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The southernmost atoll in the Maldives and almost 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the capital Malé, Addu has a very well protected harbour lagoon only accessible through four entrances, and is surrounded by barrier reefs. There are 7 inhabited islands and 20 uninhabited islands.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
The southernmost atoll in the Maldives and almost 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the capital Malé, Addu has a very well protected harbour lagoon only accessible through four entrances, and is surrounded by barrier reefs. There are 7 inhabited islands and 20 uninhabited islands.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
The <i>dhivehi libaas</i> is a traditional Maldivian dress for women. The neckline is adorned with what is called <i>Kasabu viyun</i>, a collar hand stitched with silver and gold laces.<br/><br/>

On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
The <i>dhivehi libaas</i> is a traditional Maldivian dress for women. The neckline is adorned with what is called <i>kasabu viyun</i>, a collar hand stitched with silver and gold laces.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.<br/><br/>

The atolls, formed of great rings of coral based on the submarine Laccadive-Chagos ridge, vary greatly in size. Some are only a few kilometres square, but in the far south the great atoll of Suvadiva is sixty-five kilometres across, and has a central lagoon of more than 2000 square kilometres. The northern and central atolls are separated from each other by comparatively narrow channels of deep water, but in the south Suvadiva is cut off by the eighty-kilometre-wide One-and-a-half-Degree Channel. Addu Atoll is still more isolated, being separated from the atoll of Suvadiva by the seventy-kilometre-wide Equatorial Channel.
They are known, variously, as sadhus (saints, or 'good ones'), yogis (ascetic practitioners), fakirs (ascetic seeker after the Truth) and sannyasins (wandering mendicants and ascetics). They are the ascetic – and often eccentric – practitioners of an austere form of Hinduism. Sworn to cast off earthly desires, some choose to live as anchorites in the wilderness. Others are of a less retiring disposition, especially in the towns and temples of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley.<br/><br/>

If the Vale of Kathmandu seems to boast more than its share of sadhus and yogis, this is because of the number and importance of Hindu temples in the region. The most important temple of Vishnu in the valley is Changunarayan, and here the visitor will find many Vaishnavite ascetics. Likewise, the most important temple for followers of Shiva is the temple at Pashupatinath.<br/><br/>

Vishnu, also known as Narayan, can be identified by his four arms holding a sanka (sea shell), a chakra (round weapon), a gada (stick-like weapon) and a padma (lotus flower). The best-known incarnation of Vishnu is Krishna, and his animal is the mythical Garuda.<br/><br/>

Shiva is often represented by the lingam, or phallus, as a symbol of his creative side. His animal is the bull, Nandi, and his weapon is the trisul, or trident. According to Hindu mythology Shiva is supposed to live in the Himalayas and wears a garland of snakes. He is also said to smoke a lot of bhang, or hashish.
On the eastern rim of the South Nilandhoo Atoll lies the tiny island of Rinbudhoo. Here, in one of the quietest and cleanest villages in the Maldives, lives the country's only group of hereditary goldsmiths. Melting down Victorian gold sovereigns and Marie-Therèse thalers as casually as recently-imported mini-ingots from Dubai, they manufacture an exquisite range of chains, necklaces, ear-rings, finger-rings and amulets.<br/><br/>

Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
The most revered Hindu site in Nepal is the extensive Pashupatinath Temple complex, five kilometres east of central Kathmandu. The focus of devotion here is a large silver Shivalingam with four faces of Shiva carved on its sides, making it a 'Chaturmukhi-Linga', or four-faced Shivalingam. Pashupati is one of Shiva’s 1,008 names, his manifestation as 'Lord of all Beasts' (pashu means 'beasts', pati means 'lord'); he is considered the guardian deity of Nepal.<br/><br/> 

The main temple building around the Shivalingam was built under King Birpalendra Malla in 1696, however the temple is said to have already existed before 533 CE. In 733 CE, King Jayadeva II erected in its precincts a stone tablet which chronicled all the kings of Nepal, beginning with the sun god. During the Muslim raids of 1349 the temple was largely destroyed, but in 1381 Jayasinharama Varddhana of Banepa restored it. Further renovations were conducted towards the end of the Malla period, and the latest extensive improvements were made in 1967.<br/><br/> 

Since the temple's inception, all the rulers of Nepal have taken great pains to pay their respects to it, to make donations, and to finance extensions.
Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Greek Κνωσός), also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square.<br/><br/> 

Detailed images of Cretan life in the late Bronze Age are provided by images on the walls of this palace. It is also a tourist destination today, as it is near the main city of Heraklion and has been substantially restored by archaeologist Arthur Evans.<br/><br/>

The city of Knossos remained important through the Classical and Roman periods, but its population shifted to the new town of Chandax (modern Heraklion) during the 9th century AD. By the 13th century, it was called Makryteikhos or 'Long Wall'; the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century. Today, the name is used only for the archaeological site situated in the suburbs of Heraklion.
Turkey: A Turkish dervish. Photo by Jean Pascal Sebah (1872 - 6 June 1947), c. 1920-1930.<br/><br/>

A dervish/darvish/darwish in Islam is a believer or religious mendicant in a Sufi fraternity (tariqah) who has chosen material poverty. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, to try and reach God through abandoning ego. In many Sufi orders, a dervish is known practice dhikr (Islamic meditation) through physical exertions to attain an ecstatic trance.<br/><br/> 

In folklore, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles and ascribed supernatural powers.
The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad under the Asaf Jahi dynasty from c. 1719 until its integration into the Indian Union in September 1948 following independence from the British. The Nizams were renowned as great patrons of literature, art, architecture, culture, jewellery collection and rich food.
Vietnam's independence was gradually eroded by France in a series of military conquests from 1859 until 1885 when the entire country became part of French Indochina. Significant political and cultural changes were placed on the Vietnamese people, including the propagation of Roman Catholicism. When Emperor Thanh Thai, who was opposed to French colonial rule, was exiled in 1907, the French decided to pass the throne to his son who was only seven years old, because they thought someone so young would be easily influenced and controlled. The boy emperor, Duy Tan, ruled as emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1907 to 1916 before fleeing from Hue to resist the French.
Vietnam's independence was gradually eroded by France in a series of military conquests from 1859 until 1885 when the entire country became part of French Indochina. Significant political and cultural changes were placed on the Vietnamese people, including the propagation of Roman Catholicism. When Emperor Thanh Thai, who was opposed to French colonial rule, was exiled in 1907, the French decided to pass the throne to his son who was only seven years old, because they thought someone so young would be easily influenced and controlled. The boy emperor, Duy Tan, ruled as emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1907 to 1916 before fleeing from Hue to resist the French.
Chiang Mai is often called Thailand’s ‘Rose of the North’, and is the country’s second city and a popular tourist destination due primarily to its mountainous scenery, colourful ethnic hilltribes and their handicrafts.<br/><br/>

Founded in 1296 by King Mengrai as the capital of his Lanna kingdom, Chiang Mai was later overrun by Burmese invaders in 1767. The city was then left abandoned between 1776 and 1791.<br/><br/>

Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774 by an agreement with local prince Chao Kavila, after the Siamese  King Taksin helped drive out the Burmese. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading and economic importance.
Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Karkhēdōn, Arabic: Qarṭāj‎, Berber: Kartajen, meaning New City) is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population (2004 Census) of 20,715.<br/><br/>

The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word Phoenician) or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Roman legend it was founded in 814 BC by Phoenician colonists from Tyre under the leadership of Elissa (Queen Dido).<br/><br/>

It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.