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Tajikistan

czwartek, 25 września 2014

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

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

poniedziałek, 1 września 2014

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.