The Faroe Islands are an archipelago located halfway between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic. Some 50,000 people live in 17 of the total 18 islands. Here are five things to know about the Danish autonomous territory, which stretches almost 1,400 square kilometres (560 square miles):
37 words for fog
It’s not easy to escape the fog in the Faroe Islands, where the breathtaking mountains, waterfalls and fjords resemble a scene from “The Lord of the Rings”.
For example, “Pollamjorki” means “mist, which lies along the sea, in bays and through the valleys, and covers the foot of the mountains while the sky above is clear”.
The local saying: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes,” fits perfectly in a place that can undergo multiple changes in a very short period of time.
Communication is facilitated by an extensive network of road and undersea tunnels, ferries, and cheap helicopter rides for inhabitants on the more remote islands.
The people and the sea
In the Faroes, the sea is never more than five kilometres (three miles) away. So it goes without saying that its residents are largely dependent on it.
Wild fish such as mackerel, herring, cod and farmed fish like salmon accounted for 96 per cent of the territory’s total exports in 2017, or 8.4 billion kroner (1.1 billion euros, $1.3 billion).
An increase in Icelandic and Faroese mackerel and herring quotas provoked a sharp conflict with the European Union (including Denmark, the territory’s patron) between 2010 and 2014.
An EU embargo on Faroese fish harmed the economy of the territory, which then turned to other markets.
Russia has become the Faroe Islands’ main trading partner, accounting for 29 per cent of the archipelago’s exports last year, compared to 3.2 per cent in 2010.
The trade was also boosted in the wake of the Ukraine crisis when Russia started to boycott food products coming from the EU, of which the Faroe Islands is not a member.
Sheep craze -
Some 80,000 sheep graze semi-freely in the Faroe Islands, which in the local language originating from Old Norse means “Sheep Islands”.
While the number of sheep exceeds that of the total population, the animals are not enough to satisfy an appetite for their meat as the Faroese import between 500 and 600 tonnes of lamb from Iceland and New Zealand each year.
Vikings
The origin of the first settlers remains uncertain although archaeologists believe they arrived between the 4th and 5th century. Some reports point to Irish monks having lived there before the 9th century when the Vikings arrived from Norway.
The Faroese capital, Torshavn, which was founded around that time, means “Thor’s Port” referring to the god of strength and thunder in Old Norse mythology.
The islands came under the control of the former Danish-Norwegian kingdom in 1380 and later became exclusively Danish in 1814 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars when Norway passed under the tutelage of Sweden.
The islands obtained autonomy in 1948.
No country for old men?
Despite a high retirement age of 67 years and generous pensions, many Faroese still choose to work on for many more years.
Around 47.6 per cent of the people between the ages of 65 and 74 have some form of activity against 10.1 per cent in the EU, a proportion that even rises to 54.2 per cent among men in the archipelago. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
