Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, and the location of the capital of Kiribati. It is home to about 70,000 people (census, 2020) , more than half of the country's population!
Tarawa was the site of the Battle of Tarawa, one of the most brutal battles in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. It was the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. For a full understanding of this atoll you should pick up a book called The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J Maarten Troost. This is a very informative insight to the everyday life on Tarawa.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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