Kartabo's Place In Guyanese History.

Kyk Over-Al is  the oldest remaining ruins (c 1617) of colonial occupation in Guyana. A Dutch fort it was built on an island where the Mazaruni joins the Essequibo just South of Bartica and is in sight of the Cuyuni River. Apparently the Dutch the coastland area at that time as unfertile and preferred to trade with the Amerinidain tribes in the area ( mainly Arawaks and Caribs) . Nevertheless they established sugar plantations in Kartabo, where the Cuyuni joins the Mazaruni and used the local Indians as slaves.

There are few reamins of the houses and jetty in Kartabo but you can collect 17th century Dutch tiles on the beach and view the overgrown grave of a Dutch soldier in the grounds of the Primary school.Sugar growing quickly transferred to the coast later on but this tiny settlement of Kartabo was pivotal in the early cololnisation of the country.

It still has something to shout about...It has a 20 kilometres crater on Mars named after it. This was done in 1976 and is the only place in Guyana to have that honour...I wonder how many residents know about this....