousins
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Media Kit
    • Write for Us
    • Press >
      • October 2018 Press
    • Contact
  • The Daily Scoop
  • Travel Articles
    • Travel Adventures Articles
    • Throwback Thursdays >
      • Elisa's Throwback China Trip Adventure
    • Foodie Fridays
    • Travelin' The NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
    • Walt Disney World Wednesdays
  • Things To Do
    • Entertainment Reviews
    • New York Area
    • Southern California Area
  • Where to Stay and Things to Do
  • Where to Dine Vegan
  • Fun Fact & Travel Trivia Articles
    • Fun Facts List Directory
  • Tanya's Photo Gallery
    • Pictures from Auschwitz/Birkenau - WARNING: Mature Content/Depressing Images
  • Elisa's Photo Gallery
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before ya Go

 

Travel Adventure Articles
​
Join Elisa and Tanya on their daily travel adventures, near and far, past, present and future!

Go EXPORE!

12 Fun Facts About Grand Turk Island, The Caribbean

8/17/2018

2 Comments

 
​The Turks and Caicos Islands  or TCI for short, are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands. These two groups of tropical islands are located in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies.
Picture
(photo credit: visailing.com)
With many points of interest and beautiful beaches, Grand Turk is the administrative, historic, cultural and financial center of the territory.

Here are 12 fun facts worth knowing about the island.
Picture
A view of the southwestern beach at Grand Turk, next to the cruise ship dock (photo credit: wikipedia)
1. Grand Turk is the Capital of the Islands of Turks and Caicos
Grand Turk was first colonized in 1681 by Bermudians, who set up the salt industry in the islands and in 1766 it became the capital of the country.


Picture
(photo credit: visittci.com)
2.  Cockburn Town is the capital of Grand Turk
The first permanent settlement on the Turks and Caicos islands, Cockburn Town is known for its long, narrow streets and old street lamps. The town has been the seat of government since 1766. The city supposedly lies on the place where Juan Ponce de León first landed on the island.
​

Picture
Depiction of Salt Collectors at work on Grand Turk (photo credit: www.tcmuseum.org)
3. Grand Turk was Founded by Salt Collectors
Bermudian Salt collectors set up the first colony in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1681, building the salt industry in the islands.

 
Picture
(photo credit: wiki)
4. The Turks and Caicos Islands are named after the Turk's Cap Cactus
This species of cactus found on the island, has a distinctive cap, reminiscent of an Ottoman fez. They are native to the Caribbean, western Mexico through Central America to northern South America, with some species along the Andes down to southern Peru, and a concentration of species in northeastern Brazil.
 

Picture
(photo credit: wikipedia)
5.  Grand Turk Lighthouse and Keeper's House are Historic Sites
The 60-foot-tall  lighthouse structure, overlooking North Creek, was completed by British architect Alexander Gordon in 1852 to alert sailors of the shallow reef. Interestingly, it was constructed in the United Kingdom, and shipped in pieces to the island.

 
Picture
(photo credit: turksandcaicostourism.com)
6. The Turks & Caicos National Museum is 180 Years Old
Located in Cockburn Town, the Museum is housed in the colonial-era Guinep House, on Front Street. Much of its structural material used to build the house came from local shipwrecks, including a ship's mast, which is one of the building's main supports.  

Among the National Museum's collections is an exhibit of shipwrecks, including the oldest known European shipwreck in the Americas, the Molasses Reef Wreck, which dates to  1505.

Other exhibits detail the history of the Lucayans, the Space Race, Turks and Caicos postage stamps, slavery and the history of the slave trade, the sisal and salt industries, royal events, as well as a general history of the islands. The museum also maintains a garden, which is adjacent to the Guinep House. 

​
Picture
(photo credit: turksandcaicostourism.com)
7. ​The Islands' Population is Quite Diverse
The majority of black descendants are from the early Bermudan, Loyalist and slave settlers and salt rakers dating back 300 years. However, the Turks and Cacos immigrant population is a rapidly expanding group of Haitians, Dominicans and Cubans as well as many residents from all over the world.

The majority are Canadian and American, but there are also residents from South Africa, Europe, Oceana, South America and Asia.  

​
Picture
(photo credit: caribya.com)
8. The U.S. Dollar is the Official Currency of Turks and Caicos
This is very interesting considering that the islands are British!

​
Picture
(photo credit: tcimall.tc)
9. The First Inhabitants of Turks and Caicos were the Taino Indians
They arrived from other Caribbean islands sometime between 500 to 800 AD.

​
Picture
10. The Turks and Caicos flag features Elements of the Islands
The Island's flag features three common elements from the islands: a conch shell, a spiny lobster, and Turks Head cactus.

​
Picture
(photo credit: visittci.com
11. Humpback Whales Migrate Through The Turks Head Passage
Between January through April each year, Caribbean humpback whales migrate through the Turks head passage in the Turks and Caicos Islands as they travel from the northern waters of Canada’s Bay of Fundy to the Silver Bank off the Dominican Republic where they mate and give birth.

​
Picture
(photo credit: pxhere.com)
12. Nudity is Prohibited in Turks and Caicos Islands
Although nudity on the beaches is accepted throughout the Caribbean, it is not permitted on the islands of Turks and Caicos. 
 
2 Comments
Kylee Miller
1/24/2020 07:11:29 am

Hey, i ported off a cruise on Grand Turk!

Reply
Smoof Gib
11/16/2021 09:34:32 am

hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Tanya

    Tanya is a free sprit who resides in Southern California with the only family that she has outside of NY (you can take a girl out of the city, but you’ll never take the city out of this girl). Her housemates include her mom, her 2 sisters, her brother, her sister’s boyfriend, her niece, her 2 kids and her ex! Yup...all under one roof! Her professional career and background was in film (writing, production and acting). Currently she is a stay at home mom - who is hardly ever at home, and who’s passions are: everything travel related, food (both cooking and eating), photography, skiing and of course, shopping! 

    As Featured On EzineArticles
    Picture

    Elisa

    Elisa is co-founder of Travelin' Cousins travel blog along with her cousin "Travelin' Tanya." She lives on Long Island, New York with her two daughters and her dog Punkin. An entrepreneur whose professional career has included a variety of businesses in the toy, licensing and direct marketing businesses, she is now a blogger and freelance writer. Since her teen years, she has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia and continues to travel these days throughout the world with her daughters and cousin Tanya. Her other passions include cooking, dining, the theatre and shopping.
    ​

    As Featured On EzineArticles
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Adventureland Long Island
    Airbnb Vienna
    A La Carte Cooking School Lynbrook
    Arches National Park
    Azores
    Barbados
    Ca
    California
    Caribbean
    Carlsbad
    Eklecticafe
    Farmingdale
    Flower Fields
    Hofburg Palace
    Horseback Riding
    Iceland
    Las Vegas
    Lompoc Flower Fields
    Long Island
    Long Island International Film Expo
    Long Island Theatre
    Los Angeles
    Luggage
    Mendocino
    MLB All Star Game
    Moab
    Moab Under Canvas
    Moab Utah
    Northern Lights
    Norway
    NY
    Oceanside
    Oslo
    Pasadena Chalk Festival
    Ponta Delgada
    Prague
    Puerto Rico
    Road Trip
    Ronald's Donuts
    Safety
    San Diego Sicilian Festival
    San Francisco
    Santa Barbara
    Sao Miguel
    Sigmund Freud Museum Vienna
    Spanish Riding School
    Stanford Inn
    Statues On Parade
    St. Kitts
    St. Lucia
    St. Martin/St. Maarten
    Stratosphere
    St. Thomas
    The Bad And The UGLY
    The Good
    The Sunset Tower Hotel
    Traveling Solo
    Travel Tips
    Utah
    Vegan Moab
    Vegan Road Trip
    Vegan Utah
    Vienna
    Wynn

    Archives

    December 2020
    October 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014





    RSS Feed

The Scoop Blog
Travel Adventure Articles
Travelin' the NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
Walt Disney World Wednesdays
Travel Resource Guide
Vegan Dining Guide

​


   
                                                      
Fun Fact and Travel Trivia Articles
Elisa and Tanya's Favorites
Travel Tips - Know Before You Go
​
About
​Contact Us 
​Media Kit 
​
(c) Travelin' Cousins 2020 All Rights Reserved