Short briefing on Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

Manaus (formerly Manáos) is a city in northwest Brazil and capital of Amazonas State. Located on the Negro River near its confluence with the Amazon, it is the chief port and a hub for the region's extensive river system. Manaus estimated population is 1,800,000 inhabitants.

Manaus is a cosmopolitan city and, because of its location in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, it attracts a substantial number of Brazilian and foreign tourists who can find plenty of boat and land trips into the surrounding jungle. A great diversity of wildlife can be found even in the surroundings of Manaus. It is also place for one of the most endangered primates in Brazil: the Pied tamarin.

The Amazonas Theather (http://www.destination360.com/south-america/brazil/manaus-2.php), an opera house built in 1896 is a notable landmark of Manaus, reflecting the massive wealth of the turn of the century rubber boom. The theatre was prominently featured in Werner Herzog's 1982 film Fitzcarraldo. The elegant interior of this 1896 opera house, completed after 15 years, contains crystal chandeliers, wrought-iron banisters, and Italian frescoes; it also contains a museum. Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt performed there.

Manaus is one of the most isolated metropolitan areas of the world, accessible by ground transportation only by two highways or by the rivers surrounding the city. The city is served by the Eduardo Gomes International Airport.

Manaus time is 1 hour earlier than Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (GMT - 3 hrs). Roughly two-thirds (60%) of the population of the Brazilian state of Amazonas (which has an estimated population of 2.8 million habitants) lives in Manaus or in the greater metropolitan area.
It is warm all year round and, there is a `dry season' in the summer months of July - August - September, the period of the conference, with the temperatures around 26 °C - 36° C.

Although the main industry of Manaus through much of the last century was rubber, it is no longer as important as it once was. Given its location, timber and Brazil-nuts make up important trades, as do petroleum refining, soap manufacture and chemical industries. Over the last decades, a system of federal investments and tax incentives have turned the surrounding region into a major industrial center as a Free trade Zone (the Zona Franca of Manaus).

Figure 1. Satellite picture of Manaus. Illustrating the city and the real water colors of Amazon and Black rivers. Copyright by © 2006 Google.

During a stay in Manaus, one not only will be amazed by Nature thru the Amazon Tropical Rain Forest, but also by discovering that Manaus has typical Brazilian inheritage turistic attractions, and the city center is much alive with many open-air restaurants and cafés, museums, monuments, and fashionable shops.

ICSFI-11 will be held just before the high turistic season, so the attendees with have a quiet and pleasant stay with too many attractions to visit and discover.

For much more info on Manaus and the Amazon region in Brazil, please visit the web sites below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaus

Visas

Participants from foreign countries, needing an entrance visa to Brazil are urged to apply for it at the nearest Brazilian consulate at least four months prior to the conference.