Page 8 - AHATA

Monday 18 deceMber 2023 locAl
A10

Visit the historic museum at Fort Zoutman!

(Oranjestad)—Located in government center points, history of Oranjestad, offer-
the middle of downtown including a tax and stamps ing a glance into how the
Oranjestad, situated right office. For some time these social culture of the town
next to the government two buildings also housed came to be. If you are in-
building “Cocolishi”, is one a police precinct and jail, terested in history and want
of the oldest buildings of and even experienced to learn more about Aruba,
Aruba: Fort Zoutman. First abandonment until the then Fort Zoutman should
constructed in 1796, this Cultural Center Aruba definitely be included into
site has been used (or left Foundation (CCA) peti- your itinerary.
unused) in many ways and tioned for its renovation in The museum is open Mon-
have survived eras of war 1964, turning the site into day to Friday from 9am-
and attempted disman- the Historic Museum it cur- 6pm, and Saturday from
tling. rently is. 10am-2pm.q
1867, this tower was named rates and other disrepu- Despite its small size, The
When anyone refers to Fort after the then-reigning king table characters roaming Historic Museum guards a Source: The Old Fort of Aruba
Zoutman, they are actually of The Netherlands, Willem the Caribbean Sea. Unlike rich depository of the com- by Jan Hartog.
referring to two separate III. Willem III Toren was origi- the Willem III Toren, Fort mercial, military and social
buildings that, over the nally a light tower, but after Zoutman had a more tu-
years, have been merged: a request from Lieutenant multuous past, including
the fort and the tower. Governor Jan Helenus in the on-and-off reception
That’s right, the iconic 1866, it also became a bell of unwanted members of
5-story, squared tower was tower. the English military several
not part of the original The fort itself was origi- times (The Netherlands was
structure of the fort, and nally constructed to pro- at constant war with Eng-
is actually called “Willem tect the commerce bay land back in the colonial
III Toren”. Constructed in of Paardenbaai from pi- era).
Over the years, both the
fort and the tower had
functioned as different

Prohibited by law: leaving the island

with seashells, white sand or corals

(Oranjestad)—Often times, the customs corals from our shores and stop buying or
department at the airport intercepts many accepting these from local sellers or com-
tourists leaving the island with seashells, panies.
white sand and/or corals as souvenirs.
We want our future generations and visitors
Conforming to the international treaty of to enjoy the beauty of our beaches, shells
CITES and our local law which protects and corals in a sustainable way, without
our Flora & Fauna, it is absolutely prohib- destroying or disrupting the Aruban eco-
ited to take any seashell, sand and coral system. Help us protect what is ours!q
outside of Aruba. This is to protect our en-
vironment. The high number of seashells,
coral and amount of sand confiscated is
very strange and it is suspected that our
own locals are the ones selling these to the
tourists, which is unacceptable.
Upon confiscation at the airport, you can
also face a fine that they have to pay be-
fore leaving. This is surely not a pleasant
experience for the tourist. This also leads
to a negative reaction which can put our
tourism in a negative light.
Though we love to accommodate our
visitors, let’s all give nature the respect it
deserves by protecting our environment.
Stop collecting seashells, white sand and