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Songkhla | |
|---|---|
| City of Songkhla เทศบาลนครสงขลา | |
 Songkhla City | |
 Seal | |
  Songkhla Location inThailand | |
| Coordinates:7°12′22″N100°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 (2020) | 61,758 |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Area code | (+66) 74 |
| Website | songkhlacity |
Songkhla (Thai:สงขลา,pronounced[sǒŋ.kʰlǎː]), also known asSinggora orSingora (Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ, Singoro), is a city (thesaban nakhon) inSongkhla Province of southernThailand, near the border withMalaysia. Songkhla lies 968 km (601 mi) south ofBangkok and as of 2020 had a population of 61,758.[1]
Despite being smaller than the neighboring cityHat Yai, Songkhla is the capital of Songkhla Province as well as theMueang Songkhla District (Songkhla town district). Together with Hat Yai, Songkhla is part of theGreater Hat Yai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area (aconurbation with a population of around 800,000), the third largest metropolitan area in Thailand.
At the opening ofSongkhla Lake to theGulf of Thailand, Songkhla is a fishing town and also an importantharbour. It is the major seaport on the east side of theIsthmus of Kra.
The nameSongkhla means 'the city of lions' (not to be confused withSingapura) and is theThaivariant of "Singgora" (Malay andJawi: سيڠڬورا). 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 withQuanzhou in China. The long Sanskrit name of the state that existed there has been lost; its short Sanskrit name wasSinghapura ('Lion City') (not to be confused withSingapura), a city state. The short vernacular name wasSatingpra, coming from theMon-Khmersting/steng/stang (meaning 'river') and the Sanskritpura ('city').[2]: 320–321
The ruins of the ancientport city ofSatingpra are just few kilometers north of Songkhla. It was one of the most important trading centers of theTambralinga Kingdom. Archaeological digs and investigations conducted toward the end of the 20th century testify the existence of a fortifiedcitadel protected by amoat 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]
The precursor of the present-day town ofSongkhla was TheSultanate of Singora, a heavily fortified port city. It was founded in the early 17th century by a Persian, Dato Mogol, and flourished during the reign of his son, Sultan Sulaiman Shah. In 1680, after decades of conflict, the city was destroyed and abandoned; remains include forts, city walls, a Dutch cemetery and the tomb of Sultan Sulaiman Shah.
On 8 December 1941 local time, theImperial Japanese army landed in Songkhla,invading Thailand. Because of theInternational Date Line, this actually occurred hours before the 7 December (Hawaii time)attack on Pearl Harbor, making it the first major action of thePacific War. The Japanese forces then moved south towardsPerlis andPenang as part of theMalayan campaign which culminated in thecapture of Singapore.[4]
Since 2003, Songhkla has been affected byseparatist insurgencies in neighboringNarathiwat,Pattani, andYala.[5]
The municipality's mayor, Peera Tantiserane, was murdered in Songkhla in 2014.[6]
Songkhla has atropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classificationAm). 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 (1991–2020, extremes 1951-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) | 36.5 (97.7) | 38.2 (100.8) | 38.6 (101.5) | 37.6 (99.7) | 36.6 (97.9) | 37.3 (99.1) | 35.6 (96.1) | 38.5 (101.3) | 34.0 (93.2) | 32.6 (90.7) | 38.6 (101.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.0 (84.2) | 30.5 (86.9) | 31.5 (88.7) | 32.6 (90.7) | 33.4 (92.1) | 33.4 (92.1) | 33.3 (91.9) | 33.3 (91.9) | 32.7 (90.9) | 31.6 (88.9) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 31.7 (89.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.2 (81.0) | 27.5 (81.5) | 28.1 (82.6) | 28.9 (84.0) | 29.0 (84.2) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.9 (80.4) | 28.0 (82.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.9 (76.8) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.1 (77.2) | 24.9 (76.8) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.6 (76.3) | 25.1 (77.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 19.1 (66.4) | 19.3 (66.7) | 19.7 (67.5) | 21.1 (70.0) | 22.1 (71.8) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.9 (71.4) | 21.4 (70.5) | 21.1 (70.0) | 19.9 (67.8) | 20.5 (68.9) | 19.1 (66.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 127.2 (5.01) | 54.9 (2.16) | 71.3 (2.81) | 85.8 (3.38) | 114.8 (4.52) | 102.7 (4.04) | 95.1 (3.74) | 137.8 (5.43) | 123.3 (4.85) | 279.8 (11.02) | 587.9 (23.15) | 468.3 (18.44) | 2,248.9 (88.54) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 7.5 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 9.8 | 8.9 | 9.2 | 10.5 | 11.4 | 16.2 | 20.3 | 17.7 | 127.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 77.4 | 76.2 | 77.3 | 77.1 | 77.0 | 76.3 | 75.8 | 75.7 | 77.7 | 81.4 | 84.3 | 81.9 | 78.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine 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 dailysunshine 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:World Meteorological Organization[7] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Office of Water Management and Hydrology, Royal Irrigation Department (sun 1981–2010)[8](extremes)[9] | |||||||||||||
The majority of the population isBuddhist with a large proportion of Muslims, especially in the rural areas near theMalaysian border. These Muslims speak theYawi language, a language closely related toMalay, which has some Thai influence, especially inloan words borrowed from theThai language.[10]
Songkhla city takes up the entire Bo Yang sub-district. As of 2020 Songkhla city had a population of 61,758.[1]
Songkhla travel guide from Wikivoyage
7°12′22″N100°35′48″E / 7.20611°N 100.59667°E /7.20611; 100.59667
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