Dili
— — a young capital with a long memory.
Not only on a wall.
“The capital of Timor-Leste, set along a curving bay on the north coast of the island, with the Wetar Strait running between it and Indonesia. Portuguese colonial walls, Indonesian-era avenues, and post-independence murals stand on the same blocks. The Cristo Rei statue keeps watch from Cape Fatucama at the eastern end of the bay, where the road runs out and the water turns clear. Independence came in 2002; the country is one of the youngest in the world, and Dili still feels like the morning after. — from the studio
Dili, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Dili is the capital and largest city of Timor-Leste, set along a sheltered bay on the north coast of Timor island, opposite the Indonesian island of Atauro across the Wetar Strait. The city holds roughly 280,000 people, the largest population centre in a country of about 1.3 million. It was founded as a Portuguese trading post in 1769 and served as the colonial capital until 1975. After twenty-four years of Indonesian occupation, Timor-Leste restored its independence on 20 May 2002, making it one of the youngest sovereign states in the world. The official languages are Tetum and Portuguese.
The Cristo Rei of Dili stands at Cape Fatucama, the headland at the eastern end of the bay. The statue itself rises 27 metres on a globe-shaped base, with the figure of Christ facing east over the strait. It was commissioned by the Indonesian government in 1996, late in the occupation period, and the path up climbs 570 steps from the beach below through fourteen Stations of the Cross. Lower in the city, the older Portuguese-era stonework remains: the Government Palace on the waterfront, the Motael Church, and the small grid of streets that held the colonial port.
Dili is reached by international flights from Darwin, Singapore, and Bali into Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport, ten minutes west of the city centre. Most visitors stay along the seafront avenue, Avenida de Portugal, where colonial buildings and beach bars sit side by side. The road east from town runs to Areia Branca beach and the Cristo Rei trail; the road west climbs into the hills and the old hill station at Dare. The dry season runs roughly May to November. Tetum and Portuguese are official, with Indonesian and English widely understood.