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Tajikistan
is a mountainous landlocked sovereign country in Central Asia. It is bordered
by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north,
and China to the east.
Did you know that:
1. The official language of Tajikistan is Tajik, though Dari, Russian and Uzbek
are also spoken there.
2. The currency of Tajikistan is Somoni.
3. The ancient city of Khodjand, located in Tajikistan, was an important location
on the Silk Route Road.
4. The terms ‘Tajikistan’ literally means ‘Land of the Tajiks’.
5. The Iskanderkul Lake of Tajikistan is named after Alexander the Great.
6. Over ninety percent of the area in Tajikistan is mountainous.
Uzbekistan
is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It is a unitary,
constitutional, presidential republic, comprising 12 provinces, 1 autonomous
republic, and 1 independent city. Uzbekistan is bordered by five countries:
Kazakhstan and the Aral Sea to the north; Tajikistan to the southeast;
Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the
southwest.
Did you
know that:
1. Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world. (The
other one is Liechtenstein). A doubly landlocked country is one that is
landlocked by other landlocked countries.
2. Uzbekistan’s Muruntan gold mine is one of the largest open pit gold mines in
the world.
3. Tashkent’s metro features chandeliers, marble pillars and ceilings, granite,
and engraved metal. It has been called one of the most beautiful train stations
in the world.
4. In Uzbekistan, handshakes are only acceptable if it is between two men.
5. The way to greet an Uzbek woman is by bowing to her with your right hand
placed over your heart.
6. In Uzbekistan, lipioshka (bread) is never laid upside down and is never put
on the ground, even if it is in a bag. The Uzbeks believe that turning bread
upside down will bring you bad fortune.
Cyprus is
an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus is the third largest
and third most populous island in the Mediterranean, and a member state of the
European Union. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon,
northwest of Israel, north of Egypt and east of Greece.
Did you know that:
1. Cyprus is known as 'the playground of the gods'. Aphrodite is said to have
risen out of the water near Paphos.
2. Cyprus was once the wealthiest nation in the known world. It was during the
Copper and Bronze Ages when the island's rich natural copper resources were
exported to other countries.
3. There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Cyprus - Paphos, the Painted
Churches in the Troodos Region and Choirokoitia.
4. Cyprus is home to 20 rare species of orchid.
5. The Cyprus Mufflon is a wild sheep that is found in the Troodos & Paphos
mountains. It exists nowhere else in the world.
6. George Michael was born in
Cyprus.
7. One of the world's most famous shipwrecks lies off the Cypriot coast near
Limassol Harbour. The Zenobia, with its cargo of vehicles, sunk in 1980.
8. Cyprus has the world's oldest wine label, Cypriot dessert wine - Commandaria.
