More Videos
Loading...
- Loading...
- -stan
- 24 (season 8)
- Absurdistan
- Act of War (movie)
- Afghanistan
- Amu Darya
- Anime
- Aníbal Cavaco Silva
- Apartheid
- Arabian Peninsula
- Ardestan
- Armenia
- Armenian language
- Avaristan
- Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijani language
- Baharestan
- Baharestan Carpet
- Balawaristan
- Balkh
- Balochistan (region)
- Baloristan
- Baltistan
- Banana republic
- Bangladesh
- Bantustan
- Bashkortostan
- Bimaristan
- Borat
- Borazjan
- Bostan
- Bradford
- British India
- Bulgaria
- Bushehr province
- Canada
- Carpet
- Caspian Sea
- Caucasus
- Caucasus Mountains
- Cemetery
- Central Asia
- Chitral
- Cholistan Desert
- Colchis
- Conan the Barbarian
- Croatia
- Dagestan
- Dardistan
- Dashtestan
- DC Comics
- Dear Dumb Diary
- Dera
- Deutschland
- Deva (Hinduism)
- Devanagari script
- Diablo II
- Dondestan
- Doonesbury
- Dutch language
- East Bengal
- East Is East (film)
- East Pakistan
- East Turkestan
- England
- English language
- Esfahan province
- Ethiopia
- Eugene Trivizas
- Evliya Çelebi
- Fairy
- Fars Province
- Fars province
- Fictional country
- Finland
- Frangistan
- Franks
- Fried egg
- Full Metal Panic!
- Gasaraki
- German language
- Germanic language
- Gilgit
- Gilgit–Baltistan
- Gobustan Rayon
- Golestan Palace
- Golestan Province
- Gorgan
- Gorge
- Graveyard
- Greece
- Greenland
- Gregory Brothers
- Guild Wars Nightfall
- Gulistan of Sa'di
- Guliston
- Gülüstan, Goranboy
- Gülüstan, Nakhchivan
- Hamastan
- Hazara people
- Hazarastan
- Hindu
- Hindu Kush
- Hindustan
- Historical region
- Holland
- Honestan
- Hunestan
- Hungary
- Hunistan
- Huns
- Hyborean Age
- I Love Lucy
- Indo-Aryan languages
- Indo-Iranians
- Indus River
- Inspector Gadget
- Iran
- Iranian Parliament
- Islamistan
- Jack Scalia
- Jami
- Jesus
- Jesusland map
- John Rawls
- Kabul Province
- Kabul, Afghanistan
- Kabulistan
- Kafiristan
- Karakalpakstan
- Karl May
- Kazakhstan
- Khalistan
- Khuzestan
- Kislovodsk
- Kordestan
- Kreplach
- Kumyks
- Kurdish people
- Kurdistan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lar, Iran
- Larestan County
- Latin
- Lazistan
- Lebanese Civil War
- Lebanon
- Lechites
- Lezgistan
- Lojban
- London
- Londonistan (term)
- Lorestan
- Luristan
- Mark Steyn
- Maronistan
- Maronite Church
- Mehrestan County
- Middle East
- Moghulistan
- Molvanîa
- Moustache
- Muristan
- North Waziristan
- Northwest China
- Nurestan Province
- Ossetia
- Ostan-e Semnan
- Paganistan
- Pakhtunistan
- Pakistan
- Pari
- Paristan
- Parody
- Pashto language
- Pashtun people
- Pashtunistan
- Pathanistan
- Persian language
- Persian people
- Phaic Tăn
- Pindostan
- Pokolistan
- Poland
- President for Life
- Punjab (Pakistan)
- Qabristan
- Qazvin Province
- Rajasthan
- Ravine
- Redneck
- Registan
- Republic of India
- Robert Wyatt
- Rose garden
- Russia
- Russian Empire
- Russian language
- Russian Turkestan
- Saadi (poet)
- Sacha Baron Cohen
- Sakas
- Sakastan
- Samarkand
- San Sombrèro
- Sanskrit language
- Saraikistan
- Sarvestan
- Scythians
- Seistan
- Serbia
- Sharia
- Sherpa people
- Sikh
- Sikhistan
- Skateistan
- Social status
- South Asia
- South Waziristan
- Soviet Canuckistan
- Suffix
- Tabaristan
- Tajikistan
- Takestan
- Talyshistan
- Tangestan County
- Tank McNamara
- Tatarstan
- Tehran
- Thailand
- The Law of Peoples
- The Onion
- The State Within
- Tocharistan
- Toponym
- Travel guide
- Treaty of Gulistan
- Turkestan
- Turkic languages
- Turkmenistan
- Tyrant
- Uncle Scrooge
- UNESCO
- Urdu
- Uyghur people
- Uyghurstan
- Uzbekistan
- War, Inc.
- Waziristan
- West Bank
- World Heritage Site
- WP IPA for Sanskrit
- Xinjiang
- Zabol
- Zaboli
- Zabulistan
- Zanj
- Zanjistan
- Zealand
- Zeeland
- Zekistan
- Ziggy (comic strip)
-
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
i/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Persian/Pashto: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and Greater Middle East, it is also considered to be part of a broader West Asia. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi), making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.
Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Sitting at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the land has been home to various peoples through the ages and witnessed many military campaigns, notably by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and in modern era Western forces. The land also served as a source from which the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals and many others have risen to form major empires.
wn.com/Afghanistan -
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīrat al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب Ǧazīrat al 'Arab) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 mi2). The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56-23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
wn.com/Arabian_Peninsula -
Ardestan
Ardestan (Persian: اردستان, also Romanized as Ardestān and Ardistān) is a city in and the capital of Ardestan County, Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 14,698, in 4,077 families.
Ardestan is located at the southern foothills of the Karkas mountain chain and is 110 km northeast of Isfahan. It is believed the city has been founded in Sassanian times and was strongly fortified in the 10th century. A Seljuk-era mosque, a bazaar, several ab anbars, and historical houses of the old town are among the tourist attractions of Ardestan. Mulberry, pomegranate and a special kind of fig are the main orchard products of the town.
It has been said that the Sasanian king of kings Khosrow I (the Just) was born in this town. Ardestan is also the birthplace of Hassan Modarres.
wn.com/Ardestan -
Armenia
Armeniai/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD). The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrob Mashtots in 406 AD.
wn.com/Armenia -
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (
i/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası) is the largest country in the Caucasus region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.
Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. Aside from having been the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theater and plays, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim-majority countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war. Azerbaijan has come under repeated international criticism for its record on human rights.
wn.com/Azerbaijan -
Baharestan
Baharestan (Persian: بَهارِستان ) is the name given to the historic Iranian parliament building, inaugurated in 1906 (see: Iranian Constitutional Revolution). It was adopted from the name of the neighborhood and a small palace that adorned the place.
The Baharestan remained the location for the lower chamber of the Iranian Parliament (the Senate had moved to a new building in central Tehran) until the Iranian Revolution (1979). After the revolution, the parliament became unicameral and met at the Senate building, and in 2004 to a newly built building in Baharestan.
Coordinates: 32°30′N 51°48′E / 32.5°N 51.8°E / 32.5; 51.8
wn.com/Baharestan -
Balawaristan
Balawaristan (Urdu:بلاورستان) is an historical name of Gilgit-Baltistan that has regained some prevalence in recent years. The archaic English spelling for the name was Boloristan, and its first known documented usage is in Chinese sources from the 8th century AD. Gilgit-Baltistan includes Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, Ishkoman Puniyal and Yasin (see Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan). The regions of Baltistan, and Ladakh (including Kargil) are also considered to be a part of Balawaristan by nationalist parties of Gilgit, and sometimes Chitral is as well.
The people of this region have historically been referred to as Balawars (or highlanders), which is said to have come from the term Bala, which means high, a reference to the high-altitudes prevalent in this area. An alternative theory links the name to a mythic ancient king called Bolor Shah, who had first united the region and from whom local rulers in turn often claimed descent. Yet a third theory was proposed by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research of Pakistan that "the name is most probably derived from the title Patola, the Buddhist royal dynasty which was powerful in the region from to 8th centuries AD."
wn.com/Balawaristan -
Balkh
Balkh (Persian: بلخ Ancient Greek: Baktra or Zariaspa), was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some 74 km (46 mi) south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan. Marco Polo described Balkh as a "noble and great city".
The ancient city of Balkh was under the Greeks renamed Bactra, giving its name to Bactria. It was mostly known as the centre and capital of Bactria or Takharistan. Balkh is now for the most part a mass of ruins, situated some 12 km from the right bank of the seasonally flowing Balkh River, at an elevation of about 365 m (1,200 ft).
Balkh is one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered to be the first city to which the Indo-Iranian tribes moved from the North of Amu Darya, between 2000 - 1500 BC. The Arabs called it Umm Al-Belaad or Mother of Cities due to its antiquity. The city was traditionally a center of Zoroastianism. The name Zariaspa, which is either an alternate name for Balkh or a term for part of the city, may derive from the important Zoroastrian fire temple Azar-i-Asp. Balkh was regarded as the first place where Zoroaster first preached his religion, as well as the place where he died.
wn.com/Balkh -
Baltistan
Baltistan (Urdu: بلتستان, Balti: བལྟིསྟན, also known as Baltiyul), is a region in northern Pakistan which forms Gilgit–Baltistan, bordering the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. In addition, a part of Baltistan also falls into the part of India's Jammu and Kashmir state. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains just to the south of K2, the world's second highest mountain. It is an extremely mountainous region, with an average altitude of over 3,350 m (11,000 ft). It is inhabited principally by the Balti people of Tibetan descent.
Baltistan consisted of small independent valley states that were connected to each other through blood relationships of the rulers, called rajas, trade, common beliefs and strong cultural and language bonds. These states were subjugated by force by the Dogra rulers of Kashmir in the nineteenth century. In 1947 when India and Pakistan gained independence, Baltistan was still part of Kashmir. The people of Baltistan being predominantly Muslims revolted against the Dogra rulers and after a struggle lasting a year became independent. Along with Gilgit, it is now administered by Pakistan as the region of Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). Its links with Kashmir as a subjugated people today continue to be an impediment in granting its population citizenship of Pakistan. The Kargil district of this region is located in the north of Jammu and Kashmir, while the districts of Skardu and Ganche, whose main town is Skardu, are located in the Pakistan-administered Gilgit–Baltistan region. The region has the highest peaks of the Karakoram, including K2.
wn.com/Baltistan -
Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°N 90°E / 23°N 90°E / 23; 90
Bangladesh (i/ˈbɑːŋɡlədɛʃ/ or i/bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/ (Anglicized pronunciation); Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The capital (and largest city) is Dhaka, located in central Bangladesh. The official state language is Bengali. The name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" the in the Bengali language, from Bangla "Bengal" and desh holding a dual meaning of "land" and "country" as English "country," German land, French pays, etc.
The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal during the reign and demise of the British India. Its map was chartered by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. Due to political exclusion and economic exploitation by the politically dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation grew against West Pakistan and led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence on 26 March 1971. With the intervention of the Indian Army, the war came to an end on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistan Army at Ramna Race Course.
wn.com/Bangladesh -
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan (Russian: Респу́блика Башкортоста́н, tr. Respublika Bashkortostan; IPA: [rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bəʂkərtɐˈstan]; Bashkir: Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Başqortostan Respublikahı), also known as Bashkiria (Russian: Башки́рия, tr. Bashkiriya; IPA: [bɐʂˈkʲirʲɪjə]) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa. Population: 4,072,292 (2010 Census).
The state has strong relations with its Muslim neighbor Tatarstan.
"Bashkortostan" derives from the name of the Bashkir ethnic group and the Persian suffix -stan (an ending common to many Central Asian countries).
The first settlements in the territory of modern Bashkortostan were set up in the early Paleolithic period; however, it was the Bronze Age which served as a spur to populate this territory. When people of Abashevo culture started settling here, they possessed high skills in manufacturing bronze tools, weapons, and decorations. They were the first to establish permanent settlements in the Southern Urals.
wn.com/Bashkortostan -
Borazjan
Borazjan (Persian: شبانكاره; also Romanized as Borāzjān , Borazdjan, and Borāzjūn) is a city in and the capital of Dashtestan County, Bushehr Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 92,221, in 20,300 families.
The city is very old. The ruins around the city are over three hundred years old. A citadel that was constructed 250 years ago and served as a caravansarai for decades has been transformed into a prison in the last 30 years. Many jewels and treasures have been discovered around the town. In ancient times, the town was actually by the Persian Gulf. However receding water has pushed the coastline 100 km south to where the city of Bushehr is today. This has left vast amounts of salt covered flats from Borazjan to Bushehr. The land is sparkling white. The salt crystals can be used to extract many minerals such as brine and sodium however such extraction does not exist.
The surrounding landscape was greener in the past however over grazing and drier climate has killed off most of the vegetation. Many wild animals such as deer, boars and cayotes lived in the area, but they have since gone extinct.
wn.com/Borazjan -
Bradford
Coordinates: 53°48′00″N 1°45′07″W / 53.8000°N 1.75206°W / 53.8000; -1.75206
Bradford (i/ˈbrædfəd/) lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, 8.6 miles (13.8 km) west of Leeds, and 16 miles (25.7 km) northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897. Following local government reform in 1974, city status was bestowed upon the wider metropolitan borough.
Bradford has a population of 293,717, making it the fourteenth-most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. Bradford forms part of the West Yorkshire Urban Area conurbation which in 2001 had a population of 1.5 million and is part of the Leeds-Bradford Larger Urban Zone (LUZ), the third largest in the UK after London and Manchester, with an estimated population in the 2004 Urban Audit of 2.4 million.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Bradford rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the "wool capital of the world". The area's access to a supply of coal, iron ore and soft water facilitated the growth of Bradford's manufacturing base, which, as textile manufacture grew, led to an explosion in population and was a stimulus to civic investment; Bradford has fine Victorian architecture including the grand Italianate City Hall.
wn.com/Bradford -
Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
wn.com/Bulgaria -
Bushehr province
Bushehr Province (Persian: استان بوشهر, Ostān-e Būshehr ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country, with a long coastline onto the Persian Gulf. Its center is Bandar-e-Bushehr, the provincial capital. The province has nine counties: Bushehr, Dashtestan, Dashti, Dayyer, Deylam, Jam, Kangan, Ganaveh and Tangestan. In 2005, the province had a population of approximately 816,115 people.
The Greeks knew of Bushehr by Mezambria during the battles of Nearchus. A French excavating team however in 1913 determined the origin of Bushehr to date back to the Elamite Empire. A city there, known as Lyan, contained a temple that was designed to protect the compound from naval attacks. Its remains can still be seen today 10 kilometers south of the present city of Bushehr.
Marco Polo describes this region as part of the Persian province of Shabankareh
A key turning point in the history of Bor event of significance is known to have taken place in this region until the arrival of the European colonialists in the 16th century.
wn.com/Bushehr_province -
Canada
Canada (
/ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
wn.com/Canada -
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia (for endonyms, see below), is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe's highest mountain, Mt. Elbrus. Politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts.
The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus.
The Ciscaucasus contains the larger majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, also known as the Major Caucasus mountains. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan (excluding the northern parts) and Georgia (excluding the northern parts) are in South Caucasus.
wn.com/Caucasus -
Chitral
Coordinates: 35°50′N 71°47′E / 35.833°N 71.783°E / 35.833; 71.783
Chitral or Chetrar (Urdu: چترال) (Khowar:چھترار) (Persian: چیترال), translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River (also called Chitral River), in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000, while the district (of 14,833 km² or 5,727 sq mi), has a population of 300,000. The altitude of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).
The easiest access to Chitral is in the southwest along the Chitral or Kunar Valley towards Jalalabad. This route is open all year and provides direct access to Kabul. However the Pakistan–Afghanistan border (Durand Line) prevents this being used as an internal route to Peshawar and the south. The other routes are over mountain passes. To the south, the Lowari Pass (3,200 m or 10,499 ft) leads 365 km (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the Broghol Pass (3,798 m or 12,460 ft) to Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, however during winter this route is usually closed. To the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719 metres (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. In the west, the 4,300 metres (14,100 ft) Dorah Pass provides an additional route to Afghanistan. The territory is home to rare falcons and the snow leopard, and is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel which will reduce transit time to Chitral as well as allow the district to be connected to the rest of the country even during the cold winter months.
wn.com/Chitral -
Cholistan Desert
Cholistan Desert (Urdu, Saraiki:صحرائے چولستان), also locally known as Rohi (روہی) sprawls thirty kilometers from Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan and covers an area of 26,300 km². It adjoins the Thar Desert extending over to Sindh and into India.
The word Cholistan is derived from the Turkish word Chol, which means Desert. Cholistan thus means Land of the Desert. The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The dry bed of the Hakra River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found.
The Desert also has an Annual Jeep Rally, known as Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally. It is the biggest motor sports event in Pakistan.
The language of Cholistan also reflects a number of features of its historical and geographical background. The Saraiki language is an Indo-Aryan language of the Lahnda languages group, and is spoken in Cholistan as well as in a large part of central Pakistan. Though once a considered a dialect of Punjabi, it is considered a separate language now. One of the chief authors in the Saraiki language is Khwaja Ghulam Farid, a polyglot Sufi poet, who helped develop Saraiki's poetics. The Saraiki community diffused when Saraiki-speaking Hindus migrated to the neighboring Indian states of Bikaner and Jaisalmer during Partition and were replaced by Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees from India. However, since the majority of Urdu-speakers settled in the cities and few settled in rural Cholistan, the countryside maintains a strong Saraiki community.
wn.com/Cholistan_Desert -
Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
wn.com/Croatia -
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan ( /dɑːɡɨˈstɑːn/ or /dæɡɨˈstæn/; Russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respublika Dagestan; also spelled Daghestan) is a federal subject (a republic) of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea. Population: 2,910,249 (2010 Census).
Dagestan is ethnically very diverse, with several dozen ethnic groups and subgroups inhabiting the republic, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Azeri, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russians form only a small proportion (3.6%) of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca among the ethnic groups.
Dagestan has been a scene of low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism since the 1990s. According to International Crisis Group, the militant Islamist organization Shariat Jamaat is responsible for much of the violence. Much of the tension is rooted in an internal Islamic conflict between traditional Sufi groups advocating secular government and more recently introduced Salafist teachers preaching the implementation of Sharia law in Dagestan.
wn.com/Dagestan -
Dera
Dera or Dehra (Urdu: ڈیرہ ) is a Saraiki language word meaning camp or settlement. In Punjabi, it is usually used as a place where men meet and socialize in the village.
Towns in Pakistan with Dera in their names.
Towns in India with Dera in their names.
Religious sects:
Coordinates: 8°10′N 39°20′E / 8.167°N 39.333°E / 8.167; 39.333
wn.com/Dera -
East Pakistan
East Pakistan (Bengali: পূর্ব পাকিস্তান; Purbo Pakistan, Urdu: مشرقی پاکستان; Mashriqī Pākistān) was a provincial state of Pakistan that existed in Bengal region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent from 1955 until 1971, following the One Unit programme which laid the existence of East Pakistan.
wn.com/East_Pakistan -
England
Englandi/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.
wn.com/England -
Ethiopia
Ethiopia (
/ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
wn.com/Ethiopia -
Fars Province
Coordinates: 29°37′N 52°32′E / 29.617°N 52.533°E / 29.617; 52.533
Fars Province (Persian: استان فارس Ostān-e Fārs pronounced [fɑː(r)s]), originally spelled Pars (پارس), is one of the 31 provinces and known as Cultural Capital of Iran. It is in the south of the country and its center is Shiraz. It has an area of 122,400 km². In 2006, this province had a population of 4.57 million people, of which 61.2% were registered as urban dwellers, 38.1% villagers, and 0.7% nomad tribes. The etymology of the word "Persian" (Pārs-ian : پارسیان) is derived from the cultural capital of Iran and found in many ancient names associated with Iran.
Fars or Pars is the original homeland of the Persian people. The native name of the Persian language is Fârsi or Pârsi. Persia and Persian both derive from the Hellenized form Πέρσις Persis of the root word Pârs. The Old Persian word was Pârsâ.
The word Fars is derived from 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 Pârsa, the Old Persian name for Persia and its capital, Persepolis. Fars is the Arabized version of Pârs, as Arabic has no [p] phoneme.
wn.com/Fars_Province -
Fars province
Coordinates: 29°37′N 52°32′E / 29.617°N 52.533°E / 29.617; 52.533
Fars Province (Persian: استان فارس Ostān-e Fārs pronounced [fɑː(r)s]), originally spelled Pars (پارس), is one of the 31 provinces and known as Cultural Capital of Iran. It is in the south of the country and its center is Shiraz. It has an area of 122,400 km². In 2006, this province had a population of 4.57 million people, of which 61.2% were registered as urban dwellers, 38.1% villagers, and 0.7% nomad tribes. The etymology of the word "Persian" (Pārs-ian : پارسیان) is derived from the cultural capital of Iran and found in many ancient names associated with Iran.
Fars or Pars is the original homeland of the Persian people. The native name of the Persian language is Fârsi or Pârsi. Persia and Persian both derive from the Hellenized form Πέρσις Persis of the root word Pârs. The Old Persian word was Pârsâ.
The word Fars is derived from 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 Pârsa, the Old Persian name for Persia and its capital, Persepolis. Fars is the Arabized version of Pârs, as Arabic has no [p] phoneme.
wn.com/Fars_province -
Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
wn.com/Finland -
Gilgit
Gilgit (Urdu, Shina: گلگت) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Gilgit City forms a tehsil of Gilgit, within Gilgit District. Its ancient name was Sargin, later to be known as Gilit, and it is still called Gilit or Sargin-Gilit by local people. In the Burushaski language, it is named Geelt and in Wakhi and Khowar it is called Gilt. Ghallata is considered its name in ancient Sanskrit literature. Gilgit City is one of the two major hubs in Gilgit Baltistan for mountaineering expeditions to the Karakoram and other the peaks in the Himalayas, the other hub being Skardu.[citation needed]
Gilgit was an important city on the Silk Road, along which Buddhism was spread from South Asia to the rest of Asia.[citation needed]
The Dards and Chinas appear in many of the old Pauranic lists of peoples who lived in the region, with the former also mentioned in Ptolemy's accounts of the region. Two famous travellers, Faxian and Xuanzang, traversed Gilgit according to their accounts.[citation needed]
wn.com/Gilgit -
Gobustan Rayon
Gobustan is an administrative district, or rayon, of Azerbaijan. Area 1,369.4 km²; population 37,137; population density 27 persons/km². Its administrative centre, Qobustan (not to be confused with Qobustan, Baku) was known as Maraza until 2009, and is located about 50 miles west of Baku. From 1930 until 1943 and again from 1960 until 1990 the territory belonged to Shamakhi administrative district.
Coordinates: 40°32′06″N 48°55′16″E / 40.535°N 48.92111°E / 40.535; 48.92111
wn.com/Gobustan_Rayon -
Golestan Palace
Golestān Palace (Persian: کاخ گلستان) pronounced "Kakheh Golestān" is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city.
The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, the Golestan Palace (also Gulistan Palace) (The Rose Garden Palace) belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg (citadel).
The Arg was built during the reign of Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576) of the Safavid dynasty (1502–1736), and was later renovated by Karim Khan Zand (r. 1750-1779). Agha Mohamd Khan Qajar (1742–1797) chose Tehran as his capital. The Arg became the site of the Qajar (1794–1925). The Court and Golestan Palace became the official residence of the royal Qajar family. The palace was rebuilt to its current form in 1865 by Haji Abol-hasan Mimar Navai.
During the Pahlavi era (1925–1979) Golestan Palace was used for formal royal receptions and the Pahlavi dynasty built their own palace at Niavaran. The most important ceremonies held in the Palace during the Pahlavi era were the coronation of Reza Khan (r. 1925-1941) in Takht-e Marmar and the coronation of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (r. 1941-deposed 1979) in the Museum Hall.
wn.com/Golestan_Palace -
Golestan Province
Golestan Province (Persian: استان گلستان, Ostān-e Golestān ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the north-east of the country, south of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Gorgan.
Golestān was split off from the province of Mazandaran in 1997. It has a population of 1.6 million (2006) and an area of 20,380 km². The major townships of the province are: Gorgan, Gonbad Kavoos, Bandar Torkaman, Bandar Gaz, Aliabad-e katul, Kord Kooy, Fenderesk and Minoo Dasht. Present-day Gorgan was called Esterabad or Astarabad until 1937.
Gorgān, Hyrcania in Latin, the district of "the wolves" (still seen thereabouts), is mentioned already as Varkāna- in the Behistun inscription.
Human settlements in this area date back to 10 000 BCE. Evidence of the ancient city of Jorjan can still be seen near the current city of Gonbad-e Kavus. This was an important city of Persia, located on the Silk Road.
Under the Achaemenid Iran, it seems to have been administered as a sub-province of Parthia and is not named separately in the provincial lists of Darius and Xerxes. The Hyrcanians, however, under the leadership of Megapanus, are mentioned by Herodotus in his list of Xerxes’ army during the invasion of Greece.
wn.com/Golestan_Province -
Gorgan
Gorgan (Persian: گرگان, also Romanized as Gorgān and Gūrgān; Caspian: Vergen; formerly, Astarabad (Persian: اَستِر آباد, also Romanized as Asterābād), is the capital of Golestan Province, Iran. It lies approximately 400 km (250 mi) to the north east of Tehran, some 30 km (19 mi) away from the Caspian Sea. At the 2006 census, its population was 269,226, in 73,702 families.
Some 150 km (93 mi) east of Gorgan is the Golestan National Park. The city has a regional airport and several universities. Gorgan Airport was opened in September 2005.
The city was named Hyrcania, Hyrcani or Hyrcana in ancient Greek records, which comes from Pahlavi Varkâna -- "Land of the Wolves". Although modern Gorgan is only a city and county (sharing the same name), ancient Hyrcania was the name of a greater region on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea (encompassing all of the present day Golestan province, as well as some eastern parts of the Mazandaran province, and some southern parts of the present day Republic of Turkmenistan). In modern times and until 1937 the city used to be known as Astarabad.
wn.com/Gorgan -
Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] (
listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
wn.com/Greece -
Greenland
Greenland (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaat, "Land of the Kalaallit";Danish: Grønland) is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and later Denmark) for more than a millennium. Greenland is, by area, the world's largest island. With a population of 56,615 (January 2011 estimate) it is the least densely populated dependency or country in the world.
Greenland has been inhabited, though not continuously, by Arctic peoples via Canada for 4500–5000 years. In the 10th century, Norsemen settled on the uninhabited southern part of Greenland. In the 13th century, the Inuit arrived, and in the late 15th century the Norse colonies were abandoned. In the early 18th century, contact between Scandinavia and Greenland was re-established and Denmark established rule over Greenland.
wn.com/Greenland -
Guliston
Guliston also spelled as Gulistan (Uzbek: Guliston / Гулистoн; Russian: Гулистан), formerly known as Mirzachul (Russian: Мирзачуль, until 1961), is the capital of Sirdarya Province in eastern Uzbekistan. It lies in the southeastern part of the Mirzachül (formerly Golodnaya) steppe, 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Tashkent. It has an approx. population of 77,300. The main industry in the area is cottonpicking.
Population in:
Source: [1]
Guliston. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9038486
Coordinates: 40°29′N 68°47′E / 40.483°N 68.783°E / 40.483; 68.783
wn.com/Guliston -
Hindu Kush
Coordinates: 35°N 71°E / 35°N 71°E / 35; 71
The Hindu Kush (Pashto/Persian: ھندوکُش, Urdu: سلسلہ کوہ ہندوکش) is an 800 km (500 mi) long mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir (7,708 m or 25,289 ft) in Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a sub-range of the Himalayas.
The names Hindu Kush (Persian: ھندوکُش), Hindu Kūh (ھندوکوه) and Kūh-e Hind (کوهِ ھند) are usually applied to the entire range separating the basins of the Kabul and Helmand rivers from that of the Amu River (ancient Oxus) or more specifically to that part of the range, northwest of the Afghan capital Kabul. Sanskrit documents refer to the Hindu Kush as Pāriyātra Parvata (पारियात्र पर्वत). Greek geographers adapted the Sanskrit to "Paropanisadae" by Greeks in the late first millennium BC.
The Persian-English dictionary indicates that the word 'Kush' is derived from the verb Kushtar - to slaughter or carnage. Kush is probably also related to the verb Koshtan, meaning to kill.
wn.com/Hindu_Kush -
Hindustan
Hindustan (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तान, Urdu: ہندوستان, both Hindustān [ɦɪnd̪ʊˈst̪aːn]) or Indostan, literally "land of Indians" or "land of the Indus", is a popular name for the Indian subcontinent. Delhi and Agra have been the traditional capitals of Hindustan. Though the meaning of Hindustan has evolved over the years, since the partition of India it primarily refers to the Republic of India.
Hindustan is conventionally believed to be derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, which in turn is derived from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name for the Indus River. Old Persian refers to the people living beyond the Indus as Hinduš. This combined with the Avestan suffix -stān (cognate to Sanskrit "sthān", both meaning "place") results in Hindustan, as the land on the other side (from Persia) of the Indus. The term came into common use under the rule of the Mughals who referred to their dominion, centred on Delhi, as 'Hindustan'. A similar term, Indostan, was in common use during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to denote the countries of South Asia. Today "Indostan" is regarded as an archaism.
wn.com/Hindustan -
Holland
Holland
Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is also frequently used as a pars pro toto to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but disliked by Dutch people in the other parts of the Netherlands.
From the 10th century to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region, a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the Dutch Republic.
Today, the former County of Holland consists of the two Dutch provinces of North Holland and South Holland, which together include the Netherlands' three largest cities: country capital Amsterdam; seat of government The Hague; and Rotterdam, home of Europe's largest port.
Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) referred to this region as the land between the Helinium and Flevo ("inter Helinium ac Flevum"), the names of the mouths into which the Rhine divided itself, the first discharging its waters in the Mosa in the neighbourhood of Brielle and the second into "the lakes of the north" (present IJsselmeer). The name Holland first appeared in sources in 866 for the region around Haarlem, and by 1064 was being used as the name of the entire county. By this time, the inhabitants of Holland were referring to themselves as "Hollanders".Holland is derived from the Middle Dutch term holtland ("wooded land").[citation needed] This spelling variation remained in use until around the 14th century, at which time the name stabilised as Holland (alternative spellings at the time were Hollant and Hollandt). Popular, but incorrect etymology holds that Holland is derived from hol land ("hollow land") and was inspired by the low-lying geography of Holland.[citation needed]
wn.com/Holland -
Hunestan
Hunestan (Persian: هونستان, also Romanized as Hūnestān; also known as Honestān, Hūnistān, Khonestān, and Khūnistān) is a village in Kalat-e Hay-ye Sharqi Rural District, Meyami District, Shahrud County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 958, in 269 families.
wn.com/Hunestan -
Hungary
Hungaryi/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).
wn.com/Hungary -
Indus River
The Indus River (Sanskrit: सिन्धु Sindhu; Urdu: دریائے سندھ Daryā-e Sindh; Hindi: सिन्धु नदी Sindhu; Sindhi: سنڌو Sindhu; Punjabi: سندھ Sindh; Gujarati: સિંધુ નદી Sindhu; Pashto: اباسين Abāsin "Father of Rivers"; Persian: رود سند Rūd-e Sind; Arabic: السند Al-Sind; Tibetan: སེང་གེ།་གཙང་པོ Sênggê Zangbo "Lion River"; Greek: Ινδός Indós; Turki: Nilab) is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It has courses through western Tibet (in China) and Northern India.
Originating in the Tibetan plateau in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar, the river runs a course through the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan and flows through Pakistan in a southerly direction along the entire length of Pakistan to merge into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi in Sindh. The total length of the river is 3,180 km (1,980 mi). It is Pakistan's longest river.
The river has a total drainage area exceeding 1,165,000 km2 (450,000 sq mi). Its estimated annual flow stands at around 207 km3 (50 cu mi), making it the twenty-first largest river in the world in terms of annual flow. Zanskar is its left bank tributary in Ladakh. In the plains, its left bank tributary is Chenab which itself has four major tributaries, namely, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Satluj. Its principal right bank tributaries are Shyok, Gilgit, Kabul, Gomal and Kurram. Beginning at the heights of the world in a spring and fed with glaciers and rivers in the Himalayas, the river supports ecosystems of temperate forests, plains and arid countryside.
wn.com/Indus_River -
Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
wn.com/Iran -
Kabul Province
Kābul (Pashto: کابل Kābəl, Persian: کابل Kābol), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul City, which is also Afghanistan's capital. The population of Kabul province is 3.5 million people as of 2009, of which almost 80 percent live in the urban areas. The current governor of the province is Ahmadullah Alizai.
Kabul is located between Latitude 34-31' North and Longitude 69-12' East at an altitude of 1800 m (6000 feet) above sea level, which makes it one of the world's highest capital cities. Kabul is strategically situated in a valley surrounded by high mountains at crossroads of north-south and east-west trade routes. One million years ago the Kabul region was surrounded from south-east between Lowgar and Paghman Mountains; Charikar in the north and the Ningai Ghar mountains in the west. This region formed an icy sea. Some deep wells in the region of today's Poli Charkhi in the east part of city are the evidence of that time. Kabul is surrounded by Koh-e Paghman Mountain from the east, Koh-e Qrough Mountain from the south-west and Koh-e Shirdarwaza Mountain from the north-east. Kabul has only one river which is called Kabul River. Kabul River rises at the Paghman Mountain toward South Pass about 70 km (43 mi) west of Kabul. It flows in an easterly direction, past Kabul, and through Jalalabad city, and then on to Dakka where it enters Pakistani territory and finally runs into the Indus at Attock.
wn.com/Kabul_Province -
Karakalpakstan
Coordinates: 43°10′N 58°45′E / 43.167°N 58.75°E / 43.167; 58.75
Karakalpakstan (Karakalpak: Qaraqalpaqstan Respublikası or Қарақалпақстан Республикасы; Uzbek: Qoraqalpog‘iston Respublikasi or Қоракалпоғистон Республикаси) is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole western end of Uzbekistan. The capital is Nukus (Karakalpak: No'kis or Нөкис). The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 sq mi). Its territory covers the classical land of Khwarezm, though in classical Persian literature the area was known as "Kāt کات".
From about 500 BC to 500 AD the region of Karakalpakstan was a thriving agricultural area supported by extensive irrigation. The Karakalpak people, who were formerly nomadic herders and fishers, were first recorded in the 16th century. Karakapakstan was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Khanate of Khiva in 1867. Under Soviet rule it was originally an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming part of Uzbekistan in 1936. The region was probably at its most prosperous in the 1960s and 1970s when irrigation from the Amu Darya was being expanded. Today, however, the destruction of the Aral Sea has rendered Karakalpakstan one of Uzbekistan's poorest regions. The region is suffering from extensive drought, partly due to weather patterns, but also largely because the Amu and Syr Darya rivers are exploited mostly in the eastern part of the country. Crop failures have deprived about 48,000 of their main source of income and shortages of potable water have created a surge in infectious diseases.
wn.com/Karakalpakstan -
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
wn.com/Kazakhstan -
Kislovodsk
Kislovodsk (Russian: Кислово́дск, lit. sour waters) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies in the North Caucasian region of the country, between the Black and Caspian Seas. The closest airport is located in the city of Mineralnye Vody. Population: 128,502 (2010 Census preliminary results); 129,788 (2002 Census); 114,414 (1989 Census).
Kislovodsk was founded in 1803 as a military station.[citation needed] It is named after the many mineral springs around the city. Town status was granted to it in 1903.[citation needed]
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Kislovodsk as a fashionable spa attracted many musicians, artists, and members of the Russian aristocracy. Several of the events in Mikhail Lermontov's novel A Hero Of Our Time are set in Kislovodsk.
Administratively, along with seven rural localities, it is incorporated as the city of krai significance of Kislovodsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Municipally, the city of krai significance of Kislovodsk is incorporated as Kislovodsk Urban Okrug.
wn.com/Kislovodsk -
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( (listen) (help·info) "Land of the Kurds"; also formerly spelled Curdistan; ancient name: Corduene) is a roughly defined geo-cultural region wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population, and Kurdish culture, language, and national identity have historically been based.
Contemporary use of Kurdistan refers to parts of eastern Turkey (Turkish Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Iranian Kurdistan) and northern Syria inhabited mainly by Kurds. Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges, and covers small portions of Armenia.
Iraqi Kurdistan first gained autonomous status in 1970 agreement with the Iraqi government and its status was re-confirmed as an autonomous entity within the federal Iraqi republic in 2005. There is also a province by the name Kurdistan in Iran, although it does not enjoy self-rule.
Some Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state of Kurdistan, consisting of some or all of the areas with Kurdish majority, while others campaign for greater Kurdish autonomy within the existing national boundaries.
wn.com/Kurdistan -
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan ( /ˈkɜrɡɨstæn/ KUR-gi-stan;Kyrgyz & Russian: Кыргызстан, Kyrgyzstan, or Киргизия, Kirgiziya), officially the Kyrgyz Republic is a nation located in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.
Kyrgyzstan is officially a democratic parliamentary republic. A revolution in April 2010 overthrew the former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev and resulted in the adoption of a new constitution and the appointment of an interim government. Presidential elections were held in November 2011.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the active members of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community. The national language, Kyrgyz, is also closely related to the other Turkic languages, with which it shares strong cultural and historical ties.
Additionally, Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Non-aligned movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
wn.com/Kyrgyzstan -
Larestan County
Larestan County (Persian: شهرستان لارستان) is a county in Fars Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Lar. At the 2006 census, the county's population (including those portions later split off to form Gerash County) was 223,235, in 49,571 families; excluding those portions, the population was 183,887, in 40,837 families. The county is subdivided into six districts: the Central District, Beyram District, Evaz District, Banaruiyeh District, Sahray Bagh District, and Juyom District. The county has eight cities: Lar, Beyram, Banaruiyeh, Evaz, Fishvar, Juyom, Khur, and Latifi
The people of Larestan speak Lari.
Under medieval age, Laristan was ruled by the local dynasty of Miladi, until it was removed by a Safavid invasion in 1610. The Miladian rule must have ended earlier than 1610, as stated above because, in 1588, Lariston, was part of the Spanish Empire, under Philip III. At this time, Jerónimo de Quadros was a commander of a string of Portuguese garrisons in Lariston.
Donald P. McCrory,[2002]No ordinary man, The life and times of Miguel De Cervantes, London, Peter Owen Publishers, p. 150, ISBN 0-7206-1085-0
wn.com/Larestan_County -
Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
wn.com/Lebanon -
London
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
wn.com/London -
Mehrestan County
Mehrestan County (Persian: شهرستان مهرستان) (formerly known as Zaboli County (Persian: شهرستان زابلی)) is a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Zaboli. It was separated from Saravan County in 2007. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 43,749, in 8,227 families. The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and Ashar District. The county has one city: Zaboli. In 2011, the name of the county changed to Mehrestan.
wn.com/Mehrestan_County -
Muristan
The Muristan (from Persian Bimaristan بیمارستان meaning "Hospital") is a complex of streets and shops in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The site was the location of the first hospital of the Knights Hospitaller.
The area just south of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has a long tradition dating to the days of Yehuda haMaccabi (2nd century BC) based on incidents recorded in the Second Book of Maccabees. According to the legend, King Antiochus V proceeded to Jerusalem to punish the High Priest for plundering David's Tomb. While on Golgotha, the king was directed in a divine vision to pardon the High Priest, and to build a hospital for the care of the sick and poor on that spot. In 1496, William Caoursin, Vice-Chancellor of the Hospitallers, wrote that Judas Maccabaeus and John Hyrcanus founded the hospital on that spot.
wn.com/Muristan -
North Waziristan
North Waziristan (Urdu: شمالی وزیرستان) is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering 11,585 square kilometres (4,473 sq mi). Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Miranshah is capital of North Waziristan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lies immediately to the east. The region was an independent tribal territory from 1893, remaining outside of the British empire and Afghanistan. Tribal raiding into British territory was a constant problem for the British, requiring frequent punitive expeditions between 1860 and 1945. The region became part of Pakistan on independence in 1947.
Waziristan is divided into two "agencies", North Waziristan and South Waziristan, with estimated populations (as of 1998) of 361,246 and 429,841 respectively. The two parts have quite distinct characteristics, though both tribes are subgroups of the Waziris and speak a common Waziri language. They have a formidable reputation as warriors and are known for their frequent blood feuds. Traditionally, feuding local Waziri religious leaders have enlisted outsiders in the Pakistani government, and U.S. forces hunting al-Qaeda fugitives, in attempts at score-settling. The tribes are divided into sub-tribes governed by male village elders who meet in a tribal jirga. Socially and religiously Waziristan is an extremely conservative area. Women are carefully guarded, and every household must be headed by a male figure. Tribal cohesiveness is so strong through so-called Collective Responsibility Acts in the Frontier Crimes Regulation.
wn.com/North_Waziristan -
Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
wn.com/Pakistan -
Poland
Polandi/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
wn.com/Poland -
Qazvin Province
The Qazvin Province (Persian: استان قزوین, Ostān-e Qazvīn ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north-west of the country, and its center is the city of Qazvin. The province was created in 1993 out of part of Tehran Province and includes 20 cities: Qazvin, Takestan, Abyek, Buin-Zahra, Eqhbalieh, Mohammadieh, Alvand, Esfarvarin, Mahmood Abad Nemooneh, Khoram Dasht, Ziä Abad, Avaj, Shäl, Danesfahan, Abgarm, Ardägh, Moallem Keläyeh, Razmian Kouhin and Bidestan in the form of four townships (chief cities) contains 18 sections, 44 rural districts, and 1543 villages.
The province had a population of 1.14 million people by the 2006 census, of which 68.05% lived in cities and 31.95% in villages. The ratio of men to women is 50.7 to 49.3%. 99.61% of the province population were Muslims and 0.39% of the rest came from other religions. The literacy rate is over 82%, ranking 7th in Iran.
The province covers 15821 km² between 48-45 to 50-50 east of Greenwich Meridian of longitude and 35-37 to 36-45 north latitude of the equator. The province is bounded on the north by Mazandaran and Gilan, on the west by Hamedan and Zanjan, on the south by Markazi and on the east by Tehran Provinces. The famous mountains of the province are those of Siälän, Shäh Alborz, Khashchäl, Sephidkouh, Shojä e din, Alehtareh, Rämand, Ägh dägh, Kharaghän, Saridagh, Soltan pïr, and Siähkouh, in which Siälän with a height of 4175m and Shäh Alborz which is 4056m are the highest. All are part of the central chain of Alborz. The lowest point of the province is in Tärom e Soflä.
wn.com/Qazvin_Province -
Rajasthan
Rājasthān /ˈrɑːdʒəstæn/ (Hindustani pronunciation: [raːdʒəsˈt̪ʰaːn] ( listen)) the land of Rajasthanis, ("the land of kings"), is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert), which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan. The state is bordered by Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers 10.4% of India, an area of 342,269 square kilometres (132,151 sq mi).
Jaipur is the capital and the largest city of the state. Geographical features include the Thar Desert along north-western Rajasthan and the termination of the Ghaggar River near the archaeological ruins at Kalibanga of the Indus Valley Civilization, which are the oldest in the Indian subcontinent discovered so far.
One of the world's oldest mountain ranges, the Aravalli Range, cradles the only hill station of Rajasthan, Mount Abu, famous for Dilwara Temples, a sacred pilgrimage for Jains. Eastern Rajasthan has the world famous Keoladeo National Park near Bharatpur, a World Heritage Site known for its bird life. It also has two national tiger reserves, Ranthambore and Sariska Tiger Reserve, and a famous temple in Khatu, Sikar district, dedicated to Khatu Shyam Ji. Rajasthan was formed on 30 March 1949, when the region known until then as Rajputana, consisting of erstwhile princely states ruled mainly by Rajputs.
wn.com/Rajasthan -
Registan
The Registan was the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand of the Timurid dynasty, now in Uzbekistan. The name Registan (ریگستان) means "Sandy place" in Persian.
The Registan was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes called dzharchis - and a place of public executions. It is framed by three madrasahs (Islamic schools) of distinctive Islamic architecture.
The three madrasahs of the Registan are: the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420), the Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1646–1660) and the Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636). Madrasah is an Arabic term meaning school.
The Ulugh Beg Madrasah, built during the Timurid Empire era of Timur—Tamerlane, has an imposing Iwan portal with lancet arch facing the square. The corners are flanked by the high well-proportioned minarets. The mosaic panel over the iwan's entrance arch is decorated by geometrical stylized ornaments. The square courtyard includes a mosque, lecture rooms, and is fringed by the dormitory cells in which students lived. There are deep galleries along the axes. Originally the Ulugh Beg Madrasah was a two-storied building with four domed darskhonas (lecture rooms) at the corners.
wn.com/Registan -
Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
wn.com/Russia -
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian orthography: Россійская Имперія, Modern Russian: Российская Империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the short-lived Russian Republic, which was succeeded by the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe across Asia and into North America.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean and into North America on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires, it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was the last absolute monarchy in Europe at the time of its demise.
wn.com/Russian_Empire -
Samarkand
Coordinates: 39°39′15″N 66°57′35″E / 39.65417°N 66.95972°E / 39.65417; 66.95972
Samarkand (Tajik: Самарқанд; Persian: سمرقند; Uzbek: Samarqand; from Sogdian: "Stone Fort" or "Rock Town") is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane) and is the site of his mausoleum (the Gur-e Amir). The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. The Registan was the ancient center of the city.
In 2001, UNESCO added the city to its World Heritage List as Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures.
The city was known by an abbreviated name of Marakanda when Alexander the Great took it in 332BC. There are various theories of how Marakanda evolved into Samarkanda/Samarkan. One derives the name from the Old Persian asmara, "stone", "rock", and Sogdian kand, "fort", "town". Others less convincingly derive the name from the old Turkic "Semiz-Kent" meaning "Rich City".[citation needed]. Since the name Marakanda was already in existence 2300 years ago and long before anyone had heard of Turks in that region of Transoxiana, this version is likely a folk etymology.
wn.com/Samarkand -
Sarvestan
Sarvestan (Persian: سروستان Sarvestân, "land of cedars"; sarv "cedar" (cypress) + estan; also Romanized as Sarvestān and Sarvistān) is a city in and the capital of Sarvestan County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,846, in 4,094 families.
It is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of Shiraz, the capital of Fars province.
Majority of people in Sarvestan are Persians. Many tropical and sub-tropical plants are grown in Sarvestan (i.e. Wheat, Pistachios, Olive). Also the yoghurt of Sarvestan is very famous.
Sarvestan's history goes back some 2600 years when the Achaemenids established the Persian Empire. The Sassanid monument of Sasanids' Palace (Kakhe Sasan) is located in south east of the city 90Km from Shiraz, experts believe the monument was constructed during the Sasanid dynastic era (224-651 A.D), and it was a either governing palace or Zoroastrian temple, probably a fire temple. The monument was registered in Iran’s National Heritage list in 1956 but sadly the site in danger as the result of unprofessional restorations. Sarvestan is the birth place of Sheikh Yusef Sarvestani, who was a moralist.
wn.com/Sarvestan -
Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
wn.com/Serbia -
South Waziristan
South Waziristan (Pashto: جنوبی وزیرستان) is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² (4,473 mi²). Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming part of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa lies immediately to the east. The region was an independent tribal territory from 1893, remaining outside of British-ruled empire and Afghanistan. Tribal raiding into British-ruled territory was a constant problem for the British, requiring frequent punitive expeditions between 1860 and 1945. Troops of the British Raj coined a name for this region "Hell's Door Knocker" in recognition of the fearsome reputation of the local fighters and inhospitable terrain. The region became part of Pakistan in 1947.
Waziristan is divided into two "agencies", North Waziristan and South Waziristan, with estimated populations (as of 1998) of 361,246 and 429,841 respectively. The two parts have quite distinct characteristics, though both tribes are subgroups of the Waziris and speak a common Waziri language. They have a reputation as warriors and are known for their frequent blood feuds. Traditionally, feuding local Waziri religious leaders have enlisted outsiders—in the Pakistani government, and more recently U.S. forces hunting al-Qaeda fugitives—in attempts at score-settling. The tribes are divided into sub-tribes governed by male village elders who meet in a tribal jirga. Socially and religiously, Waziristan is an extremely conservative area. Women are carefully guarded, and every household must be headed by a male figure. Tribal cohesiveness is strong through so-called Collective Responsibility Acts in the Frontier Crimes Regulation.
wn.com/South_Waziristan -
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (i/tɑːˈdʒiːkɨstɑːn/, /təˈdʒiːkɨstæn/, or /tæˈdʒiːkiːstæn/; Тоҷикистон [ˈtɔjikɪsˈtɔn]), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (Tajik: Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Cumhuriyi Tocikiston; Persian: جمهوری تاجیکستان Jomhuri-ye Tajikestan; Russian: Республика Таджикистан, Respublika Tadzhikistan), is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Gilgit Baltistan as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan are separated from Tajikistan by the narrow Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan in the south.
Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Persian-speaking Tajik ethnic group, who share language, culture and history with Afghanistan and Iran. Once part of the Samanid Empire, Tajikistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in the 20th century, known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR). Mountains cover over 90% of this Central Asian republic.
After independence, Tajikistan suffered from a devastating civil war which lasted from 1992 to 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country's economy to grow. Trade in commodities such as cotton, aluminium and uranium has contributed greatly to this steady improvement.
wn.com/Tajikistan -
Takestan
Takestan (Persian: تاكستان, also Romanized as Tākestān and Tākistān; formerly, Seyādahan, Sīādehan, Sīahdehān, Siakh-Degen, and Siakhdekhan) is a city in and the capital of Takestan County, in Qazvin Province, Iran. At the 2006 census its population was 73,625, in 18,685 families.
Takestan has a railway station on the Teheran-Tabriz line. The name Takestan literally means place of vine-yards. Most people of Takestan is Tat and speak to Tati.
wn.com/Takestan -
Tangestan County
Tangestan County (Persian: شهرستان تنگستان) is a county in Bushehr Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Ahram. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 63,276, in 14,620 families. The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and Delvar District. The county has two cities: Ahram and Delvar.
Tangestan region in southern Iran is well known for its resistance to the invasion by British forces in late 19th century. Tangestan County is the home of the group of people known as Tangesier. Rais Ali Delvari the commander of Tangesier fighters is known as a national hero in the region. Tangestan is also famous in Iran for its high quality dates.
wn.com/Tangestan_County -
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan (Russian: Респу́блика Татарста́н, tr. Respublika Tatarstan; IPA: [rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan]; Tatar Cyrillic: Татарстан Республикасы, Latin: Tatarstan Respublikası) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic) located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt, and Chuvash Republics, as well as with the Republic of Bashkortostan. The unofficial Tatarstan motto is: Bez Buldırabız! (We can!). Population: 3,786,488 (2010 Census).
The state has strong relations with its Muslim neighbor Bashkortostan.
"Tatarstan" derives from the name of the Tatar, Turkic ethnic group, and the Persian suffix -stan (an ending common to many Central Asian countries). Another version of the Russian name is "Тата́рия" (Tatariya), which was official along with "Tatar ASSR" during the Soviet rule.
Inhabitants of Tatarstan regardless of ethnicity are usually called Tatari (Tatar Cyrillic: татарлар, Latin: Tatarlar, татары).
wn.com/Tatarstan -
Tehran
Tehran ( pronunciation (help·info)) (Persian: تهران Tehrān; pronounced [tehˈɾɒːn]), sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, the largest city in Western Asia, one of the largest in Southern Asia, and the 19th-largest city globally.
In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to mass-migration of people from all around Iran. The city is home to many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples. Contemporary Tehran is a modern city featuring many structures, of which the Azadi (Freedom) Tower and the Milad Tower have come to be symbols of Tehran itself. In 2008 Tehran was the least expensive capital in the world and the second-least expensive city globally based on the cost-of-living index presenting the best value for money in the world. Globally it stands 19th by city population, 56th by the size of its GDP and 29th by the population of its metropolitan area. Throughout Iran's history, the capital city has been relocated many times, with Tehran being the 32nd national capital of Iran. Persian is the city's native tongue, with roughly 98% of the population able to speak and understand it. The majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Tehran was called Ray (which in the Avesta occurs in the form of Ragha)[citation needed].
wn.com/Tehran -
Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
wn.com/Thailand -
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan (i/tɜrkˈmɛnɨstæn/ or i/tɜrkmɛnɨˈstɑːn/; Turkmen: Türkmenistan), formerly also known as Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения), is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Turkmenistan's GDP growth rate of 11% in 2010[update] ranks 4th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. It possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert.
The Turkmen government operates as a single-party system. Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (called "Türkmenbaşy" — "leader of the Turkmens") until his sudden death on 21 December 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was elected the new president on 11 February 2007.
wn.com/Turkmenistan -
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistani/ʊzˌbɛkɨˈstɑːn/, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi, Ўзбекистон Республикаси) is the only doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of only two such countries worldwide. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south. Before 1991, it was part of the Soviet Union.
Uzbekistan is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia.
Once part of the Persian Samanid and later Timurid empires, the region was conquered in the early 16th century by Uzbek nomads, who spoke an Eastern Turkic language. Most of Uzbekistan’s population today belong to the Uzbek ethnic group and speak the Uzbek language, one of the family of Turkic languages.
Uzbekistan was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, and in 1924 became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). It became independent on 31 August 1991 (officially, from the following day).
wn.com/Uzbekistan -
West Bank
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية aḍ-Ḍaffah l-Ġarbiyyah, Hebrew: הגדה המערבית, HaGadah HaMa'aravit also known as Hebrew: יהודה והשומרון Yehuda ve-Ha'Shomron (Judea and Samaria)) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the Dead Sea. Since 1967, most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation and is referred to as Judea and Samaria Area by Israel. A smaller part of the West Bank is administered by the Israeli civilian authorities as part of Jerusalem District.
wn.com/West_Bank -
Xinjiang
Xinjiang (XUAR) (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ, ULY: Shinjang; Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕíntɕjɑ́ŋ]; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade–Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2. Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
It is home to a number of different ethnic groups including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, and Mongol. More than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities are located in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, and East Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 4.3% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation.
wn.com/Xinjiang -
Zabol
Zabol (Persian: زابل, also Romanized as Zābol) is a city in and the capital of Zabol County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. Zabol lies on the border with both Afghanistan and Pakistan. At the 2006 census, its population was 130,642, in 27,867 families.
Zabol is located near Lake Hamun and the region is irrigated by the Hirmand River. Lake Hamun is a seasonal lake that is often dry. The people of Zabol speak a Persian language variant known as Sistani or Seistani which is very similar to Dari, also known as Afghan Persian. The tribes of the area include the Shahraki, Arbabi, Narui, Barahui, Gorgij, Herati, Ghanbari, Afshar, Barani, Sarani, Fakhireh, Mir, Dahmardeh, Rashki, Sanchooli, Pahlevan, Faghiri, Divaneh, Gorg, Nohtani, and Sayyadi. In recent years these tribal names appear in the surnames of the inhabitants of the area. There are also hundreds of Baluchis, Brahuis families and some Pashtuns in the city.
Zabol area is well known for its "120 day wind" (bād-e sad-o-bist-roz), a highly persistent dust storm in the summer which blows from north to south.
wn.com/Zabol -
Zaboli
Zaboli (Persian: زابلي, also Romanized as Zābolī; also known as Qal‘eh-ye Zābolī – "Fort Zaboli"; formerly, Magas) is a city in and the capital of Mehrestan County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 7,672, in 1,560 families.
wn.com/Zaboli -
Zeeland
Zeeland [ˈzeɪ̯.lɑnt] ( listen), also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands (hence its name, meaning "sea-land") and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about 2930 km², of which almost 1140 km² is water.
Large parts of Zeeland are below sea level. The last great flooding of the area was in 1953. Tourism is an important economic activity. In the summer, its beaches make it a popular destination for tourists, especially German tourists. In some areas, the population can be two to four times higher during the high summer season. The coat of arms of Zeeland shows a lion half-immerged from water, and the text "luctor et emergo" (Latin for "I struggle and I emerge"). The Pacific nation of New Zealand is named after Zeeland.
From north to south, it consists of
A list of the municipalities, with links to maps:
The province of Zeeland is a large river delta situated at the mouth of several major rivers. Most of the province lies below sea level and was reclaimed from the sea by inhabitants over time. What used to be a muddy landscape, flooding at high tide and reappearing at low tide, became a series of small man-made hills that stayed dry at all times. The people of the province would later connect the hills by creating dikes, which led to a chain of dry land that later grew into bigger islands and gave the province its current shape. The shape of the islands has changed over time at the hands of both man and nature.
wn.com/Zeeland
-
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈniβɐɫ kɐˈvaku ˈsiɫvɐ]; born 15 July 1939), is the President of Portugal. He won the Portuguese presidential election on 22 January 2006 and was re-elected on 23 January 2011, for a second five-year term. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on 9 March 2006.
He was previously Prime Minister of Portugal from 6 November 1985 to 28 October 1995. His tenure of ten years was the longest of any Prime Minister since Salazar, and he was the first Portuguese Prime Minister to have won an absolute parliamentary majority under the current constitutional system (which was established after the country's redemocratization following the Carnation Revolution).
wn.com/Aníbal_Cavaco_Silva -
Colchis
In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis (Georgian and Laz: კოლხეთი, ḳolkheti or "ḳolkha"; Ancient Greek: Κολχίς, Kolkhís) was an ancient Georgianstatekingdom and region in Western Georgia, which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian nation.
The Kingdom of Colchis contributed significantly to the development of medieval Georgian statehood after its unification with the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia. The term Colchians is used as the collective term for early Georgian tribes which populated the eastern coast of the Black Sea.
In Greek mythology, Colchis was the home of Aeëtes and Medea and the destination of the Argonauts; Colchis is also thought to be the possible homeland of the Amazons. Its geography is mostly assigned to what is now the western part of Georgia and encompasses the present-day Georgian provinces of Samegrelo, Imereti, Guria, Adjara, Abkhazeti, Svaneti, Racha; the modern Turkey’s Rize, Trabzon and Artvin provinces (Lazistan, Tao-Klarjeti); and the modern Russia’s Sochi and Tuapse districts. The Colchians were probably established on the Black Sea coast by the Middle Bronze Age.
wn.com/Colchis -
Dardistan
Dardistan (Perso-Arabic: داردستان) is a term coined by Gottlieb William Leitner for the northern Pakistan, and Kashmir in India and parts of north-eastern Afghanistan. It is inhabited by Dards speaking Dardic languages. Dardistān, region inhabited by the so-called Dard peoples in the north of Pakistan and northern Kashmir. It includes Chitrāl, the upper reaches of the Panjkora River, the Kohistān (highland) of Swāt, and the upper portions of the Gilgit Agency. Mentioned by the classical historians Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, and Herodotus, the Dards (Daradae, Daradrae, or Derdae) are said to be people of Aryan origin who ascended the Indus Valley from the Punjab plains, reaching as far north as Chitrāl. They were converted to Islām in the 14th century and speak three distinct dialects of Gilgit, Khowari, Burushaskī, and Shina, employing the Persian script in writing.
Herodotus (III. 102-105) is the first author who refers to the country of Dards, placing it between Kashmir and Afghanistan. It also has reference in Mahabharata where it mentions the tribute of the ant-gold pipilika brought by the nations of the north to one of the Pandu sons, king Yudhisthira.
wn.com/Dardistan -
Eugene Trivizas
Eugene (Eugenios) Trivizas, (born 1946) is a Greek sociologist and author of children's books.
Born in Athens, he received his LL.B degree from the University of Athens in 1969. In 1972 he passed the Athens Bar examinations and in the same year he was called as a barrister to the Athens Bar. In 1973 he received a B.Sc. degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Athens and the following year he received an LL.M degree in Comparative Criminal Law and Procedure from the University of London (University College) and a diploma in Shipping Law from the City of London Polytechnic. In 1977 he was made a Fellow of the Salzburg seminar in American studies and in 1979 he was awarded his Ph.D. degree in Criminology from the University of London (London School of Economics and Political Science, Law Department).
Since 1978 Dr. Trivizas has been responsible for the teaching of criminology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Reading. He is currently teaching a course on crime and society and he has been awarded the titles of director of criminal justice studies and senior research fellow.
wn.com/Eugene_Trivizas -
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi (March 25(?), 1611 – 1682) (Ottoman Turkish:اوليا چلبى) was an Ottoman Turkish traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.
Evliya Çelebi was born in Constantinople (present day Istanbul) in 1611 to a family from Kütahya. His father was Derviş Mehmed Zilli, a jeweller for the Ottoman court. His mother was a tribeswoman, a relative of the later grand vizier Melek Ahmed Pasha. Coming from a wealthy family, he received a court education by the Imperial ulema. He may have joined the Gülşenî sufi order; evidence for this claim comes from his intimate knowledge of its lodge in Cairo and from a graffito referring to himself as "Evliya-yı Gülşenî" (Evliya of the Gülşenî)[citation needed]. He began his travels in Constantinople, taking notes on buildings, markets, customs and culture; in 1640, he started his first journey outside the city. His collection of notes from all of his travels formed a ten-volume work called the Seyahatname (Book of Travels). He lived by his wits, providing religious knowledge and entertainment to Ottoman grandees. He fought the Hapsburgs in Transylvania. While he was a devout Muslim who could recite the Koran, he was opposed to fanaticism and joked freely about Islam. Çelebi refused to take an official job that would keep him from travelling.
wn.com/Evliya_Çelebi -
Franks
The Franks (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as populating a broad strip of land on the right bank of the Lower and Middle Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul except Septimania in the 6th century. The Salian political elite was one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Franks had created one of the most strong and stable barbaric kingdoms.
The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire.
wn.com/Franks -
Hazara people
Hazāra (Persian: هزاره) are a Persian-speaking people who mainly live in central Afghanistan and in Pakistan. They are overwhelmingly Shiite Muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, forming about 9% (according to other sources up to 18%) of the total population. Over half a million Hazaras live in neighbouring Pakistan (mostly in Quetta) and a similar number in Iran.
Babur, the founder of the Mughal reign in India, used the name Hazara in his records during the early 16th century for the first time. He, for the most part, referred to the populace of the mountainous region located west of Kabul, as far as Ghor and Ghazni. The word Hazara most likely derives from the Persian word for Thousand (Persian: هزار - hazār). It may be the translation of the Mongol word ming (or minggan), a military unit of 1000 soldiers at the time Gengis Khan. In the passage of time the term Hazar could have substituted the Mongol word and now stands for the group of people.
The origins of the Hazaras have not been fully reconstructed. At least partial Mongol descent is difficult to rule out, because the Hazaras' physical attributes and parts of their culture and language resemble those of Mongolians. Thus, it is widely accepted that Hazaras have Mongolian ancestry, especially after genetic testing showed Hazaras carried the highest frequency of the Y chromosome attributed to Genghis Khan anywhere. Some Hazara tribes are named after famous Mongol generals, for example the Tulai Khan Hazara who are named after Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Theories of Mongol or partially Mongol descent are plausible, given that the Il-Khanate Mongol rulers, beginning with Oljeitu, embraced Shia Islam. Today, the majority of the Hazaras adhere to Shi'ism, whereas Afghanistan's other major ethnic groups are mostly Sunni. However, the Sunni and Ismaili Hazara population, while existent, have not been extensively researched by scholars.
wn.com/Hazara_people -
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection. However, there is no scholarly consensus on a direct connection between the dominant element of the Xiongnu and that of the Huns.Priscus mentions that the Huns had a language of their own; little of it has survived and its relationships have been the subject of debate for centuries. Most authorities suppose that it may have been a member of the Oghuric branch of the Turkic language family, with the languages Bulgar, Khazar, Turkic Avar and Chuvash. Numerous other languages were spoken within the Hun pax including East Germanic, which was widely used as a lingua franca in the Hunnic territories. Their main military technique was mounted archery.
wn.com/Huns -
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). After the series ended in 1957, however, a modified version continued for three more seasons with 13 one-hour specials, running from 1957 to 1960, known first as The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and later in reruns as The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.
I Love Lucy was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched by The Andy Griffith Show and Seinfeld). I Love Lucy is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world.
The show was the first scripted television program to be shot on 35 mm film in front of a studio audience, and won five Emmy Awards and received numerous nominations. In 2002, it ranked second on TV Guide's list of television's greatest shows, behind Seinfeld and ahead of The Honeymooners. In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."I Love Lucy remains hugely popular today; more than 60 years after its debut, it is still seen by 40 million Americans each year.
wn.com/I_Love_Lucy -
Jack Scalia
Jack Scalia (born November 10, 1950) is an American actor. He has had many roles in television series (both as a regular and as a guest-star), television movies, and feature films.
Scalia was born Giacomo Tomaso Tedesco in Brooklyn, New York of Italian and Irish descent. His parents divorced and when his mother remarried, his name was changed to Scalia. He was drafted third by the Montreal Expos in 1971 as a pitcher. He was injured and never played in the Major Leagues.
He began his career as a clothes model, most notably in a series of ads for Eminence briefs and Jordache jeans, both of which capitalized on his "beefcake" appeal. In 1982, to promote his TV series, The Devlin Connection, Scalia took off his shirt and posed, cigarette in hand, for a pin-up wall poster.
Scalia was a regular cast member during the final season of Remington Steele in 1987, after which he joined the cast of Dallas in the role of Nicholas Pearce, love interest to Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray). Scalia's character was killed off at the end of the 1987-88 season as he was sent falling to his death after being pushed from a balcony in a fight with J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). He returned to the series finale in a dream sequence in which he was married to Sue Ellen.
wn.com/Jack_Scalia -
Jami
Nur ad-Dīn Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (Persian: نورالدین عبدالرحمن جامی) also known as DJāmī, Mawlanā Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān or Abd-Al-Rahmān Nur-Al-Din Muhammad Dashti who is commonly known as Jami (August 18, 1414 – November 17, 1492), is known for his achievements as a scholar, mystic, writer, composer of numerous lyrics and idylls, historian, and one of the greatest Persian and Sufi poets of the 15th century. Jami was primarily an outstanding poet-theologian of the school of Ibn Arabī and a prominent Khwājagānī Sũfī. He was recognized for his eloquent tongue and ready at repartee who analyzed the idea of the metaphysics of mercy. Among his famous poetical works are: Haft Awrang, Tuhfat al-Ahrar, Layla wa -Majnun, Fatihat al-Shabab, Lawa'ih, Al-Durrah al-Fakhirah.
Jami was born in Khardijird/Kharjerd in central Khorasan. Previously his father Nizām al-Dīn Ahmad b. Shams al-Dīn Muhammad had come from Dasht, a small town in the district of Isfahan. A few years after his birth, his family migrated to the cultural city of Herat where he was able to study Peripateticism, mathematics, Arabic literature, natural sciences, language, logic, rhetoric and Islamic philosophy at the Nizamiyyah University of Herat. His father became his first teacher and mentor, who was also a Sufi. While in Herat, Jami was a central role and function of the Timurid court, involved in the politics, economics, philosophy, religion, and Persian culture.
wn.com/Jami -
Jesus
Jesus ( /ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς; 7–2 BC/BCE to 30–36 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated. In Islam, Jesus (in Arabic: عيسى in Islamic usage, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets.
Most modern historians agree that Jesus existed and was a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Roman Judaea, who was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have offered competing descriptions and portraits of Jesus, which at times share a number of overlapping attributes, such as a rabbi, a charismatic healer, the leader of an apocalyptic movement, a self-described Messiah, a sage and philosopher, or a social reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation. Scholars have correlated the New Testament accounts with non-Christian historical records to arrive at an estimated chronology of Jesus' life.
wn.com/Jesus -
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls (February 21, 1921 - November 24, 2002) was an American philosopher and a leading figure in moral and political philosophy. He held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University.
His magnum opus, A Theory of Justice (1971), was hailed at the time of its publication as "the most important work in moral philosophy since the end of World War II," and is now regarded as "one of the primary texts in political philosophy." His work in political philosophy, dubbed Rawlsianism, takes as its starting point the argument that "most reasonable principles of justice are those everyone would accept and agree to from a fair position." Rawls employs a number of thought experiments — including the famous veil of ignorance — to determine what constitutes a fair agreement in which "everyone is impartially situated as equals," in order to determine principles of social justice. He is one of the major thinkers in the tradition of liberal political philosophy.[citation needed] English philosopher Jonathan Wolff argues that "while there might be a dispute about the second most important political philosopher of the 20th century, there could be no dispute about the most important: John Rawls. His student Samuel Freeman says that Rawls’s work will be recognized 'for centuries to come.'"
wn.com/John_Rawls -
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān (Persian: کافرستان) was a historic name of Nurestan (Nuristan); it was also referred to as "Afica", but this was changed because of its close similarity with the name of the continent "Africa". A province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and what is now Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, the basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech (Kamah), Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges. It is bounded by the main range of the Pamirs on the north, the city of Chitral in what is now Pakistan to the east, the Kunar Valley in the south, and the Alishang River in the west. Kafiristan took its name because the inhabitants of the region were non-Muslims and were thus known to the surrounding Muslim population as Kafirs, meaning "infidels". They are closely related to the Kalash people, a fiercely independent people with a distinctive culture, language and religion.
Kafiristan or Kafirstan is normally taken to mean land of the infidels in Persian, where the name "Kafir" is derived from the Arabic Kafir, commonly translated into English as "infidels" or "idolaters". Kafiristan then would be "The Land of the Infidels," as the area was inhabited by a non-Islamic polytheistic culture before en-masse conversion to Islam began. This explanation would also justify the renaming of the country after its Islamization.
wn.com/Kafiristan -
Karl May
Karl Friedrich May ( /ˈmaɪ/ MY; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a popular German writer, noted mainly for adventure novels set in the American Old West, (best known for the characters of Winnetou and Old Shatterhand) and similar books set in the Orient and Middle East (with Kara Ben Nemsi and Hadschi Halef Omar). In addition, he wrote stories set in his native Germany, in China and in South America. May also has written poetry and a play, and composed music; he also was proficient player of several musical instruments. Many of his works were filmed, adapted for the stage, turned into audio dramas or into comics. A highly imaginative and fanciful writer, May never visited the exotic places featured in his stories until late in life, when the clash between fiction and reality led to a complete change in his work.
Asteroid 348 May is named in his honor.[citation needed]
Karl May was born into a family of poor weavers in Ernstthal, Schönburgische Rezessherrschaften (later part of the Kingdom of Saxony). He was the fifth child out of fourteen, nine of whom died within a few months of their birth. According to his autobiography, he suffered from visual impairment shortly after birth and regained his eyesight after treatment at the age of five. Possibly a lack of vitamin A led to night blindness, which then grew worse.
wn.com/Karl_May -
Kumyks
Kumyks (Kumyk: къумукълар, qumuqlar, Russian: кумыки) are a Turkic people living in the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language. Kumyks practice folk Islam, with some religious rituals that trace back to pre-Islamic times.
Various explorers[who?] see in them descendants of the Khazars. Ármin Vámbéry (Hungarian) supposes that they settled in their present quarters during the flourishing period of the Khazar kingdom in the 8th century.
During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries CE the Kumyks had an independent kingdom, based at Tarki, and ruled by a leader called Shamkhal.
The Russians built forts in their territory in 1559 and under Peter I. The upper terraces of the Kumyk plateau, which the Kumyks occupy, leaving its lower parts to the Nogais, are very fertile.
In recent years Kumyk nationalists such as Salau Aliev have agitated for Kumyk dominance within Daghestan, citing Khazar history as their inspiration. This is part of a wider trend in Dagestan of the non-dominant but still major groups (such as Kumyks, Lezgins, Laks, etc.) producing ideological backlashes to the near-institutionalized dominance of Avars, Dargins and Russians in Dagestan (together, Avars, Dargins and Russians form a weak majority of the population, but their dominance is widely resented by others).
wn.com/Kumyks -
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds (Kurdish: کورد Kurd), are an Iranic people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. They speak the Kurdish language, which is a member of the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. The Kurds number about 30 million, the majority living in the Middle East, with significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey, in Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Lebanon and, in recent decades, some European countries and the United States. The Kurds are an indigenous ethnic minority in countries where the Kurdistan region is located, although they have enjoyed partial autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991. An irredentist movement pushes for the creation of a Kurdish nation state.
The exact origins of the name, "Kurd", are unclear. Reynolds believes that the term Kurd is most likely related to the ancient term Qardu. The common root of Kurd and Qardu is first mentioned in a Sumerian tablet from the third millennium B.C. as the "land of Kar-da." Qardu is etymologically related to the Assyrian term Urartu corresponding to Ararat. According to Asatrian, the most reasonable explanation of this ethnonym is its possible connections with the Cyrtii (Cyrtaei)
wn.com/Kurdish_people -
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية) was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000[citation needed] fatalities. Another one million people (a quarter of the population) were wounded,[citation needed] and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced within Lebanon.[citation needed] There was also a mass exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.
It has been argued that the antecedents of the war can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromises reached after the end of Lebanon's administration by the Ottoman Empire. The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis. The establishment of the state of Israel and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon (around 10% of the total population of the country) changed the demographics of Lebanon and provided a foundation for the long-term involvement of Lebanon in regional conflicts. By 1975, the presence of a foreign armed force in the form of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrillas, who exercised a veto on Lebanese politics, had a serious effect on Lebanon. The militarization of the Palestinian refugee population, with the arrival of the PLO guerrilla forces, sparked an arms race amongst the different Lebanese political factions.
wn.com/Lebanese_Civil_War -
Lechites
Lechites (Polish: Lechici)) is a name given to certain West Slavic peoples, including the ancestors of modern Poles and the historical Pomeranians and Polabians, speakers of the Lechitic languages.
When Mieszko I (also Dagome) inherited the ducal throne from his father he probably ruled over two-thirds of the territory inhabited by eastern Lechite tribes. He united the Lechites east of the Oder (Polans, Masovians, Pomeranians, Vistulans, Silesians) united into a single country: Poland. His son, Bolesław the Brave, with the assistance of Saint Adalbert, eradicated heathenism, and founded the bishoprics at Wrocław, Colberg, and Cracow, and an archbishopric at Gniezno. Bolesław carried out successful wars against Bohemia, Moravia, Kievan Rus and Lusatia, and forced the western Pomeranians to pay Poland a tribute. Shortly before his death Boleslav became the first King of Poland 1024.
The western Slavs included the ancestors of the peoples know later Poles, Pomeranians, Czechs, Slovaks and Polabians. The northern so-called Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the dead Polabian and Pomeranian languages. The languages of the southern part of the Polabian area, preserved as relics today in Upper and Lower Lusatia, occupy a place between the Lechitic and Checho-Slovak groups.
wn.com/Lechites -
Lezgistan
Lezgistan (Lezgian: Лезгистан; Russian: Лезгистан; Tsez: Лезгиме) may refer to the following:
While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred to Legoi people who inhabited Caucasian Albania, Arab historians of 9-10th centuries mention the kingdom of Lakz in present-day southern Dagestan. Al Masoudi referred to inhabitants of this area as Lakzams (Lezgins), who defended Shirvan against invaders from the north.
Prior to the Russian Revolution, "Lezgin" was a term applied to all ethnic groups inhabiting the present-day Russian Republic of Dagestan.
The Lezgin National Movement, "Sadval" (Unity) was established in July 1990 in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia (then Soviet Union). They demanded for the unification of the Lezgin people (in Azerbaijan and Dagestan) because they had been "denied the opportunity to develop their culture" under Soviet rule.
Sadval did not find support ground in Azerbaijan, moreover, it was cited for the March 19, 1994 bomb attack in Baku subway during which 27 people were killed. There was evidence that Armenian Secret Service had participated in the creation of Sadval, provided funding, training and weapons to its militants.
wn.com/Lezgistan -
Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn (born December 8, 1959) is a Canadian-born writer, conservative-leaning political commentator, and cultural critic. He has written five books, including America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, a New York Times bestseller. He is published in newspapers and magazines, appears on shows such as those of Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt, and Sean Hannity.
Steyn, a Canadian citizen, now resides mainly in New Hampshire in the United States. He is married, with three children.
Steyn was born in Toronto. He was baptized a Catholic and later confirmed in the Anglican Church; he has stated that "the last Jewish female in my line was one of my paternal great-grandmothers" and that "both my grandmothers were Catholic". Steyn's great-aunt was artist Stella Steyn. Steyn was educated at the King Edward's School, Birmingham, in the United Kingdom. This is the same school that author J. R. R. Tolkien attended and where Steyn was assigned a Greek dictionary that had also been used by Tolkien. He left school in 1978 at 18 and worked as a disc-jockey before becoming musical theatre critic at the newly established The Independent in 1986. He was appointed film critic for The Spectator in 1992. After writing predominantly about the arts, Steyn's focus shifted to political commentary and moved to the conservative broadsheet The Daily Telegraph (which stopped carrying his column in 2006).
wn.com/Mark_Steyn -
Pashtun people
Pashtuns (Pashto: پښتانه Pax̌tānə; also spelled Pushtuns, Pakhtuns or Pukhtuns), also known as ethnic Afghans (Persian: افغان) or Pathans (Urdu: پٹھان, Hindi: पठान Paṭhān), are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pashtuns are typically characterised by their usage of the Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali, which is a traditional set of ethics guiding individual and communal conduct. Their origins are unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called Paktha (Pactyans) between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC, who inhabited the region between the Hindu Kush and Indus River and may be the early ancestors of Pashtuns. Since the 3rd century AD and onward, they have been referred to by the ethnonym "Afghan".
Often characterised as a warrior and martial race, their history is spread amongst various countries of South, Central and Western Asia, centred around their traditional seat of power in medieval Afghanistan. During the Delhi Sultanate era, the Pashtun Lodi dynasty replaced the Turkic kingdoms as the ruling dynasty in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Other Pashtuns fought the Persian Empire and the Mughal Empire before obtaining an independent state in the early-18th century, which began with a successful revolution by the Mirwais Hotak followed by conquests by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Pashtuns played a vital role during the Great Game from the 19th century to the 20th century as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires.
wn.com/Pashtun_people -
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians. The synonymous usage of Iranian and Persian has persisted over the centuries although some modern Western sources use Iranic/Iranian as a wider term that includes the term Persian as well as related Iranian languages and ethnic groups. However, these terms have been used both synonymously as well as in a complementary fashion since ancient times; as the Ancient Iranian peoples such as the Old Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians and Avesta peoples considered themselves to be part of the greater Iranian ethnic stock.
The term Persian translates to "from or of Persis" which is a region north of the Persian Gulf located in Pars, Iran. It was from this region that Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, united all other Iranian empires (such as the Medes and the Elamites), and expanded the Persian cultural and social influences by incorporating the Babylonian empire, and the Lydian empire. Although not the first Iranian empire, the Achaemenid empire is the first Persian empire well recognized by Greek and Persian historians for its massive cultural, military and social influences going as far as Athens, Egypt, and Libya.
wn.com/Persian_people -
Redneck
Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States. It is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Georgia and Florida), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality).
In recent decades, the term has expanded its meaning to refer to bigoted, loutish reactionaries who are opposed to modern ways, and has often been used to attack Southern conservatives and racists. At the same time, some Southern whites have reclaimed the word, using it with pride and defiance as a self-identifier.
The term characterized farmers having a red neck caused by sunburn from hours working in the fields. A citation from 1893 provides a definition as "poorer inhabitants of the rural districts...men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin stained red and burnt by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks".
wn.com/Redneck -
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945, Bristol) is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career. He is married to English painter and songwriter Alfreda Benge.
Wyatt's mother was Honor Wyatt, a journalist with the BBC; his father, George Ellidge, was an industrial psychologist who joined the family only when Wyatt was about six. This extended family also included his half brother, actor Julian Glover, Honor Wyatt's son. Wyatt attended the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys, Canterbury and as a teenager lived with his parents in Lydden near Dover, where he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Neidorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Neidorf moved to Majorca where they stayed near the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France and Wyatt and Hopper formed The Wilde Flowers with Kevin Ayers, Richard Sinclair and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he also became lead singer.
wn.com/Robert_Wyatt -
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and voice actor. A graduate of Cambridge University, Baron Cohen is most widely known for writing and playing four unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, Brüno, and Admiral General Aladeen. In his routines, Baron Cohen's characters interact with unsuspecting people who do not realise they are being set up for comic situations and self-revealing ridicule.
Baron Cohen was named Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards for The 11 O'Clock Show, and since then, his work has been further recognised with two BAFTA Awards for Da Ali G Show, several Emmy nominations, a nomination for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his work in the feature film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. After the release of Borat, Baron Cohen stated that because the public had become too familiar with the characters, he would retire Borat and Ali G. Similarly, after the release of Brüno, Baron Cohen has stated he would also retire the title character.
wn.com/Sacha_Baron_Cohen -
Scythians
The Scythians (/ˈsɪθi.ən/ or /ˈsɪði.ən/; from Greek Σκύθης, Σκύθοι), or Scyths /ˈsɪθ/, were an ethnolinguistic group of ancient Iranian nomadic tribal cultures who throughout Classical Antiquity dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe, known at the time as Scythia. By Late Antiquity the closely related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scythians in this area. Much of the surviving information about the Scythians comes from the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BC) in his Histories and Ovid in his poem of exile Epistulae ex Ponto, and archaeologically from the exquisite goldwork found in Scythian burial mounds in Ukraine and Southern Russia.
The name "Scythian" has also been used to refer to various peoples seen as similar to the Scythians, or who lived anywhere in the area known as Scythia,
Sulimirski views the Histories of Herodotus as the most important literary source relating to ancient Scyths. Herodotus provides a depiction that can be related to the results of archaeological research, but apparently knew little of the eastern part of Scythia. He did say that the ancient Persians called all the Scyths Σάκαι (Sacae, Herodotus 7.64). Their principal tribe, the "Royal Scyths", ruled the vast lands occupied by the nation as a whole (Herodotus 4.20), calling themselves Σκώλοτοι (Scōloti, Herodotus 4.6). Oswald Szemerényi devotes a thorough discussion to the etymologies of ancient ethnic words for the Scythians in his work "Four old Iranian ethnic names: Scythian – Skudra – Sogdian – Saka". In it the names of Herodotus and the names of his title, except Saka, as well as many other words for "Scythian," such as Assyrian Aškuz and Greek Skuthēs, descend from *skeud-, an ancient Indo-European root meaning "propel, shoot" (cf. English shoot). *skud- is the zero-grade; that is, a variant in which the -e- is not present. The restored Scythian name is *Skuda (archer), which among the Pontic or Royal Scythians became *Skula, in which the d has been regularly replaced by an l.
wn.com/Scythians -
Sherpa people
Sherpa (Tibetan:ཤར་པ། "eastern people", from shar "east" + pa "people") are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas.
Most Sherpa people live in Nepal's eastern regions; however, some live farther west in the Rolwaling valley and in the Helambu region north of Kathmandu. Pangboche is the Sherpas' oldest village in Nepal. The Sherpa language belongs to the south branch of the Tibeto-Burman languages. This language is however separate and not intelligible for Lhasa Tibetan speakers.
Nepal estimated there were 150,000 Sherpas in 2001. The number of Sherpas immigrating to the West has also significantly increased in recent years, especially to the United States. With a population of about 2500 Sherpas, New York City has the largest Sherpa Community in the U.S.A. The 2001 Nepal Census recorded 154,622 Sherpas in that country, of which 92.83% were Buddhists, 6.26% were Hindus, 0.63% were Christians and 0.20% were Bön.
According to oral Buddhist traditions, the initial Tibetan migration, was a search for beyul (Shangri-La). The Sherpa were nomadic Tibetans and then primarily settled in the Solukhumbu District (khumbu) district and then gradually moved further westward. Salt trade occurred along these routes. In oral history, four groups migrated at different times giving rise to four main Sherpa clans, Minyagpa, Thimmi, Sertawa and Chawa. There are over 20 clans today which are sub-groups of the four. About 1840 Sherpa ancestors migrated from Kham. Mahayana Buddhism religious conflict may have contributed to the migration. Sherpa migrants traveled through Ü and Tsang, before crossing the Himalaya.
wn.com/Sherpa_people -
Soviet Canuckistan
Anti-Canadianism refers to systematic and robust hostility towards the government, culture, or people of Canada.
Voltaire reputedly joked that Canada was "a few acres of snow." He was in fact referring to New France as it existed in the eighteenth century. The quote meant that New France was economically worthless and that France thus did not need to keep it. Many Canadians believe Voltaire's statement to be more an indictment of conquest in general.
In the United States, Canada is often a target of conservative and right-wing commentators who hold the nation up as an example of what a government and society that are too liberal would look like.
"Soviet Canuckistan" is an epithet for Canada, used by Pat Buchanan on October 31, 2002, on his television show on MSNBC in which he denounced Canadians as anti-American and the country as a haven for terrorists. He was reacting to Canadian criticisms of US security measures regarding Arab Canadians.
Buchanan has a history of unflattering references to Canada, having said in 1990 that if Canada were to break apart due to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, "America would pick up the pieces." He said two years after that "for most Americans, Canada is sort of like a case of latent arthritis. We really don't think about it, unless it acts up."
wn.com/Soviet_Canuckistan -
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty-five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.
Turkic languages are spoken as a native language by some 165 to 200 million people; and the total number of Turkic speakers is over 300 million, including speakers of a second language. The Turkic language with the greatest number of speakers is Turkish proper, or Anatolian [and Balkan] Turkish, the speakers of which account for about 40% of all Turkic speakers.
Characteristic features of Turkish, such as vowel harmony, agglutination, and lack of grammatical gender, are universal within the Turkic family. There is also a high degree of mutual intelligibility between the various Oghuz languages, which include Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, Balkan Gagauz Turkish and Oghuz influenced Crimean Tatar.
The characteristic features of the Turkic languages are vowel harmony, extensive agglutination by means of suffixes and other affixes, and lack of noun classes or grammatical gender. Subject–object–verb word order is universal within the family. All of these distinguishing characteristics are shared with the Mongolic, Tungusic, and Korean language families, as well as (with the exception of vowel harmony) with Japonic, which are considered by some linguists to be genetically linked with the Turkic languages in an Altaic language family.
wn.com/Turkic_languages -
Uyghur people
The Uyghurs (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر, ULY: Uyghur; [ʔʊjˈʁʊː]; simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; pinyin: Wéiwú'ěr) are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. An estimated 80% of Xinjiang's Uyghurs live in the southwestern portion of the region, the Tarim Basin.
The largest community of Uyghurs outside Xinjiang in China is in Taoyuan County, in south-central Hunan province. Outside of China, significant diasporic communities of Uyghurs exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities are found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey.
Uyghur is often pronounced /ˈwiːɡər/ by English speakers, though the most acceptable English pronunciation is ooy-goor. Several alternate romanizations also appear: Uighur, Uygur and Uigur. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region provincial government recommends that the generic ethnonym [ʔʊjˈʁʊː], adopted in the early 20th century for this Turkic people, be transcribed as "Uyghur".
wn.com/Uyghur_people
Stan Filmography
Stan Filmography
- Au Gnome De L'Amour (2011)
- Gnome 2 Can Hear You Scream (2011)
- Gnome One Can Hear You Scream (2010)
- Invisible Bullets (2010)
Stan Filmography
- The Best by Private 65: Anal Madness (2005)
- The Private Adventures of Pierre Woodman #8: Dangerous Shots (2005)
- Seventeen Special 34: Smart Teens! (1999)
photo: AP / Juan Karita
04 Jan 2013
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has released a public letter urging the United Kingdom to relinquish its control over the disputed Falkland Islands. ... The veterans delivered a letter addressed to the British Ambassador in Argentina, John Freeman, criticising the British government for refusing to discuss the sovereignty of the islands with the Argentine government ... 508 Source.. Al Jazeera and agencies. Share....(size: 19.6Kb)
photo: UN / Evan Schneider
06 Jan 2013
LONDON -- They have barely 3,000 inhabitants and far more sheep than people. They are more than 8,700 miles from London. For much of the year, they are bitterly cold and wind-swept, with only open sea and ice between them and Antarctica ... But the Falkland Islands, the focus of a short war between Britain and Argentina in 1982, have been in the headlines again recently ... Their arguments suggest what has long been evident ... Ms ... Mr ... Cameron said....(size: 5.1Kb)
photo: WN / Imran Nissar
06 Jan 2013
ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani military is accusing forces from neighboring India of crossing the boundary between the two sides' forces in Kashmir and attacking a Pakistani border post, killing a soldier. The military's public relations office said in a statement Sunday that another Pakistani soldier was critically wounded in the incident early Sunday. They said troops are still exchanging gunfire in the area ... All rights reserved ... Parker ... ....(size: 4.3Kb)
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
05 Jan 2013
Tweet. New Delhi, Jan 5 (ANI). The male friend of the 23-year-old medical student, who was gang-raped and left unclothed and bleeding in the street and later died in hospital two weeks after she was attacked on December 16 on a private bus in New Delhi, has said that things would have gone differently if someone had stopped to help ... "It would have been a very different scenario today, had even one person come to our help that day ... (ANI)....(size: 3.8Kb)
photo: AP / SANA
05 Jan 2013
Syrian government forces have bombarded several rebel strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus to quell the fighters battling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad from reaching the capital. Activists on Saturday said troops leveled their bombardment campaign on the districts of Hajar al-Aswad and Qaboun in southern Damascus while they continued to shell the suburbs of Daraya, Beit Hahm, Zibdeen, Maadamiya and Jisteen ... 445 Source. ... ....(size: 19.0Kb)
The Guardian
07 Jan 2013
Shay Given, the Villa goalkeeper, said that if they beat the League Two side he and his colleagues would welcome the presence of Petrov – nicknamed "Stan" – at Wembley. "It would be up to the manager [Paul Lambert] who leads us out and it would also depend on Stan," Given said ... But the lads would love it if he could and it would be great for Stan." ... "It was fantastic to see Stan and it gave everyone a huge lift," Given said....(size: 5.6Kb)
ESPN
07 Jan 2013
GettyImagesStiliyan Petrov. Fighting back ... "We know we are in a relegation fight in the League but to see the fight Stan is having is really inspirational." ... We are one step away from a Wembley final and it would be great if Stan could join us if we made it there in the Capital One Cup. "It would be up to the manager and Stan is still going through some difficult treatments, so it would depend on that ... ....(size: 2.0Kb)
The Independent
07 Jan 2013
Sydney Morning Herald
07 Jan 2013
The Street
07 Jan 2013
BANGKOK (AP) ⿿ Asian stocks cooled off Monday as some investors sold shares to lock in profits following recent rallies. Stocks in Hong Kong, Australian and elsewhere surged last week after U.S ... FIND OUT NOW. "It just seems like markets are entering a consolidation phase after recent gains," Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne, said in a market commentary ... Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China also fell....(size: 2.2Kb)
The Wichita Eagle
07 Jan 2013
On Tuesday, Wichita City Council members begin what could be a three-week process of selecting a replacement for Kansas senator-elect Michael O’Donnell. But it’s possible the seat will be left open until the April city elections. The council is set to interview Monday four candidates who have filed to replace O’Donnell, whose District 4 covers parts of south and west Wichita ... Doris, and Stan Reeser, 2551 S ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
Irish Times
07 Jan 2013
RACING. NAAS REPORT Rule The World looks to be another top-class prospect for Mouse Morris after he strolled to a 16-length victory in the Slaney Hurdle at Naas yesterday ... It was later reported that the favourite was suffering from a respiratory tract infection. There was no such trouble for Rule The World (7 to 1), who entered the picture for the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle at 12 to 1 with Stan James ... Morris said ... Mullins said ... ....(size: 2.9Kb)
Chicago Sun-Times
07 Jan 2013
Updated. January 6, 2013 10.59PM. In a matter of days, coach Joel Quenneville should be back on the ice barking instructions at Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and the rest of the Blackhawks during a condensed training camp ... There will be stories about how general manager Stan Bowman also is on the hot seat after consecutive first-round playoff exits. But all of it is better than talking about a work stoppage ... 19....(size: 3.1Kb)
Seattle Post
07 Jan 2013
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks cooled off Monday as some investors sold shares to lock in profits following recent rallies. Stocks in Hong Kong, Australian and elsewhere surged last week after U.S ... "It just seems like markets are entering a consolidation phase after recent gains," Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne, said in a market commentary. The Nikkei in Tokyo fell 0.9 percent to 10,592.30 ... fell 1.7 percent ... ___....(size: 2.8Kb)
Tampabay.com
07 Jan 2013
Greg AumanTampa Bay Times In Print. Monday, January 7, 2013. ADVERTISEMENT. ADVERTISEMENT. Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor Email Newsletters ... Playing to its first home sellout in 11 years, USF jumped out to a promising 17-7 lead against No ... "The offensive rebounds was just ridiculous. Their size, their quickness, their length, it gave them so many more opportunities than we had," coach Stan Heath said....(size: 3.6Kb)
noodls
07 Jan 2013
(Source. AICD - Australian Institute of Company Directors) Date.07 Jan 2013 Type.Media Release ... John Colvin will be supported in his role by Stan Magidson, President and CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) in Canada, who will serve as deputy chairman ... At this meeting it was agreed that GNDI members would collaborate to. Anticipate and explore emerging issues having global impacts on corporate governance ... Media contact....(size: 4.9Kb)
Denver Post
07 Jan 2013
Sheriff sees continuation of downward trend in violent crime. Boulder County homicides. 2009. 8. 2008. 2. 2007. 4. 2006. 3. 2005. 2. 2004. 4. 2003. 1. 2002. 7. 2001. 2. 2000. 3. Source. Boulder County Coroner's Office ... Nor did it provide records for the years 2010 or 2011."Every homicide is such an enormous tragedy for the community, so the fact we didn't have any in 2012 is very heartening and a good thing," said Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett ... ....(size: 4.1Kb)
Business Day
07 Jan 2013
Commodity prices mostly held steady, supported by data showing the US economy continuing on a path of slow but steady recovery that propelled Wall Street stocks to a five-year high ... "It just seems like markets are entering a consolidation phase after recent gains and with most markets trading at fresh 12-month highs," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at financial spread-betting company IG in Melbourne ... Cash buffers ... Reuters. ....(size: 3.4Kb)
The suffix -stan (Persian: ـستان -stān) is Persian for "place of", and it is cognate to Indo-Aryan -sthāna (pronounced [st̪ʰaːna]) (स्थान in the Devanāgarī script), a Sanskrit suffix with a similar meaning. In Indo-Aryan languages, sthāna means "place", and is cognate to the Latin terms state and status (meaning "to stand").
The suffix also appears in the names of many regions, especially in Central and South Asia, areas where ancient Indo-Iranian peoples were established; in Iranian, however, it is also used more generally, as in Persian and Urdu rigestân (ریگستان) "place of sand, desert", Pakistan "land of the pure" and golestan (گلستان) "place of roses, rose garden", Hindi devasthan ("place of devas, temple"), etc. The suffix is of Indo-Iranian and ultimately Indo-European origin, with the Proto-Indo-European root being *stā- "stand", which is also the source of English stand, Latin stāre, and Greek histamai (ίσταμαι), all meaning "stand", as well as Pashto تون (tun, "habitat" or "homeland") and Russian стан (stan, meaning "settlement" or "semi-permanent camp"). In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, stan means "apartment" in its modern usage, while its original meaning is "habitat". Also in Germanic languages, the root can be found in Stand ("place, location"), and in Stadt (German), stad/sted (Dutch/Scandinavian), stêd (West Frisian) and stead (English), all meaning "city". The suffix -stan is analogous to the suffix -land, present in many country and location names such as Finland, Deutschland, Greenland, Zeeland or Zealand.
The suffix -stan occurs in the following names, mostly toponyms:
Contents |
Countries[link]
Autonyms[link]
Regions[link]
- Arabistan – refers to Arab lands in Middle East.
- Ardestan – a town in Isfahan Province, Iran.
- Avaristan – Avari name for Avari land in Dagestan (Russia)
- Baharestan – is a famous historical carpet, a square and district in downtown Tehran where the Iranian Parliament is located and a collection of poems by Persian poet Jami modeled upon the Gulistan of Sa'di
- Balawaristan – another name for the Gilgit–Baltistan region in northern Pakistan.
- Balochistan – region in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- Baltistan – a northern region in Pakistan.
- Bantustan – Apartheid-era South African black 'homelands'; the term is coined by an analogy
- Bargustan/Borgustan – to the north of modern Kislovodsk, mentioned by Evliya Çelebi[1]
- Bashkortostan (Bashkiria) – constituent republic of Russia
- Baloristan (Gilgit-Chitral) is the name of the Gilgit–Baltistan region in northern Pakistan.
- Bostan – several places and regions with this name
- Bulgaristan is the Turkish name for Bulgaria
- Cholistan Desert – a desert region in Pakistan
- Dagestan – constituent republic of the Russian Federation, literally "place of mountains"
- Dardistan – a region in northern Pakistan
- Dashtestan – a region in Bushehr Province, Iran – its center is Borazjan.
- East Pakistan (or Bangalistan / Bangistan, refers to the historic name for pre-independence Bangladesh)
- Farsistan – another name for Fars Province in Iran.
- Frangistan (Persian: فرنگستان farangestân)[2] – Western Europe. (Alternatively Frankistan – land of Franks)
- Gobustan is physical and administrative district of Azerbaijan which means ravine or gorge (look Gobustan National Park)
- Golestan – a province in northern Iran which center is Gorgan
- Gulistan (Golestan) ("rose garden" in Persian, an Iranian province and a city in Uzbekistan; in Azerbaijan two villages, in Julfa and Goranboy districts (The historical Treaty of Gulistan was concluded here); (and compare with Gulistan Palace in Tehran and the collection of poems by Saadi)
- Habashistan the Azerbaijani and other Turkic languages name for Ethiopia
- Hazarastan – the Hazarajat, homeland of the Hazara people in central Afghanistan
- Hindustan – land of the Indus River, or of Hindus. The ancient Persians coined the name; the British used it during their rule of the then British India empire, generally talking about the region as South Asia. Now it refers to the Republic of India.
- Hırvatistan – the Turkish name for Croatia
- Hunistan, Chenestan – kingdom of Huns in the modern territory of Kumyks[3]
- Inglistan – England in Urdu.
- Kabulistan – ("The Kabul land" – old term used in many historical books and old Persian literature books for Kabul. Kabulistan contained a larger region than today's Kabul Province. Some times it is called as the country of Kabulistan)
- Kafiristan – ("land of the infidels"), historic region in Afghanistan until 1896, now known as Nuristan. A similarly named region exists in north Pakistan.
- Karakalpakstan – constituent republic of Uzbekistan
- Khuzestan – a province of southwestern Iran
- Kohistan – several regions of this name
- Kordestan – a Kurdish province in Iran
- Kurdistan – Kurdish region
- Larestan – a region in Bushehr Province, Iran – its center is Lar.
- Lazistan – another name for Colchis, a region in the Caucasus
- Lehestan – Poland in Persian based on ancient Lęch tribes.
- Lehistan was the Ottoman-Turkish name for Poland or more specifically, the Polish Empire.
- Lezgistan – ethnolinguistic region in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan
- Lorestan or Luristan – a province of western Iran
- Macaristan is the Turkish name for Hungary
- Mehrestan – a county in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran. The capital is Zaboli.
- Moghulistan (Mughalistan) – a historical geographic unit in Central Asia that included parts of modern-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Xinjiang
- North Waziristan – northern part of Waziristan region in Pakistan
- Nurestan Province (Nuristan) – Afghanistan, formed in 2001
- Pashtunistan or Pakhtunistan or Pathanistan – is what many Pashtun nationalists call the Pashtun-dominated areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- Rajasthan – a regional state within the Republic of India
- Registan – historic site in Samarkand, meaning "place of sand"
- Russian Turkestan – Turkestan in the Russian Empire, later Turkestan Autonomous SSR
- Sakastan – region of Afghanistan and Pakistan where Scythians or Sakas resided in the 2nd century BCE.
- Saraikistan – A proposed region in southern Punjab province of Pakistan
- Sarvestan – a town in Fars Province, Iran.
- Seistan or Sistan – a province of Iran and Afghanistan
- Sırbistan is the Turkish name for Serbia
- South Waziristan southern part of Waziristan region in Pakistan
- Tabaristan – a historical region along the southern coasts of Caspian Sea
- Takestan – a town in Qazvin Province, Iran.
- Talyshistan – ethnolinguistic region in the SE Caucasus and NW Iran
- Tangestan – a region in Bushehr Province, Iran – its center is Ahram.
- Tatarstan – a constituent republic of the Russian Federation
- Tocharistan, Tukharistan or Tokharistan, also known as Balkh or Bactria – the ancient name of a historical region in Central Asia, located between the range of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (Oxus)
- Turkestan or Turkistan – ethnolinguistic region of Turkic peoples and languages, encompassing Central Asia, northwest China, parts of the Caucasus and Asia Minor
- Uyghurstan/East Turkestan – Region dominated by the Turkic-speaking Uyghur people, located in northwest China
- Vilandazistan – Holland in Urdu (now obsolete)
- Yunanistan – the Turkish name for Greece
- Waziristan – a region of northwest Pakistan
- Zabulistan – a historical region in the border area of today's Iran and Afghanistan, around the city Zabol
- Zanjistan, or Zenjistan – term used in medieval texts to refer to the homeland of the Zanj, black slaves of probably East African origin[citation needed]
Proposed names[link]
- Khalistan or Sikhistan, a proposed country created from areas within India with a Sikh majority.
- Maronistan, a proposed name for Maronite state in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
- Uyghuristan – (variants East Turkestan & Uighurstan) proposed ethnic name for Xinjiang, People's Republic of China
Fictional[link]
- Adjikistan – a fictional central Asian country in the videogame SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault.
- Aldastan – a fictional central Asian country consisting of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, from Command & Conquer: Generals.
- Ardistan – from the novel Ardistan and Dschinnistan by Karl May.
- Avgatiganistan – a pun of 'Afghanistan', it means 'Fried eggs' ('Avga tiganista') in Greek. Fictional country by author Eugene Trivizas.
- Azadistan – from the anime series, Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
- Bazrakhistan – a fictional former Soviet republic in the movie Act of War (1998) starring Jack Scalia.
- Belgistan – fictional Middle Eastern country in the anime Gasaraki.
- Berzerkistan – a fictional republic run by genocidal terrorist godhead and President for Life Trff Bmzklfrpz, in the comic strip Doonesbury.
- Carjackistan – used occasionally in the comic strip Tank McNamara.
- Derkaderkastan – fictional Middle Eastern country in Team America: World Police.
- Franistan – fictional country referred to in the television show I Love Lucy.
- Gupistan/Guppistan – fictional place in Pakistani comic literature where everything is a hearsay.
- Helmajistan – fictional area from the anime Full Metal Panic!.
- Howduyustan ("how do you stand?") – fictional country from Uncle Scrooge comic book stories.
- Iranistan – an oriental region of Hyborea (Conan the Barbarian stories).
- Istan – a fictional island state in the online role-playing game, Guild Wars Nightfall.
- Kamistan (Islamic Republic of) – a fictional Middle Eastern country featured in the television series 24.
- Karjastan – a fictional country mentioned in the movie The Sentinel (2006 film).
- Kazinistan – an ideal state imagined by John Rawls in The Law of Peoples, in which there is a system of law, legal representation for all groups, and a respect for basic human rights, but not full democracy.
- Kehjistan – the state of the eastern jungles in the game Diablo II.
- Kerakhistan – a fictional Middle Eastern country featured in the tabletop miniature wargame Battlefield Evolution.
- Kreplachistan – fictional country in the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. ("Kreplach" – Eastern European Jewish dish consisting of meat-filled dumplings.)
- Lojbanistan – the fictional country where lojbanists think of themseves as residing.
- Paristan or Pari-estan (Persian: پریستان) is a fairyland in the folklore of Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia. Pari (Persian: پری) (Urdu: پری) means "fairy". In many children's stories Koh-e-Qaf (Persian: کوہ قاف/Urdu: کوہ قاف) (Caucasus) is also used for fairyland.
- Pianostan – fictional country mentioned in an episode of Inspector Gadget.
- Pokolistan is a fictional country in DC Comics.
- Salvjakestan – fictional country in the Death Enrising Novels
- Serdaristan – fictional country in Battlefield: Bad Company.
- Takistan – a fictional country in ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead.
- Turaqistan – fictional country in the movie "War, Inc.".
- Tyrgyzstan – fictional country in the BBC television drama The State Within.
- Wheretheheckistan – a pun for "where the heck is...?" in Dear Dumb Diary series where a lot of poor people live and is where all charities focus on in Jamie's world.
- Zekistan – a fictional central Asian nation in the video game Full Spectrum Warrior.
Satirical[link]
- Absurdistan – sometimes used to satirically describe a country where everything goes wrong.
- Bananastan – Used by Pakistani media to describe a Banana republic.
- Boratistan – name used by Kazakh press secretary Roman Vasilenko to describe an image of Kazakhstan created by Sacha Baron Cohen's character, Borat.
- Bradistan – seen in graffiti on a sign for the city of Bradford, England, in the film East Is East.
- Canuckistan, Soviet Canuckistan – derogatory nickname for Canada.
- Cavaquistão ("Cavacostan" in Portuguese) – used to describe mainly the areas of central Portugal where former Prime Minister Cavaco Silva had more votes in the decade 1985-1995. Sometimes still used nowadays.[4]
- Donundestan, capital Rillirillibad – fictional country in the Middle East in A Prairie Home Companion.[5]
- Doofistan – mentioned in Ziggy in an April 2002 panel: Ziggy stares at his television and says "Doofistan? Now I know they're making this stuff up."
- Douchebagistan – fictional member of the U.N. mentioned by the Gregory Brothers in Autotune the News
- Dreckistan
- Durkadurkastan – used in various online boards to describe all of the middle eastern countries, where the word itself implies they are retarded.
- Electistan – fictional and satirical term used with Incumbistan.
- Ethniclashistan – sometimes used satirically to describe countries in which multiple ethnic groups were thrown together, who then began fighting each other, e.g. Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union. It was featured in the satirical The Onion newspaper in June, 2001 as being placed in the West Bank in the article Northern Irish, Serbs, Hutus Granted Homeland In West Bank (here spelled Ethniklashistan)
- Hollandistan – sometimes used to describe the rise of Islam in the Netherlands it is a combination of Holland and -istan
- Hotdogestan – Fictional country in the Middle East in A Prairie Home Companion.[5]
- Incumbistan – introduced by columnist Mark Steyn to refer to the efforts of politicians of all parties to unite to enact rules seen as assuring their continued reelection.[6]
- Londonistan – the British/English capital of London was given this sobriquet by French counter-terrorism agents.
- Nukehavistan – fictional country created by The Onion that has nuclear weapons.
- Pindostan (Пиндостан) – derogatory slang term used for the USA on the Russian Internet (an alternative equivalent is "Pindosya").
- The three Jetlag parody travel guides contain faux ads for guides to other countries, each with a -stan reference. Molvanîa contains an ad for "Surviving Moustaschistan" (mentioning also "Carpetstan"), Phaic Tăn contains an ad for "Sherpastan", and San Sombrèro contains an ad for "Tyranistan".
- Various -stans appearing on different versions of the Jesusland map
Other[link]
- Bimaristan, a kind of hospital in medieval Persia and the medieval Islamic world.
- Muristan, a complex of streets and shops in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
- Dondestan, an album by Robert Wyatt. Sounds like ¿Dónde están? (Where are they?) in Spanish.
- Hamastan, a concept of a Palestinian Islamic government with Sharia as law.
- Hunestan/Hunistan/Honestan, a settlement in Ostan-e Semnan, Iran.
- Islamistan, means 'Land of Islam', used in various contexts.
- Paganistan: the pagan/neo-pagan community of Minneapolis-Saint Paul in Minnesota[7]
- Paristan or Pari-estan (Persian: پریستان) is a name of a fairyland in the folklore of Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia.
- Qabristan, a cemetery or graveyard. Qabr means grave.
- Registan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
- Shahrestan (several meanings)
- Skateistan, a skateboarding/educational organization based in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- Rajamangalakeelastan, the national stadium of Thailand
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ "Кумыкский мир | Содержание | История | Кумыки-брагунцы: история и современность". Kumukia.ru. http://www.kumukia.ru/modules.php?name=Pages&pa=showpage&pid=9234. Retrieved 2009-08-10. (Russian)
- ^ Davidson, Roderic H. (1960). "Where is the Middle East?". Foreign Affairs 38 (4): 665–675. DOI:10.2307/20029452.
- ^ "Кумыкский мир - Наша энциклопедия". Kumukia.ru. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090531112313/http://www.kumukia.ru/modules.php?name=Encyclopedia&op=content&tid=1603. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "PS decreta a "morte" do velho "cavaquistão"". jn.sapo.pt. 2009-10-16. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20091027100123/http://jn.sapo.pt/paginainicial/pais/concelho.aspx?Distrito=Viseu&Concelho=Viseu&Option=Interior&content_id=1392047. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ a b "APHC: Saturday, October 27, 2001". Prairiehome.publicradio.org. 2001-10-27. http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/20011027/linda.shtml. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ^ "Editorial: Understanding the Incumbistan Complex". Examiner.com. 2006-06-05. http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorial-understanding-incumbistan-complex. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- ^ Pizza, Murphy (2009). "Schism as midwife: how conflict aided the birth of a contemporary Pagan community". In Lewis, James R.; Lewis, Sarah M.. Sacred schisms: how religions divide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 249–261. ISBN 978-0-511-58071-0. http://81.70.242.211/eab/manual/Publisher/Cambridge%20University%20Press%20www.cambridge.org/sacred%20schisms%20how%20religions%20divide%209780521881470%2049080%20%5B351%5D.pdf#page=261. Retrieved 2011-05-25. "[...] the Pagan community of the Minnesota Twin Cities, otherwise known by members as 'Paganistan.' 'Paganistan' is the nickname, and now proud moniker of self-identification, of the uniquely innovative, eclectic, and feisty Neopagan community of the Twin Cities Metro area of Minnesota."
External links[link]
- Indo-European root *stā- (from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition)
http://wn.com/-stan
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/-стан
http://fr.wn.com/-stan
http://nl.wn.com/-stan
http://de.wn.com/-stan
http://id.wn.com/-stan
http://es.wn.com/Sufijo -stán
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-stan
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
More Videos
Wiki Summary
The suffix -stan (Persian: ـستان -stān) is Persian for "place of", and it is cognate to Indo-Aryan -sthāna (pronounced [st̪ʰaːna]) (स्थान in the Devanāgarī script), a Sanskrit suffix with a similar meaning. In Indo-Aryan languages, sthāna means "place", and is cognate to the Latin terms state and status (meaning "to stand").
The suffix also appears in the names of many regions, especially in Central and South Asia, areas where ancient Indo-Iranian peoples were established; in Iranian, however, it is also used more generally, as in Persian and Urdu rigestân (ریگستان) "place of sand, desert", Pakistan "land of the pure" and golestan (گلستان) "place of roses, rose garden", Hindi devasthan ("place of devas, temple"), etc. The suffix is of Indo-Iranian and ultimately Indo-European origin, with the Proto-Indo-European root being *stā- "stand", which is also the source of English stand, Latin stāre, and Greek histamai (ίσταμαι), all meaning "stand", as well as Pashto تون (tun, "habitat" or "homeland") and Russian стан (stan, meaning "settlement" or "semi-permanent camp"). In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, stan means "apartment" in its modern usage, while its original meaning is "habitat". Also in Germanic languages, the root can be found in Stand ("place, location"), and in Stadt (German), stad/sted (Dutch/Scandinavian), stêd (West Frisian) and stead (English), all meaning "city". The suffix -stan is analogous to the suffix -land, present in many country and location names such as Finland, Deutschland, Greenland, Zeeland or Zealand.
