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nNational Days – Yemen and Benin
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n1. On which two continents are Yemen and Benin located?
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n2. Which two European countries colonized Yemen and Benin?
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n3. What do Yemen and Benin celebrate on this date?
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nAnswers: 1.Yemen is on the Arabian Peninsula, in the “Near East” portion of Asia; Benin is on the southern side of the “bulge” of Africa – 2. The U.K. colonized southern Yemen; France colonized Benin – 3. Yemen celebrates its Nov. 30, 1967, independence from the U.K.; Benin celebrates the Nov. 30, 1975, renaming to Republic of Benin. The former name, Dahomey, was the name of just a portion of the nation, so a more neutral name was chose. Benin is the name of the body of water next to the country.
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nBy the way:
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nYemen’s main national holiday is on May 22, which is Unity Day, celebrating the 1990 joining of North and South Yemen.
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nBenin’s main national holiday is August 1, celebrating its independence from France in 1960.
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nBenin’s main national holiday is August 1, celebrating its independence from France in 1960.
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nThese are a few of my favorite things…
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n…about Yemen and Benin.
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nYemen is the only nation on the Arabian peninsula to have a pure republic form of government. The other nations have kings (or sultans) of some sort.
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nMore than 200 islands, located in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, are part of Yemen. Most of the islands are volcanic in origin.
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nI read that almost everybody wears ceremonial daggers or swords—on a daily basis! I can’t help wondering if “almost everybody” really means “almost every adult man”?n
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nShibam, in Yemen, is called the oldest skyscraper city of the world and also “the Manhattan of the desert.” Its many-storied buildings are made of mud bricks. With some buildings 100 feet tall, these are the tallest mud buildings in the world.n
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nThis website has a short, slow-fade slide show of Yemen.
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nA memorial about the slave trade has been erected on the beach of Benin. Called The Door of No Return, it shows that slavery was a one-way trip into horror for most people.n
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nThe Notre Dame des Apotres Church in Cotonou, Benin, may be one of the most unusually colored churches in the world.n
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nHere is a photo gallery of animals you can see at Benin’s Pendjari National Park.
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- Grand Popo is one of the most picturesque beaches of Benin.
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