URUGUAY TOURISM

Uruguay is a country that traditionally receives travellers with the natural manner of its grounds and inhabitants. Tourists of the whole world come looking for the beauty of its sceneries and the warmth of the Uruguayans, which are a distinctive symbol of this country.

2022/08/25

Kandy - "A city still evoking a bygone era"

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220821/plus/a-city-still-evoking-a-bygone-era-492051.html

2022/08/25

Entretien de l’Ambassadeur Frédéric Billet pour "Kapitał Polski"

« La volonté des autorités françaises est claire : approfondir la coopération entre nos pays pour assurer la sécurité de l’Europe, réussir la transition énergétique et faire évoluer notre modèle (...)

2022/08/25

Independence Day of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay

Uruguay, country located on the southeastern coast of South America. The second smallest country on the continent, Uruguay has long been overshadowed politically and economically by the adjacent republics of Brazil and Argentina, with both of which it has many cultural and historical similarities. “On the map, surrounded by its large neighbors, Uruguay seems tiny,” writes contemporary Uruguayan historian and novelist Eduardo Galeano. “But not really. We have five times more land than Holland and five times fewer inhabitants. We have more cultivable land than Japan, and a population forty times smaller.” This combination of open space and low population density has afforded Uruguay many opportunities for economic development. An independent country since 1828, with strong ties to the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, Uruguay developed throughout much of the 20th century as one of Latin America’s more progressive societies, notable for its political stability, advanced social legislation, and a relatively large middle class. A period of repressive military rule (1973–85) has cast a long shadow over national life, and, like other countries in the region, Uruguay has been troubled by economic decline and factional struggles in the decades since civilian democratic rule was restored. Such adversities have caused many Uruguayans to emigrate to Europe and North America; as Galeano has remarked, “We export our young.”Almost half the people are concentrated in the metropolitan area of Montevideo, the capital; the second and third largest cities, Salto and Paysandú, are small by comparison. Facing a deep bay at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, Montevideo blends historic areas with tall office towers and well-appointed shopping centres. The old city, with its many museums, open-air markets, and restaurants, remains the heart of Montevideo and sees thousands of international visitors each year. Popular as tourist destinations, too, are beach resorts such as Piriápolis and Punta del Este, as well as the colonial masterpiece Colonia del Sacramento. Land The wedge-shaped country is bounded by Brazil to the north and east, by the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and by the Río de la Plata to the south, while the Uruguay River serves as its western boundary with Argentina. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now Relief and soils The Uruguayan landscape is largely characterized by gently rolling land, with an average elevation of about 383 feet (117 metres). Tidal lakes and sand dunes fringe the coastline. Elsewhere there are broad valleys, plains (pampas), low plateaus and hills, and ridges—notably Haedo Ridge (Cuchilla de Haedo) in the north and Grande Ridge (Cuchilla Grande) in the southeast—that are a southward extension of the Brazilian Highlands. Mount Catedral, which rises to 1,685 feet (514 metres) near the southeastern coast, is the highest point in the country. The valleys and coastal plains are covered with deposits of sand, clay, and fertile alluvium. Drainage Although it is a well-watered land, no large rivers flow entirely within Uruguay. The Uruguay River and the estuary of the Río de la Plata, along the western border of the nation, are navigable for oceangoing ships until Paysandú and for smaller vessels above that point to the falls at Salto. The smaller Negro River, which traverses the country from northeast to southwest, is navigable only in its lower part, below Rincón del Bonete Lake (the Río Negro Reservoir). Among other small rivers are the Santa Lucía, Cebollatí, and Queguay Grande. Merín (Mirim) Lagoon, which lies mainly within Brazil, is the largest natural lake. Climate Uruguay has a generally pleasant, temperate climate. The average temperature for the midwinter month of July varies from 54 °F (12 °C) at Salto in the northern interior to 50 °F (10 °C) at Montevideo in the south. The midsummer month of January varies from a warm average of 79 °F (26 °C) at Salto to 72 °F (22 °C) at Montevideo. Frost is almost unknown along the coast. Both summer and winter weather may vary from day to day with the passing of storm fronts; a hot northerly wind may occasionally be followed by a cold wind (pampero) from the Argentine Pampas. Uruguay has neither a decidedly dry nor a rainy season. The heaviest precipitation occurs during the autumn months (March and April), although more frequent rains occur in winter. The mean annual precipitation is generally greater than 40 inches (1,000 mm), decreasing with distance from the seacoast, and is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. Thunderstorms occur frequently during the summer. Plant and animal life Tall-grass prairies once covered most of Uruguay’s land surface but now compete with enclosed, planted pastures. Only a small percentage of the land is forested, most of the trees growing in narrow stretches along watercourses. The principal species are ombu—a scrubby, treelike plant—and alder. Others include willow, eucalyptus, pine, poplar, acacia, and aloe. The algaroba (carob tree) and quebracho (whose wood and bark are utilized in tanning and dyeing) are prevalent, and indigenous palms grow in the valleys and along the southeastern coast. Common smaller plants include mimosa, myrtle, rosemary, and scarlet-flowered ceibo. Animals native to Uruguay have largely disappeared, although pumas and jaguars are still occasionally found in remote areas. Other native mammals include foxes, deer, wildcats, armadillos (mulitas), and several types of rodents, including huge capybaras. Scorpions are rare, but venomous spiders are common. Birdlife includes tiny burrowing owls, crows, lapwings, partridges, quails, hummingbirds, and cardinals. Parakeets are plentiful in the hills, and the lagoons swarm with waterfowl, including white herons, cranes, and flamingos. Rheas are now mainly limited to semidomesticated settings. Lizards, tortoises, and venomous snakes are found in many areas. Caimans inhabit the upper waters of the Uruguay River, and seals are found on small islands off the southeastern coast, particularly on Lobos Island. A network of national parks and a wildlife reserve are dedicated to the preservation of animal and bird populations. More … Score: https://www.britannica.com/place/Uruguay

2022/08/25

Independence Day Ukraine

Ukraine, country located in eastern Europe, the second largest on the continent after Russia. The capital is Kyiv (Kiev), located on the Dnieper River in north-central Ukraine. A fully independent Ukraine emerged only late in the 20th century, after long periods of successive domination by Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). Ukraine had experienced a brief period of independence in 1918–20, but portions of western Ukraine were ruled by Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia in the period between the two World Wars, and Ukraine thereafter became part of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (S.S.R.). When the Soviet Union began to unravel in 1990–91, the legislature of the Ukrainian S.S.R. declared sovereignty (July 16, 1990) and then outright independence (August 24, 1991), a move that was confirmed by popular approval in a plebiscite (December 1, 1991). With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in December 1991, Ukraine gained full independence. The country changed its official name to Ukraine, and it helped to found the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an association of countries that were formerly republics of the Soviet Union. Land Ukraine is bordered by Belarus to the north, Russia to the east, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea to the south, Moldova and Romania to the southwest, and Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland to the west. In the far southeast, Ukraine is separated from Russia by the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. Relief Ukraine occupies the southwestern portion of the Russian Plain (East European Plain). The country consists almost entirely of level plains at an average elevation of 574 feet (175 metres) above sea level. Mountainous areas such as the Ukrainian Carpathians and Crimean Mountains occur only on the country’s borders and account for barely 5 percent of its area. The Ukrainian landscape nevertheless has some diversity: its plains are broken by highlands—running in a continuous belt from northwest to southeast—as well as by lowlands. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now The rolling plain of the Dnieper Upland, which lies between the middle reaches of the Dnieper (Dnipro) and Southern Buh (Pivdennyy Buh, or the Boh) rivers in west-central Ukraine, is the largest highland area; it is dissected by many river valleys, ravines, and gorges, some more than 1,000 feet (300 metres) deep. On the west the Dnieper Upland is abutted by the rugged Volyn-Podilsk Upland, which rises to 1,545 feet (471 metres) at its highest point, Mount Kamula. West of the Volyn-Podilsk Upland, in extreme western Ukraine, the parallel ranges of the Carpathian Mountains—one of the most picturesque areas in the country—extend for more than 150 miles (240 km). The mountains range in height from about 2,000 feet (600 metres) to about 6,500 feet (2,000 metres), rising to 6,762 feet (2,061 metres) at Mount Hoverla, the highest point in the country. The northeastern and southeastern portions of Ukraine are occupied by low uplands rarely reaching an elevation of 1,000 feet (300 metres). Among the country’s lowlands are the Pripet Marshes (Polissya), which lie in the northern part of Ukraine and are crossed by numerous river valleys. In east-central Ukraine is the Dnieper Lowland, which is flat in the west and gently rolling in the east. To the south, another lowland extends along the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov; its level surface, broken only by low rises and shallow depressions, slopes gradually toward the Black Sea. The shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are characterized by narrow, sandy spits of land that jut out into the water; one of these, the Arabat Spit, is about 70 miles (113 km) long but averages less than 5 miles (8 km) in width. The southern lowland continues in the Crimean Peninsula as the North Crimean Lowland. The peninsula—a large protrusion into the Black Sea—is connected to the mainland by the Perekop Isthmus. The Crimean Mountains form the southern coast of the peninsula. Mount Roman-Kosh, at 5,069 feet (1,545 metres), is the mountains’ highest point. Drainage Almost all the major rivers in Ukraine flow northwest to southeast through the plains to empty into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Dnieper River, with its hydroelectric dams, huge reservoirs, and many tributaries, dominates the entire central part of Ukraine. Of the total course of the Dnieper, 609 miles (980 km) are in Ukraine, making it by far the longest river in the country, of which it drains more than half. Like the Dnieper, the Southern Buh, with its major tributary, the Inhul, flows into the Black Sea. To the west and southwest, partly draining Ukrainian territory, the Dniester (Dnistro) also flows into the Black Sea; among its numerous tributaries, the largest in Ukraine are the Stryy and the Zbruch. The middle course of the Donets River, a tributary of the Don, flows through southeastern Ukraine and is an important source of water for the Donets Basin (Donbas). The Danube River flows along the southwestern frontier of Ukraine. Marshland, covering almost 3 percent of Ukraine, is found primarily in the northern river valleys and in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Danube, and other rivers. The rivers are most important as a water supply, and for this purpose a series of canals has been built, such as the Donets–Donets Basin, the Dnieper–Kryvyy Rih, and the North Crimea. Several of the larger rivers are navigable, including the Dnieper, Danube, Dniester, Pripet (Pryp’yat), Donets, and Southern Buh (in its lower course). Dams and hydroelectric plants are situated on all the larger rivers. Ukraine has a few natural lakes, all of them small and most of them scattered over the river floodplains. One of the largest is Lake Svityaz, 11 square miles (28 square km) in area, in the northwest. Small saltwater lakes occur in the Black Sea Lowland and in Crimea. Larger saline lakes occur along the coast. Known as limans, these bodies of water form at the mouths of rivers or ephemeral streams and are blocked off by sandbars from the sea. Some artificial lakes have been formed, the largest of which are reservoirs at hydroelectric dams—e.g., the reservoir on the Dnieper upstream from Kremenchuk. The Kakhovka, Dnieper, Dniprodzerzhynsk, Kaniv, and Kyiv reservoirs make up the rest of the Dnieper cascade. Smaller reservoirs are located on the Dniester and Southern Buh rivers and on tributaries of the Donets River. Small reservoirs for water supply also are found near Kryvyy Rih, Kharkiv, and other industrial cities. Three large artesian basins—the Volyn-Podilsk, the Dnieper, and the Black Sea—are exceptionally important for municipal needs and agriculture as well. More … Score: https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine

2022/08/24

INTRODUCING HUNGARY

Start exploring Hungary with Lonely Planet’s video guide to getting around, when to go and the top things to do while you're there.

2022/08/23

A TOURIST IN AFGHANISTAN

A video journey of a recent trip to Afghanistan in January 2021 as a tourist. Visiting sites around Kabul & Panjshir Valley with Jared Hauck & friends Marilyn & Jim Collins.

2022/08/23

Podczas Festiwal Kultury Żydowskiej SIMCHA odbyło się ostatnie w tym sezonie spotkanie Klubu Książki Żydowskiej.

Bardzo cieszymy się, że dzięki naszej współpracy z Żydoteka przez wiele miesięcy tego roku mieszkanki i mieszkańcy Wrocławia mieli okazję do wartościowych spotkań z literaturą izraelską!

2022/08/23

Meet Neka Knowles, a 22-year-old student from Nassau

To kick off the back-to-school season, U.S. Embassy Nassau is proud to begin the spotlight series focused on Bahamian students studying abroad in the United States. Meet Neka Knowles, a 22-year-old student from Nassau, New Providence. Neka will attend The New School in New York City, NY. Returning to New York after receiving her Bachelor of Art in Theatre Arts from Marymount Manhattan College in 2021, she plans to pursue her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Contemporary Theatre Performance. Neka recognizes that “leaving home takes thick skin” but encourages other Bahamians to be risk takers when pursuing their education. We wish Neka all the best! If you are interested in studying abroad in the United States, visit EducationUSA - The Bahamas for more information.

2022/08/23