Melekeok is one of two capitals of Palau. It is the “political” capital; Koror is the “economic” capital. Frankly, I’m not sure to what extent this is formalized, but I do know that it is a quirky situation born of centuries of conflict.
Melekeok is located on Babeldoab, the largest Palauan island. Melekeok is part of Reklai country. The Reklai is the chief of chiefs in Babeldoab. His clan has dominated northern Palau for a very very long time. Koror, to the southeast of Babeldoab, is home of the Ibedul, the head honcho of the south. The Ibedul and Reklai are not, strictly speaking, hereditary offices. Each is selected by the women of the clans in an opaque process that I will not pretend to understand. Both the Ibedul and the Reklai maintain a great deal of power to this day. During the process of Palau’s emergence from Trust Territory status to a sovereign country, the Ibedul in particular was very involved in the politics of the new nation.
Although Melekeok used to be a substantial population center, during the twentieth century, mostly due to the Japanese colonial administration, Koror eventually became the only true city in Palau. Nonetheless, when Palau became sovereign, the old rivalry between the Ibedul and the Reklai reared its head. The result was the current compromise: a political capital in Melekeok and an economic one in Koror.
But it’s hard to have a political capital when virtually no people live there. In an effort to encourage the development of Melekeok, the government built a shining new capital. Unlike the capital in, say, the Federate States of Micronesia which is apparently an homage to the traditional architecture of that country’s various cultures, Melekeok looks decidedly western. A lot of people, especially westerners, have a strong negative reaction to the capital because it seems to out of place. As one drives up the Compact Road along the eastern edge of Babeldoab, the capital rises out of the green hills like a Grecian alien spaceship. I don’t find the capital as odious as others I’ve spoken to. I find it particularly ironic that Americans disdain Melekeok. I imagine what people must have thought seeing Washington D.C. for the first time. I think they probably shook their heads and talked about how it would have made a lot more sense to leave the capital in Philly. At least the Palauans had the good sense not to build their capital in a swamp.
Many of the details remind a visitor that this is Palau’s capital, not Iowa’s.
We visited the Supreme Court building in Melekeok. This is an economic boondoggle that is harder to justify, at least in the near term. The courtrooms are beautiful, with paintings of Palauan people, ceremonies, scenery, and wildlife. There is one courtroom with a jury box, in anticipation of Palau’s first jury trial. Unfortunately, the courtrooms are virtually never used. It is too hard to bring litigants, jurors, and lawyers to Melekeok—they almost all live in Koror. So, we remain in the old Japanese-era building in the middle of Koror.
Another reason I’m a bit bummed that the Court is in Koror rather than Melekeok is that Melekeok has more waterfront to recommend it. We went up to check out the surfing there and discovered that the capital has all the virtues of a sleepy beach town. We did not surf (the waves looked too scary and renting boards is expensive), but we did spend several hours just chilling in the water. Our guide, of sorts, was Kika, a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Melekeok. She took us to the one café in town and we sat sipping ice tea until the sun set. And then we sat some more until it was pitch black outside. And I mean really dark—that afternoon the power went out everywhere in Palau due to a fire at the power plant.
More on the power plant fire and various conspiracy theories later . . .
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