Saint Martin of the Tigers

[2] It was founded in 1860 as a model settlement town to serve as a population and economic center in one of the most inhospitable regions of the Namibe desert.

The Portuguese colonial government sent many inhabitants of the Algarve, with great experience in sea fishing, to found the village of Saint Martin of the Tigers, in the still existing Tigres bay.

Thereafter Saint Martin of the Tigers faced many difficulties, suffering problems with the supply of water, food and basic items.

[4] Even so, from 1996 onwards, the Angolan government figuratively appointed the communal administrator of Saint Martin of the Tigers, elaborating an ambitious project to recover the locality and the valuable fishing center.

The economic activity that still develops in the area is tourism, thanks to the popular legends that emerged after its transformation into a ghost town.

Chapel of Saint Martin of the Tigers, in the center, with the inscription Hic Domvs Dei (this is the house of God); in the background, on the left, the southern water tower.