Category: World

Welcome Sint Maarten Population: 39,689-# 218th Country


Amazing…Sint Maarten is my 218th country to stop by the blog.  I am learning every day about all the different countries that exist in this world.  I have to be honest…never knew there were so many that have gotten their own country status…geography 101!  Continue reading “Welcome Sint Maarten Population: 39,689-# 218th Country”

WELCOME CARIBBEAN NETHERLANDS # 215TH COUNTRY TO STOP BY MY BLOG
 History
The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU) and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999. In October 2010, the former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and the three smallest islands – Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba – became special municipalities in the Netherlands administrative structure. The larger islands of Sint Maarten and Curacao joined the Netherlands and Aruba as constituent countries forming the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Continue reading “WELCOME CARIBBEAN NETHERLANDS # 215TH COUNTRY TO STOP BY MY BLOG”

WOW-#213 Country to visit my blog is Cuba Population: 11,061,886


  Just really surprised to see a visitor from Cuba…happy surprise! 
 History
The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and following its development as a Spanish colony during the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule eventually provoked an independence movement and occasional rebellions that were harshly suppressed. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 assisted the Cubans in overthrowing Spanish rule. The Treaty of Paris established Cuban independence from the US in 1902 after which the island experienced a string of governments mostly dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959; his iron rule held the subsequent regime together for nearly five decades. He stepped down as president in February 2008 in favor of his younger brother Raul CASTRO. Cuba’s communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The country faced a severe economic downturn in 1990 following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba at times portrays the US embargo, in place since 1961, as the source if its difficulties. Illicit migration to the US – using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or via the US’s southwest border – is a continuing problem. The US Coast Guard interdicted 1,275 Cuban nationals attempting to cross the Straits of Florida in 2012.

Continue reading “WOW-#213 Country to visit my blog is Cuba Population: 11,061,886”

212th Country to Visit My Blog – Equatorial Guinea Population: 704,001


thank you Equatorial Guinea!  
 History
Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996, 2002, and 2009 presidential elections – as well as the 1999, 2004, and 2008 legislative elections – were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa’s third largest oil exporter. Despite the country’s economic windfall from oil production, resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, improvements in the population’s living standards have been slow to develop.

Continue reading “212th Country to Visit My Blog – Equatorial Guinea Population: 704,001”

Country # 210 – Togo Population: 7,154,237


WELCOME TOGO!  You are Number 210!to visit my BLOG~ WOW
 History
French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, ruled Togo with a heavy hand for almost four decades. Despite the facade of multi-party elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government was largely dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967 and maintains a majority of seats in today’s legislature. Upon EYADEMA’s death in February 2005, the military installed the president’s son, Faure GNASSINGBE, and then engineered his formal election two months later. Democratic gains since then allowed Togo to hold its first relatively free and fair legislative elections in October 2007. After years of political unrest and condemnation from international organizations for human rights abuses, Togo is finally being re-welcomed into the international community. In January 2012, Togo assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-13 term.

Continue reading “Country # 210 – Togo Population: 7,154,237”

The 209th Country to Visit my Blog is Turkmenistan Population: 5,113,040


JUST AWESOME AND WELCOME TURKMENISTAN! 
 Background
Present-day Turkmenistan covers territory that has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. The area was ruled in antiquity by various Persian empires, and was conquered by Alexander the Great, Muslim crusaders, the Mongols, Turkic warriors, and eventually the Russians. In medieval times Merv (today known as Mary) was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by Russia in the late 1800s, Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1924, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic; it achieved independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves, which have yet to be fully exploited, have begun to transform the country. Turkmenistan is moving to expand its extraction and delivery projects. The Government of Turkmenistan is actively working to diversify its gas export routes beyond the still important Russian pipeline network. In 2010, new gas export pipelines that carry Turkmen gas to China and to northern Iran began operating, effectively ending the Russian monopoly on Turkmen gas exports. President for Life Saparmurat NYYAZOW died in December 2006, and Turkmenistan held its first multi-candidate presidential election in February 2007. Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, a deputy cabinet chairman under NYYAZOW, emerged as the country’s new president; he was chosen as president again in February 2012, in an election that the OSCE said lacked the freedoms necessary to create a competitive environment.

Continue reading “The 209th Country to Visit my Blog is Turkmenistan Population: 5,113,040”

PAKISTAN hits 1000 unique views – THANKS
 Background
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars – in 1947-48 and 1965 – over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 – in which India capitalized on Islamabad’s marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics – resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. India-Pakistan relations have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, but both countries are taking small steps to put relations back on track. In February 2008, Pakistan held parliamentary elections and in September 2008, after the resignation of former President MUSHARRAF, elected Asif Ali ZARDARI to the presidency. Pakistani government and military leaders are struggling to control domestic insurgents, many of whom are located in the tribal areas adjacent to the border with Afghanistan. In January 2012, Pakistan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-13 term.

Continue reading “PAKISTAN hits 1000 unique views – THANKS”

207th COUNTRY TO VISIT MY BLOG-SAINT MARTIN POPULATION: 31,264


 
 Background
Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished Saint Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it between themselves in 1648. Friction between the two sides caused the border to frequently fluctuate over the next two centuries, with the French eventually holding the greater portion of the island (about 57%). The cultivation of sugar cane introduced African slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of Saint Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity. In 2010, the southern Dutch portion of the island became the independent nation of Sint Maarten within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
 

 

 Geography
The island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the world shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten
Location: Caribbean, located in the Leeward Islands (northern) group; French part of the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean Sea; Saint Martin lies east of the US Virgin Islands
Geographic coordinates: 18 05 N, 63 57 W
Area: total: 54.4 sq km land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL  Continue reading “207th COUNTRY TO VISIT MY BLOG-SAINT MARTIN POPULATION: 31,264”

Latest Maps & COFFEE?


This blog has been read in many parts of the WORLD…here are 2 maps showing the reach.  I hope everyone who comes by finds interest in at least one post.  

I am thankful and appreciate all the comments and how so many stop by….My SOLO trip is coming up in May.  

Continue reading “Latest Maps & COFFEE?”

19 beloved Street Art Photos – Nov 2013 – Jan 2014


This is some of the most beloved photos on our Facebook Page october 2013!

Street Art Utopia

Click on a photo to see it bigger.

——————————————————————————————

By Daniel Siering and Mario Shu in Potsdam, Germany

On Facebook. By Daniel Siering and Mario Shu in Potsdam, Germany. Continue reading “19 beloved Street Art Photos – Nov 2013 – Jan 2014”

Stuff You Will Never Forget


Now that the year will be quickly drawing to a close, we wanted to remember some of the downright insane things have have happened this year. From the deadly to the triumphant, 2013 has been filled with events that none of us will soon forget. Countless people were injured by bombings, civil uprisings and natural disasters. However, within that tragedy, humanity’s beautiful true nature shone through. These are 28 photos that you simply must see before the end of the year.

27 Incredible Views You’d Only See If You Were A Bird


We humans sure take up and use a lot of space.  I think I would rather live in the Maldives.  Holy cow Mexico City!

The world looks pretty cool from up there.

BuzzFeed Staff

Top 25 Informative Maps That Teach Us Something Uniquely Different About the World


SOURCE:  My Modern Met

Population of Southeast Asia Compared to the Rest of the World

Maps can be great guides for more than just finding routes for traveling. They often provide insight on the rest of the world. Taking a look at certain maps can be incredibly informative, especially when comparing the standing of countries in relation to one another. In fact, many passionate cartographers take pride in creating maps that present relevant knowledge through a visual medium.

Whether they’re on topics concerning population density, educational level, or even a gauge of internet usage across the world, each serves a purpose of sharing data to enlighten minds. Most people aren’t constantly traveling and immersing themselves into the practices of multiple nations, so a statistically informed map can help us all learn more about how we compare to the people of a country on the opposite end of Earth.

An ever-growing collection of informative maps are available through ChartsBin, Target Map, and the MapPorn subreddit. There’s also a wonderfully curated list over on Twisted Sifter. Here’s our roundup of the top 25 informative maps that you’ll never forget.

Top map: reddit Continue reading “Top 25 Informative Maps That Teach Us Something Uniquely Different About the World”

%d bloggers like this: