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William I, Prince of Orange (1533-1584), also known as William the Silent and William the Taciturn, was a wealthy nobleman from the Dutch provinces of the Spanish Netherlands. He originally served the Spanish Habsburgs, but increasing dissatisfaction with the centralisation of power away from the local estates and Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants led William to join the Dutch revolt and becoming its main leader.<br/><br/> As leader of the uprising, William led the Dutch to several successes against the Spanish, setting off the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). He was declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, before helping to declare the formal independence of the Dutch Republic, also known as the United Provinces, in 1581. He was eventually assassinated by Balthasar Gerard in 1584.<br/><br/> William was the founder of the House of Orange-Nassau, making him the ancestor of the present Dutch monarchy. Within the Netherlands he is also fondly remembered as the 'Father of the Fatherland'.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
Cambodia: A woman with a container full of dried goods walks near cattle in a dry field during the hot season, central Cambodia. Cambodia is a relatively flat, low-lying land. It is situated at the heart of Indochina and has a total area of just over 180,000sq km (69,500sq miles). It shares land borders with Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast and Vietnam to the east and southeast.
Communist propaganda in the Soviet Union was extensively based on Marxist-Leninist ideology to promote the Communist Party line.<br/><br/> Wall posters were widely used in the early days, often depicting the Red Army's triumphs for the benefit of the illiterate. This continued in World War II, still for the benefit of the less literate, with bold, simple designs.
About 12 km (7½ miles) south of Phnom Penh lie the infamous Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Here victims of the Khmer Rouge, including many from Tuol Sleng, were taken for execution and burial in mass graves. Many of these have now been exhumed, and a stupa-shaped mausoleum has been erected to their memory.
Nimrud is the later Arab name for an ancient Assyrian city located 30 kilometres (20 mi) south of the city of Mosul in the Nineveh plains in northern Mesopotamia. It was a major Assyrian city between approximately 1250 BCE and 610 BCE.
The Bakemono Zukushi handscroll, painted in the Edo period (18th-19th century) by an unknown artist, depicts 24 traditional monsters that traditionally haunt people and localities in Japan.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.
Parts of the Htilaingshin Pagoda date back to the Bagan period of Burmese history (late 11th century) and were built by King Kyansittha (1030 - 1112).<br/><br/> Inwa was the capital of Burma for nearly 360 years, on five separate occasions, from 1365 to 1842. So identified as the seat of power in Burma that Inwa (as the Kingdom of Ava, or the Court of Ava) was the name by which Burma was known to Europeans down to the 19th century.
Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city was named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.<br/><br/> The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is a World Heritage Site.
Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city was named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.<br/><br/> The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is a World Heritage Site.
Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city was named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.<br/><br/> The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is a World Heritage Site.
The small but historic town of Hoi An is located on the Thu Bon River 30km (18 miles) south of Danang. During the time of the Nguyen Lords (1558 - 1777) and even under the first Nguyen Emperors, Hoi An - then known as Faifo - was an important port, visited regularly by shipping from Europe and all over the East.<br/><br/> By the late 19th Century the silting up of the Thu Bon River and the development of nearby Danang had combined to make Hoi An into a backwater. This obscurity saved the town from serious fighting during the wars with France and the USA, so that at the time of reunification in 1975 it was a forgotten and impoverished fishing port lost in a time warp.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
The 11th century CE temple of Wat Nokor Bayon at Kompong Cham was originally a Mahayana Buddhist shrine. It was rededicated to Theravada Buddhism, Cambodia’s major religious tradition, at some time in the 15th century. The venerable sandstone and laterite structures of the ancient temple blend well with an active modern temple, ochre-robed monks and the sound of chanting, creating a fascinating mix of the contemporary and the archaic. There are several ancient Buddha images, and one large, more modern reclining Buddha.
Rushan is a cow's milk cheese of Yunnan, China. It is traditionally made by the Bai people.<br/><br/> It is flat and has a leathery texture. It may be served fried or grilled and rolled up on a stick. The Mandarin name means 'milk fan' as it is said to resemble a folding fan.<br/><br/> When served grilled (often as a street food), it is usually spread with various sweet condiments and rolled around a stick, resembling a popsicle. Some of the popular toppings include sweetened condensed milk, rose petal infused honey, chocolate syrup, and fruit preserves.<br/><br/> If <i>rushan</i> cheese is served deep fried, the cheese changes its texture and becomes somewhat flaky.
Rushan is a cow's milk cheese of Yunnan, China. It is traditionally made by the Bai people.<br/><br/> It is flat and has a leathery texture. It may be served fried or grilled and rolled up on a stick. The Mandarin name means 'milk fan' as it is said to resemble a folding fan.<br/><br/> When served grilled (often as a street food), it is usually spread with various sweet condiments and rolled around a stick, resembling a popsicle. Some of the popular toppings include sweetened condensed milk, rose petal infused honey, chocolate syrup, and fruit preserves.<br/><br/> If <i>rushan</i> cheese is served deep fried, the cheese changes its texture and becomes somewhat flaky.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina) is a n ame given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ־ישראל Eretz-Yisra'el), the Holy Land and the Southern Levant.<br/><br/> In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922.<br/><br/> In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately, and the State of Israel was declared in 1948.<br/><br/> The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known in Arabic as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة‎, an-Nakbah, 'The Catastrophe') occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during which Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of Palestinian territory.<br/><br/> In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the remainder of historic Palestine and began a continuing policy of Israeli settlement and annexation.
The so-called Mosul School of Painting refers to a style of miniature painting that developed in northern Iraq in the late 12th to early 13th century under the patronage of the Zangid dynasty (1127–1222). In technique and style the Mosul school was similar to the painting of the Seljuq Turks, who controlled Iraq at that time, but the Mosul artists had a sharper sense of realism based on the subject matter and degree of detail in the painting rather than on representation in three dimensions, which did not occur.<br/><br/> Most of the Mosul iconography was Seljuq – for example, the use of figures seated cross-legged in a frontal position. Certain symbolic elements however, such as the crescent and serpents, were derived from the classical Mesopotamian repertory.<br/><br/> Most Mosul paintings were illustrations of manuscripts—mainly scientific works, animal books, and lyric poetry. A frontispiece painting, now held in the Bibliothèque National, Paris, dating from a late 12th century copy of Galen's medical treatise, the Kitab al-diriyak ('Book of Antidotes'), is a good example of the earlier work of the Mosul school. It depicts four figures surrounding a central, seated figure who holds a crescent-shaped halo. The painting is in a variety of whole hues; reds, blues, greens, and gold. The Küfic lettering is blue.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
Cattle are considered sacred in various world religions, most notably Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism as well as the religions of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. In some regions, especially India, the slaughter of cattle may be prohibited and their meat may be taboo.<br/><br/> In Hinduism, Kamadhenu, the miraculous 'cow of plenty' and the 'mother of cows' is believed to represent the generic sacred cow, regarded as the source of all prosperity. All the gods are believed to reside in her body, a form of Kamadhenu often depicted in poster art.
Almost exactly twice the size of Portugal and with a similar population, Cambodia is a relatively flat, low-lying land. It is situated at the heart of Indochina and has a total area of just over 180,000sq km (69,500sq miles). It shares land borders with Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast and Vietnam to the east and southeast.<br/><br/> Cambodia has a 443km (277 miles) coastline on the Gulf of Thailand in the southwest. The country is divided for administrative purposes into 23 provinces including Phnom Penh. The capital, Phnom Penh, is located in the southeast.
The Naxi or Nakhi are an ethnic group inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas in the northwestern part of Yunnan Province, as well as the southwestern part of Sichuan Province in China. The Naxi are thought to have come originally from Tibet and, until recently, maintained overland trading links with Lhasa and India. The Naxi form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. The Naxi are traditionally followers of the Dongba religion. Through both Han Chinese and Tibetan cultural influences, they adopted Tibetan Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Taoism, in the 10th century.
Pierre Sonnerat (1748-1814) was a French naturalist and explorer who made several voyages to Southeast Asia between 1769 and 1781. He published this two-volume account of his voyage of 1774-81 in 1782.<br/><br/> Volume 1 deals exclusively with India, whose culture Sonnerat very much admired, and is especially noteworthy for its extended discussion of religion in India, Hinduism in particular.<br/><br/> Volume 2 covers Sonnerat’s travels to China, Burma, Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritius, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), Indonesia, and the Philippines. The book is illustrated with engravings based on Sonnerat’s drawings. Among the most interesting illustrations are Sonnerat’s pictures of various Hindu deities. Sonnerat was also a dedicated ornithologist and bird collector, and the book describes and depicts a number of species that he was the first to identify.
The Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was a chartered company granted a monopoly by the Dutch government to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money and establish colonies.<br/><br/> The VOC was set up in 1602 to gain a foothold in the East Indies (Indonesia) for the Dutch in the lucrative spice trade, which until that point was dominated by the Portuguese. It also traded with India and established ports, factories and warehouses there.<br/><br/> Between 1602 and 1796, the VOC sent almost a million Europeans to work in the Asia trade on 4,785 ships, and netted more than 2.5 million tons of Asian trade goods.
Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city.
The Tai Dam or Black Tai are an ethnic group found in parts of Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand. Tai Dam speakers in China are classified as part of the Dai nationality along with almost all the other Tai peoples. But in Vietnam they are given their own nationality (with the White Tai) where they are classified as the Thái nationality (meaning Tai people). The Tai Dam originate from the vicinity of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam.
The Tai Dam or Black Tai are an ethnic group found in parts of Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand. Tai Dam speakers in China are classified as part of the Dai nationality along with almost all the other Tai peoples. But in Vietnam they are given their own nationality (with the White Tai) where they are classified as the Thái nationality (meaning Tai people). The Tai Dam originate from the vicinity of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam.
Angkor Thom, meaning ‘The Great City’, is located one mile north of Angkor Wat. It was built in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, and covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000-150,000 people.<br/><br/> At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north. Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however, as Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest. The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609.
Angkor Wat was built for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-50) in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the Angkor site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.
Angkor Wat was built for King Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-50) in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the Angkor site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers.
Ko Sukorn is home to around 2,500 Thai Muslims, mainly fishing families, but also farmers growing coconuts, rice and rubber in the island’s fertile interior.<br/><br/> Trang province was dependent on tin mining until the first rubber seedlings were brought into Thailand around 1901 – part of a long journey from South America via the neighboring Malay States.<br/><br/> Rubber, palm oil and fishing are the mainstays of the province's economy. Tourism is making an increasing impact as Trang’s Anadaman Coast and islands are increasingly developed and popularized.
'The accompanying illustration is designed to exhibit something of the daily routine of the Dinka. It represents one of those murahs or cattle-parks, of which I have seen hundreds. It depicts the scene at about five o’clock in the afternoon.<br/><br/> In the foreground there are specimens of the cattle of the country. The men in charge are busied collecting up into heaps the dung that has been exposed during the day to be dried in the sun. Clouds of reeking vapour fill the murah throughout the night and drive away the pestiferous insects. The herds have just been driven to their quarters, and each animal is fastened by a leather collar to its own wooden peg. Towards the left, on a pile of ashes, sit the owners of this section of the murah.<br/><br/> The ashes which are produced in the course of the year raise the level of the entire estate. Semi-circular huts erected on the hillocks afford the owners temporary accommodation when they quit their homes some miles away and come to feast their eyes upon the goodly spectacle of their wealth.'
Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.<br/><br/> The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. They primarily consist of images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time.<br/><br/> In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.