The original name for this island was Wadi al Qunar--Guadalcanal is a derivitive of this Arabic name. This name was given to this island some 1,000 years ago by Muslim migrants. ANd as Jack Palance used to say: " Believe it or not."
Stevin--yep--it was Ripleys quote but--mose eligently repeated by Jack palance from the Ripley's Believe it or not TV show that used to be on. Doc--I agree with you--it was one of my favorite shows too.
Ahhh! Thanks for clearing that up guys! I used to watch that show too! Loved it. Had no idea the presenter was somebody else that Ripley himself....
Ahhh! Thanks for clearing that up guys! I used to watch that show too! Loved it. Had no idea the presenter was somebody else that Ripley himself....
Shows how good Jack Palance is He's like Gene Hackman--and he is grossly underrated as an actor. You should see him in Hass of Montezuma and Tango and Cash--the Robersons etc--he is a great actor.
The way I understand it is that Guadalcanal was named by one of the officers of the Spanish expedition to the island in 1568. Pedro de Ortega, the officer, named the island after his hometown in Spain, Guadalcanal. Ortega's hometown derives it's name from the Arabic "Wadi al-Khanat" meaning something along the lines of "valley of the [food] stalls," named so because the invading Moop army set up food stands in the riverbed.