The flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands was adopted in 1968. It has a Union Jack on the top left to let us know that the Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Territory. The Union Jack has been the flag of Britain since 1801 and it appears within many world flags of the British Commonwealth and British Territories. As a British Territory people in the islands mainly speak English. In the center of the flag is a yellow badge with three symbols of the Turks and Caicos Islands. They are the conch (pronounced “conk”) shell, the lobster and the turk’s head (or cap) cactus. One of the main foods of the islands is the conch a large sea mollusk found in a beautiful large shell. The creature is often eaten by island visitors shredded in salads, stewed or fried as conch fritters. It can be eaten in pasta, gumbos or as burgers and can be eaten raw as well. Conch are plentiful in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Many visitors seeking local food enjoy conch in various dishes at “Bugaloo’s” restaurant at Five Cays near the airport or at “da Conch Shack” in the Blue HIlls, both in Providenciales. The lobster is more popular with visitors and also plentiful and served in most restaurants while in season from mid August until the beginning of April including the prime tourist season. The Caribbean or spiny lobster does not have the large claws of the Atlantic lobster well known in the USA from Maine and in Canada from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The Caribbean lobster is sweeter and mostly tail and the meaty tails are the prime local dish on high end restaurant menus in season. The Pelican Bay Restaurant at the Royal West Indies Resort on Grace Bay Beach, has an all you can eat lobster dinner buffet every Wednesday, in season. The Turks and Caicos Islands are named after the turk’s head or turk’s cap cactus which gets its name from the red top which resembles a fez, a traditional Turkish men’s hat, and the Lucayan Indian term caya hico, meaning 'string of islands'. The pink fruit of the turk’s head cactus is edible too. Turks Head Beer named after this cactus is the island’s popular local brew. All of the symbols on the flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands are on a blue ensign background, which comes from the British Navy, but could also represent the Caribbean Sea.
What the Turks and Caicos Flag Tells Us