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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.
Seychelles is
a 155-island country (as per the Constitution) spanning an archipelago in the
Indian Ocean, whose capital, Victoria, lies some 1,500 kilometres east of
mainland Southeast Africa. Other nearby island countries and territories
include Zanzibar to the west and Comoros, Mayotte, Madagascar, Réunion and
Mauritius to the south.
Did you know that:
1. Pirates used to seek the islands of Seychelles as a hideout. It is believed
that Olivier Le Vasseur, an infamous pirate, had a treasure worth 100,000 euros
that remains hidden in the land up to the present.
2. Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond novels and short stories, named his
character Milton Krest after a tonic and ginger beer that he tasted while
vacationing in Seychelles.
3. This beautiful country island was home to none until the latter part of the
18th century, when its first settlers arrived.
4. Almost half of the limited landmass in the country is occupied by national
parks and reserves. This is in support of the government’s various environment
and ecosystems protection and conservation policies.
5. Seychelles is the right place to visit if you want to see unique endemic
species. These include the paradise flycatcher, the warbler, the jelly fishtree, and the female Coco de Mer, which is the world’s heaviest nut.
6. The country is home to the heaviest land tortoise that is living in the
wild. Named Esmeralda, the animal weighs 304 kilograms and can be found at the
Bird Island.
7. In the Ste. Anne Marine National Park, you will find the Moyenne Island,
which is believed to be haunted by a spirit that guards a buried treasure.
Cape Verde is
an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central
Atlantic Ocean. Located 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa, the
islands cover a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometers.
Did you know that:
1. The island of Santiago is the largest in terms of area and also in terms of
the population. The capital city Praia is situation on this island.
2. It is illegal to capture turtles between June and February.
3. The ethnic groups are Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28% and European 1%.
4. The languages spoken in Cape Verde are Portuguese and Criuolo. Cape Verde
has an exotic unique Creole culture which has absorbed influences from Brazil,
Portugal and musical vibes from Senegal.
5. It is said that after 20 years of continuous drinking of the locally
produced grogue, it could make you blind.
Papua New
Guinea is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of
New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern
Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern
coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian
provinces of Papua and West Papua.
Did you know that:
1. Papua New Guinea has the most languages worldwide, with over 820 indigenous
languages used. The most used is Enga,
followed by Melp, Huli, and English is used in the government and education
system.
2. Only 18% of the people in Papua New Guinea live in urban areas.
3. Until 1933 the country used sea-shells as its national currency. Post
that, it switched to the Kina,
PGK.
4. With roads being limited, air travel is the common form of transportation
for larger freight. Papua New Guinea has
two international airfields and 578 mostly unpaved airstrips.
5. It’s one of the least explored areas worldwide, believed to have many
undiscovered species of plants and animals.
6. The world’s only known poisonous bird, the Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous)
is native to Papua New Guinea.
7. The country holds ceremonies where hundreds of valuables or pigs are
distributed to all the guests.
8. Even until the 1950’s cannibalism and headhunting were rampant in Papua New
Guinea.
Bermuda also referred
to in legal documents as the Bermudas or Somers Isles, is a British Overseas
Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the east coast of the United
States. Its capital city is Hamilton.
Did you know that:
1. Bermuda is home to more golf courses per square mile than anywhere in the
world!
2. Rainfall generates Bermuda’s only supply of fresh water.
3. Saying ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’ to everyone you see in Bermuda is
considered good manners.
4. Red Homotrema rubrum (red forams), a tiny single-celled organisms that lives under the coral reef,
are responsible for the pink sand beaches.
5. There are over 400 shipwrecks dating back to the 1500’s to explore.
6. Fast food chains are not allowed! Except for KFC, who managed to get in
there before the ban was put in place.
7. Bermuda has a dress code in effect. You cannot walk around in your bathing
suit and men must wear shirts at all times.
