nPostednon December 16, 2015
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Bringnon the parades! The concerts! The fireworks!
Bringnon the parades! The concerts! The fireworks!n
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nTodaynis the first of two days of celebrating Bahrain’s independence fromnBritain.
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nActually,nBahrain actually became independent in August of 1971, after a UnitednNations survey of the Bahraini people showed that a majority of themnwanted to be independent. However, December 16 was chosen at somenpoint by Bahraini rulers as a more suitable day to celebrate, becausenit coincided with coronation day of former emir Isa bin Salman AlnKhalifa.
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nThengood news is that Bahrain has a high-income economy and has investednin banking and tourism, so even when petroleum profits dwindle, itnshould remain strong.
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nThenbad news is that, although Bahrain claims to be a constitutionalnmonarchy, the parliament is not strong, the judicial branch is notnindependent of other branches, and the king is, essential, andictator. This type of government is called an absolute monarchy.
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nWhatndo you know about Bahrain?
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nBeforenyou read on, ask yourself where Bahrain is located, what languagenBahraini’s speak, and if there is a state religion – and, if so,nwhich religion it is. n
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nWhilenyou think about those questions, scroll through these photos ofngorgeous cityscapes and natural landscapes from the nation….
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| This tree (above and below) is called the Tree of Life. It is the only speck of plant life visible in miles of sand… the mystery of how it still lives in such a dry, dusty area keeps it a popular tourist destination! |
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nBahrainnis an island nation located in the Persian Gulf, east of SaudinArabia. There is a causeway that connects the island to SaudinArabia.
There are 83 smaller islands, aside from the largestnisland (which is called Bahrain).
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nArabicnis the official language. Because Bahrain used to be a Britishncolony, English is widely used. Some other commonly heard languagesnin Bahrain include Persian (language of Iran) and Urdu (language ofnPakistan). n
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nThenstate religion of Bahrain is Islam, and about 70% of the populationnis Muslim.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nScientistnand author Arthur C. Clarke’s birthday
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nAnniversarynof the invention of the transistor
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nKazakhstan’sn Independence Day
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nBeethoven’sn Birthday
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nMargaretn Mead’s Birthdayn (scrolln down)
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nAnniversaryn of Boston Tea Party
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nPlannahead:
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Checknout my Pinterest pages on:
Checknout my Pinterest pages on:
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in December
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuaryn birthdays
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