''This article is about the city. For the archipelago, see
Mergui Archipelago.''
'Mergui' or 'Myeik' () is a city in
Tanintharyi Division in
Myanmar (Burma), located in the extreme south of the country on the coast of an island on the
Andaman Sea. The area inland is a major
smuggling area into
Thailand.
In the
18th century, Mergui was a port belonging to the Thai
Ayuthaya Empire. It became an important trading center, especially for the Europeans, who would land at Mergui, travel upriver to Tanintharyi (Tenasserim) and then cross the mountains to reach Ayuthaya. The
British occupied the region after the
First Anglo-Burmese War of 1826.
The population is engaged in
fishing, production of
rubber and
coconuts, manufacture of fermented
shrimp paste, and the collection of edible
bird's nests. Offshore, the 800 islands of the
Mergui Archipelago have a huge potential for tourist development. Tourism in the area is in the form of live aboard boats
[1] as land based accommodations are non-existent on the islands. This keeps the area very attractive as
low impact tourism preserves the area's natural beauty. see
[2]
The inhabitants of the area are known as
Salone or
Moken,
Sea Gypsies who are said to be related to island tribes from
Malaysia.
The town is home to
Myeik University.
See also
★
Myeik Airport