The "Pays Basques"

For most of us in Europe, and in the U.S, it is or it was April break. Almost every year, my family and I, head down to the south east of France to spend a relaxing and enjoyable vacation. This region that borders the very north of Spain, is also called the Pays Basques or the Basque Country. Now... grab some sun screen, and a pair of sun glasses, and get ready to explore this fantastic place!

MAP:

The Basque country is situated in the South East of France, and the North East of Spain.Though, it's location is mostly based in Spain. There are three Basque regions in Spain and two that are situated in France.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BASQUE COUNTRY *:

1. The Basque language is called Euskara, and it is known to be the oldest European language, tracing back to 20,000 years ago.  Many say, that it is an isolate language, meaning that is has nothing to do with any other language. But others prove that this statement is false, since Euskara has several Spanish roots.
2. Santa Claus is not called Santa Claus in the Basque Country. But instead his name is Olentzero, and he wears a beret (also called a txapela in Basque.) When Christmas arrives, the families don't leave him carrots for his reindeer's or cookies and hot chocolate, but wine, they leave him wine. Now this Olentzero doesn't live in the North Pole but in the mountains of the Basque Country.   

*Note that not all this information might not be true. Due to the crisis that the Pays Basques has been and is still facing, with their fight for freedom, some of this information may be false, since some Basque people might want to show the power of their people . 

  3.  A study (the DNA analysis project) shows that the Basque people have there own genetic  makeup, different from the non-Basque people.

  4. Athletico Bilbao, the football/soccer team, doesn't allow any non-Basque players on there team.

  5. The Basque cuisine is considered to be one of the best cuisine in the world. And I agree, the        Basque food is delicious!!!!!!!!!!

BASQUE FLAG:

The whole flag means, "Jaungoikoa eta Lege Zaharra," which basically means God and ancient law. The green cross of St Andrew symbolizes the oak of Guernica which is the symbol of the liberty of the Basques. The white cross represents Catholicism and it also appears on the coat of arms of the region of Biscaye (North of Spain.) And finally, the red background symbolizes the Basques people.

BASQUE PELOTA: 

When visiting the Basque country, one will see a lot of these walls (or frontis/fronton): 

They are called (in french) "un fronton." In English, it is just called a wall. Now... this isn't just any type of wall, it's where the Basque people play basque pelota. A sport that uses a racket, or a bat and a little ball.  It is considered to be the fastest ball game on earth! The game is usually played between two teams, with two players on each team. The objective of this game is to hit the hard and dense ball on the wall.

Here is a link to how to play the basque pelota: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d45uhH2l3xY.

TOURISM:

Cities that you should visit, when stopping by in the Basque country:

• Biarritz- France. Reason: It is a surfers paradise. The tallest waves in France! I never stayed there, but I did go see the huge waves. And they are indeed the tallest ones I have ever seen!

•    St Jean de Luz- France. Reason: Relaxing, pretty and good food. I spent about three of my April breaks in this place, and guarantee that it was awesome, and so relaxing! The beach is great, the people are nice, and the food is good.

 

• Guéthary- France. Reason: Cute, calm, and relaxing. I've been there once, and it was a nice experience. It is indeed a pretty, small town, and not very touristic.

• Ainhoa-France. Reason: Nice, pretty and relaxing. Ainhoa is a very small town, that offers tourists a great Basque experience. With typical basque food, and houses, it is always nice to stop over this village, and enjoy the nice mountainous breeze.

 

• Saint Sebastian- Spain. Reason: Saint Sebastian is known to have one of the best food in the world. While walking down the streets of this Basque city, capital of the Basque gastronomy, there will be lot's of nice bars and restaurants where you will be able to enjoy the delicious basque cuisine. The city is also home to one of the best chefs in the world!  

   

 

• Pamplona-Spain. Reason: It is the capital of the region of Navarre, and it is home to lot's of wonderful attraction, like bull fighting, fiestas, museums, and history!

 

Sources:

1. pibask64.skyrock.com
2. news-roads.com
3. www.nabasque.org
4. www.caminodownunder.com
5. http://christineinspain.com/interesting-facts-basque-country/
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d45uhH2l3xY
7. www.francetravelguide.com
8. www.touradour.com
9. www.touradour.com
10. doc-espagne.com
11. www.thomphotos.fr
12. www.aquitaineonline.com
13. www.spainisculture.com

Middle East? That's Something We Haven't Done Yet....

I have to be honest, I have never heard of this country before. It has never occurred to me that it existed. And when I did land on it when I turned the globe, I thought to myself, wow... Before even writing this, I searched the web for any information about this country, and admit, it is a beautiful place. 

Ok, so now I'm going to put out an image of the globe, with the country located in red. I would like you to guess what it is, before I move on.

I'll give you some hints:

• The capital is Muscat 
• It is located near Saudia Arabia in the Middle East
• The official language is Arabic 
• And the currency is called Omani Rial (1 euro= 0.42 OM) and it looks like this:

Well , I guess you've probably guessed it by now. So the country we will be looking at today is:

OMAN

THE FLAG:

 The flag was adopted (officially) in 1995, after the red band became wider than it originally once was. The green symbolizes productiveness, the white band symbolizes peace, and the red band is a common color that is found in the countries of this region. Furthermore, the three colors represented on the flag, have a relationship with the Muslim religion. Lastly, the weapons that you see on the top left corner of the flag are the national emblem of Oman.

POLITICAL SITUATION: 

I'm actually not a type of person who likes talking about politics but I find it important that we discuss the political situation in Oman. So here are several key details that you might want to know about this country:

• The country does not have any democracy. Instead Oman is ruled over sultan Qaboos ibn Said.
• A sultan is a Muslim sovereign
• The population of Oman, has a limited amount of freedom of speech, and the country has no constitution (but lets not go into more details... for more information, click here: http://looklex.com/e.o/oman.political.htm)

SIGHTSEEING:

If you want my opinion, Oman is a pretty place. So just in case you are going there,or you might be interested in going there, here are some tourist attractions that might come in handy:

Muscat: The capital of Oman has to offer many great attractions.

1. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

   2. Royal Opera House

   

Of course, there are so many more attractions in Muscat, but just for the sake of it, I'm only listing two of them; the ones that the tourists preferred the most.

   NIZWA: 

   1. Wadi Ghul- Oman's Grand Canyon

   2.  Nizwa Fort

Ok, so basically I just gave you the attractions that got the most hits. There is just too many to list for you.

FOOD:

Omani dishes is a mix of Arabic, and Indian food. It consists of fish, chicken, lamb and other meats, as well as rice, spices, herbs and marinades.

MASHUAI: A dish that consists of kingfish and lemon rice.

MACHBOOS: It consists of rice with a slight flavor of saffron, cooked over spicy meat

Halwa: A type of sweet food, that is made from wheat, flower, brown sugar, spices or flavors (cinnamon, cardamon, rose water etc) 

,

Well I hope you enjoyed your visit to Oman, and remember, if you do have an idea of a country, or you are interested in going to one, then let me know in the comment section below, and I will try my best to use your idea for a future blog post! 

مَع السَلامة 

(ma' al salamah)

It is the formal goodbye in Arabic, and it means "with peace."

Sources:

1. www.mypivots.comhttp://
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Oman
3. looklex.com/e.o/oman.political.htm
4. en.wikipedia.org
5. www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g1940497-Activities-Muscat_Muscat_Governorate.html
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omani_cuisine
7. https://wordadayarabic.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/you-say-goodbye-and-i-say-hello/

Don't Let That Llama Spit On You!

Guess where we are going next?????

 

                                           PERU!!!!!!!!
So, let's get down to business. Peru is a country located in South America, and it borders with the Pacific Ocean.
 

Facts That You Need To Know About Peru

Capital: Lima
Population: 30 989 289
Currency: Peruvian Nuevo Sol (1 euro=3.34 PNS)
Language: Spanish, Quecha, Aymara

Peruvian Flag:
 The red and the white were chosen by The Liberator Jose de San Martin, and in the middle the national coats of arms is shown. The red represents the blood that was wasted during their fight for freedom, and independence, and the white stands for peace and bravery. In the coat of arms, a vicuna (relative of a llama or an alpaca,) stands, as well as the quina tree and a cornucopia of gold.

Traditional Clothing: 
Peruvian clothing usually have many geometric patterns, and colors. The Peruvian's use the wool of the Alpaca is often used to make the clothes, because it keeps away the cold. (The animal below is an alpaca.It is the cousin of the llama.)

Here are some traditional clothes for women: 

Llicilla: A handwoven shoulder cloth. It is usually fastened (these days...) by a safety pin.

K'eperina: A large and colorful carrying cloth. It is usually used to carry children. But don't worry, the kids are securely fastened inside!

Monteras: A hat worn by several villages across Peru. Often, you can identify which village a woman comes from, just by looking at her hat.

Ajotas: Sandals that are made from recycled truck trees.

Here are some traditional men clothing:

Poncho:                                                                                                    Chumpi: 

  

FOOD: The traditional Peruvian Way

 Lomo Saltado is one of the most popular dish in Peru. It is composed of sliced beef, fries, rice, red onions, soy sauce, vinegar and cilantro. 

And of course, like any other South American country, the Peruvians also have a wide variety of ceviche. For those who don't know, ceviche is a popular dish in South America. It is composed of seafood, therefore raw fish, shrimps etc. And it topped with lemon or lime juice, as well as spices depending on the cook.

Here is the link to a recipe for this type of meal:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/ceviche-recipe2.html

You might think this is gross, and I do, but another most popular dish in Peru is cuy. Which basically means guinea pig. The tradition of eating guinea pig goes way back in Peruvian and South American history. In fact it is considered holy to eat this type of meat. Cuy is usually barbecued or baked, and it is served whole (with the head, and the other things...) The meat is colored light brown, and it sort of tastes like rabbit.

Finally, the dish named Causa made of potatoes and avocados. The meal consists of those two foods stacked one on top of the other. The other layers might also include tuna, veggies, etc. 

Sources:

1. www.infoplease.com
2. www.freedomrun.net
3. http://countrymeters.info/en/Peru
4. www.wo rldatlas.com
5. www.reddit.com
6. 25truestories.com
7. www.hathorizons.com
8. www.shamansmarket.com
9. http://www.myperu.org/traditional_clothing_peru.html
10. http://www.pardoschicken.cl/home#!carta-23-30-Aj%C3%AD-de-Gallina
11. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/peru/machu-picchu/foo

It Starts with an M and Finishes with an R

I guess you have noticed already, but for the past two blog posts I have been blogging about one specific country that I have randomly chosen. And today, I will do the same. Similar to the last two posts, I' m going to turn the globe which I have with me, and whichever country I land on, we will explore. So... I'm turning the globe and... I landed on an island: Volcano Island. Except, no a lot of people live on this piece of floating land. Therefore, I'm going to turn the globe again. So the country we are going to study is...... Wait for it... Ahhhh man, I keep on landing in the middle of the ocean. Oh, finally, here it is:

 Madagascar!!!!!!!!! Ok, so let's get going...Madagascar is an island in the Indian Ocean, belonging to the continent of Africa, off it's South East Coast:

Before getting further into Madagascar's wonders, here are some fun facts about this island:

• Madagascar is known to be the fourth largest island country in the world.
• The island was governed by France until 1960, where they gained their independence. Back then, Madagascar had a different name: the Malagasy Republic. In 1975 it when from that to the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, and finally in 1993 it became the Republic of Madagascar
• In 2013, Madagascar's population had risen to over 22 million people!
• The capital is Antanarivo, and as of the year of 2013, it was home to over 2 million people
• The official languages are Malagasy and French.
• The currency is the Malagasy Ariary (1 euro=3273.58 MGA)

• The flag looks like this: These colors represent the island's history. The red symbolizes sovereignty (supreme power or authority,) the green stands for hope, and white for purity.

• There are over 250 000 species of animals found in Madagascar, and more than 70% of them are not found any where else in the world. 
 



Speared Nose Snake



Indri






Verreaux's sifaka

 



Tenrec

• Scientists refer to the majestic island country, as being the eight continent in the world, due to it's wonderful, and unique nature, biodiversity, and ecology.
•  Madagascar is also known to have an enormous supply of : vanilla, cloves, lychees, coffee, shrimp etc. Furthermore, they are one of the only suppliers of sapphire in the world! The island also has several others types of semi-precious stones.
• The country's most played sports are rugby, and soccer. They also have other types of fun activities that are played depending on the region.

Madagascar is one of top 20 poorest countries in the world. Most of the population in the year of 2013, were living off $1 per day. And still today, the population live off tourism, most of them depend on it.

Sources:
1)www.gettysburgflag.com
2)www.maps.com
3)http://madagascarflag.facts.co/madagascarflagof/madagascarflag.php

4)http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/madagascar.html
5)http://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/animals.html

6)beautifulamazingworld.com

Globe Trotters: Where Would They Go Next?

So... today... which country are we going to explore? Ummmmmmmm... Let's spin the globe to find out!!!

Let's just I stay I had to turn the globe several times, until I actually landed on a country, and not in the middle of the ocean. So, I finally ended up landing on Indonesia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So let's go explore this island!!!!

Indonesia is located in the continent of Oceania, and Asia. It is geographically an archipelago, that is composed of thousands and thousands of little islands as shown below.
Facts (capital, big cities, currency, etc.) :
Population: 255,708,000

The Indonesian flag is pretty simple. There are only two colors: red and white. The red band is on top of the white band, and the white band is below the red one. It looks like this:

 The Indonesians were able to adopt their flag after they earned their independence from the Netherlands, on August 17, 1945. The red symbolizes the human blood, and the white symbolizes the human spirit. The flag is very similar to Poland's and Monaco's flag, which are bi colored as well.

Capital: Jakarta

The population is estimated to be about 17,256,000.

Currency: Indonesian Rupiah (1 euro=13953.12 indonesian rupiah)

Official language: Indonesian President: Joko Widodo Big Cities: 1. Jakarta= ( 17,256,000 people in 2015 ) 2. Surabaya= ( 2,843,144 people in 2010 ) 3. Bandung= ( 2,575,478 people in 2010 ) Food: Indonesia is known to have some of the most tastiest, vibrant, and colorful dishes in the world. This is the case, since Indonesia is composed of 6,000 separate islands, with more than 300 ethnic groups. Indonesian meals usually consist of steamed rice (nasi) vegetables, soups, meat and fish. Here are some few traditional dishes, that could be present on a normal Indonesian restaurant menu. I even added in some recipes which you could refer to, when wanting to cook the traditional Indonesian food. 1. Sambal- It is a chili based sauce, with some sort of shrimp taste, tangy lime juice, sugar, salt, mortar and pestle; that is essential to an Indonesian meal. If it isn't served during meal time, then the meal itself may not continue or progress. Sambal Tumis Recipe (Fried Sambal) (copied from: http://www.noobcook.com/sambal-tumis/2/) The quantities stated in the recipe are for using sambal tumis as a base sauce for cooking. If you are using the fried sambal as a condiment, do season to taste according to your preference. For me, that will a bit more salt or home-made ikan bilis powder, and double the amount of assam pulp. Serves: 600 grams sambal tumis Prep Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 45 mins INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup or a small appropriate amount of olive or vegetable oil for binding (A) to a smooth paste during processing or pounding 3/4 cup olive or vegetable oil for frying the sambal paste "assam" (tamarind) solution dissolve 25 grams assam pulp in 1/2 cup water; liquid strained 1 tsp salt to taste 50 grams gula melaka (palm sugar; may use brown sugar) to taste (A) Sambal Paste 75 g dried red chilli cut to smaller sections, deseeded (to taste) and soaked in bowl of hot water for 20 minutes to soften; drained 75 g or four finger-length red chilli deseeded 250 grams peeled shallots 1 red onion peeled 8 cloves garlic peeled 20g belacan (shrimp paste) toasted in dry pan or toaster oven until crumbly and powdery DIRECTIONS Process or pound (A) until it becomes a smooth paste, adding some oil along the way to bind the ingredients together. Heat oil and add sambal paste into wok. Stir fry until the sambal starts to turn a deeper red, about 10 minutes. Add tamarind juice, salt and gula melaka. Cook for another 20 minutes, stirring constantly. By this time, the oil should be separated from the chilli. Store in air-tight containers in the fridge for about 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 3 months. Ingredients Used: belacan • chilli • dried chilli • garlic • gula melaka • onion • shallot • tamarind 2. This second traditional dish is called Satay. It could be any meat really, but no matter what, they get marinated in turmenic (a plant from the ginger family) and then they get barbecued and soaked in peanut sauce.   3. Bakso- It is a tasty meatball noodle soup, that is composed of any kind of meat, noodles, boiled eggs, wantan and fried shallots. Here is a link to the recipe: http://arieskitchen.net/bakso-recipe-indonesian-meatballs-recipe/ I hope you enjoy it! Sources: 1. http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/40-foods-indonesians-cant-live-without-327106 2. http://www.noobcook.com/sambal-tumis/2/ 3. www.chefseattle.com 4. en.wikipedia.org 5. en.wikipedia.org 6. en.wikipedia.org 7.http://arieskitchen.net/bakso-recipe-indonesian-meatballs-recipe/