tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69845310100017606202024-03-06T01:25:34.896-07:00Globetrotting with Uncle SamWelcome to my travel blog which will cover 47 years of travel to 175 countries, mostly on work assignments for the US Government. Postings to date focus on travel between 2008 and 2014. I am gradually curtailing my travel and will be taking a break from this blog to start another one. Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-48655408229103587922013-05-06T23:52:00.000-06:002013-06-30T20:08:09.394-06:00The Flame Towers of Baku<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQxdbLbmyK-j0B8_tvW-S3GnKkjSIbo4QZGtIMVpmWve632b_p5ul5MHIcDAupDA1zNX1tq0bK6b0Aq7LYZxPvfqzje1WVMzNOR_h40bk0ca5w02_mugGPGsAjJiQb8tx1nqlAociGYY/s1600/aj-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQxdbLbmyK-j0B8_tvW-S3GnKkjSIbo4QZGtIMVpmWve632b_p5ul5MHIcDAupDA1zNX1tq0bK6b0Aq7LYZxPvfqzje1WVMzNOR_h40bk0ca5w02_mugGPGsAjJiQb8tx1nqlAociGYY/s320/aj-map.gif" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 14px;">Azerbaijan with Capital of Baku on the Caspian Sea</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">I</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">have just completed a very enjoyable week in Baku, Azerbaijan, a
well-off former soviet republic which has both oil and natural gas. On Saturday
afternoon an Azeri colleague and her family gave me a personal tour of Baku's
beautiful old city which stems from the 13th Century. The government has
also created a very nice harbor area with a long promenade, excellent local and
international restaurants and playgrounds for the children which are heavily
frequented by the citizenry in the evenings and on weekends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Below are some pictures and links related to Baku and Azerbaijan:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB6_iFHtlzm88ExIe6tZiGt0MQ8XWjHn7KT6DETPcJ-JGTC9sNkmZVL_4Q820vnfM7BCMeoElRx-_UZziERYcFh5xl0O5ApBs-K2uNeu8A9i67dA2fH7MgHRt1DqfuyPrW85aS7PCJFc/s1600/IMG_2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiB6_iFHtlzm88ExIe6tZiGt0MQ8XWjHn7KT6DETPcJ-JGTC9sNkmZVL_4Q820vnfM7BCMeoElRx-_UZziERYcFh5xl0O5ApBs-K2uNeu8A9i67dA2fH7MgHRt1DqfuyPrW85aS7PCJFc/s320/IMG_2756.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Baku - Old City Wal</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyovQPdnhbCJ8LvYHL60O61zMHYDtb_sZ6iV5Rg6B3CqWMxRcuCMenmzhpr5vTnkyqRbBBtyqbjPgRHOvV2mHV7I4Ll1J5PUfGHMLvFtBYVipT_OyqzIPkRh7J4v0s0cj2JeFPR_qj70/s1600/IMG_2737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIyovQPdnhbCJ8LvYHL60O61zMHYDtb_sZ6iV5Rg6B3CqWMxRcuCMenmzhpr5vTnkyqRbBBtyqbjPgRHOvV2mHV7I4Ll1J5PUfGHMLvFtBYVipT_OyqzIPkRh7J4v0s0cj2JeFPR_qj70/s320/IMG_2737.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mosque in Old City</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb7oTtmQrtxFXbuZspee7s68u_4Sm0VIG4HxoolMYg8-qOvWNePKGhDw98J58q2Zh541nn1hbpr49fJ4ssvgvJI4Smc7H-iOSfJhqiJLCPa14AEX4WFnKKULwhknuqcxw6mZ7J_CdF2U/s1600/IMG_2753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb7oTtmQrtxFXbuZspee7s68u_4Sm0VIG4HxoolMYg8-qOvWNePKGhDw98J58q2Zh541nn1hbpr49fJ4ssvgvJI4Smc7H-iOSfJhqiJLCPa14AEX4WFnKKULwhknuqcxw6mZ7J_CdF2U/s320/IMG_2753.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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At Old City Mosque</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=baku+old+town&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=nNmEUeuXI8yuPIWlgZAK&ved=0CE0QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=475"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.google.com/search?q=baku+old+town&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=nNmEUeuXI8yuPIWlgZAK&ved=0CE0QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=475</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">After my tour of Baku's Old
City, my guides drove me to a small village on the banks of the Caspian Sea
where we had a wonderful fish dinner. While the Caspian is quite polluted
near the shores where most of the oil rigs are, it is much less so in the
middle where the fish are caught.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">After dinner we returned to
Baku and walked through a memorial park that looks down over the harbor. This
area contains three very modern high rise buildings that locals call the
"Flame Towers." They are lit at night with constantly changing patterns
including bright flames which makes it appear as if they are on fire. I
was mesmerized by them every evening from my room at the Marriott. Below is a
youtube video link on the Flame Towers followed by a couple of personal photos:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ourEyrXDrg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ourEyrXDrg</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6CRWYsDvD3zWHTZEWmBOnXPtoCcylgMu2q6NRQy03ievUMO6v6qEw4O4AHfhEmuMhDbtyPJLuRJivOUSJXDoZXNA0A-TmeOkXzfla53FaS_wqdIlbsnrXn9IXp-cwJhQoWDChJs4fuc/s1600/IMG_2776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6CRWYsDvD3zWHTZEWmBOnXPtoCcylgMu2q6NRQy03ievUMO6v6qEw4O4AHfhEmuMhDbtyPJLuRJivOUSJXDoZXNA0A-TmeOkXzfla53FaS_wqdIlbsnrXn9IXp-cwJhQoWDChJs4fuc/s320/IMG_2776.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 14px;">Baku Flame Towers<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvy4dXxwQIrCAi6hXSge7ERviBjOn65GrEXR7ywKkVsDyRYBSOLX2qEdaLA44H1VoMDARBu0rK1yh5M1HprzsqOK6wxayVA_DTkyatTQKCOXWBiN-ypbM6FwN4TeWbHfdqCEyEk2QE4D8/s1600/IMG_2710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvy4dXxwQIrCAi6hXSge7ERviBjOn65GrEXR7ywKkVsDyRYBSOLX2qEdaLA44H1VoMDARBu0rK1yh5M1HprzsqOK6wxayVA_DTkyatTQKCOXWBiN-ypbM6FwN4TeWbHfdqCEyEk2QE4D8/s320/IMG_2710.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 14px;">View from Marriott Hotel Room: Flame towers in blue, Hilton hotel in foreground with stripes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Baku's eternal flame (as long as the gas doesn't run out)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTHoTaI0d4hg0_hyliz-yOxPQGUnPRnm3NfiexEK9AOK0ycH7WQbo6sE1RxyyurovOHBeafWa1EbTXPbAo0f5o6vYiwcgpGRl0zTRqHd6a3yBHfvH0YnKoOFcoPiNJgYKbUmePPB4YdA/s1600/IMG_2718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTHoTaI0d4hg0_hyliz-yOxPQGUnPRnm3NfiexEK9AOK0ycH7WQbo6sE1RxyyurovOHBeafWa1EbTXPbAo0f5o6vYiwcgpGRl0zTRqHd6a3yBHfvH0YnKoOFcoPiNJgYKbUmePPB4YdA/s320/IMG_2718.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Flame Towers and Harbor from Marriott during the day<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While in Baku I have had many discussions about
religion and especially Islam. One Azeri laughingly said that one of the
advantages of having been under the old Soviet system was that religious Islam
was suppressed by the Russians and that the people are much better off as a
result. Most are very happy that there is no state religion or talk of
Sharia in Azerbaijan and that Islam doesn't completely dominate all aspects of
their lives like it does in many Arab countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have really enjoyed the very tolerant Muslim culture in Baku.
Most Azeris are Shia Muslim who follow most of the colorful Muslim
traditions, but do so without the fanaticism often experienced in the Middle
East. I have only seen a couple of women with covered faces and
only a small percentage of women have even their hair covered. Few Azeris
go to the mosque on Fridays even though there are several beautiful ones in
Baku. The call to prayer, often shrill in other countries, is toned down and
only comes from a limited number of minarets. When it comes to enjoying a
glass of beer or wine in public, Baku is more liberal than my home town of
Salt Lake City. It is more like the wonderful beer gardens of Germany. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is an interesting article on Azerbaijan's secular version of Islam.</span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-26694049861186988862013-04-30T09:40:00.000-06:002013-04-30T11:28:37.944-06:00Tbilisi's Historic Center<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I'm in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, also called Tiflis. I was here eight years ago and Tbilisi's Old Town had undergone a remarkable transformation since then. While it still reflects its long period under Soviet rule, many historic buildings have been restored and the city has a very pleasant pedestrian zone with many lovely outdoor cafes, restaurants and bars. On my last visit, the city was being spruced up for an impending visit by George W. Bush. And the city now has a President George Bush Street (<a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485205/posts">http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1485205/posts</a>). Do you know any US cities that have streets named after George W. Bush? </div>
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I'm feeling lazy and won't write much on Tbilisi in this blog. But I will include several of my photos and provide a few links at the bottom for anyone who might be interested in post-soviet Georgia or in Georgian history and culture.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqptK1haFZd3zLbtIwVWvlizzYyH_svgdyPP6CyHDCQjSHG3hl22fXj8DXE6HFdDzfbsWD9JA_99XQJVjQqPqdmH0nwoxqmsTUUHMhy0BlSawddvzhPl6RI61fyYIIKd3_QCK_lrzLcE/s1600/gg-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqptK1haFZd3zLbtIwVWvlizzYyH_svgdyPP6CyHDCQjSHG3hl22fXj8DXE6HFdDzfbsWD9JA_99XQJVjQqPqdmH0nwoxqmsTUUHMhy0BlSawddvzhPl6RI61fyYIIKd3_QCK_lrzLcE/s400/gg-map.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Georgia showing the capital Tbilisi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22SVLToWDKzWG9lPMsBjBBapyZ8Dkzr9TiJDRv_1pleM3AltRp8SP7zbBvUQ0VnYJJ3khzC4V4JcPTUHKax01sU4NLjrkg8Rhl15JRGn5aSk9adfFmLSLx4SGtd-F4bNuQSMamIXEbao/s1600/IMG_2510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22SVLToWDKzWG9lPMsBjBBapyZ8Dkzr9TiJDRv_1pleM3AltRp8SP7zbBvUQ0VnYJJ3khzC4V4JcPTUHKax01sU4NLjrkg8Rhl15JRGn5aSk9adfFmLSLx4SGtd-F4bNuQSMamIXEbao/s400/IMG_2510.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restaurant: "KGB - Still Watching You"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute Canopy on an Ethnic Restaurant</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Many Orthodox Churches</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGD8RXp-UczXcMqwqsrGL9pFxHWeFPnfzNrtli9rzi-0x7Lb4KMmOliOvNAJDuyM9E6umNTV_2jTjRB4aLlKTipHa8FedYndcHaLyr8ugLgSXgYD_x7zVP0m5Ey-YsTfF18Tov9tgBi8/s1600/IMG_2535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGD8RXp-UczXcMqwqsrGL9pFxHWeFPnfzNrtli9rzi-0x7Lb4KMmOliOvNAJDuyM9E6umNTV_2jTjRB4aLlKTipHa8FedYndcHaLyr8ugLgSXgYD_x7zVP0m5Ey-YsTfF18Tov9tgBi8/s400/IMG_2535.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tbilisi Synagogue</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosque near City Baths </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of St. George with Church in background</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiTpNCfHmLvC8FRaiSyE2k331Q9tlahrR5m6PJiYHlqBJCFZEzYJMod3zlyVsCoFOaFabYrhxDNK4UsJ84uaGeY6vo6OLCkkKAHCavFTbqs_Hh_I1Lwxl1ltRdAFGktu3YQi3AjTrWg8/s1600/IMG_2559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiTpNCfHmLvC8FRaiSyE2k331Q9tlahrR5m6PJiYHlqBJCFZEzYJMod3zlyVsCoFOaFabYrhxDNK4UsJ84uaGeY6vo6OLCkkKAHCavFTbqs_Hh_I1Lwxl1ltRdAFGktu3YQi3AjTrWg8/s400/IMG_2559.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old fascade and porches under renovation</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0uqMiM-lC2BIHwK4QtDX2WSjYgH5qHD-w7IFw4DnwnzMGWrEzxo77V6-UUNZo5p0zgWPnfIk8vlJyXf_5Eq42UZj2SPrgDzRa-gL-o0BubqDe1WJr3FTZhdE1kZ6apvy6xmguL_6x6k/s1600/IMG_2602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjoFQIYBL1iEba2HHCHU6Eb5hBLwQOMMb6oSqBRYPoZniDdsGk_uPVCRdBOC5Biu2YPUJJgFKPyRDWwhMELaHYGoiI0HKjEoG7LHchlxOJ9f26s_doGmmzekWMmOcE2b1hlTKwoRxvrU/s1600/IMG_2622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjoFQIYBL1iEba2HHCHU6Eb5hBLwQOMMb6oSqBRYPoZniDdsGk_uPVCRdBOC5Biu2YPUJJgFKPyRDWwhMELaHYGoiI0HKjEoG7LHchlxOJ9f26s_doGmmzekWMmOcE2b1hlTKwoRxvrU/s400/IMG_2622.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Produce shop</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ARRMS763IuLyQmeFVvtqQQObFQGOneQqZ8ipokKxwd0w8KYgfsueILYxg_k9A6PWJTwFbDfqiRmbD1uqtf5I-NVm6PEc2_y3MEEdJJ26yFyAhg4ZPHQfjzHX5UoMCEcxFhZj4MmjeKw/s1600/IMG_2504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ARRMS763IuLyQmeFVvtqQQObFQGOneQqZ8ipokKxwd0w8KYgfsueILYxg_k9A6PWJTwFbDfqiRmbD1uqtf5I-NVm6PEc2_y3MEEdJJ26yFyAhg4ZPHQfjzHX5UoMCEcxFhZj4MmjeKw/s400/IMG_2504.JPG" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VIP Hotel, Tbilisi</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Old Town across the Mtkvari River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-8bqyb2xo0lUO9y3u9WTihFPXr6AqwkVYYRtqRhrvDNbl_8LxKcSZSN7Ld5jEqGD0uQUtwcVSc7o6pyqc73B-q8TVgLYvef5ryRUccglcelmKoqqNaSal4x39J98-PxthdkQTJc5SrU/s1600/IMG_2569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-8bqyb2xo0lUO9y3u9WTihFPXr6AqwkVYYRtqRhrvDNbl_8LxKcSZSN7Ld5jEqGD0uQUtwcVSc7o6pyqc73B-q8TVgLYvef5ryRUccglcelmKoqqNaSal4x39J98-PxthdkQTJc5SrU/s320/IMG_2569.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tbilisi Baths</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Houses on hillside leading up to Castle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restaurant near Mtkvari River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65X-rDU8VuRgvVhfFHJkHSfIDY7NvzBiNQV8xNrHbhU7VSv2mLeQ0CH7x0yOpsPJ31TDGw0miUZpPWtVlqQUL9vEg_o-KMMgerEj2f2KYsrTyWogdh1UOMJwmOekevawQdiwXYkfS4Es/s1600/IMG_2615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65X-rDU8VuRgvVhfFHJkHSfIDY7NvzBiNQV8xNrHbhU7VSv2mLeQ0CH7x0yOpsPJ31TDGw0miUZpPWtVlqQUL9vEg_o-KMMgerEj2f2KYsrTyWogdh1UOMJwmOekevawQdiwXYkfS4Es/s320/IMG_2615.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Souvenir Shop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNu3mVZx1qLb9ZSp1aj-cwnH4oDyzOEKg3z31b_fk80ze0BQJmWBnOmHBL9mY1PwxVPwMSpqp9JkxnLCXQdmWKFGdOb5HbVi5Ds6-lF7uryIa65BiuJrl1APGjCx5T1JtqsOXHhSz1SU/s1600/IMG_2620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNu3mVZx1qLb9ZSp1aj-cwnH4oDyzOEKg3z31b_fk80ze0BQJmWBnOmHBL9mY1PwxVPwMSpqp9JkxnLCXQdmWKFGdOb5HbVi5Ds6-lF7uryIa65BiuJrl1APGjCx5T1JtqsOXHhSz1SU/s400/IMG_2620.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stelzer Haus German Restaurant </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Mtkvari Bridge Towards Old Town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOAEq5gkCxV7Nh5kDghLAQ7RaOR1HS0oPt3LGnarGewRE_bDfLiNuK_ML9H0G3dCRzemCnr7XuzAbNqTtIgm-I_rHTEI9pA28ofoT76sxF09YPNmD-XrnlwlADkfEl_uldz7surUtEPg/s1600/IMG_2606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOAEq5gkCxV7Nh5kDghLAQ7RaOR1HS0oPt3LGnarGewRE_bDfLiNuK_ML9H0G3dCRzemCnr7XuzAbNqTtIgm-I_rHTEI9pA28ofoT76sxF09YPNmD-XrnlwlADkfEl_uldz7surUtEPg/s320/IMG_2606.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cock of the Walk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeAmtqdcU9iLhE1qycLJ7s_0G_0h2b_N0izsWHmQAG5z4NFaR6FMxNE7obNCJjuL1QJoutFeyXdRgi2YNHE8i0WkZowkizoFIB3Qz3QKWMzk2pHas_3cMIVEaAdm34yG90u_3gTkPgBTQ/s1600/IMG_2610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeAmtqdcU9iLhE1qycLJ7s_0G_0h2b_N0izsWHmQAG5z4NFaR6FMxNE7obNCJjuL1QJoutFeyXdRgi2YNHE8i0WkZowkizoFIB3Qz3QKWMzk2pHas_3cMIVEaAdm34yG90u_3gTkPgBTQ/s320/IMG_2610.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting Door on a Night Club</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikp3lgxjn6FNe7RugP1WdZyDpuc_CBufEt2D30ObKUvopOqO7vW66gta17ldIJi_VckfB2BoLkxTPTTp9dRQU7TjjevsKji5RjGWJcvpRtsB4w0ieMSigOqZUZRYA9KHIzAMRvY6ZRUyM/s1600/IMG_2631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikp3lgxjn6FNe7RugP1WdZyDpuc_CBufEt2D30ObKUvopOqO7vW66gta17ldIJi_VckfB2BoLkxTPTTp9dRQU7TjjevsKji5RjGWJcvpRtsB4w0ieMSigOqZUZRYA9KHIzAMRvY6ZRUyM/s320/IMG_2631.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old House With Classic Tbilisi Balcony on City Wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDf_C8-ic7npxr0TjuFCEG_5j7BKlvp2I7k1HogYSX5Q_fFIS9OAn4k4hIKhhK23nYxnjGsUZ2rpmop6NBFtus89Q4xB2QBT_-09QXhwdqdQgJWjvAN6FIDbbCgJKwjA5ywM6QV2_LFA/s1600/IMG_2645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDf_C8-ic7npxr0TjuFCEG_5j7BKlvp2I7k1HogYSX5Q_fFIS9OAn4k4hIKhhK23nYxnjGsUZ2rpmop6NBFtus89Q4xB2QBT_-09QXhwdqdQgJWjvAN6FIDbbCgJKwjA5ywM6QV2_LFA/s320/IMG_2645.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Folk Dancer Sculpture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDal7WI1Yp8aIN5ynSu0eXKVDj8BQ6-RIyxm37mMGzpo0eDvJP10-vszz3yPfTgNlLmoDgxhdh0cKrI1azT5fwKB_dgNUxWyoMFKv5zKY7E6PTJw9YmETlkfORXDAE-pY3UsZDe__Lj9s/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDal7WI1Yp8aIN5ynSu0eXKVDj8BQ6-RIyxm37mMGzpo0eDvJP10-vszz3yPfTgNlLmoDgxhdh0cKrI1azT5fwKB_dgNUxWyoMFKv5zKY7E6PTJw9YmETlkfORXDAE-pY3UsZDe__Lj9s/s400/IMG_2659.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Office of the Georgian Orthodox Prelate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2w4IyfCiAXK2NfXOoqzRhurXRxPeJjG63n01CEXzMnTc4JDszck6U785dCX2_qCNXyRxXC6THjYBHZe31bG4gO27tm9oavG0LoJx6B_URwnIAPi2XgwqPPApsVlif6Sp7nDSHMKSLgUI/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2w4IyfCiAXK2NfXOoqzRhurXRxPeJjG63n01CEXzMnTc4JDszck6U785dCX2_qCNXyRxXC6THjYBHZe31bG4gO27tm9oavG0LoJx6B_URwnIAPi2XgwqPPApsVlif6Sp7nDSHMKSLgUI/s320/IMG_2647.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Billboard for an Art Exhibit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pwVfAambGPMyMN6IPtUIS73XvpYDbtIEkSj4ujSHM9GmsdMmGdraa2eeloijmajJ5EWKS0qGfj-Vy1ZFftNKjzAu9b7n_w0E32y5d6k1nbNlhp0rdxOarLfftAyBopLiRRaENPkLOl8/s1600/IMG_2643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pwVfAambGPMyMN6IPtUIS73XvpYDbtIEkSj4ujSHM9GmsdMmGdraa2eeloijmajJ5EWKS0qGfj-Vy1ZFftNKjzAu9b7n_w0E32y5d6k1nbNlhp0rdxOarLfftAyBopLiRRaENPkLOl8/s320/IMG_2643.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Georgian Architecture With Typical Balcony</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL1-qBO3e8GATNcAHhy3kjBDWc5OO3N7zgQPwNY7MDopXln6C16mlGybYQHSnDO6qvceJdSI9gCnStkasZYROl6e_QORKwouyza_OPDWLtUjFDzL1x8-TKguBfr31u48jMM3rldc8aKk/s1600/IMG_2543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL1-qBO3e8GATNcAHhy3kjBDWc5OO3N7zgQPwNY7MDopXln6C16mlGybYQHSnDO6qvceJdSI9gCnStkasZYROl6e_QORKwouyza_OPDWLtUjFDzL1x8-TKguBfr31u48jMM3rldc8aKk/s320/IMG_2543.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Front of a Tourist Shop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHZg_wq-sjAtD_AcoSs1VEP8InsXmfUQ3BCpPecHq30xNiw8NG1bIUs3jim6rGrkFrgZWZHawy5of-lDbmv00QIdAlxtjtWb9SRLI_bAkCXY4UYSFHT4PNNAFxx3c7ue6z5wpX5LuoJ8/s1600/IMG_2513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHZg_wq-sjAtD_AcoSs1VEP8InsXmfUQ3BCpPecHq30xNiw8NG1bIUs3jim6rGrkFrgZWZHawy5of-lDbmv00QIdAlxtjtWb9SRLI_bAkCXY4UYSFHT4PNNAFxx3c7ue6z5wpX5LuoJ8/s320/IMG_2513.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pedestrian Zone with Restaurants</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
That's the end of my photos and here are a few links on the Republic of Georgia, Georgian History and Tbilisi.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gg.html">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gg.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/ga/georgian/history.html">http://www.angelfire.com/ga/georgian/history.html</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi</a><br />
<br />
Final note: During my stay I had conversations with several Georgians. When I asked those over 40 if they yearned for the old soviet days, without exception they said yes. I was very surprised and when I asked why, they typically said that life was simplier then with less worries, that people were closer and more friendly, and that the youth have become more aggressive and materialistic. In other words they seem to have liked the Nanny state and miss it. I don't quite know what to take from this but I found it interesting. I also have the impression that younger Georgians don't necessarily agree with the older ones. </div>
Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-58333218803615445212013-04-24T11:22:00.000-06:002013-04-30T11:27:22.663-06:00Kosovo's Valley of Death<br />
<div class="p1">
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Map of Kosovo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greetings from Pristina, Kosovo. Yesterday I visited nearby Gazimestan, which is Serbo-Croatian for "Place of Heros" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazimestan</a>). In 1953 a monument was built at Gazimestan to commemorate the 1389 "Battle of Blackbird Field" also known as "the Battle of Kosovo" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kosovo">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kosovo</a>) which was primarily waged between the Serbs and the Ottoman Turks. In 1989 this monument served as the venue for a speech by Serbian President Slobodan Milošević to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the battle. The speech preceded a violent surge in ethnic tension prior to the break up of Yugoslavia.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIalCmGBCtR_TCktl9yCrO1ZY9O6ziq3Dql01-LZow83ERKsBIGl8tAXtiUKC6u8JOCnDyxSymS9QCE4y0jXhdxHU_mWpQbPLjs777SUZuZkrqlydTO1cgmvZm6ygtqjzE48PTiUhw_E/s1600/IMG_2478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcIalCmGBCtR_TCktl9yCrO1ZY9O6ziq3Dql01-LZow83ERKsBIGl8tAXtiUKC6u8JOCnDyxSymS9QCE4y0jXhdxHU_mWpQbPLjs777SUZuZkrqlydTO1cgmvZm6ygtqjzE48PTiUhw_E/s320/IMG_2478.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gazimestan Monument</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following inscription on the Monument is know as the Kosovo Curse and is attributed to Serbian Orthodox Saint and Martyr, Prince Lazar:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Whoever is a Serb and of Serb birth</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and of Serb blood and heritage</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and comes not to the Battle of Kosovo,</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">may he never have the progeny his heart desires</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">neither son nor daughter.</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May nothing grow that his hand sows,</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">neither dark wine nor white wheat.</span></div>
<div class="p4" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And let him be cursed from all ages to all ages!"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a bizarre video version of the curse followed by an analysis of the curse's meaning!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s8Lc3p0JdQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s8Lc3p0JdQ</a>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://newint.org/features/1993/09/05/curse/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://newint.org/features/1993/09/05/curse/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a sense, the Kosovo Curse is real. The Kosovars, primarily ethnic Albanian Muslims, have had the historical misfortune of living among the repressive and oft-waring factions of Muslim Turkey, Orthodox Christian Serbia, the Catholic Hapsburg Empire and Stalinist Albania. While Tito kept his thumb on the powder keg known as Yugoslavia for many years, the keg burst with his death and there has been almost continuous friction since. The most recent Kosovo War began in 1998 when Kosovars, who are 90 percent Muslim, declared themselves independent from the Serbian Government in Belgrade and founded the Republic of Kosovo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This 1998 Vanity Fair article describes the brutality of the Serbian response:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1998/07/junger199807"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1998/07/junger199807</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to NATO intervention, the Republic of Kosovo continues and is now recognized as an independent country by the US, NATO countries and a hand full of others. Serbia, Russia and China do not recognize an independent Kosovo. The US has a provisional embassy in Pristina and will begin the construction of a new Embassy in 2014. The following links provide information on the NATO role in this war, on the new Republic of Kosovo and on the extent of its diplomatic recognition. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nato.int/kosovo/history.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.nato.int/kosovo/history.htm</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Kosovo"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Kosovo</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Kosovo"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Kosovo</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is some information on Pristina, Kosovo's capital city.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.inyourpocket.com/kosovo/pristina"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.inyourpocket.com/kosovo/pristina</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And to end this, here is a photo I took of the Bill Clinton statue on Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina, which recognizes his role in Kosovo Independence. He gave a speech at its unveiling in 2009.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Clinton Statue in Pristina, Kosovo</td></tr>
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<!--EndFragment-->Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-27811762099634163792013-02-20T19:31:00.000-07:002013-02-25T12:07:02.646-07:00Nouakchott has great baguettes<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: 'arial narrow', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This past Saturday I arrived at Nouakchott Airport about midnight. I had gotten up at 3 a.m. that morning in Dakar to catch a three-hour flight North to Casablanca. After an 11-hour layover at Casablanca Airport, I flew back South 3 hours to Nouakchott. Nouakchott is only about an hour away from Dakar but there are currently no dependable airlines flying between the two cities.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">As I entered the arrivals terminal the chaos had started. People were already trying to jump the long queues, with the men usually pushing their women up front. In the very tradition-bound country, women get priority when the men want to give it to them, usually only when a man has something to gain. The embassy expediter that was supposed to meet me to circumvent all this was nowhere in sight, so I was left to my own devices. When a guy tried to crowd in from the side, I blocked him with my carry-on. And as I got close to the immigration desk, I put my elbow on the ledge in front of him, preventing his last attempt to get ahead of me. I was very proud of myself as he really seemed to think he could bluff an old American. He moved over and went to try another line. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">Claiming my luggage was the next hurdle. At least 50 porter wannabes were trying to catch my attention. I got my own bag and headed for the entrance. Now here is where I really needed the expediter because he was also supposed to drive me to my hotel. What seemed like hundreds of people were yelling at me, asking if I needed a taxi. The exchange office was closed so I had no local Ouguiya and nothing less than a $20 bill. It is tough to negotiate a good price when one only has big bills. At this point I had no choice but to decide on a taxi, but how? I took a deep breath, walked into the crowd and pointed at the first respectable looking guy I saw. He grabbed my roller board and told me to follow. When I got to the curb I found that he was only an agent for a driver, probably older than myself, with a run down taxi, which was already pulling up to load my bags. It was a 70s vintage Toyota with an engine that barely ran, no seat belts and an extremely dirty windshield. I hesitatingly got in, and after agreeing to an exorbitant fare of $20, just to get out of there, we were on our way. I asked him if he could turn on his windshield washer, which he did. However it smeared the dirt and made the visibility worse. We both bent down to peer through a small clear area just above the dashboard. As we headed out of the airport, the traffic was coming from all sides. The rule of the road was whoever got their first had the right-of-way and the driver frequently slammed on squeaky brakes to avoid a collision. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">My principal contact in Nouakchott had informed me by email that I had a reservation at the Atlantic B&B. The driver had never heard of it but said he thought he knew where it might be! After the 15-minute ride of my life, he pulled up in front a darkened building and said he thought this was probably it. I got out and stared up at the building to see if it had a name. A guard woke up and came out to see what I wanted. I asked him if this was the Atlantic B&B. He nodded yes and as I got closer I could see that it was the Hotel Atlantico. We knocked on the door and someone came from inside to unlock it and turn on a light. When I asked the large African man if this was the Atlantic B&B, he smiled at me broadly and in very good English, said hello "Mr. Paul." Very relieved I went into the hotel for a very warm welcome and was led to a clean and comfortable, if spartan room, with working a/c, TV, Internet and shower as well as a vase of roses on the nightstand. The bed was comfortable and I slept like a log. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">The following day was Sunday and I had expected to work at the embassy because this Muslim country follows a Friday/Saturday weekend. When I called the embassy to inquire when a car could pick me up, the Marine on duty told me that the embassy was closed because they were celebrating President’s Day so that the employees could have a three-day weekend like Americans get in the U.S.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, is a stark, dusty desert outpost on the edge of the Sahara. I'm told that sand dunes often shift into the city covering roads and streets which for the most part are unpaved. Driving is chaotic and crowded with handicapped beggars sitting in the middle of the streets reaching towards the car windows on both sides. Camels and donkeys are also common along the roads. The city is on the Atlantic and it's biggest tourist draw is probably the fish market. Expats and diplomats can also visit nice beaches on the weekends but there are few amenities so they usually have to take a lot with them. Most of the city's buildings are single story and with the dirt roads, appear much like early towns of the American West. The people are a mix of Sub-Saharan African and Tuareg tribes with small French, Arab and Lebanese communities controlling much of the country's commerce.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Mauritania</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">Last year CNN ran a program which claimed that Mauritania is the world's last stronghold of slavery, with 10 to 20 percent of the population being held as slaves. Here is a link with pictures: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/03/world/mauritania.slaverys.last.stronghold/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/03/world/mauritania.slaverys.last.stronghold/index.html</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">Some social scientists have protested the program's use of the term slavery, indicating it is more a form of racism with one people considering itself superior to another and trying to enforce this superiority. This seems to me like splitting hairs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">The baguettes in Nouakchott really are good – among the best I’ve had. A remnant of French colonialism is that the Africans in these countries love fresh baguettes and whatever other French food they can get. The Africans really should be eating something a little more nutritious but baguettes certainly do taste good, especially with lots of butter. The best restaurants in Nouakchott are also French but since last year, owners have had to absorb a major financial hit because the Mauritanian Government cracked down on the importation and use of alcohol. According to rumor the decision was because a member of the ruling family was involved in a serious car accident while drunk. Drinks are still allowed after sundown in two restaurants catering almost exclusively to French and European expats who expect to be able to drink wine with their dinner.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">Here are a few more links on Mauritania:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5467.htm" style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5467.htm</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouakchott" style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: blue;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouakchott</span></a></span></span><br />
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-24690184066983617612013-02-15T05:53:00.000-07:002013-02-20T16:04:17.179-07:00Bissau: Today's African Adventure<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'arial narrow', sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This morning I got up at 3 a.m. at my Praia hotel to catch a one-hour Cape Verde Airlines flight to Dakar, scheduled to depart at 5:30. When I arrived at the Airport I was informed that the flight had been delayed until 7:30. When boarding started at 7, an announcement came that we would overfly Dakar and make a stop in Bissau before flying back to Dakar. Apparently due to under bookings on two flights, they consolidated them into one, taking passengers to both Bissau and Dakar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">The landing and an hour layover in the capital of Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, was very interesting. The countryside has incredible rivers and wetland with a few large Portuguese farm estates, dispersed through the area. The runway was lined on both sides with dozens of the large red termite hills often seen in Africa. I hadn’t seen any for several years and again found them fascinating.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Termite Mounds Near Bissau Airport Runway</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;"> Hanging near the entrance to the Bissau Airport was a large sign welcoming “his Excellency Ike Ekweremadu.” I had no idea who he was but just googled and found that he is the deputy leader of the Nigerian National Senate. About 15 minutes after we landed, an unmarked turbojet arrived with approximately 50 well-dressed African dignitaries . Next to the airport was a pretty little Catholic church and it looked to me that an important wedding was getting ready to take place there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">As we were getting ready to take off again, a regional State Department officer who was on the same flight, pointed to a decaying Learjet that was sitting on the edge of the tarmac. He told me that a couple of years ago, it had been forced down during an unauthorized flight through Bissau’s airspace. He said that it had been filled with cocaine which was confiscated by the Bissau police and which disappeared into the unknown shortly thereafter. No one talks about what happened to the pilot and crew and no one has ever returned to claim the plane. I finally arrived in Dakar around noon.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">I continue on to Nouakchott early tomorrow morning and I'm sure another great African adventure awaits me there. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial narrow,sans-serif;">Paul</span></span></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-41463644286328180142013-02-13T15:54:00.000-07:002013-02-25T12:08:42.531-07:00Cape Verde: Cesaria Evora and Petit PaysI am currently in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, a small island nation and former Portuguese colony off the West African Coast. Senegal and Mauritania are it's closest neighbors. It has just over half a million people spread across approximately 10 islands with a population mix of Portuguese and various African peoples speaking Portuguese and Criollo. Praia is a pretty little city of about 125,000 which has attractive Portuguese-style buildings, very clean streets, a central square and an entire pedestrian walking zone with cars denied access. Such zones are common in Europe but it is the first one I've seen in Africa.<br />
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Cape Verde has long been a desirable tourist destination for the Portuguese with its European market now expanding. The Hilton Hotel chain recently broke ground for a resort on Sal Island. The country has a moderate, semi-arid climate with gorgeous flowers and palms as indicated in the following picture which I took at my hotel in Praia.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Hotel Pestana Tropico in Praia</td></tr>
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Here is a map followed by several information links on the country:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhsF7deMTeOQovFusR1i-RqLtq1fLXP834WdHvDXqtzsVtp8kSU8k37ixFADeJaLdfDuW6BjIGYtpIv441gcZ8-vThAx7Ledxl2KFhaT-uAiyzJxsCFr41YVXxKr2c1W3cD3w078gMPk/s1600/cv-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhsF7deMTeOQovFusR1i-RqLtq1fLXP834WdHvDXqtzsVtp8kSU8k37ixFADeJaLdfDuW6BjIGYtpIv441gcZ8-vThAx7Ledxl2KFhaT-uAiyzJxsCFr41YVXxKr2c1W3cD3w078gMPk/s1600/cv-map.gif" style="cursor: move;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Cape Verde with Praia, its capital </td></tr>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verde">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verde</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cape-verde">http://www.lonelyplanet.com/cape-verde</a></div>
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I have wanted to visit Cape Verde for at least 20 years, every since I first heard Cesaria Evora's haunting song Petit Pays (little country). Her melancholic voice and beautiful rhythms immediately caught my ear and she has become one of favorites. I own a couple of her CD's and I love the mood her music sets. Before passing away a couple of years ago she became an icon in the genre of Edith Piaf, often with booze or cigarettes in hand while she performed. She sang primarily in her native Criollo language, but also in Portuguese and French. Although I'm not fond of smoke and boozed-filled rooms, much of the music that comes out of this milieu is outstanding and I especially like it late at night. If you haven't heard Cesaria before, listen to the following and I'm sure you will be smitten too. The third link contains a fantastic instrumental introduction to an entire Erova concert.</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR7HKOP55AQ"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR7HKOP55AQ</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYY8GJ-i0I"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYY8GJ-i0I</span></a></div>
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An here is Cesaria's official website and links on her life and her passing:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.cesaria-evora.com/?lang=en">http://www.cesaria-evora.com/?lang=en</a> </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ces%C3%A1ria_%C3%89vora" style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: blue;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ces%C3%A1ria_%C3%89vora</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/17/cesaria-evora" style="background-color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/17/cesaria-evora</span></a></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-64334088034569423882013-02-11T10:00:00.000-07:002013-02-20T15:57:27.701-07:00The Gambia, Africa's Smallest Country<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">If asked to name the smallest
country in Africa, most people would not be able to. They might guess Swaziland
or Lesotho but they would be wrong. It is "The Gambia"
which stretches along The Gambia River, surrounded on three sides by Senegal on
the West African Bulge. Some of the island nations surrounding Africa are
smaller but it is the smallest on the African mainland. Today I made a short
airport stop in Banjul, the country's capital and caught glimpses of pretty
much the entire country as we descended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Not exactly a household name, The
Gambia has a tragic but interesting history. It is a relic of the Slave
Trade with Portuguese, British, Americans, Arabs and even Africans buying and
selling slaves here. It has a population of about 1.2 million living on
slightly more 11,000 square meters. The country gained independence from
Great Britain in 1965 with Banjul having formerly been Bathurst. With excellent
beaches, a major river and fertile soil, the Gambian economy has a good
economic base for farming fishing and tourism. I was impressed with the
airport for such a small, developing country and several large planes from
Europe were parked on the tarmac. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of The Gambia with Senegal on three sides</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Here are a few links providing
more information on The Gambia and on other small African countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gambia"><span style="color: #0031e0;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gambia</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://www.visitthegambia.gm/"><span style="color: #0031e0;">http://www.visitthegambia.gm</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa"><span style="color: #0031e0;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><a href="http://www.mapsofworld.com/africa/thematic/smallest-countries.html"><span style="color: #0031e0;">http://www.mapsofworld.com/africa/thematic/smallest-countries.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> I will spend tonight in
Dakar, Senegal and fly on tomorrow to my next working stop in Praia, Cape
Verde, another small country few people have heard of. I'll post
something on my blog on this country in a couple of days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-58296066795444846052013-02-09T02:16:00.000-07:002013-02-26T17:07:30.559-07:00Sierra Leone and Liberia: Connected at the HipSierra Leone and it's neighbor, Liberia are geographically and historically joined at the hip. As indicated in my February 3, 2010 post, Liberia was founded by freed American slaves who emigrated to the mother continent with the pipe dream of establishing a "United States of Africa." As a parallel, Sierra Leone was settled in 1792 by Nova Scotia abolitionists led by John Clarkson who transported slaves back to Africa under the banner of "The Sierra Leone Company,"the basis for the country's name (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Company">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Company</a>). The first settlement was Freetown which became Sierra Leone's capital.<br />
<br />
Both countries have struggled to achieve the dreams of their founders, having to contend with such forces as colonialism, tribalism, racism, bad management and corrupt despots such as Charles Taylor who led insurrections on both sides of the common border. Both countries are currently enjoying a period of peace which will hopefully continue despite all of the forces which could undermine it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/06/war-criminal-charles-taylor-pension">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/06/war-criminal-charles-taylor-pension</a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberian_politician">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberian_politician</a>)</div>
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During Taylor's involvement in Sierra Leone the country became infamous for the child soldiers that supported the warlords fighting over the country's high quality diamonds. They provided the plot for the movie "Blood Diamond" starring Leonard DiCaprio.<br />
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<a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/blooddiamond/small.html">http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/blooddiamond/small.html</a><br />
<a href="http://money.howstuffworks.com/african-diamond-trade2.htm">http://money.howstuffworks.com/african-diamond-trade2.htm</a></div>
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<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/africa/ishmael-beah-child-soldier">http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/africa/ishmael-beah-child-soldier</a><br />
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Freetown is not an easy place to get to with the city's Lungi Airport serviced only by a very limited number of flights from other African countries and from Europe. After arriving at the airport, one must also travel by boat to Freetown across a wide estuary formed by the Sierra Leone River as it flows into the Freetown Harbor. On Thursday of this week I had to leave my Monrovia Hotel at 1 a.m. for the long drive to that city's Roberts Field Airport to catch a 4:30 flight to Freetown. When I arrived at Lungi Airport an hour later, I immediately bought a ticket for the boat which reached the Freetown dock after about half an hour of sailing in the dark (I can't imagine having to do this during Sierra Leone's long torrential rainy season). An embassy driver met me at the dock and after dropping my luggage at the hotel, took me to the embassy to work. Needless to say it was a long day, necessitated by the limited options for departing Freetown.<br />
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Unfortunately I didn't have much time for sightseeing in Freetown which I'm told has vibrant markets, fantastic beaches and great potential for ecotourism. The city is built on several steep hills which affords excellent views of the harbor and the Atlantic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">View over Freetown from Country Lodge Hotel</td></tr>
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<br />
While driving between the hotel and the embassy I also saw some of the very interested old colonial houses left behind by the British. The following article contains several pictures which provide a fascinating glimpse of colonial Sierra Leone. <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;">http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/03/freetowns-colourful-wooden-houses-a-symbol-of-sierra-leones-past/</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee;"><br /></span>
Here is a photo I took myself to highlight one of the incredible support structures that hold up some of these houses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freetown - old colonial home on support pillars</td></tr>
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Here is also a Tourist Board video which highlights some of the country's tourist destinations with catchy local music playing in the background. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDrtnhbS0IQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDrtnhbS0IQ</a><br />
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The remaining links are worth glancing through for information on Sierra Leone's history, geography and culture.<br />
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<a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html</a></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-21900328886331239282012-11-17T18:16:00.000-07:002013-07-29T22:41:03.366-06:00Old Havana<br />
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I have just completed a week's work at the US Interest Section in Havana and am back home in Salt Lake City for the holidays. Until last week Cuba and St. Kitts were the only two countries in the Western Hemisphere I hadn't visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now there's only St. Kitts. <br />
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I have tried for several years to get to Havana as there has been work I needed to do there. But the Cuban government severely limits the number of official US government visitors each year. I first applied for a visa six years ago, but after my passport had been held at
the Cuban Mission in Washington for more than 6 months I withdrew it. This past September I applied again, and with the help of a colleague in Havana, the visa was finally granted. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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Few American realize that we have a diplomatic mission in
Havana, probably because it is not called an Embassy. It is the US Interest Section (USINT) and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">is in the same building that was our e</span>mbassy prior to the Cuban Revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>USINT is actually a legal entity of the Swiss
Embassy. However there is neither a US nor Swiss flag flying over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Below is a picture of USINT followed by a wikilink describing it.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">US Interest Section</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Interests_Section_in_Havana">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Interests_Section_in_Havana</a><br />
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<br />
Unfortunately I only had one day to see Havana's sights which I did from a double-decker tour bus. I also spent one evening having dinner and walking around in Old Havana which was the highlight of my week. Old Havana has deteriorated a lot since the Revolution but it has fabulous old buildings and homes on broad boulevards surrounded by very attractive tropical gardens. Havana is also known for the large number of vintage American cars that still drives through its streets. Most are from the 1940s and 50s with some even from the 30's. I saw Packards, Studebakers and DeSotos to name a few. Below are a few of my photos from Havana:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSzWQ9p_5rbo5C4Gic77DaFrn4EbOfQo7uPvgG9wQfSMGhjTeec62P7Oz06HoylI_0IBcvNhmbu8cEyeiwIHLOi-UtFoFMMnnmz1bbPKcebP-0jE982Ukf0E7ld7WrPUA6ULdfmKgg3s/s1600/IMG_2077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSzWQ9p_5rbo5C4Gic77DaFrn4EbOfQo7uPvgG9wQfSMGhjTeec62P7Oz06HoylI_0IBcvNhmbu8cEyeiwIHLOi-UtFoFMMnnmz1bbPKcebP-0jE982Ukf0E7ld7WrPUA6ULdfmKgg3s/s320/IMG_2077.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image of Che Guevara on government building</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image of Karl Marx</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuban soldiers jogging past national cemetery</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old American cars in Havana</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An old Chevy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkN8tESW54UbD8PX-fhTjp8LuKqdmiFdRZ46Du5d-Q8Yf7PChPkxEmpC-zyBsB8zzuhIQjPl7B3SSf_2MpCtDlKCCXK43fjivuxAEFS3v-w2WMPFhlMJGkxZI9EHaWXRWnojqyYAamYd4/s1600/IMG_2016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkN8tESW54UbD8PX-fhTjp8LuKqdmiFdRZ46Du5d-Q8Yf7PChPkxEmpC-zyBsB8zzuhIQjPl7B3SSf_2MpCtDlKCCXK43fjivuxAEFS3v-w2WMPFhlMJGkxZI9EHaWXRWnojqyYAamYd4/s320/IMG_2016.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Havana Cathedral</td></tr>
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The following google link contains many more pictures of Havana<br />
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<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=old+havana&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pc23UMqLJIK5igLFw4CYBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFUQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=497">http://www.google.com/search?q=old+havana&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pc23UMqLJIK5igLFw4CYBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFUQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=497</a></div>
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And here are also a couple of links on Havana's status as a UNESCO World Heritage City and on travel to Havana.<br />
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<a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/204">http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/204</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.usacubatravel.com/cuold.htm">http://www.usacubatravel.com/cuold.htm</a></div>
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<a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Havana">http://wikitravel.org/en/Havana</a></div>
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I don't plan to discuss US-Cuban relations in this post because they are well known and well documented on the Internet. Some readers may be interested in the following links:<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.history.com/topics/bay-of-pigs-invasion">http://www.history.com/topics/bay-of-pigs-invasion</a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion</a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_missile_crisis">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_missile_crisis</a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.biography.com/people/fidel-castro-9241487">http://www.biography.com/people/fidel-castro-9241487</a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofthecaribbean/p/08cubanrevo.htm">http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofthecaribbean/p/08cubanrevo.htm</a></span></div>
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According to US law, Americans can only travel to Cuba on people-to-people programs, typically sponsored by universities, churches and social service organizations. Commercial flights from the US to Cuba are also banned and the only way in is via charter flights, primarily from Miami. However, things seem to be loosening up from both sides and I expect normal diplomatic relations to be reestablished before President Obama leaves the White House. Despite the current red tape, a visit to Havana and the rest of Cuba is definitely worthwhile and I hope to return soon with Gertrud on a more extensive trip.</div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-21523923354143838522012-05-14T15:00:00.000-06:002012-08-29T14:52:09.560-06:00Rome: Secrets of the Vatican Revealed<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Gertrud and I
are currently in Rome, having last been here in May 2009 when I wrote a post
entitled “La Dolce Vita.” This time around my post will focus exclusively on
"Lux in Arcana," a first-ever public exhibit of 100 original documents from
the Vatican's Secret Archives which we viewed in Rome's Capitoline Museums.
Here is the official website for the exhibition: <a href="http://www.luxinarcana.org/en">http://www.luxinarcana.org/en</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was especially
impressed with the following documents which are presented in no particular
order of importance:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Petition from
Nicolaus Copernicus to Pope Paul III regarding his studies of the universe.
Date: June 1, 1542 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Proceedings of the
Trial of Galileo Galilei which found him guilty of heresy for defending the
Copernican system: Various dates between 1616 and 1633: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pope Alexander VI’s “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inter cetera</i> bull” in which he "granted" the new lands discovered by Columbus to the rulers of Spain: March 4, 1493. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pope Leo X’s
excommunication of Martin Luther: January 3, 1521</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Emperor Charles V’s
edict at Worms establishing an imperial ban against Martin Luther: May 8, 1521</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Letter from members
of the English Parliament (with all wax seals attached) to Pope
Clement VII emphasizing the importance of granting the annulment of Henry
VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn,
and hopefully sire the longed-for heir to the throne: July 13, 1530</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Letter from Russian
Tsar Aleksei I Romanov to Pope Clement X, requesting support against common
threats posed by the Ottoman Turks: October 21, 1672</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Concordant between
King Henry V and Pope Calixtus II which ended the struggle over
investitures. It provided that ecclesiastical investiture of bishops be
reserved for the Church and that feudal investiture (including that of the
bishops) be reserved for the emperor. September 23, 1122.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pope Bonface VIII’s
“Unam sanctam” stating that there is only one Church founded by Christ, and
that outside it there can be no salvation. It also states that to maintain the
universal order desired by God, popes can depose emperors and kings. It
further declares that “submitting to the Roman pontiff, is necessary for the
salvation of every human creature:” November 18, 1302</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pope Innocent X’s
brief declaring the Westphalia Peace Treaties, which ended the Thirty Years War
(1618-1648), null and void. Although this letter was never published, it
reflected the Pope’s concern that the treaties negotiated between Catholic and
Protestant diplomats would do irreparable damage to the Catholic Church:
November 26, 1648</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The 1801 Napoleonic
Concordat between France and the Papacy which recognized the Catholic Church’s
pre-eminence in the life of France but guaranteed the freedom of worship to
other religions as well. It also deemed that Catholicism would no longer
be the “state religion.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Declaration by the
College of Cardinals that the newly installed Pope, Urban VI, was an apostate
and an anti-Christ, and that he was being deposed as Pope. This was
signed shortly after the Church returned to Rome following the 70 years period
of “Babylonian Captivity” when seven French Popes resided in Avignon, France:
August 9, 1378.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A desperate,
handwritten note from Marie Antoinette from prison after she had been deposed
as Queen: December 1792 or January 1793</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Proclamation of the
dogma of the Immaculate Conception signed by Pius IX which declared the Blessed
Virgin Mary free from the stain of original sin: December 8, 1854</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Letter from Lucrezia
Borgia to her father, Pope Alexander VI. June 10, 1494</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Abdication letter of
Queen Christine of Sweden when she converted to Catholicism: June 1, 1654</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mary Stuart’s last
letter, written to Pope Sixtus V, in which she professed her Catholic
faith. This was shortly before she was beheaded on the order of Queen
Elizabeth I: November 23, 1586. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Agreement temporarily
unifying the Greek and Latin Churches: July 6, 1439</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Lunario Novo which
eliminated 10 days from the 1582 Calendar and established the Gregorian
calendar: 1582</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Letter from the
French philosopher and deist, Voltaire to Pope Benedict XIV: October 10, 1745</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Report to the Vatican
by the Apostolic Nuncio to Italy on the existence of the Ferramonti
Concentration Camp: May 27, 1941.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Letter written on
silk, from Helena, the last Ming Empress to Pope Innocent X: November 4, 1650
(11<sup>th</sup> day of the 10<sup>th</sup> moon of the 4<sup>th</sup> year in
the reign of emperor Youngli).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Letters written in
1863 by Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to Pope Pius IX during the US Civil
War.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm sure you will
agree that this is an impressive list of documents which have had a
great impact on Western civilization and on the history of the World. We feel very fortunate to have seen the originals. </span></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-59544373638303472242012-05-07T09:37:00.000-06:002012-06-04T09:45:41.270-06:00Vienna, the Habsburg City<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Opinions abound as to which of Europe's capital cities is the most interesting or most beautiful. After a week in Vienna, Gertrud and I rank it high in both categories but also believe it may be Europe's most livable capital. As much as we like visiting Paris, Rome, London, Madrid or Prague, we can't see ourselves living in any of them. But we could see ourselves in Vienna if we were younger. Obviously the fact that we speak German is a primary consideration, but Vienna's manageable size of less than two million, its music and arts, temperate, four-season climate, Austria's beautiful mountains, and close proximity to Italy and the Adriatic Coast are also very appealing.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From a tourist point-of -view, the primary attraction of Vienna is the legacy of beautiful palaces, buildings and the arts bestowed on it by the Habsburg Dynasty. Click on the following links for more information. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Habsburg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Habsburg</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_Monarchy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habsburg_Monarchy</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6nbrunn_Palace">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%3%B6nbrunn_Palace</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvedere,_Vienna">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvedere,_Vienna</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/austria/01hofburg.htm">http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/austria/01hofburg.htm</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A more recent Viennese personality and one of my favorites, is the late Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser, a colorful twentieth century architect and artist, little known outside of Vienna and European artistic circles. He was born as Frederick Stowasser to a Jewish mother who kept him under the Nazi radar by having him baptized Catholic and enrolling him in the Hitler Youth. Vienna's Hundertwasser Haus and Museum are memorials to his talent. Late in life he emigrated to New Zealand. The only other architect/artist who I can think of who might be compared to Hundertwasser would be the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi who
designed several unusual buildings in Barcelona. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here are several links on Hundertwasser and his art:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedensreich_Hundertwasser</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.hw-archive.com/">http://www.hw-archive.com/</a></span><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.hundertwasser-haus.info/en/">http://www.hundertwasser-haus.info/en/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/hundertwasser_art#module149359285">http://www.squidoo.com/hundertwasser_art#module149359285</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-64326577321796681592012-05-01T01:42:00.000-06:002012-05-07T00:02:19.439-06:00Swiss cheese!<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Gertrud and I have just finishing a ten-day stay in Switzerland while I worked in both Bern and Geneva. I wrote a post on Geneva during a May 2009 visit so won't say much about the UN city in this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What we will probably remember most about this visit is how much Swiss food we ate. I just recounted my meals and I had fondue 5 times, raclette twice, rösti twice and birchermüsili for breakfast 4 times, probably resulting in a gain of at least 5 pounds. If you are wondering what the Swiss eat, here is a link on their cuisine:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cuisine"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cuisine.</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcl78LZQ6Yr4alKrHdGbl5nFCt7gm6dLQbeJv0eHpV1fEwthvuBrLFG7qCD2IRPVT_6apNgKhXKjrEyw_OVh4vMjdYw9k9H3d5GghWZtCoC-cV-PUx1rbgom9H9i1QUDkHULmuln_Xzg/s1600/IMG_1463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcl78LZQ6Yr4alKrHdGbl5nFCt7gm6dLQbeJv0eHpV1fEwthvuBrLFG7qCD2IRPVT_6apNgKhXKjrEyw_OVh4vMjdYw9k9H3d5GghWZtCoC-cV-PUx1rbgom9H9i1QUDkHULmuln_Xzg/s200/IMG_1463.JPG" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gertrud eating fondue in Switzerland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Although we have been in Bern previously we have had more time to explore the city on this visit. Bern is a UNESCO World Heritage City famous for the beautiful pedestrian arcades in its old town, for its location on a high plateau overlooking the Aare River, for its status as the Swiss capital, and for its city mascots, the Bern bears, which regularly entertain locals and tourists. On our last visit, the bears were living in a large pit near the city center. However they now live in a beautiful park along the Aare River which is a more natural habitat for them and where the public can more easily observe their activities. The following link provides just one example of how the bears entertain the public.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Bj_W16kEw"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Bj_W16kEw</a>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">With easy access to beautiful mountains and lakes and to surrounding countries, Bern often appears on lists of "the most desirable places to live." But like almost every other city, Bern is now affected by urban crime, with warning signs about pick pockets posted around the central train station. The following links contain information and pictures of Bern.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=bern&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uqSST__AKIfn-gbyl6mvBA&ved=0CF8QsAQ&biw=1079&bih=577&sei=4aSST_mJDImYOrbz-JME">http://www.google.com/search?q=bern&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uqSST__AKIfn-gbyl6mvBA&ved=0CF8QsAQ&biw=1079&bih=577&sei=4aSST_mJDImYOrbz-JME</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Geneva with its close proximity to France is also well located for travel. This past Sunday we decided to take a public bus to the nearby French city of Annecy which we were told was a "must see." We greatly enjoyed the city and were charmed by its medieval streets and walls and by its incredible alpine views. Annecy is in the Haut Savoie region of France. For further information, here is a wiki link on annecy. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annecy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annecy</a></span><br />
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<br /></div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-50626942436230615372012-04-18T08:42:00.002-06:002012-05-03T23:16:57.502-06:00In the Grand Duchy<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Greetings from the World's only sovereign Grand Duchy which is also the "lux" in the acronym Benelux for Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Although the country is a small democracy with a population of about half a million, the country's titular ruler is H.R.H. Grand Duke Henri who ascended to the position in 2009 when his father, Grand Duke Jean, abdicated - see the following: </span><a href="http://www.gouvernement.lu/dossiers/famille_grand_ducale/chregneuk/infobase/cvhenri.html" style="font-family: '\'serif\''; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.gouvernement.lu/dossiers/famille_grand_ducale/chregneuk/infobase/cvhenri.html</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here is charming German song about the Duke (Graf in German) which topped the German pop charts about 30 years ago <span style="color: blue;">(</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LL-WSDKxTU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LL-WSDKxTU</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">According to the IMF, Luxembourg has the world's highest GDP per capita. Many international banks and businesses are located in Luxembourg City as is the European Court of Justice. Like Switzerland, Luxembourg is known as a place where the rich park their money to avoid taxes. However, Germany and other European countries have recently started monitoring their citizens' financial holdings and dealings in Luxembourg more closely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Luxembourg City has less than 100,000 people, but has enough attractions to keep tourists entertained for a few days. For Americans on tight travel budgets, Luxembourg is a major entry point into Europe, usually with Icelandic Air after a stop in Iceland. Icelandic has long provided the cheapest scheduled flights between the US and Europe. Gertrud and I took this route shortly after we were married. The following links provide more details on the country and the city.</span></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg</a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_%28city">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_%28city</a>)<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Germanophiles, a primary attraction of Luxembourg is its close proximity to the Moselle River and to Trier, Germany's oldest city. The Riesling wine and the castles of the Moselle are world famous. The primary attractions of Trier are the Porta Nigra, an ancient Roman ruin, and a cathedral which houses a holy tunic said to have been worn by Christ just prior to his crucifixion. This past weekend, the robe was put on exhibit for the first time since 1996 and Trier was swarming with hoards of pilgrims mingling with the simply curious. The following links provide more on the Moselle, on Trier and on the holy robe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">ht<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trier">tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trier</a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.patheos.com/.../a-million-expected-to-see-the-holy-robe-of-jesus-in-germany">http://www.patheos.com/.../a-million-expected-to-see-the-holy-robe-of-jesus-in-germany</a></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.patheos.com/.../a-million-expected-to-see-the-holy-robe-of-jesus-in-germany </span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamless_robe_of_Jesus">http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamless_robe_of_Jesus</a></span></i><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.dominformation.de/internet-en/nav/17b/17b70e94-63ae-4e01-0eb3-0bd8bc1d2b31.htm">http://www.dominformation.de/internet-en/nav/17b/17b70e94-63ae-4e01-0eb3-0bd8bc1d2b31.htm</a></span></div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-27963971732020148732012-02-28T16:50:00.000-07:002012-12-04T19:08:56.660-07:00Murder and Violence in Malabo<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">This is my last stop on a five week sojourn in Africa. I'm in Malabo on the Island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea, which was Spain's only colony in Africa. In colonial days Malabo was known as Santa Isabella and Bioko as Fernando Poo. Equatorial Guinea also has a piece of territory on the African mainland known as Rio Muni which lies between Cameroon and Gabon.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Equatorial Guinea showing both Bioko Island and Rio Muni<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Since 1968 when the country became independent, Equatorial Guineans have lived under two repressive dictators, both stemming from the same family. The current president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodoro_Obiang_Nguema_Mbasogo">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodoro_Obiang_Nguema_Mbasogo</a> is the nephew of the first president, Francisco, Marchias Nguema, who many considered insane and who on Christmas Day in 1975, has 150 coup plotters killed in the national stadium while a band played "Those Were the Days." For more on the country's sordid political history see the following link: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_Guinea#Politics">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_Guinea#Politics</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Shortly after independence, the State Department opened an embassy in Malabo and assigned two officers -- a charge' d'affairs and an administrative officer. The stress of opening an embassy on Fernando Po must have gotten to the Charge' as in 1971 he radioed the Embassy in nearby Yaounde, Cameroon to report that the Administrative Officer was involved in a communist plot. The embassy directed that the consul from Douala immediately charter a plane to Malabo and to take control of the embassy. Upon arrival he found that the charge' had killed the administrative officer in the embassy under very mysterious circumstances. It was a bizarre case that shocked Washington and led to the closing of the embassy which had only recently opened. The following two articles from the Foreign Service Journal review the murder and its aftermath. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.uniset.ca/misc/fsj_erdos.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.uniset.ca/misc/fsj_<wbr></wbr>erdos.pdf</a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://uniset.ca/misc/heartOf.pdf" target="_blank">http://uniset.ca/misc/heartOf.<wbr></wbr>pdf</a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Bishop" target="_blank"><wbr></wbr></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I first heard about this murder shortly after entering the foreign service in the late 1970s and had no idea at the time that I would play a role in reopening embassy Malabo in the 1980s while I was posted in Yaounde. At that time Ambassador Hume Horan was accredited to both Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and oversaw a team from Yaounde that helped set up the new embassy on a floor of Malabo's Hotel Impala. Despite Equatorial Guinea's close proximity to Cameroon, there were no scheduled flights to Malabo from either Yaounde or Douala. We therefore chartered a small plane to Malabo every few weeks to assist new staff that had been assigned there. At that time Malabo was the poorest place I had ever been and was without electricity or running water. The new embassy and the residence that was set up for the first resident ambassador ran off of Caterpillar generators 24 hours a day. It has often been said that one can tell how poor a place is from its garbage. There was virtually no garbage in Malabo and I never saw a dog, a cat, or a rat which says something about their source of protein. And when we were there for a few days, we never knew what we might find to eat in the island's few restaurants. Malabo is the only place I have eaten porcupine. Despite the poverty, there was virtually no crime due to people's fear of the violent police state they lived under.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The embassy we opened in the early 80s was closed for a second time a few years later as a budget cutting measure when it was determined that our interests in Equatorial Guinea didn't warrant a full time presence. However with the discovery of oil in 1996, an embassy was established for the third time and with a new US Government-owned chancery compound now under construction, we can now probably assume that a US presence will remain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Equatorial Guinea has been the target for at least two coup attempts. The first, against former President Marchia, is said to be the setting for Fredrick Forseyth's book "<u>The Dogs of War</u>" which was made into a movie by the same name. The second, the so-called <u>Wonga Coup</u>, took place after oil was discovered. It was led by Simon Mann, an Englishman living in South Africa and the son of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, is said to have helped finance this attempt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Here are a few links related to these coups:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Forsyth">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Forsyth</a>(see section on controversies)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/4942006/Frederick-Forsyth-in-real-life-African-thriller.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/4942006/Frederick-Forsyth-in-real-life-African-thriller.html</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dogs_of_War_%28novel">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dogs_of_War_%28novel</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Mann">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Mann</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonga-Coup-Simon-Billions-Africa/dp/1861979347">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wonga-Coup-Simon-Billions-Africa/dp/1861979347</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">With the discovery of oil in Equatorial Guinea, Malabo no longer resembles the place I visited in the 1980s. It is now crawling with international oilmen, businessmen and construction workers. A new four lane highway crosses the island and there are several first class hotels, including one with an 18-hole golf course. An impressive new hospital, staffed with more than 40 M.Ds from Israel also recently opened. On the surface, Malabo appears to be quite affluent but I doubt that the country's new found wealth trickles down very far and I believe that most of the population still remains very poor. </span></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-40002538782369535252012-02-20T23:21:00.000-07:002013-07-29T23:00:25.950-06:00The Yaounde' Coup<div style="font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm back in Yaounde', Cameroon for a few days which was our first foreign service posting from 1982-84. It is the first time I've returned since we left so it has been a trip down memory lane. During our two years here, family life was basic but pleasant. Although there weren't many places we could take a young family, we nevertheless had an active social life within the American and diplomatic communities, typically meeting in homes, at the Marine House, or at the American Club, which was co-located with the American School. We also started playing a lot of tennis which we enjoyed for the rest of our foreign service career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For old times sake, I went past our former house in Quartier Bastos which was large and reasonably comfortable, but which had clearly been built without an architect or an engineer and without reference to any building codes. One morning during the rainy season, Gertrud went into the kitchen to discover a large termite mound in the middle of the kitchen floor. Apparently the house had not been set on a concrete pad and instead the builder had simply laid the floor tiles directly on top of compressed dirt. The termite colony had pushed itself up through a crack in the grout during the night. It was not uncommon to see large termite hills along the roads during the rainy season, but it was certainly a surprise to find one in our kitchen. Termites swarming out of mounds was also a delicacy for the natives. We frequently saw Cameroonians grab termites out of mid-air, and after pulling off the wings, popping the wiggly protein directly in to their mouths. I've read that if the world ever has a protein shortage, the insects of Africa could quite readily be exploited as a new source, with termites being among the tastier ones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When we lived in Quartier Bastos, our veranda overlooked a traditional African neighborhood which we felt part of because we could hear and observe almost everything that went on. When they celebrated births or weddings we knew it and when someone died we knew that too. Today the area consists of large houses, shops, restaurants and cafes filled with expats and successful Cameroonian businessmen which have supplanted the old African neighborhood. In the 1980s there were few restaurants in all of Yaounde' and to my knowledge, no cafes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>And now about the Yaounde' coup: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Shortly after midnight on April 6, 1984, we were awakened by sirens and gunfire coming from the nearby presidential palace. About an hour later a message came over the embassy radio confirming our suspicion that palace guards were attempting to overthrow the government. The message directed all embassy staff and families, except essential security personnel, to remain home until further notice and to stay close to their radios. In the early 1980s, their were few working residential telephones in Yaounde and the embassy radio net was our sole source of reliable communication. Sporadic shooting from guns, armored vehicles and aircraft continued for the next couple of days. We spent many hours at a neighbor's home listening to live accounts of the insurrection on Radio France International. From the neighbor's patio, we also had an excellent view over the city and watched low flying planes and helicopters as well as jeeps and armored vehicles hurrying through the streets. Occasionally helicopter gunships flew directly over our house. After a few days, government forces put down the insurrection and the shooting stopped. When we returned to work and school, we continued to be uneasy because young soldiers manning checkpoints throughout the city, pointed their guns directly at us until we stopped. We held our breath hoping they didn't have a hair trigger. The following wikipedia link provides a good summary the coup attempt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Cameroonian_coup_attempt"> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Cameroonian_coup_attempt).</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our greatest foreign service travel adventure happened in Cameroon when I decided to take the family with me on State Department business by car to N'Djamena, Chad instead of flying (Click here for a map and information on Cameroon: <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26431.htm">http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26431.htm</a> I'll try not to bore you with detail here and will only say that it was a National Geographic-type experience in the real African bush. Northern Cameroon is incredibly picturesque and includes such market villages as Mora, a game park at Waza and lunar-type landscape around Rhumsiki. And on our first day of driving while approached a small town, we were suddenly waved over by a policeman. He had seen our diplomatic plates and wanted to invite us to a local political rally, which we accepted out of curiosity. Like many political rallies in the American West, it included riders on magnificent horses. However the topless dancing girls shaking their bodies to pounding music while the politicians clapped their hands, was probably more of a local custom, but then what do I really know about what happens in politics?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Crossing the Chari River From Kousseri, Cameroon to N'Djamana, Chad was its own adventure. Due to almost continuous civil war in Chad over many years, the Cameroonian Government refused to allow a bridge to be built. So we had to drive our car onto a small homemade ferry and to then get into a dugout boat which men pushed and steered with long oars. It was certainly an exotic crossing and we were relieved that our car didn't sink.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It was quite a shock to see N'Djamena due to all of the shelling it had suffered. We were there while a peace treaty was in effect, but it wasn't long until fighting broke out again. The roof of the cathedral was missing and most of the homes were reduced to piles of mud bricks. But the people were still friendly and there was brisk commerce in the markets. Gertrud and the kids enjoyed visiting the local handicraft markets and perused what remained of N'Djamena. An interesting side note here: the Ambassador in N'Djamena had a clay tennis court which he paid a man a dollar a day to maintain. The man simply went into the street and picked up some of the clay bricks that were laying all around and then broke them onto the court with a hammer. After he rolled the court, the Ambassador's court was fresh for tennis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Indulge me in one more story: Hissène Habré, the President of Chad wanted to give Ronald Reagan an Arabian stallion as a present but apparently never saw President Reagan in person so presented the horse to the Ambassador on Reagan's behalf. Word came back that Ronald Reagan had gratefully accepted it but the embassy was told that under no circumstances should the horse be shipped to the US and that the embassy should take care of it in Chad for President Reagan. I saw it there on several trips eating grass from the embassy lawn. A locally hired Canadian woman on the embassy staff who I knew, had been tasked with taking care of the horse and I believe she tried to ride it a few times even though it was very high spirited. I don't know what ultimately happened to it, perhaps it is still there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, after a couple of nights in the very rustic Hotel Chadienne, we returned to Yaounde' the same way we had come. For anyone interested, here are links on some of the places we visited:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Rhumsiki </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Mora Sunday market</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/f93e5/">http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/f93e5/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://collection.peacecorps.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p9009coll11&CISOPTR=405&CISOBOX=1&REC=2">http://collection.peacecorps.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p9009coll11&CISOPTR=405&CISOBOX=1&REC=2</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A final note: In February 2011, I wrote a post on this blog on the subject of German colonies in Africa. I made a few comments regarding Cameroon (Kamerun) having been a German colony from the late 1800s until after World War I when the former colony was given over to the British and the French to be administered under a League of Nations mandate. The following link provides a good summary on Kamerun</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamerun">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamerun</a></span></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-76129206655004570122012-02-17T10:28:00.001-07:002014-12-05T18:19:54.237-07:00Jambo Bwana in Kenya<style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Last evening I flew into Nairobi from Madagascar and will be here about 30-hours before catching my onward flight to Yaoundé. The layover provides an excellent opportunity to blog about Nairobi where the family lived between 1984 and 1987. For a charming Swahili introduction to Kenya, click here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUrVeRGo5IM&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUrVeRGo5IM&feature=related.</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Our three years in Nairobi were among the most enjoyable of our lives: how does this lifestyle sound, even if only for three years?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--we had a large, comfortable house in a beautiful garden;</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--we could afford household staff, including a driver which made it very enjoyable to host family and friends from</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> Germany and the US;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--we needed neither heating nor air conditioning in Nairobi's ideal climate;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--the kids attended the wonderful International School of Kenya, and were very content with school, friends, sports and other activities;</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--We lived in a very diverse and interesting culture, included exotic Kenyan tribes, a large Indian/Pakistani community, a small, but very visible White Kenyan/British settler minority, and a vibrant expat community of diplomats, teachers, researchers and adventure seekers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">-- I enjoyed my job at the embassy; Gertrud enjoyed her part-time embassy job and volunteer work. She was a guide for the Kenyan Museum Society, which exhibited many of the anthropological finds of Louis and Mary Leakey and hosted lectures by such famous researchers as Richard Leakey and Stephen Jay Gould. She also provided volunteer support to an orphanage in Mathari Valley, Nairobi's largest slum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">-- We were often in Kenya's fabulous game parks, either on safari, or simply relaxing over dinner or drinks at sunset, observing elephants, rhinos or giraffes at a watering hole.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">-- Gertrud, her sister, and the families spent a week on a very exotic camel safari, led by a former game hunter who had to create a new life for himself when some of the species became endangered (unfortunately I had to miss this opportunity due to work). The safari consisted of two camel trains -- one that went ahead to prepare high tea and to set up cots, mosquito nets, hanging tree showers and latrines for the night. Everything was ready when the second train arrived with the guests, and according to Gertrud was very comfortable and even luxurious.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--We belonged to the famous Muthaiga Country Club (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthaiga_Country_Club">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthaiga_Country_Club)</a>, which was a frequent venue in the movie "Out of Africa." You will recall the scene where Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) was booted out of the club's all-male bar. In response to a posting on the Club's bulletin board, I became an extra in the movie, being paid $20 for a days work. My sole claim to movie fame is that I was directed by Sydney Pollack: during one scene, he briefly looked at me and said "Hey you, please move over there!" Alas, all the celluloid with me in it ended up on the cutting room floor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">-- We visited Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, often called the"Cradle of Civilization." We also spent a couple of days in the unique ecosystem known as the Ngoro Ngoro Crater, which provided an excellent opportunity to view many of Africa's magnificent animals up close.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">-- During a business trip to nearby Rwanda I visited a family of mountain gorillas in their natural habitat (I wrote about this last year in a posting about Rwanda).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">--We spent a few wonderful days on Lamu Island which I believe may have the purest version of Swahili culture left. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Unfortunately, fond memories are often interrupted by real world events. In 1998 while in Utah on home leave, we turned on the TV to learn that the embassy in Nairobi had been bombed. The building I had worked in for three years was completely destroyed, with seven Kenyan employees killed who had worked directly for me. Here is a wiki summary of the terrible event: (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings.)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Today I visited the park created at the site of the former embassy to remember those who died. Here are a couple of my photos:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Welcome sign at the peace park on former embassy site</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of the names on the memorial wall</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When the bombing was announced in Utah, Peggy Stack, a writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, and a close friend who we had met in Kenya, knew we were in town. She mentioned our presence to one her Tribune colleagues who wrote the following article, which you can click on to make larger. Unfortunately I scanned the article from a paper copy and is a little difficult to read. I am hoping to replace it with a more readable version. </span></div>
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Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-22523220937835688772012-02-15T13:56:00.000-07:002012-03-01T04:28:10.954-07:00Adventures in MadagascarMadagascar is unique: it's not Africa and it's not Asia but an exotic blend of the two with some French colonial influence thrown in. The majority of the Malagasy people in the highlands and around the capital Antananarivo (Tana), appear Asian. And although I haven't been to the coast, I'm told that the coastal people tend to be African. Madagascar is a magnet for biologists and botanists with over 90 percent of its flora and fauna not found anywhere else. <br />
<br />
On this, my fourth trip to Madagascar, I finally made it out of the capital of Antananarivo. I had a free Sunday and hired a car and guide to pick me up at 6 a.m. so that I could see as much of the Island as possible, with my primary goal being to glimpse some of the island's famous lemurs. Our drive to lemur country took about 3 hours on an excellent highway running through scenic towns, mountains and valleys. I was surprised at how clean everything was. Rice paddies were common in the valleys which made the island feel very much like Asia. I've never seen a rice field in Africa which supports my view that Madagascar is not really Africa, despite the close proximity. During my trip, I never had the impression that the rural population was really poor. Poverty is much more visible around Tana. <br />
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I saw my first lemurs at the Andasibe reserve, the home of the Indri, the largest of the species. I spent about two hours with a guide hiking around the park with binoculars, looking at the shy Indri which remained high up in the trees eating leaves and chattering with their mates and which were almost impossible to photograph. We also saw several brown lemurs at Andasibe. Our next stop was at Vacuna Forest Lodge where we had lunch. On lodge property is a small island with about 5 species of lemurs including the ring tail. The Vacuna lemurs are much more accustomed to tourists than those at Andasibe and when we got close they climbed on our shoulders to eat the bananas we had brought for them. It was a long day, but I can now say I've seen lemurs. I also have a much broader appreciation for the island than previously.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Ernest, my lemur guide, at Andasibe</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown lemur at Andasibe National Park Madagascar</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A colorful lemur species at Vacuna </td></tr>
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My second Madagascar adventure started on Monday morning when I arrived at the embassy for work. A meeting of the Emergency Action Committee had just been called to prepare for a category 2 cyclone that was coming straight at Antananarivo and was expected to arrive that night. Monday morning had blue sky and many in the embassy were skeptical that we would really have a cyclone that day. However the Charge' d'affairs directed that everyone except essential
security and administrative staff, remain home on Tuesday because most embassy employees live long distances from the new embassy compound that was completed in 2010, and they have to pass through low lying areas that always flood with major storms. Since my hotel was near the embassy, I was told I could work, which I did for a few hours although the computers and air conditioning was down. </div>
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As predicted, the storm hit Monday night with a fury. The wind howled and torrents of rain came down for several hours. On Tuesday morning I could see some flooding and damage from my hotel window, but the worst of it was on other parts of the island. After about 12 hours the wind died down and things began returning to normal. The airport was closed for a couple of days but opened just in time for me to leave on Thursday as scheduled.<br />
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Anything else you may want to know about Madagascar and lemurs can probably be found at one of the following links: </div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar</a><br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antananarivo">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antananarivo</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/index_en.php">http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/index_en.php</a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservation/parks/Andasibe_Mantadia.html">http://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservation/parks/Andasibe_Mantadia.html</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.hotelvakona.com/en/">http://www.hotelvakona.com/en/</a><br />
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Click below to see some pictures of some of Madagascar's scenery and to hear the most famous German song ever sung about island:<br />
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</style><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcwryj_freddy-quinn-wir-lagen-vor-madagask_creation">http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcwryj_freddy-quinn-wir-lagen-vor-madagask_creation</a></div>
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</div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-19033994189173653492012-02-10T12:27:00.000-07:002014-12-12T09:45:19.746-07:00Good bye, Dar es Salaam<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tanzania </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">The sun is setting on Oyster Bay on the last evening of my visit to Dar es Salaam. I'm sitting at the hotel pool trying to decide whether my sun downer should be a Tusker or a Kilimanjaro. Having lived three years in Nairobi, I'm partial to Kenya's finest, but think I'll opt for my first Tanzanian Kilimanjaro.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">My first visit to this Tanzania capital was
in 1979 and my second in 1985 while the family and I
were living in Nairobi. In the 1980s, Julius Nyerere, the Father of
Tanzania and its long time president, was still pushing his African
socialist agenda even though the country was in economic tatters. Sisal was the primary export and the country had barely tapped into its incredible tourism potential. Many Americans and
Europeans thought that such famous venues as Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Ngoro
Ngoro Crater, the Olduvai Gorge, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti were
in Kenya because they were primarily visited as side trips from Nairobi. My family and I crossed over the border to visit all except the Serengeti which is an extension of Kenya's Masai Mara which we visited. The Ngoro Ngoro Crater and the "Cradle of Mankind" known as Olduvai Gorge, are among the most important tourist venues in the world, regardless of continent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Many of us posted in Nairobi in the 80s had regional responsibilities including some in Dar es Salaam. Because the hotels in Dar were so spartan, we inevitably packed basic hotel provisions in our suitcases when going there. A colleague often told about her first trip: after
checking into the hotel and taking her belonging to the room, she returned
to
the reception desk to ask a question. When she
returned to the room, someone had stolen the bed sheets, the toilet
paper and the light bulbs she had just brought from Nairobi. Today Dar is much improved: through government and private sector cooperation, supported by foreign investment, Tanzania has new roads, hotels
and safari camps, as well as upscale beach resorts on Zanzibar and
Pemba Islands. Tanzanian destinations are now among the most desired in Africa, competing very successfully with Kenya and South Africa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In 1997 I fulfilled a long time dream of visiting Zanzibar. Its reputation as one of the original spice islands and as an stopping place for Dutch, Arab and Portuguese traders rounding the African Cape fascinated me when I was still in my teens. It was every bit as interesting as I had expected with the spices still being grown and traded, and the walls of ancient Stone Town echoing its incredible history, including its infamous role in the slave trade. With world class beach resorts one can now spend a vacation on Zanzibar that is both comfortable and educational.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">People in my age group, may remember that at independence in 1961, Tanzania was first named "The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar." In 1964, the country's leaders created the new name "The United Republic of Tanzania" which rolled off the tongue easier and which better represented the unification of the two former colonies into one new country. Prior to World War I, Tanganyika was part of German East Africa (Deutschostafrika). After Germany lost the war, it became part of British East Africa which it remained until independence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Below are links to some of the places and personalities mentioned above: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olduvai_Gorge">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olduvai_Gorge</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngorongoro_Conservation_Area">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngorongoro_Conservation_Area</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/">http://www.tanzaniaparks.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nyerere">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nyerere</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://zanzibar.net/zanzibar/what_is_zanzibar_">http://zanzibar.net/zanzibar/what_is_zanzibar_</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanganyika">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanganyika</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_East_Africa">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_East_Africa</a> </span></div>
Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-29495293279248313382012-02-06T10:52:00.000-07:002012-02-14T12:46:43.264-07:00Lilongwe in the former Nyasaland<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm in Lilongwe, Malawi. This is my fifth trip to Malawi with most of them having been in the 1980s. It is one of Africa's poorest countries with most of the population living from subsistence agriculture. A major hindrance to the country's development is its isolation. It is
landlocked and imports and exports must be trucked from ports in
Tanzania, Kenya or South Africa on difficult roads at great expense. Despite the poverty, the people are unfailing friendly and polite and
the level of crime is much lower than in many surrounding countries. Seventy percent of the population live on less than one US dollar per day and the country is a major recipient of international humanitarian assistance and development aid. A large percentage of the people I see at breakfast in the hotel are European and American aid workers and Evangelical Christian missionaries whose revivals and church services are widely advertised around town. Local TV is also dominated by Christian programming produced abroad with "God TV" <a href="http://www.god.tv/node/1">(http://www.god.tv/node/1)</a> one of the most watched channels.</div>
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<br />
As described in the following link, Malawi evolved out of England's Nyasaland Protectorate
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(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyasaland">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyasaland</a>)
and was part of Rhodesia before becoming independent in
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</style> 1964. The father of the country and "Life President" until he passed away in 1997, was Hastings Kamuzu Banda (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Banda">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings_Banda)</a>. Despite the country's colonial past, Dr. Banda was a strong Anglophile and tried to get his country to emulate the English. To promote British culture and history, he created Kamuzu Academy<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamuzu_Academy"> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamuzu_Academy)</a> as a Britsh-style boarding school which the best students in the country are still admitted to and educated at government expense. Many speak of it as "the Eaton of Africa" and in order to matriculate, students are required to read and analyze classic European literature and philosophy. Banda also insisted that his countrymen dress conservatively according to British customs of the time. During his tenure, women in Malawi were not allowed to wear pants and men were not allowed to have long hair. The Life-president was the only Black African leader who openly maintained full diplomatic and economic relations with Apartheid South Africa. This made him extremely controversial on the Continent but provided the country with a major nearby trading partner and a significant source of imported goods. </div>
<br />
Dr. Banda also established Lilongwe<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilongwe"> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilongwe)</a>as the capital of the new Malawi, transferring the government from Zomba which had been the capital of Nyasaland Protectorate. Blantyre (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blantyre">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blantyre</a> remains the long-time economic center of the country.<br />
<br />
The best known and dominant natural feature of the country is Lake Malawi <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Malawi">(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Malawi)</a>, the third largest lake in Africa and the 8th largest in the world. It's Chambo are a very popular eating fish and the lake provides a variety of recreational activities for locals and tourists. Fly fishing is a popular tourist pastime and Malawi is known internationally among fly fishermen as an excellent source of hand-tied fishing flies. <br />
<br />Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-86484484041775282022012-02-01T05:49:00.000-07:002012-02-14T12:50:57.239-07:00Back in Southern Africa<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> I was in Southern Africa last winter and I'm back again. In 2011 I worked in Angola, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana and Rwanda. I'm currently in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, and will travel to Malawi, Tanzania, Madagascar, Kenya, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea before returning home in early March.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Perhaps you know that the RSA has three national capitals -- Pretoria where the President and cabinet have offices; Cape Town the seat of Parliament; and Bloemfontein the home of the Supreme Court (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa).</a> In the US we believe in a constitutional separation of governmental powers; in South Africa the separation is even geographical. </span><style>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Last February I spend a very pleasant weekend safari in Midikwe Game Park on the RSA/Botswana border which I described in this blog. Unfortunately I won't have any time for pleasure on this South African stop. My most extensive South African travel was in 2007 when I was able to tour both the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces. Western Cape Province includes the Cape of Good Hope, extensive vineyards producing some of South Africa's best wines, and several interesting cities. Highlights included a few nights at Cape Town's elegant Victoria and Alfred Hotel where I especially enjoyed watching the fog rise off of famous Table Mountain during breakfast, a tour around the </span><span style="font-size: small;">Cape of Good Hope which included a </span><span style="font-size: small;">hike up to the Cape's lighthouse, </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">a visit to </span><span style="font-size: small;">a large penguin colony;</span></div>
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</style><span style="font-size: small;"> and a tour of the wine village of Stellenbosch with its charming Dutch architecture. In Gauteng I spent a day at Soweto Township recalling the events that brought an end to South African apartheid. Those of us who have reached a certain age will vividly remember the historic Soweto uprising in 1976. </span><style>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here are a few links on the Western Cape and Soweto:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.cape-town.info/pages/attractions/cape-of-good-hope.php">http://www.cape-town.info/pages/attractions/cape-of-good-hope.php</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.aboutcapetown.com/table-mountain.htm">http://www.aboutcapetown.com/table-mountain.htm</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.aboutcapetown.com/penguins.htm">http://www.aboutcapetown.com/penguins.htm</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.stellenboschtourism.co.za/">http://www.stellenboschtourism.co.za</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto_uprising">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soweto_uprising</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">In 2007 I also flew from Johannesburg to the Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls after having seen it from the Zambian side in 1986. The magnificent Falls are on the Zambezi River which forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is truly one of the seven wonders of the natural world, falling 108
meters from a wide bend in the river into an extremely narrow gorge,
causing tall plumes of mist to rise high into the sky and to be visible from a great distance by approaching aircraft. When viewing the
Falls up close, one must wear a poncho or trench coat to avoid get sopping wet. I wore only shorts and a shirt and was drenched to the bone. My accommodations were in the world famous Victoria Falls Hotel (<a href="http://www.africansunhotels.com/Index.cfm?fuseaction=hotels.info&name=the_victoria_falls_hotel">http://www.africansunhotels.co/Index.cfm?fuseaction=hotels.info&na</a>
<a href="http://www.africansunhotels.com/Index.cfm?fuseaction=hotels.info&name=the_victoria_falls_hotel">me=the_victoria_falls_hotel</a>) built in 1904 and frequented by colonialists and aristocrats. It has the Livingston Dining Room and the Stanley Bar and is thoroughly British, serving high tea every afternoon. In 1855, David Livingstone was the first European to view the Falls and named it after Queen Victoria (<a href="http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/livingstone.htm">http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/livingstone.htm).</a>
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</div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-9583825001248586952011-11-21T18:53:00.011-07:002011-12-11T06:23:38.307-07:00Beirut with BodyguardsI've spent the last four days on a Beirut hilltop surrounded by high walls, guards and razor wire. When looking out over the burned-out shell of the former embassy annex, I can see Beirut's harbor and its beautiful city center in the distance. I was in the city for dinner on Friday evening, driven in an armored car with body guard. Although there were police and check points everywhere, I was surprised at how beautiful downtown Beirut is, with elegant shops, an impressive clock tower, several beautiful mosques and churches, and even a synagogue. The French influence on Lebanese fashion and culture is obvious and I can see why it was one called the Paris of the Middle East. Many of the buildings have been restored or constructed since the bombings and the civil wars. I also walked on the former green line which dividing the city during that time.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC6I6Mn7-jWSgdGoMPES99WW_gIJjY4wWsf4Di-jsGH5sKQvHcaW6nsA5_y2bDEbwzYnp6fWt0Yg67wIW_yxEYo45f1EL7DYZSyH91S_4gaNfDisHM_1k3U6IDic96BZTQaQI2WsqT_M/s1600/IMG_0918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC6I6Mn7-jWSgdGoMPES99WW_gIJjY4wWsf4Di-jsGH5sKQvHcaW6nsA5_y2bDEbwzYnp6fWt0Yg67wIW_yxEYo45f1EL7DYZSyH91S_4gaNfDisHM_1k3U6IDic96BZTQaQI2WsqT_M/s320/IMG_0918.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Beirut Hills</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHChNph1aVE3WZMv3Ex5CZfsyMudy9I2YrxHPHKaU7cXke0Tg56Td4LVkZWsyYsouifDMxvCRv7XFtUZF8DlicUzp4yy5EGpqlPViFlt9_QOx0vuspyLUitc5AnY-UMcpturEb-cRwVYc/s1600/IMG_0904.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHChNph1aVE3WZMv3Ex5CZfsyMudy9I2YrxHPHKaU7cXke0Tg56Td4LVkZWsyYsouifDMxvCRv7XFtUZF8DlicUzp4yy5EGpqlPViFlt9_QOx0vuspyLUitc5AnY-UMcpturEb-cRwVYc/s320/IMG_0904.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beirut's Old City After Dark<br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Unfortunately, the name Beirut immediately brings to mind the 1983 bombings at the American and French embassies and the US Marine Corps Barracks. The US Embassy Annex was bombed 17 months later in 1984. A colleague from my first foreign service posting in Yaounde was killed in the annex bombing. Ken Welch was with the Defense Attache' Office in Cameroon and was transferred to Beirut shortly before his death. His name is among many on a memorial at the Beirut embassy as well as on an online memorial (<a href="http://www.beirut-memorial.org/history/">http://www.beirut-memorial.org/history)</a>. When I asked a senior Lebanese associate whether he had known Ken, he told me that they had been on the phone together at the time of the attack. He had immediately gone to Ken's office and saw that he was dying. In addition to the Marines and many other Americans, several loyal Lebanese embassy employees also lost their lives in the three bombings. The father of this Lebanese colleague worked at the French Embassy and was killed in the bombing there. He saw the remains of his recently deceased father that evening on the TV news. Despite his tragic personal experiences, he is optimistic that Lebanon will remain peaceful during the foreseeable future. All elements of Lebanese society, including Hezbollah, are represented in the government and in his opinion, no one wants further civil war. While the parties often disagree on issues, he believes they are all determined to preserve peace. Following are a few links related to the bombings and the Civil War:<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_United_States_embassy_bombing">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_United_States_embassy_bombing</a></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://middleeast.about.com/od/thisdayinmideasthistory/ig/September-18-to-September-24-i/Hezbollah-Attacks-US-Embassy-.htm">http://middleeast.about.com/od/thisdayinmideasthistory/ig/September-18-to-September-24-i/Hezbollah-Attacks-US-Embassy-.htm</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.tanbourit.com/lebanon_war.htm">http://www.tanbourit.com/lebanon_war.htm</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">and here are a few links on Lebanese politics and government:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/320/324/324.2/hizballah/">http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/320/324/324.2/hizballah/</a></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html">https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html</a></span><br />
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Despite Beirut's tragic history over the past 30 years, European and Arab tourists still visit Lebanon. Beirut and the ancient ruins of Balbec are the primary draws.<br />
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<a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294">http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294</a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut</a><br />
<br />
I will be leaving Beirut tomorrow to return home for Thanksgiving. I would love to come back to visit Baalbek. </div></div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-59015623027763561602011-11-11T12:53:00.095-07:002011-12-19T22:26:06.591-07:00Dushanbe in my last Stan<style>
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<div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It's 11/11/11 and I'm in Tajikistan (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan)</a>. I have now visited all of the world's seven countries with "stan" in the name -- five which were in the former Soviet Union (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) and which are largely unknown to Westerners. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the other two. In my opinion the two most interesting are Uzbekistan with its ancient and beautiful Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, and Afghanistan which I visited in the mid-1970s and which included a trip through the infamous Salang Tunnel that passes under the Hindu Kush Range between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Those were the days when Afghanistan was a hippie paradise and before the Afghans drove out the Russians, It was long before the US got involved in the Afghanistan War. There are many other stans in Central Asia that aren't countries, but regions. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-st%C4%81n#Countries">(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-st%C4%81n#Countries).</a> For more on Uzbekistan see my posting on the Silk Road dated May 13, 2010. </span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With regards to Tajikistan, you don't need to put it on your list of "places to see before you die" and I probably wouldn't have paid my own way here. However the high mountains surrounding Dushanbe are beautiful and remind me a lot of the Salt Lake Valley at home. And like Salt Lake, Dushanbe also gets winter air inversions that cause pollution buildup until storms come along and blow it out. </span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The majority of Tajiks are Muslims who don't seem to take their religion as seriously as in some parts of the Islamic world, perhaps because they were under the Russian atheist thumb for so many years. The country also has a very visable minority Ismaili population who follow the Agha Kahn and who recently completed a new Ismaili Cultural Center in Dushanbe<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span> <style>
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</style><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2005/11/05/tajikistan-ismaili-resurgence/">(http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2005/11/05/tajikistan-ismaili-resurgence)</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">. Tajiks are very traditional with peasant women and girl</span>s wearing colorful homemade dresses. Ethnically, they belong to the Iranian group of peoples and the Tajik language is a derivative of Persian (<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Tajling/Tajling.html">http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Tajling/Tajling.html).</a> The architecture and the automobiles in Dushanbe are vintage Soviet and are nothing you will soon see neoclassical versions of. </span></div><div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tajikistan recently celebrated 20 years of independence from the Soviets and the US recognized the new government from the beginning. It was a difficult time for our first diplomats due to a civil war which was started shortly after independence by minorities who felt underrepresented in the new government (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war_in_Tajikistan">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war_in_Tajikistan).</a> The few American diplomats lived quite uncomfortably in a large walled residence that the USG had initially purchased to be the embassy. In 2006, a new embassy compound was completed to provide offices for a much larger staff, representing several US agencies. Relations are cordial and the Tajiks I met were generally very friendly towards Americans and other Westerners.</span></div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-15048979362272959252011-11-08T19:38:00.010-07:002014-12-05T18:26:25.684-07:00Cairo: Mother of the World<style>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm back in Cairo again and it almost feels like home. Gertrud and I lived here for three years in the mid- 1990s and I have been here many times over the years. It was the favorite of our seven Foreign Service postings, not because it was the most comfortable, but because we were so stimulated and broadened by the experience of living here. No place on earth has as many interesting layers of culture and history to be pealed back and examined, whether it be Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, Christian, Mamluk, Islamic, Napoleonic or other. It is the largest and most important city in the Middle East and Africa and one of the world's oldest. Historians and writers have often called Cairo "Mother of the World" which I think is apt. <a href="http://www.yale.edu/iforum/Spring1996/cairoSpr96.htm">http://www.yale.edu/iforum/Spring1996/cairoSpr96.htm</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">My first trip To Egypt was in the mid-1970s, following the Yom Kipper War (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur_War)</a>. Egypt had been badly beaten by the Israelis and the US Government was in the process of re-establishing diplomatic relations. Hermann "the German" Eilts, a Kissinger protégé, was the colorful and gregarious charge d'affaires and soon to become ambassador. I was working for the Congress on a GAO team that was trying to help determine how the US could best contribute to Egypt's recovery. The US Navy already had mine sweepers in the Suez Canal to clear mines and other ordnance so that Egypt could again start collecting the badly needed tolls which has long been it's biggest source of foreign exchange. PL-480 food aid was also arriving at the port of Alexandria and USAID was in the early stages of starting a development program. We also saw significant war damage, with the hulls of burned-out tanks and military vehicles still standing in the streets of Port Said and Ismailia. Even today one can see the rusted hulks of tanks and vehicles in the Mitla Pass where one of the most decisive battles of the war was fought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This visit is my first since the Arab Spring. It is also the 3-day Eid al-Adha or feast of the sacrifice when many sheep, goats and cattle will be slaughtered and eaten around family tables in celebration. <a href="http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/photo-essay-eid-al-adha-the-muslim-festival-of-sacrifice-graphic/">(http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/photo-essay-eid-al-adha-the-muslim-festival-of-sacrifice-graphic)</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> A Sheep waiting for throat to be cut during Eid Al-Adha</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Outwardly things seem normal, although Tahrir Square still reflects the results of the long demonstrations and the nearby headquarters building of Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party is a burned out shell. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Egyptian_revolution">(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Egyptian_revolution)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tahrir Square after demonstrations, with burned-out shell of former NDP HQ in rear. Egyptian Museum is center right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although most Egyptians are happy that Mubarak is gone, they are apprehensive about elections later this month. The Muslim Brotherhood will no doubt be heavily represented in the new government but isn't expected to be in the majority. The fear of secular-leaning Muslims and minority Christians is that Sharia law might be imposed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">During our three years in Cairo, Gertrud and I had an apartment in the World Trade Center, which overlooked the Nile and the densely populated Island of Zamalek. From our balcony we were able to observe much of the tapestry of Egyptian life including ancient felucca sailboats catching the Nile breezes and young Coptic garbage collectors, navigating the heavy and noisy traffic in donkey carts along the Cornish. Five times a day we also listened to muezzins call the faithful to prayer from surrounding minarets. In the beginning the prayer call in Arabic was clatter, but after a few months it became an endearing part of our daily life and we actually missed it when we left. In those days the call from each minaret was quite distinctive with some off on their timing by a few minutes. Here is a typical prayer call, comingled with the noise of the traffic</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMxUGB-lSqo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMxUGB-lSqo).</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A few years ago the Egyptian Government announced that to limit din and disruption, it would soon initiate a computerized, uniform pray call throughout the city, which would be at exactly the same time from all the minarets. Today's prayer call does seem less noisy and hectic, so the plan must have been implemented. And many muezzins must have joined the ranks of the unemployed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this blog, I don't intend to give space to the pyramids, the Sphinx or the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, which are fully described on the Internet. However I will mention a few lesser-known places to illustrate how deep the culture is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many don't realize that some of the earliest Christians lived in Egypt and that the country is home to some of world's oldest monasteries. Among them is Greek Orthodox St. Catherine’s, the best known due to its Mt. Sinai location and its reputation as the site of Mose's "burning bush."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine%27s_Monastery,_Mount_Sinai">'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine's_Monastery,_Mount_Sinai).</a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> St. Paul's and St. Anthony's Coptic monasteries in the Eastern Desert are from the same era, as are several in Wadi Natrun between Cairo and Alexandria ( <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1827/">http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1827).</a> Wadi Natrun's Monastery of St. Marcarius the Great purports to have the head of John the Baptist among its relics. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_Saint_Macarius_the_Great">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_Saint_Macarius_the_Great).</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Pharonic Temples at Abu Simbel are probably less known that the temples around Luxor although they caught the world's attention in the 1960's during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The German construction company Hochtief, moved these 13th Century B.C. edifices block by block out of the bottom of a valley that would soon become Lake Nasser and reassembled them at a higher site that would be on the edge of the new Lake. The evening sound and light shows at Abu Simbel to the music of Aida are very impressive. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_temples">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel_temples</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The vast Siwa Oasis, near the Libyan border in the Western Desert is off the beaten path of most tourist itineraries but has an extremely unique and interesting culture, preserved over the centuries by its isolation. We observed strapped-on donkeys walking in circles to turn ancient presses that were squeezing oil out of local olives. Much of the Siwa olive oil as well as dates and bottled drinking water are sold in the markets of Cairo.<a href="http://www.siwaoasis.com/">http://www.siwaoasis.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Leaving ancient Egypt behind and turning to more contemporary memories of our Cairo years: they included a day and a night as guests of the US Navy on board the Aircraft Carrier Theodore Roosevelt while it transited the Suez Canal. It was amazing to spend time on such a large ship and we were treated royally. Gertrud and I were among the lucky winners of an embassy lottery that was set up when the Navy invited 50 embassy staff to join them on this passage. The men spent the night sleeping in bunks 4 levels high and the women slept in the dispensary. (<a href="http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/71.htm">http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/71.htm)</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">A visit to the battlefield of El al Amein where the Allies defeated General Rommel during WWII was certainly sobering. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Alamein">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Alamein).</a> The British, Australian, Greeks, Germans and others maintain large cemeteries and memorials there and there is also an outstanding museum about the battle. The remains of Americans killed were transported to the US for burial. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the 1990s, we could still drive from Cairo to Israel which we did a couple of times. On our first trip with Gertrud's brother and sister-in-law, we missed the turn towards Gaza and Tel Aviv after crossing into Israel and ended up on a military road running along the Egyptian border. We were taken in tow by an armored Israeli military vehicle, which held us for about an hour while awaiting instructions. It was late on a Friday afternoon and our escorts seemed a little anxious because Shabbat was quickly approaching. When guidance came, they quickly escorted us to the edge of the Negev Desert and turned us loose. It was a good time to have had a US diplomatic passport.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">From Cairo we also traveled to Jordan to see Petra and Jerash and to Syria to visit Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra, Krak de Chevalier, Malula and Homs. The latter has been much in the news lately due to the Syrian Government's harsh crackdown on uprisings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">And to end this, we got to know the Egyptian actor Omar Sharif although I am not claiming we became good friends. While he spent most of his time outside Egypt, he lived in a nearly World Trade Center apartment when in Cairo and shared the same fitness center and pool. There were a few times when he and Gertrud were the only ones in the gym, which opened up an opportunity for recognition and conversation. A few days before we left Cairo, I was chatting with him at the pool. When I told him that we would soon be moving to Barbados, he reminded me that he and Julie Andrews had made a movie together there called "the Tamarind Seed." We had not seen it but we of course checked out the DVD later. </span></div>
Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-77469175225091968832011-10-30T04:55:00.027-06:002011-11-06T01:49:35.089-06:00Adventures in "Budapescht"<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Greetings from Budapest, my favorite East European Capital, where I'm enjoying 5 pleasant days -- mostly work, but with some time for pleasure. The following link provides an entertaining musical introduction to the city, especially if you speak German or Yiddish: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtrQFVw_8Ag">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtrQFVw_8Ag).</a></span><style>
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Although not as beautiful as Prague, I find Budapest more enjoyable because it doesn't have the constant tourist herds Prague has become famous for. Also, a favorite aunt was born and raised near Hungary's Lake Balaton before immigrating to the US in her teens. When I was a kid, she told us stories about her early years in Hungary which no doubt peaked my interest. Gertrud and I were also here about 5 years ago and enjoyed the major tourist sites and the city's ambiance together. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But, since arriving in Budapest last Wednesday, I have been thinking back to my first trip here in 1964 from Salzburg where I was on a semester abroad. A favorite professor arranged for several International Relations majors to take a three-day trip to Budapest over the April 4th Hungarian Holiday when we would be hosted for an evening by a group of students from the Communist Students League.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our meeting on the first evening was with about 20 student leaders in the Communist Student Club. A few spoke English and were surprisingly open with their opinions when their adult supervision was distracted. They were especially interested in hearing about our lives in the West and solicited our frank opinions on Eastern Europe. During our free time on the following two days, we Americans were supposed to stay with our official "instate tourist guide" who would take us to the authorized tourist sites around the city. However, the Hungarian students encouraged us to try to slip away and they would meet us for more open discussions in the city park. A few of us succeeded on one evening and it really opened the eyes of a young student from Utah. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">April 4th is still when Hungary celebrates its liberation from the Nazis but in the Cold War days of the 1960s, the Russians were central to the holiday and were of course touted as the liberators. The primary focus was one of those large military parades the East Bloc was so famous for. Marching soldiers, tanks and other military equipment passed by for hours with planes flying overhead. A few of us again slipped away from our official guide. We initially had a hard time viewing the parade because so many heads were in the way. But we soon noticed that there were empty seats on a controlled-access viewing stand that had some Hungarian and foreign student leaders on it. To get to the seats, we observed that they simply showed the guards a variety of picture IDs issued by their home countries. We decided to try to bluff our way to the seats by showing our American student IDs, which we assumed they couldn't read and that they would simply consider us to be from another bloc country. It worked and we had a fascinating time sitting among communist students watching a parade of propaganda directed against "the Western Imperialists."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This visit was also the first time that I had ever been in an American Embassy. Our professor arranged for us to receive an embassy briefing on US policy towards Hungary and Eastern Europe and on the roles of the State Department and the Foreign Service abroad. I had no idea then that I would one day become a Foreign Service Officer myself.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An important historical cold war incident also highlighted that visit. Those of a certain age will recall that Hungarian Catholic Cardinal Josef Mindszenty, a well-known spokesman for religious freedom and against communism, was convicted of crimes against the state and took refuge in the American Embassy before he could be tried. He lived in the Embassy for 15 years before being released and transferred to Vienna. Although we didn't meet him, we knew he was living in a room in the Embassy while we were there. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zsef_Mindszenty">(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zsef_Mindszenty).</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here is a panoramic viewer for Budapest that you can maneuver in all directions with the buttons on your computer (<a href="http://www.360cities.net/area/budapest-hungary">http://www.360cities.net/area/budapest-hungary).</a> Don't miss virtual tours of the Buda Castle District, the Great Synagogue, the Szent Istvan Bazilka, the Vaci Shopping Street and the Hungarian Parliament. And also take a ride on the castle funicular!</span><style>
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</style>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6984531010001760620.post-46710972939051055122011-10-25T13:18:00.010-06:002012-05-09T13:57:29.313-06:00Ceaușescu - the Gaddafi of Romania<style>
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<span style="font-size: small;">This week I'm in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. I've been here several times before, but on this visit I'm seeing things in a much different light due to the recent death of Muammar Gaddafi. Nicolae Ceasusescu, Romania's former head of state, lived a life much like Gaddafi's and also died a violent death at the hands of his countrymen. Here is a 1982 youtube time warp covering a state visit by Gaddafi to Romania (<b><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q16gLhh9gKg&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q16gLhh9gKg&feature=related).</a></u></b> It's not in English and is not worth watching very long, but it does document an interesting snippet of history. The following links on Ceausescu are actually much more interesting:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBdaH9d1NFI&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBdaH9d1NFI&feature=related</a></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsRQP7TifME&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsRQP7TifME&feature=related</a></u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/movies/autobiography-of-nicolae-ceausescu-by-andrei-ujica-review.html">http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/movies/autobiography-of-nicolae-ceausescu-by-andrei-ujica-review.html</a></u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I've had several opportunities during the past few days to talk to Romanians about the country's past and present. And it reminded me that I indeed had a fortunate birth. Most Romanians say that life has improved but that the Ceausescu legacy will burden the country for many generations to come. Although the country now holds membership in the EU, it exports very little and most of its citizens struggle with daily life. I have seen progress in the nation's infrastructure over the past few years (probably financed by the EU), but most Romanians say they must leave Romania to realize their dreams, unless of course, one is a corrupt politician or businessman -- and there are many here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">From a tourist point of view, the so-called "People's House" is what one usually remembers most about Bucharest. Ceausescu had it built near the end of his reign and it houses the Romanian Parliament and a few other government offices. It has several floors below ground and is supposedly the world's largest office building, even larger than the Pentagon. The architecture is appropriately dictator style and ghastly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://v3.lscache6.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/17243880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://v3.lscache6.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/17243880.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.bucharest-life.com/bucharest/palace-of-parliament"> </a><a href="http://www.bucharest-life.com/bucharest/palace-of-parliament">http://www.bucharest-life.com/bucharest/palace-of-parliament </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Transylvania is supposedly the nicest part of Romania and worth a visit. Of course the Dracula legend spices it up and the farming communities created by several generations of German settlers are said to be picturesque and quite prosperous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.jaunted.com/files/admin/Bran_Castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.jaunted.com/files/admin/Bran_Castle.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Isn't it amazing that Germans always seem to do well, even after their fall from grace during the Nazi years. Yes, the Marshall Plan helped, but their engineering genius and their determination to keep exporting is what really keeps their economy going. Today, they seem to be the only country holding the EU together. A couple of Romanians shared this sentiment with me and one even said he wished Romania had been annexed by Germany or Austria. Obviously he wasn't a Jew or a Gypsy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here are a few more links on Romania for anyone interested:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://www.turism.ro/english/transylvania.php">http://www.turism.ro/english/transylvania.php</a></u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://www.draculascastle.com/">http://www.draculascastle.com/</a></u></b><b><u> </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_Castle</a></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharest">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharest</a></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/romania">http://www.lonelyplanet.com/romania</a></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gVsYNGycc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gVsYNGycc</a></u></b></span></div>
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</style> </div>Paul Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336006589704378256noreply@blogger.com0