Songkhla

Songkhla
สงขลา
City
City of Songkhla
เทศบาลนครสงขลา
Aerial View of Songkhla City

Seal
Songkhla
Location in Thailand
Coordinates: 7°12′22″N 100°35′48″E / 7.20611°N 100.59667°E / 7.20611; 100.59667
Country Thailand
Province Songkhla
District Mueang Songkhla
Government
 • Type City Municipality
 • Mayor Somsak Tantiseranet
Area
 • Total 9.27 km2 (3.58 sq mi)
Elevation 11 m (36 ft)
Population (2006) 75,048
Time zone UTC+7 (ICT)
Area code (+66) 74
Website songkhlacity.go.th
Laem Samila beach

Songkhla (Thai: สงขลา, pronounced [sǒŋ.kʰlǎː]), also known as Singgora or Singora (Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ), is a city (thesaban nakhon) in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. As of 2006 it had a population of 75,048. Songkhla lies 968 km (601 mi) south of Bangkok.[1]

Despite being smaller than the neighboring city Hat Yai, Songkhla is the capital of Songkhla Province as well as the Mueang Songkhla district (Songkhla town district).

Due to its location at the opening of Songkhla Lake to the Gulf of Thailand, Songkhla is a fishing town and also an important harbour. It is the major seaport on the east side of the Isthmus of Kra.

Naga Head at Song Thale Park, Laem Son On, Songkhla City

History

French hydrographic / topographic map of Songkhla, during the reign of King Narai the Great, 1687.
Songkhla looking west from Khao Tangkuan, c. 1930.
Songkhla's Nakhon Nok Rd., c. 1932.

The name Songkhla is actually the Thai corruption of Singgora (Jawi: سيڠڬورا); its original name means "the city of lions" in Malay (not to be confused with Singapura). This refers to a lion-shaped mountain near the city of Songkhla. Archaeological excavations on the isthmus between Lake Songkhla and the sea reveal that in the 10th through the 14th century this was a major urbanized area, and a center of international maritime trade, in particular with Quanzhou in China. The long Sanskrit name of the state that existed there has been lost; its short Sanskrit name was Singhapura ("Lion City") (not to be confused with Singapura), a city state. The short vernacular name was Satingpra, coming from the Mon-Khmer sting/steng/stang (meaning "river") and the Sanskrit pura ("city").[2]:320-321

The ruins of the ancient port city of Satingpra are just few kilometres north of Songkhla. It was one of the most important trading centres of the Tambralinga kingdom. Archaeological digs and investigations conducted toward the end of the 20th century testify the existence of a fortified citadel protected by a moat and a quadrangular surrounding wall made of brick. A sophisticated system of canals connected the sea to the Songkhla Lake permitting the circulations of ships. The excavations brought to light artifacts of great historical and artistic value.[3]

On 8 December 1941 local time, hours before the 7 December (Hawaii time) attack on Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese army landed here, invading Thailand. It then moved south towards Perlis and Penang as part of the Malayan campaign which culminated in the capture of Singapore.[4]

Since 2003, Songhkla has been affected by separatist insurgencies in neighboring Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala.[5]

The municipality's mayor, Peera Tantiserane, was murdered there in 2012.[6]

Climate

Songkhla has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). Temperatures are very warm to hot throughout the year with only minor variation. There is a short dry season in February and March; the rest of the year is wet, with especially heavy rainfall from October to December.

Climate data for Songkhla (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.4
(90.3)		 34.3
(93.7)		 35.3
(95.5)		 36.8
(98.2)		 38.6
(101.5)		 37.1
(98.8)		 36.6
(97.9)		 37.3
(99.1)		 35.8
(96.4)		 38.5
(101.3)		 34.0
(93.2)		 32.6
(90.7)		 38.6
(101.5)
Average high °C (°F) 29.6
(85.3)		 30.3
(86.5)		 31.4
(88.5)		 32.5
(90.5)		 33.0
(91.4)		 33.1
(91.6)		 32.9
(91.2)		 33.0
(91.4)		 32.3
(90.1)		 31.4
(88.5)		 29.8
(85.6)		 29.2
(84.6)		 31.5
(88.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.1
(80.8)		 27.5
(81.5)		 28.1
(82.6)		 28.9
(84)		 28.8
(83.8)		 28.6
(83.5)		 28.3
(82.9)		 28.2
(82.8)		 27.8
(82)		 27.3
(81.1)		 26.9
(80.4)		 26.7
(80.1)		 27.9
(82.2)
Average low °C (°F) 24.7
(76.5)		 24.7
(76.5)		 25.0
(77)		 25.4
(77.7)		 25.4
(77.7)		 25.1
(77.2)		 24.8
(76.6)		 24.7
(76.5)		 24.5
(76.1)		 24.3
(75.7)		 24.3
(75.7)		 24.4
(75.9)		 24.8
(76.6)
Record low °C (°F) 20.8
(69.4)		 20.4
(68.7)		 19.7
(67.5)		 21.1
(70)		 22.1
(71.8)		 21.1
(70)		 21.1
(70)		 21.9
(71.4)		 21.4
(70.5)		 21.1
(70)		 20.4
(68.7)		 20.7
(69.3)		 19.7
(67.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 74.8
(2.945)		 48.6
(1.913)		 59.7
(2.35)		 75.1
(2.957)		 119.6
(4.709)		 99.9
(3.933)		 95.0
(3.74)		 109.4
(4.307)		 136.9
(5.39)		 257.1
(10.122)		 545.9
(21.492)		 444.7
(17.508)		 2,066.7
(81.366)
Average rainy days 10.0 5.3 7.1 8.5 13.0 13.2 12.7 13.8 15.5 19.9 22.6 20.4 162.0
Average relative humidity (%) 78 77 78 78 78 77 77 76 79 82 84 82 79
Mean monthly sunshine hours 179.8 183.6 204.6 201.0 151.9 150.0 151.9 151.9 144.0 111.6 105.0 142.6 1,877.9
Mean daily sunshine hours 5.8 6.5 6.6 6.7 4.9 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.8 3.6 3.5 4.6 5.2
Source #1: Thai Meteorological Department[7]
Source #2: Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department (sun and humidity)[8]

Population

The majority of the population is Buddhist with a large proportion of Muslims, especially in the rural areas fringing the Malaysian border. These Muslims speak Yawi language, a Malay-related language which has some Thai influence especially loan words borrowed from the Thai language.[9]

Songkhla's district (amphoe) has five Tambon Administrative Organizations (องค์การบริหารส่วนตำบล). Songkhla town takes up the whole of Bo Yang division.

No. Name Thai Villages Inhab.
1.Bo Yangบ่อยาง-74,875
2.Khao Rup Changเขารูปช้าง1038,662
3.Ko Taeoเกาะแต้ว910,608
4.Phawongพะวง824,130
5.Thung Wangทุ่งหวัง1010,343
6.Ko Yoเกาะยอ94,454

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Distance: Bangkok to Songkhla". Google Maps. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Stargardt, Janice (2001). "Behind the Shadows: Archaeological Data on Two-Way Sea Trade Between Quanzhou and Satingpra, South Thailand, 10th-14th century". In Schottenhammer, Angela. The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000-1400. Volume 49 of Sinica Leidensia. Brill. pp. 309–393. ISBN 90-04-11773-3.
  3. ↑ Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h (2002). BRILL, ed. The Malay Peninsula: Crossroads of the Maritime Silk-Road (100 Bc-1300 Ad). Translated by Victoria Hobson. pp. 411–416. ISBN 90-04-11973-6.
  4. ↑ Parfitt, Allen. "Bicycle Blitzkreig [sic] The Japanese Conquest of Malaya and Singapore 1941-1942". MilitaryHistoryOnline.com. Retrieved 9 Aug 2012.
  5. ↑ Morch, Maximillian (2018-02-06). "The Slow Burning Insurgency in Thailand's Deep South". The Diplomat. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "'Hitman' sought in Peera murder". Bangkokpost.com. 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  7. ↑ "Climatological Data for the Period 1981–2010". Thai Meteorological Department. p. 25. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "ปริมาณการใช้น้ำของพืชอ้างอิงโดยวิธีของ Penman Monteith (Reference Crop Evapotranspiration by Penman Monteith)" (PDF) (in Thai). Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department. p. 121. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Moshe Yegar, ''Between Integration and Secession''. Books.google.co.th. 2002. ISBN 9780739103562. Retrieved 2013-02-20.

Coordinates: 7°12′22″N 100°35′48″E / 7.20611°N 100.59667°E / 7.20611; 100.59667

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