Golpo Holeo Shotti

Golpo Holeo Shotti (; English: "A story, but true") is an Indian Bengali suspense supernatural thriller film directed by Birsa Dasgupta, produced by Shree Venkatesh Films, starring Soham Chakraborty and Mimi Chakraborty. It is a remake of the 2012 Tamil film "Pizza". The film's music is by Indraadip Das Gupta.
Plot.
Rudra (Soham Chakraborty) is a pizza delivery boy who lives with his girlfriend Anu (Mimi Chakraborty). She is an aspiring novelist and is researching for writing a horror story, whereas Rudra does not believe in supernatural powers, and is very afraid of anything supernatural. Anu, keeps telling him that he would soon realize the presence of supernatural beings. At first, Rudra is confused and scared, and his fears are confirmed when he comes to know his boss, i.e., the Pizza restaurant owner Ratul's (Rajatava Dutta) daughter is possessed by a spirit named Mrinalini. He gets further scared when the possessed girl glares at Rudra when asked by a priest if she wants to take revenge on somebody. Meanwhile, Anu becomes pregnant, and after a brief altercation, Rudra and Anu get covertly married. One particular day, Rudra goes out to deliver a pizza to a customer and returns to the restaurant in a state of shock while covered in blood; he is apparently injured, keeps constantly muttering Anu's name, and seems to be worried about her. When his boss questions him, Rudra explains that went to deliver a pizza to a customer named Smitha (Saayoni Ghosh) in a bungalow and recounts the events that happened at the bungalow.
Smitha requests Rudra to wait downstairs while she goes upstairs to retrieve change. Almost immediately, there is a power failure, which alarms Rudra. While waiting downstairs completely alone in the dark for a long time and not getting any reply after calling out, he goes upstairs to investigate and finds Smitha nailed to the wall and murdered suspiciously. After looking around with a torch, he notices one slice of the pizza he delivered is missing, suggesting that there may be somebody else in the house. Horrified, Rudra makes a dash for the door only to realize that it has been locked from inside. Further more when the murdered woman's husband Bobby (Simha) arrives, he at first believes his wife is running an affair and calls her. Rudra receives the call and notices that her body is missing. Through Smitha's cellphone Rudra communicates with Bobby and explains his situation thoroughly instigating Bobby to aid him on how to get out of the house. After shuffling through various drawers, he finally finds the keys but to his dismay, he is unable to unlock the door. Moreover, Bobby suddenly disappears from the front entrance followed by a gunshot, and is found by Rudra inside the house mysteriously murdered in the same room as his wife, with two slices of the pizza now missing. Also, Rudra encounters the couple's child "Mrinalini", identical to the name of the spirit allegedly possessing Ratul's daughter and finds a scribbling "Mrinalini 5-D" in her room.
Rudra tries everything he can to get out of the house including trying to break down the sealed doors and glass windows leading outside, to using the house phone which happens to work even though the line is dead. Rudra manages to contact Anu using the phone and gets her to contact to the local police to come and rescue him. When a couple of policemen arrive at the bungalow, Rudra believes that Anu had requested them to help him, but they reveal that four people had been killed in that house - Smitha, Bobby, their young daughter and a girl named Anu in the front garden, implying that she is Rudra's girl friend, Anu. The police disclose that Rudra has been missing for four days and Anu died a week ago. Besides, they also wonder how Rudra managed to enter a sealed crime scene and also show them the exact area of the room where the murders have occurred with absolutely correct and minute details. Confused and in tears, Rudra does not believe the policemen and attempts to escape the clutches of these police men in order to go in search of Anu.
While trying to escape, he witnesses the police getting dragged into the house. At this juncture, Rudra, in a horrified state, runs back to the restaurant and on the way has a fight with his friends when they spot him running and try to calm him down. While Rudra can not come to terms with the reality that Anu is dead, his friends at the restaurant and Ratul start realizing that they never saw Anu; they also observe that Rudra's home does not have any evidence that he lived with Anu. Further, it is revealed that the haunted bungalow witnessed the untimely deaths of a married couple, their daughter, and two policeman, whose ghosts Rudra interacted with. Meanwhile, Rudra seems to continue his search for Anu, has constant health issues, and seems to be disturbed by ghosts and supernatural entities.
During a delivery, when Rudra stops and calls Anu, the true story of what had happened is disclosed. The restaurant owner asks Rudra to deliver a box of candies to his house. On the way, Rudra is involved in a bike accident and come in contact with the hidden diamonds. He and Anu decide that this stealing those diamonds would improve their life style and support their baby. So, they concoct a clever story in which Rudra convincingly "forgets" the Pizza bag at the "haunted" bungalow which Ratul would never enter into, thanks to his fear of supernatural powers. Meanwhile, Anu has moved to Singapore with the diamonds and her belongings, and has obtained fake documentation using which Rudra and Anu can settle abroad.
Rudra, after the phone call, goes to deliver a pizza to a house and he encounters a series of events similar to the story he narrated. Inside, he meets a little girl identical to the "Mrinalini" he had described in his story. He is locked inside the home with "Mrinalini" glaring at him. The light then goes off.


Sabayil Castle

Sabayil Castle is a submerged medieval fortress on the coast of the Caspian Sea near Baku, Azerbaijan.
The castle is named after the surrounding area of Bayil. The structure is also known as the "Atlantis of the Caspian Sea". Research scientists have referred to it as “Sabayil castle”, “Bayil castle”, “Bandargala”, “Underground town”, “Caravanserai”, “Cloister”, “Monastery”, “Custom house” and “Defence castle”.
History.
The castle was built on one of the Bayil hills near the Caspian Sea coast in 1232–33, during the life of Fariburz, son of Shirvanshah Garsasb, by architect Abdul-Majid Masud oglu. At the same time, in 1232, this architect also built the round castle in Mardakan, which was part of Abseron’s integrated defence system, defending the city and Bayil Castle from the north. Some archaeologists suggested the castle belonged to the Shirvanshahs.
During a major earthquake in the capital city of Baku in 1306, the building collapsed and the island submerged and remained under water for several centuries. It was not until the early 18th century, when the Caspian Sea receded, that the structure resurfaced. At this time, stones recovered from the site with inscriptions on them provided valuable information for historians.
According to Azerbaijani historian Sara Ashurbeyli, Sabayil is the castle mentioned by Abdurrashid Al-Bakuvi, a 15th-century geographer who alleged that the structure was destroyed during the 13th-century Mongol invasion.
Al-Bakuvi, a native of Baku, wrote in 1430 in his "Kitab-talkhis el-asar ve el-melik el-gahhar": "Baku has two castles; very strong, built of stone. One of them is very large and on the shore Maiden's Tower. This is the castle that the Mongols could not conquer. The other is further offshore. Its upper parts have been destroyed."
Architecture.
The building complex, which is long and wide, consists of 15 semi-circular castles, apart and connected by a wall. One of the castles at the four corners – the northern one – stood alone, but the others were connected via small cells. The wall was between thick. On the wall there were individual stone panels with frieze inscriptions long, wide and thick).
In 2008 an ancient underpass, dated back to the 19th century, was discovered in the Walled City of Baku. According to scholar Vitaly Antonov, this passage is one of the several, leading to the ancient Sabayil Castle. There are several tunnels leading from the Palace of Shirvanshahs and Synykh Gala, situated in Icheri Shekher, to the sea. Synykh Gala was the mosque in the 15th century, in the times of the Shah Ismail Khatai, and was destroyed by the troops of Peter I. That is, the discovered passage is part of the underground network connecting the city of Sabayil to the land.
Relics.
From 1939 to 1969, an archaeological expedition organized by the Institute of History of the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences, led by Prof Y. Pakhomov and archaeologists I. Jafarzade and O. Isimzade, discovered relics and, at different times, more than 700 inscribed stone panels. They helped very much to clarify the purpose and the date of building of Bayil Castle. The stones are currently kept in the courtyard of the Shirvanshahs Palace in the Walled City of Baku. They are decorated with frieze inscriptions in Arabic and Persian, chain-shaped ornamentation and images of people, animals, birds and mythical animals.
These artworks are valuable in the study of the culture of the Shirvanshah period. However, time and the elements have affected many of them. Up to 30 percent of the stones recovered from the sea had been damaged by the centuries-long work of the waves and their inscriptions and images had been effaced. And not all of the stones have been recovered.
Historians found the names of 15 Shirvanshahs and other valuable information on these stone slabs.
Legacy.
Arif Ardebili, a poet of the Middle Ages, noted in his well-known dastan (epic poem) "Farkhad-name" the view he had seen:
The poet was most likely referring to the Bayil Castle. He saw Bayil Castle nearly a century after it was built. So, for him and his contemporaries the castle was still "new".


Phraya Manopakorn Nititada

Phraya Manopakorn Nititada (; ; born Kon Hutasingha (; ); 15 July 1884 – 1 October 1948) was the first Prime Minister of Siam after the Siamese Revolution of 1932 as he was selected by the leader of the People's Party – the party that instigated the revolution. However, in the following year, Manoparkorn was ousted by a coup in 1933 due to the conflicts between members of People's Party.
Early life.
Kon Hutasingha was born on 15 July 1884 in Bangkok to Huad and Kaew Hutasingha (Thai: นายฮวด กับนางแก้ว หุตะสิงห์), both of whom were of Chinese extraction. He received his primary education at Suankularb Wittayalai School in Bangkok. He pursued his law education at Assumption College and at the Law School of the Ministry of Justice. He then continued his studies abroad. It is claimed that he was a member at the Middle Temple, in London, England, but no evidence of his membership can be found in the Inn's admission registers. After he had finished his education, he began to work for the Ministry of Justice and climbed the traditional career ladder and was eventually granted the title Phraya and received his honorary name: "Manopakorn Nititada". In 1918, he gained a seat in the Privy Council of King Vajiravudh (or Rama VI).
Revolution and premiership.
Following the Revolution of 1932, King Prajadhipok (or Rama VII) consented to a Provisional Constitution on 27 June 1932. The first People's Assembly of Siam, composed entirely of appointed members, met for the first time on 28 June. The revolutionary Khana Ratsadon Party, not wanting to appear as if it had instigated the revolution for self-aggrandizement, chose Phraya Manopakorn as President of the Committee. He was considered a largely neutral and clean figure, but at the same time respected enough to take the position.
As a result, the Assembly with the advice of Pridi Panomyong, one of the leaders of the Khana Ratsadon offered Manopakorn the post of "President of the People's Committee", an early version of the post of Prime Minister.
The first mission of Phraya Manopakorn's Cabinet was to draft a permanent constitution. King Prajadhipok made an observation that the term "President of the People's Committee" sounded like a communist or republican post. After a debate, the office was eventually changed to "prime minister". The first constitution of Siam was promulgated under Phraya Manopakorn's watch on 10 December 1932, now celebrated as the Thai Constitution Day.
Soon after, Phraya Manopakorn became the head of the first constitutional government of Siam. The Manopakorn cabinet, or People's Committee, composed of members, half from the People's Party and half from senior civil servants and military officers, was appointed under the guidance of the party. Phraya Manopakorn in essence became the Khana Ratsadon's puppet, and the country a single-party state.
Yellow Cover Dossier incident and Coup.
In 1933, Pridi Panomyong, by then a Minister of State, presented his Draft Economic Plan or Yellow Cover Dossier to King Prajadhipok. The dossier was an economic plan, which advocated socialist solutions to the country's many financial and economic problems. Prajadhipok even branded the dossier "communist" and attacked Pridi publicly about it. When Pridi's dossier was rejected, his status fell and caused a major disruption among the members of People's Party and the People's Committee itself.
Phraya Mano rallied those who opposed the socialist plan of Pridi including Phraya Songsuradet and dissolved his own cabinet to oust Pridi, who had great support within the People's Party. To regain some stability and silence domestic critics, Phraya Manopakorn had some articles in the constitution suspended. Manopakorn barred the People's Assembly from any further meetings and the judiciary was shut down. Pridi was forced to flee to France. It was said that Manopakorn "led the coup with his pen", this event is known in Thailand as the "April 1933 Coup" (or the "Silent Coup") (Thai: รัฐประหารในประเทศไทย เมษายน พ.ศ. 2476). Phraya Manopakorn then approved the Anti-Communist Act, which empowered him to arrest those suspected of having communist sentiments: the entire Central Committee of the Communist Party of Siam was arrested and imprisoned.
After the Yellow Dossier Incident, the degree of political freedom was greatly reduced by Phraya Manopakorn's policies. He censored many leftist activities including shutting down newspapers and publications. However the People's Party, which gave him the premiership, would eventually be his downfall. On 16 June, Phraya Pahol Polpayuhasena, the country's most powerful military leader and member of the People's Party, together with three other senior officers retired from the People's Committee, for "health reasons".
Death and legacy.
The 1933 Siamese coup d'état happened on 20 June, led by Phraya Pahol and other military leaders. Phraya Manopakorn was immediately removed as prime minister. Phraya Phahol appointed himself the country's second prime minister and took over the government. King Pradhipok duly accepted his appointment. Manopakorn was then exiled to Penang, British Malaya, and lived there until his death in 1948, aged 64.
Phraya Manopakorn was Siam's first prime minister and the first to be ousted by a coup. He would not be the last civilian prime minister to be ousted by a military coup. His legacy is mixed: on the one hand he took over the reins of government at a difficult time (Wall Street Crash of 1929), but on the other he exceeded his powers and was not able to counter the powers of the Khana Ratsadon which became increasingly dictatorial.


Len Eacott

Leonard Sidney Eacott (born 14 June 1947), known as Len Eacott, is a retired Australian Anglican bishop, Army Chaplain, and military officer, who served as Bishop to the Australian Defence Force from 2007 to 2012.
Early life, parish ministry and military career.
Eacott was born in Toowoomba and grew up in regional Queensland.
Eacott enlisted in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps of the Citizens Military Forces in November 1966, and from 1968 to 1972 fulfilled a National Service commitment. In early 1972, Eacott was commissioned as a General Service Officer (Royal Australian Infantry) in the Army Reserve, serving with 25 Battalion, the Royal Queensland Regiment and the Queensland University Regiment. He was also employed as a soil conservation field officer by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries until commencing training for Anglican ministry in 1980.
Eacott is a graduate of St Francis' Theological College and the University of Queensland and initially served in rural and city parish ministry and part-time Army Chaplaincy with the Army Reserve in Southern Queensland before transferring to full-time chaplaincy with Royal Australian Army Chaplains' Department.
As part of his military service as a chaplain, Eacott served as Anglican chaplain to the 3rd Brigade, Townsville, deployed in 1993 with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, the Land Warfare Centre, Canungra. From 1996 to 1999 he served as senior chaplain to 1 Division at the Deployable Joint Force Headquarters at Enoggera. In 1999-2000 Eacott served as Senior Chaplain to the International Force in East Timor under General Sir Peter Cosgrove, during which time he was involved with the exhumation and reburial of bodies suspected as being victims of crimes against humanity and established and maintained a burial register. He also served as Senior Chaplain to the Logistic Support Force and Command Chaplain to Land Headquarters in Sydney.
On 1 March 2002, Eacott was collated as Archdeacon to the Australian Army and on 18 November 2002 was appointed as Principal Chaplain to the Australian Army (Director General of Chaplaincy - Army), a position which he held until 21 January 2007. He retired from the Australian Regular Army on 15 June 2007.
Episcopal ministry.
In May 2007, Eacott was appointed by the Primate of the Anglican Church and Chief of the Defence Force as Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, replacing Bishop Tom Frame. He was consecrated as bishop and installed as Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force on 29 June 2007.
Eacott retired on 31 December 2012 after reaching the retirement age of 65 years and was succeeded by Bishop Ian Lambert.
Awards and personal life.
Eacott is married to Sandy and has three children, one of whom died from cancer in 1995.
Eacott was awarded the Reserve Force Decoration and Reserve Force Medal in 1987. Eacott was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (Military Division) in the 2007 Australia Day Honours for "exceptional service and outstanding devotion to duty as Principal Chaplain - Army and Head of Corps, Royal Australian Army Chaplains' Department".


Pratap Singh of Jaipur

Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh (2 December 1764 – 1 August 1803) was a Kachwaha ruler of Jaipur from 1778 to 1803. He was born in December 1764 and succeeded his father Madho Singh I. He was a grandson of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, founder of Jaipur. He is known for constructing the Hawa Mahal.
Biography.
He was the younger son of Madho Singh I. Sawai Pratap Singh became the Maharaja at the age of 14 after the death of his brother Prithvi Singh. He ruled from 1778 to 1803. HIs 25-year rule witnessed many spectacular achievements and strategic failures. Being constantly goaded by the Marathas and the Mughals, he had to face repeated threats and a heavy drainage of funds.
The fountains behind the Govind Dev temple are credited to him, his poetic talent and patronage of arts and crafts. During his time, the art of paintings reached its peak. By the time of his ascension to the throne, the Mughal Empire was almost in shambles and the artists were fleeing Delhi. Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh gave them patronage and they came and settled in Jaipur. It was these artists who brought recognition to the Jaipuri school of painting.
The finest example of his connoisseurship is the unique monument of Hawa Mahal (the palace of the Winds) and few rooms of City Palace, which he got constructed. A large number of scholarly works were produced during his time. He himself was a good poet and wrote poems in Braj Bhasha and Dhundari language under the pen name of Brijnidhi.


Ruplal House

Ruplal House (formerly known as Aratoon House) is a 19th-century mansion in Farashganj area in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was built on the northern bank of the Buriganga River, beside the Buckland Dam. The house was built in 1825 by an Armenian businessman Stephen Aratoon. It was later bought by two merchants, Ruplal Das and his brother Raghunath Das, in 1840. Later, an architect firm of Calcutta, Martin Company, re-constructed this building.
History.
Ruplal House first came into limelight in 1886 when Ruplal Das threw a ball dance party in the honor of the Viceroy of India Lord Dufferin. After the partition of India in 1947, the family of Ruplal Das left for Kolkata. In 1962, through a formal deed of exchange, Siddick Jamall bought the house.
Features.
Divided into two unequal blocks in slightly different styles, it is a two-storeyed edifice. It presents a Grand River front, about 9144 m long. It replicated Greek Doric column and there used to be a huge clock at the top of the building. In the earthquake of 1897. Its ground plan follows the shape of the letter 'E', with three arms extending towards the north or the city side, of which the middle arm projects about 1830 m. It accommodates a grand portico carried on a series of lofty semi-Corinthian fluted columns, and surmounted by a triangular pediment, characteristic of Renaissance architecture.
The two blocks include, in two floors, over fifty rooms of various sizes and of them the central hall on the upper floor of the more impressive western wing was an elegantly decorated dance hall with a wooden floor. On the north and south two broad verandas run the entire length of the block and are supported on either round semi-Corinthian columns or rectangular brick pillars with segmented or trefoil arches above. The Ruplal House was the only competitor to the Ahsan Manzil during the British colonial era.yo
Architectural style and structural features.
Ruplal house has three distinct blocks of different architectural style; these blocks were separated in the ground floor, but related at the upper floor by arch way. Those three blocks were:
Architectural Features: Ruplal Block
Ruplal block was designed in the Neo-classical style. This grand wing was square in plan with a square central courtyard. The lighter plain columns give the court sense of light and proportions. The rooms were arranged around this central courtyard in order to give privacy. Its main entry is from the northern portico with a triangular pediment over fluted columns with Corinthian capitals, which emphasizes the entry and its secondary entry from the front court through the series of archways which is also inviting. Service block lowering height is slightly detached from the main block.
Structural Features: Ruplal Block
Foundation: load bearing brick masonry foundation is used as the superstructure without using any reinforcement. There is no crack or sag seen in the foundation. Plinth is 2’ high from the ground level.
Walls: Load bearing 25” thick. Brick masonry is layered in walls. Lime concrete is used as the mortar and plastering materials. Columns: Three types of columns; Neo-Corinthian, circular, squares columns. Arch: Serve as lintels made of bricks over the doors, windows, and also on the circulation
passages. Beams: Steel I beam. For wide span double steel beams are used. Steel I beam of Size- 3”x6”, 4”x8” and 6”x12. Wooden beams: Size 3”x3” Floor: 11” thick layered floor of Red oxide, Brick masonry Tiles, Lime Concrete. Stair –case: Wooden staircases. One stair is partly reinforced. Wooden stairs are used with iron joists. Material: Bricks are used as the main building material. They are varied in size and shape. Brick tiles are used in the cornice. Plaster: Lime concrete. No blister is seen in the walls and columns because of using glue. Finish materials: Marble tiles, Terrazzo, Red oxide, colored tinted glass.
Architectural Features: Raghunath Block
This block has different architectural style which lies in the eastern part of the complex. There are no arches in the façade which faces the entrance court in the north. The capitals are no longer Corinthian, but seem to bemore Indian origin. These columns are mostly circular brick columns with plain square capitals. Workmanship of this block is in fact much ordinary to that in Ruplal's Block. This block also consists of two rectangular courtyards. The rooms are rather elongated.
Zoning and Hierarchy of spaces:
An attempt of zoning is noticeable. Service areas are grouped together and located at the rear side of the building and stairs are at corners. A gradual sequences of spaces unfolds as we go up to the stairs on the transitional space- the veranda, across the living room to the bedrooms and beyond that the open interior court and then to the service blocks.
Lighting and ventilation:
The two interior open courts act as light wells and allow enough light and air to the rooms of both floors.
Each room has a considerable number of doors and windows.
Structural features: Raghunath Block
22” Load bearing brick masonry as Ruplal Block. Brick and lime mortar are used here. Walls are finished with lime plaster and paint.
Floors were constructed with burnt clay tiles covered with lime concrete finished and red oxide.
Ceiling supported on wooden beams which run along the length at one tile length apart. This frame is fixed in the walls with steel plates.
Absence of steel I beam. The roof has a layer of lime terracing.
Brick arches are used.
Architectural Features: Central block
This block has similarity with Ruplal Block but in plan this is very alike to Ahsan Manzil, a building of its contemporary period. Two archways connect this to the Ruplal and Raghunath block which are treated differently. The western archway is topped by an essentially oriental gabled detail which seems to have a later addition. The eastern archway, on the other hand, continues in the same style as the central block. This block consists of recreational facilities, such as ballrooms, classical music hall etc. There are double veranda on both the sides of the block which makes the place airy and create indoor outdoor relationships. Because of huge openings in every wall the rooms are adequately lit naturally. The immense thickness of the wall protected the building thermally.
Structural features: Central Block
This block is constructed of load bearing walls; columns are used in veranda and the portico. 2’6” thick wall and entirely constructed of brick masonry because of 22’ high dance hall.
Floors made of brick tiles that rest on the wooden cross beam system, and then a thick layer of lime concrete is applied over it. The most attractive feature of the dance halls is its wooden floors which are made of wooden planks, rest on thick wooden beams. Circular Columns are constructed of circular bricks. Most of the openings are arched and made of brick that exclude the use of lintels. Wooden staircases supported by crossbeam system. Brick as the main structural material, all are load bearing walls. Brick tiles are used to construct the floors. Lime concrete as bonding material also used in the floor of dance hall. Wood in the construction of beam system. Wooden planks are used in the floor of the dance hall. Steel I beams are used as the reinforcements in the beams. Bricks of different dimensions are used in constructing the columns, arches etc. Mosaic is used in the intricate decorations on the ceiling of the dance hall and other decorative places. Marble slabs were used on the floor of the veranda. Colored glass was used to create the dramatic space quality. Mirrors were used on the ceiling of the dance hall.
Backgrounds.
Rooplal Das was a Jamindar and a merchant. He was the first educated member of his family. In the Probeshika Exam he stood first and got a scholarship of tk 10 and he was a great fan of music. He did not spend much on social causes but he spent a lot for the musicians. Rooplal house is well known to have hosted a lot of cultural activity of the time. Gurus of Indian classical music like Ostad Alauddin Khan, Ostad Wall Ullah Khan and Lakshmi Devi regularly hosted shows. In 1888 when Lord Dafrin was invited to visit Dhaka by the Elites of that time, a competition was held between Ahsan Manzil and Rooplal house and Rooplal house won by the vote of the elites; this added political importance to Rooplal house at that time. For showing off their social status they spent tk 45000 to decorate it.
After the earthquake of 1897 the watchtower of the house broke down and the family shifted their home to another place. The great house was abandoned for 50 years. The story of Shyam Bazaar starts from after the Dash family left the house. There was a garden on the eastern side of Rooplal House named 'Roghubabur Bagaan' and there was a pool named 'Shayambabur Pool'. After the family left the house the garden lost its beauty because of no maintenance. The market then started here and was known as Shyam Bazar. The bund area was developed as a rich residential area which was occupied mainly by the high class European officers and merchants. But by 1930 the riverfront lost its residential quality and was developed as a highly commercial area.
The Das family left Dhaka after the partition in 1947. In 1958 the Jamall family purchased Ruplal House and some other houses in Dhaka in exchange with their house in the posh locality of Aukland Square in Kolikota. Mr. Mohammed Siddique Jamall and his younger brother Mr. Ibrahim Siddique Jamall became co-owners of Ruplal House and renamed it "Jamall House". Mr.Mohammed Siddique Jamall and his son Mr. Hussain Siddique Jamall lived on the 1st floor. Another son Mr. Habib Siddique Jamall lived on the top floor. The ground floor was used as a police camp and revenue office. Mr Mohammed Siddique Jamall and family left for India and West in 1976. Most of his and his brother Mr. Ibrahim Siddique Jamall's grandshildren migrated to USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and the Gulf and may claim ownership. A portion of the 1st Floor of Jamall House block was used as Prince Karim Ago Khan Preparatory school from 1958. In 1973 the house was converted to a college but only lasted for 16 days. Later it was used as the residential accommodation of the family of staff of JCO and NCO army officers. The Roghunath block is under private ownership since 1948 AD. At present the building functions both as a residential and commercial complex. It is heavily encroached by the spice and vegetable vendors and by a colony of un-authorized squatters who have erected shanty hovels against the building. The east block is owned and used by a private owner as residence at first floor and warehouse at the ground floor.
Farashganj
The history begins with Farashganj. In 1730 the French came to Dhaka to set up their businesses. They bought a house on the bank of the Buriganga from Jamindar Sheikh Mutiullah and made their Kuthi in the place currently known as Ahsan Manzil. The Naib Nazim, Nawazish Ali Khan gave permission to the French to build their market in the area, and it was named 'Frenchganj1, but to the locals it came to be known as 'Farashganj'. The French could not profit much so they left by 1784. The Armenian Jamindar Pogose leased the property from British government.
Buckland Bund
In 1680 A.D. a bund was erected along the bank of the river Buriganga to protect the riverbank from flooding and erosion, and to provide a recreational area along Buriganga. In 1864, the bund was constructed by Commissioner C.T. Buckland and came to be known as Buckland Bund. The Buckland Bund was a new gathering place for the people of Dhaka; they used to come here to enjoy the view of the river. According to the autobiography of Ridoai Nath Mojhumder, 12 steel benches were provided there at first which were not sufficient so 8 more benches were added. The crowd visiting the Buckland Bund at that time proved that it was a very refreshing place and even today after almost 300 years the place is still used as a social gathering place by the local people. The construction of the bund quickly transformed the area into a very posh place and a lot of Zamindars started to erect their mansions on and around this bund.
Present condition.
Today, the Ruplal House is occupied by local spice and vegetable merchants and a colony of unauthorized squatters. It has recently been "protected" by the Bengali Department of Archaeology; but a colony of squatters still continue to occupy parts of the building. Action is urgently needed to preserve this artistic architectural structure from further decay. Currently the surroundings of the Ruplal House, including the Buckland Dam area, consists of one of the biggest spice markets of Dhaka. Wholesale traders of different types of spices have occupied the entire area. Inside the house, some families are even residing. The other part of the complex, known as the Raghunath Block, was handed over to a family of Indian origin by the descendants of Raghunath Babu. A good number of spice shops are currently operating in this part as well.


Cankilian Thoppu

Cankilian Thoppu facade or Poothathamby arch, simply known as Cankilian Thoppu (), is an ancient facade, and one of the remnants of the Jaffna kingdom. The arch is located on the Jaffna-Point Pedro Road, near Nallur, Jaffna. The Cankilian Thoppu is an archaeological protected monument in the Jaffna District and was listed as such by the Sri Lankan government in 2007.
It is situated close to other physical remnants of the Jaffna kingdom and is believed to be part of the facade of the king's palace, even though its architecture style is typical of Dutch colonial architecture. The Cankilian Thoppu is located within the area known as the Pandiya Palace, which supports the connection with the Tamil kings and their kingdom.


United Nations Security Council Resolution 924

United Nations Security Council resolution 924, adopted unanimously on 1 June 1994, after considering the civil war in Yemen between the Yemeni government and Yemeni Socialist Party, the Council called for the immediate cessation of hostilities and for a fact-finding mission to be sent to the country.
The Council expressed concern at the death of innocent civilians, while appreciating the efforts of the Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and various countries to contribute towards a peaceful solution of the conflict.
After considering that the situation could pose a threat to peace and security in the region, the Council urged for an end to the provision of weapons and other materiel which could contribute towards the conflict, reminding all parties concerned that differences could not be settled through the use of force and urging them to return to negotiations.
The Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was requested to send a fact-finding mission to Yemen to assess prospects for dialogue between the parties and to report on the results of the mission within a week of its completion. Despite the passage of Resolution 924, it had little effect, as a ceasefire was declared but lasted only six hours. The conflict was further addressed in Resolution 931.


Chinese pyramids

The term Chinese pyramids refers to pyramidal shaped structures in China, most of which are ancient mausoleums and burial mounds built to house the remains of several early emperors of China and their imperial relatives. About 38 of them are located around – north-west of Xi'an, on the Guanzhong Plains in Shaanxi Province. The most famous is the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, northeast of Xi'an and 1.7 km west of where the Terracotta Army was found.
Earliest tombs.
The earliest tombs in China are found just north of Beijing in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Liaoning. They belong to the Neolithic Hongshan culture (4700 to 2900 BC).
The site of Niuheliang in Liaoning contains a pyramidal structure.
Information available in the West.
In 1667 the Jesuit Father Athanasius Kircher wrote about Chinese pyramids in his book "China monumentis Illustrata".
The existence of "pyramids" in China remained little known in the Western world until the 1910s. They were documented in large numbers around Xian, first in 1912 by the Western traders Fred Meyer Schroder and Oscar Mamen, and also in 1913 by the expedition of Victor Segalen. He wrote about the First Emperor's tomb, and about the other mound tombs in the region in his "Mission archéologique en Chine (1914): L'art funéraire à l'époque des Han".
Sensational claims.
The introduction of pyramids in China to popular attention came soon after World War II. Many early stories were focused on the existence of a "Great White Pyramid" (Maoling). This is the tomb of Emperor Wu of Han (156–87 BC) located in Xingping, Shaanxi Province.
U.S. Army Air Corps pilot James Gaussman is said to have seen a white jewel-topped pyramid during a flight between India and China during World War II. Colonel Maurice Sheahan, Far Eastern director of the Trans World Airline, gave an eyewitness account of his encounter with a pyramid in the March 28, 1947 edition of "The New York Times". A photo of Sheahan's pyramid appeared in "The New York Sunday News" on March 30, 1947. This photograph later became attributed to James Gaussman.
Chris Maier showed that the pyramid in the photo is the Maoling Mausoleum of Emperor Wu just outside Xi'an. Pseudohistorians, through promoting their theories, have increased western awareness of these pyramids. Hartwig Hausdorf speculated it was built by aliens, and Philip Coppens repeated this theory.
Despite claims to the contrary, the existence of these pyramid-shaped tomb mounds was known by scientists in the West before the publicity caused by the story in 1947. Shortly after the "New York Times" story, "Science News Letter" (now "Science News") published a short item saying: "The Chinese pyramids of that region are built of mud and dirt and are more like mounds than the pyramids of Egypt, and the region is little travelled. American scientists who have been in the area suggest that the height of , more than twice as high as any of the Egyptian pyramids, may have been exaggerated, because most of the Chinese mounds of that area are built relatively low. The location, reported southwest of Sian, is in an area of great archaeological importance, but few of the pyramids have ever been explored."
Some of the pyramids of Xi'an are currently tourist attractions, such as for example the Han Yang Ling Mausoleum of the Western Han Dynasty, and several of them have museums attached to them.
Partial list of mausoleums and tombs in China.
Western Han dynasty mausoleums complex in Xianyang and around Xi'an, Shaanxi.
Maoling Mausoleum group:
Pingling Mausoleum group:
Yanling Mausoleum group:
Kangling Mausoleum group:
Weiling Mausoleum group:
Group of two "tombs of Zhou Kings" (possibly from Han era):
Yiling mausoleum group:
Anling mausoleum group:
Changling mausoleum group:
Yangling mausoleum group:
Baling mausoleum group:
Duling mausoleum group:
Tang dynasty mausoleums in Shaanxi.
The eighteen mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty emperors (唐十八陵) in the valley of the Wei River north of the Qin Mountains (秦岭). Most are natural hills shaped by man, and they are among the biggest Chinese mausoleums, such as Qianling (乾陵), joint tomb of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and of the Empress Wu Zetian. Some mausoleums feature a burial mound:


Bhim Chand (Kahlur)

Bhim Chand was the Hindu raja of Bilaspur state and Anandpur Sahib fell under his territorial area. He launched his first expedition against Guru Gobind Singh in 1688 In the Battle of Bhangani Guru Gobind Singh won the battle. Battle of Nadaun was also fought under Raja Bhim Chand's leadership this time Guru along with his Sikh forces fought and won for the Raja.
Death.
1692 Abdicated in favour of his Son Ajmer Chand
References.
Jokta academic book


Tho Kyaung Bwa

Tho Kyaung Bwa (, ) was "sawbwa" (ruler) of Onbaung from 1400s to 1420s. He became a vassal of Ava in 1404/05. In a marriage of state, he married a niece of King Minkhaung I of Ava. In 1412/13, he reported to the Ava court that his Shan-speaking state had come under attack from the neighboring Shan state of Hsenwi (Theinni), backed by Ming China. Minkhaung sent his son Crown Prince Minye Kyawswa to drive out the Hsenwi and Chinese forces.
The next ruler of Onbaung mentioned in the royal chronicles is Le Than Bwa in 1425. Chronicles do not say when exactly Tho Kyaung Bwa ceased to be the "sawbwa" or if and how Le Than Bwa was related to him.


Rashid Maidin

Rashid Maidin (10 October 1917 – 1 September 2006), sometimes given as Rashid Mahideen, was a senior leader of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).
Personal life.
He was born in Kampung Gunung Mesah, Gopeng, Perak; coincidentally on the same month and year as the October Revolution in the Russian Empire. He is the eldest brother of 7 brothers and 1 sister. He received his early education at the Gunung Panjang Malay School and the Kampung Gunung Mesah Madrasah, which were both in Gopeng. He graduated at standard 5 in a Malay school. However, due to poverty Rashid dropped out of school in 1929.
After leaving school, Rashid travelled and sought employment, ending up in Cameron Highlands, Pahang. While working odd jobs there, he befriended a Christian missionary who taught him to speak basic English. He furthered his proficiency in the language via correspondence courses. Later, Rashid returned to Gopeng and worked at a French-owned power station. While employed at the power station, he studied basic electrics and eventually obtained a first-class electrical chargeman certificate.
He started a family with Hamidah binti Abdul Rashid, a village girl in 1938. They have 4 children, 3 sons and a daughter. The second marriage was in 1959, a comrade and a party cadet named Selamah binti Abdullah. They were gifted another daughter.
Involvement in politics.
Rashid was also active in the trade unions, which led him to join the CPM as the party's first Malay member. In his memoir, "Memoir Rashid Maidin: Daripada perjuangan bersenjata kepada perdamaian (The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin: From Armed Struggle to Peace)", Rashid justified his decision to join the CPM due to the party's strong anti-imperialist stance. CPM was among the first anti-colonial movements in Malaya. Since young Rashid was inspired by the story of Maharajalela's war against the British in Perak. In 1939. he started to get involved in the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and in 1941, he officially became a member of MCP. He was the first Malay joining MCP.
In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded and occupied Malaya. The MCP, of which Rashid by now was the party's top Malay leader, organised armed resistance via the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). At the end of the Anti-Japanese war, he met Abdullah CD.
After the return of British rule, the CPM continued its armed insurrection, this time against the British colonial government, via its new militant wing, the Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA). Rashid was entrusted by CPM leader Chin Peng to lead the MRLA's Malay-dominated 10th Regiment. In 1947, he was one of the representatives from CPM to attend a council communist party meeting in London. This meeting was participated by communist parties in the colonial country to discuss about the strategy to fight against colonialism for the right of independence. CPM's armed insurrection led the British to declare a state of emergency, which lasted between 1948 and 1960. in July 1948, he was caught by the British in Sungai Manik, Perak. He was put in jail for 3 and a half years. In the early 1952, he managed to free himself. After that in late 1952, Rashid met Abdullah CD in Pahang. Then in 1953, together with 10th Regiment, he retreated to the borders of Malaysia-Thailand. He was wounded on his leg during the battle against the British.
In 1955, the CPM attempted to negotiate peace with the colonial government. Rashid was a member of the CPM delegation at the talks, which were held at the town of Baling, Kedah. After the collapse of the Baling Talks, the CPM continued its insurrection. In between 1961 and 1972, he was assigned to lead the Special Unit of National Libriation Army in the borders of Kedah-Thailand. He returned and lead Rejimen the tenth till peace in 1972. However, due to government anti-insurrection measures, CPM's guerilla struggle gradually waned and eventually ended after a peace treaty was signed with the Malaysian government in Haadyai, Thailand in 1989. Rashid was again a CPM delegate to the peace treaty.
In January 2006, 500 former members of the Malayan Communist party were granted Thai citizenship. In the past, Rashid had failed to acquire Malaysian citizenship, like many other ex-communists living in Southern Thailand.
However, a stipulation in the treaty signed disallowed former senior CPM leaders from returning to Malaysia; hence, Rashid settled to a quiet, post-guerilla life in Southern Thailand. He died on 1 September 2006 in Si Sakhon, Narathiwat, and was buried after Friday prayers on the same day.


Ivana Church

The San Jose de Ivana Church, also known as Ivana Church, is a Roman Catholic church located in Ivana, Batanes, Philippines dedicated to Saint Joseph under the jurisdiction of the Prelature of Batanes. The church was declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2008.
History.
The church of Ivana was first established by the Dominicans as a chapel in 1787. Originally, there were three mission chapels in Said, Kadpidan and Radiwan in Ivana. The present stone church and convent was built in Radiwan under the direction of Father Francisco de Paula Esteban, OP, in 1795, while the bell tower was constructed during the term of Father Fausto de Cuevas, OP from 1814 to 1817. The church was intended to serve the people of Ivana, Sabtang and Uyugan. The residents of Sabtang had been forcibly resettled in Ivana, but were later allowed to return to their island, reducing the size of the congregation. In 1844, space in the church's nave that was no longer needed was closed off. The façade was renovated during the term of Father Fabian Martin, OP, from 1866 to 1869. The church was partially destroyed due to an earthquake in 2000 and was later renovated during the term of Father Gumersindo Hernandez, OP, in 2001.
Filipino revolutionaries waved the Katipunan flag in the church's bell tower on September 18, 1898.
Architectural features.
The church's façade was built alongside the shortening of its nave in 1854. When the population decreased in the 1840s due to the return of the Isabtang to Sabtang, the rear portion of the church was closed. Today, ruins of the abandoned portion of the church can still be seen. It also has a crenellated bell tower supported by unusual buttresses. Its convent, which is part of the church complex, has an unusual circular masonry work near the stairway.


Sajawand

Sajāwand (Dari/Pashto: سجاوند) is a village in Baraki Barak district, Logar province, Afghanistan.
Name.
Sajāwand was known in the early Islamic era as "Sakāwand" or "Sagāwand" (Persian: سکاوند\سگاوند), also "Shakāwand" (شکاوند) in the writings of Al-Biruni, Arabized into Sajāwand from the 10th-century onwards. This name may stem from the Pali word सक्क (Sakka) used as an epithet for the god Indra, the Vedic King of the Gods (being synonymous with the locally venerated god Zhūn) and the possessive suffix "-vant". This understanding is supported by the notes of the Chinese traveler monk Xuanzang, who in the 7th-century CE described the site as the Śunāsīra mountain, "Śunāsīra" being another epithet for Indra. In medieval sources the town has also been known under the name "Bahāwand" (Persian: بهاوند) meaning "place of (great) value".
History.
The Pre-Islamic era.
The first known mention of the site which is today known as Sajāwand is in the notes of the Chinese traveler monk Xuanzang. In the year 644 CE, during his stay in the country of Jāguda (known in Persian as Zābulistān), he writes about the religious practices of the country as being Mahayana Buddhist and pagan with the majority of worshippers venerating the god "Śunā" (Pashto: ږون/ږو). He describes the home of this deity as being the Śunāsīra mountain, where people came "from far and near and high and low", even attracting kings, ministers, officials and common people of regions where different customs were observed, to pay homage and make donations."They either offer gold, silver, and rare gems or present sheep, horses, and other domestic animals to the god in competition with each other to show their piety and sincerity. Therefore gold and silver are scattered all over the ground, and sheep and horses ﬁll up the valley. Nobody dares to covet them, for everyone is eager to make offerings to the god. To those who respect and serve the heretics and practice asceticism whole-heartedly, the god imparts magical incantations, of which the heretics make effective use in most cases; for the treatment of disease, they are quite efﬁcacious."- Xuanzang, 644 CE
Saffarid era.
In the 9th-century CE Sajawand would come to play a central role in the regional politics of the southern Hindu Kush. As the Saffarid brothers Ya'qūb and 'Amr ibn al-Layth set out from Zaranj on their very successful plundering and conquering of the mostly Hindu and Buddhist regions east of Nimruz, local royal families were decimated to such a degree that holy places such as Zamindawar and Sakawand became exposed to Muslim onslaught. With the defeat of its last surrounding patrons in 870 CE, the Saffarid commander Fardghān was appointed as governor of Zabulistan under the command of four thousand horsemen. Hearing of the wealth of the temple of Sakāwand, he led his army against it, took the temple, smashed its idols and overthrew its Zhūn worshipping guardians. Distributing some of the plunder among his troops, Fardghān sent the rest to 'Amr ibn al-Layth asking for reinforcements against the certain reaction of the Hindu rulers of Zabulistans eastern border. Hearing of the fall of Sakawand, the Hindu Shahi Kallar of Kabul raised an army to retake the temple, though was ultimately unable to compete with the Saffarids greater numbers.
As 'Amr ibn al-Layth was defeated by the Samanids at the battle of Balkh in 901 CE, Saffarid influence over Zabulistan waned and Sakawand once again became a dependency of local Hindu-Buddhist dynasties such as the Bamiyan Sher, the Loyaks of Zabulistan, the Hindu Shahis of Kabul and the kings of Parwan.
Ghaznavid era.
With the defeat of the Bamiyan Sher as well as the expulsion of Abu Bakr Loyak from Ghazni by the Samanid slave-commander Alp Tegin in 962 CE, Sajawand fell under Ghaznavid control. Greatly benefiting from the surge of loot flowing into Ghazni under the rule of Mahmud and his sons, Sajawand recovered as a bustling town, producing a number of great Islamic scholars of the 12th century, most notably Muhammad ibn Tayfour Sajawandi and Siraj ud-Din Muhammad ibn Abd ur-Rashid Sajawandi.
Mughal era.
After Baburs conquest of Kabul in 1504, he briefly mentions Sajawand during his traverse through Logar in his memoirs the Baburnama. At this time, Sajawand was a town known for its shrines and holy men, having produced a number of masters of the Naqshbandi sect, the most famous of these being the brothers Khwaja Ahmad Sajawandi and Khwaja Yunus Sajawandi, whom Babur mentions. In the reign of Akbar, Sajawand was one of many centers of the very missionary-minded Naqshbandi order of Islamic mysticism. One of Sajawands then most notable members of the order, Mawlana Bekasi Sajawandi, is known to have frequented the Majlis of Mirza Muhammad Hakim, who was governor of Kabul and a staunch adherent of the sect.
Important sites.
Temple dedicated to Zhun.
The remains of the temple of Zhun can today be found on a hill at the outskirts of Sajawand. Brief archeological work conducted by Warwick Ball in the 1970s suggests that the temple was rebuilt by the Hindu Shahi after its sacking by Fardghān in 870 CE, with architectural, ceramic and documentary evidence showing influence from the Hindu Shahi culture of the 10th century. The mud-brick structure currently sitting on top of the original pre-Islamic platform further suggests that the temple was at some point again destroyed and rebuilt in the Islamic era. The site has in modern times been known locally as the "Takht-i Jamshēd" (Persian: تخت جمشید, "the throne of Jamshēd"), from the mythological character Jamshēd of Ferdowsi's Shahnamah. The site is currently outside the regulation of the Afghan authorities and have been subject to looting. In the 90s during Taliban rule, two golden statues are known to have been unearthed from the site and sold on the black market, yet to have been recovered.
Some scholars such as Sims-Williams and H. Schaeder have connected Zhun to the Iranian Zoroastrian deity of time Zurwan. Others have connected it with the Iranian Solar deity Mithra. M. Shenkar believes that Zhun is connected to the deity of the river Oxus(Amudarya)
The Shrine of Hazrat-o Ashiqan wa Arifan.
In Sajawand lies also the shrine (or dargah) of the Naqshbandi masters Khwaja Ahmad Sajawandi and Khwaja Yunus Sajawandi, known as the "Ziārat-e Hazrat-o 'Āshiqān wa Ārifān" (Persian: زیارت حضرت عاشقان و عارفان) meaning "the shrine of the master of lovers and mystics". Within the shrine lies also the grave of Siraj ud-Din Muhammad, locally known as "Sirāji Bābā". The site is a well known place of pilgrimage, attracting people from around the province.


Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkala

Qazi Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkala was one of the Chief Justices of Maldives. Later he was Sultan Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkala. He was also known as Dhevvadhoo Rasgefaanu.
The coral stone mosque in Fenfushi which is a UNESCO heritage site was built between 1692-1701 CE during Sultan Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkala's reign. It is one of the few coral stone mosques which are with all of the components in the complex in good condition. This includes the mosque building, wells made of coral stone, a unique bathing tank of coral stone, a sun dial, tombstones of fine quality with within the large cemetery and boundary wall of coral masonry with two entrances surrounding the mosque.
The mosque has a symbol used by Sultan Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkalaa suggesting that it might have been repaired or renovated by him.
He took great interest in learning, scholarship, forbade inhumane punishments, reduced taxation, assisted those who were in debt and restored the mosques.
His first marriage was to H.H. Sanfaa Kanba Khadija Kabafaanu Rani Kilege who was the elder daughter of Ibrahim Sahbandaru Kilege of Isdu. His second marriage in 1693 was to Maryam Kabafanu who was the widow of H.H. Sultan Sayyd Muhammadh Shamsuddin al-Hamawi and former wife of Sultan Muhammad Muhiudin Adil, and daughter of the Velana Thakurufaanu of Fenfuri. His third marriage was to Sanfaa Bifaanu who was the daughter of the Vizier Haji Hussain Handegiri Kilege Thakurufaanu.
Before Sultan he was a magistrate for fourteen years and he assigned Hassan Thajudeen as the new chief justice on the seventh day Wednesday 12 November 1692 of him becoming Sultan.
The sale of independent women and their employment as unpaid slaves was prohibited during his reign. Before this the aristocracy was free to make people work without pay and could sell them just like slaves. Slaves were encouraged to appeal to Hassan Thajudeen who instructed them released and made a symbolic payment to the owners.
People were made debt free after checking their accounts with outstanding paid by the treasury. Homeless orphans were given the right to inherit deceased people's properties. The use of swords and daggers to avenge adultery were prohibited and instructed to be carried through the judgements of the court.
For the first time in history slavery was forbidden during Sultan Ali Thukkala's reign.
A grant issued in the matter of building and upkeep of a mosque in the island of Geney in Thiladhummathi Atoll of Maldives, in late AD 1696 under the Seal of the King Siri Kula Ran Mani of Maldives referred to him as "Malekaddu Midhemedhu ekanuonna mi korhu anikaneh nethee korhu" which meant "Sole Sovereign with no other over what lies between Maliku and Addu".
The Sultan was likely poisoned and died in Male', on 16 January 1701 and was buried with his first wife in Friday Mosque of Male', Maldives.
Genealogy.
Sultan Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkala was the son of Hajj Ali Thukkala son of Chief Justice Mohamed Shamsuddin


Dominican Hill Retreat House

The Dominican Hill Retreat House, also commonly known as the Diplomat Hotel, is an abandoned structure atop Dominican Hill, Baguio, Philippines. It is now undergoing rehabilitation through the efforts of the city government. The whole property on which it stands has been renamed as the Dominican Heritage Hill and Nature Park. A panoramic view of the city unfolds from its vantage point, the stone crucifix on the outdoor patio of the hotel's second floor.
History.
Dominican vacation house.
In 1911, American friars of the Order of Preachers (commonly known as "Dominican Order") along with a few Spanish members made plans for the construction of a vacation house for them and the nuns of their order in Baguio. One of the members of the order, Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., the same architect of the main building of the current campus of the University of Santo Tomas, designed the building. A 17-hectare hill property was acquired from Americans who reside in Baguio and construction is said to have started in 1913 and was supervised by Ruano himself. It was then inaugurated in May 1915. To take advantage of tax exemptions, the order set up a seminary named Colegio del Santissimo Rosario on June 1915 but due to the very small enrollment, the school closed two years later and the building was reverted to its original use. The hill where the building stands was christened as "Dominican Hill".
During World War II, the people fleeing from the Japanese sought refuge within its walls. Japanese forces invaded the property and turned it into their headquarters, making it as the last bastion and garrison of the Japanese Imperial Army. Their secret police known as the Kempeitai, committed barbaric acts in the place such as torturing, raping, and decapitating priests, nuns, as well as refugees. During the liberation of the Philippines in April 1945, the American forces bombed the place and partially hit the right wing of the building while Japanese forces committed suicide. Between 1945-1947, the building underwent restoration.
As a hotel.
Diplomat Hotels, Inc. acquired ownership of the property in 1973 and remodeled thoroughly the interior into a 33-bedroom hotel but still retaining the unique features which was earlier established by the Dominican friars. The hotel was managed by Antonio Agapito "Tony" Agpaoa, a Baguio-based entrepreneur and faith healer famous for psychic surgery. Agpaoa suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with brain hemorrhage in the 1980s. He died in 1987 of the ailments. Since his death, the hotel ceased operations and was abandoned. Following its abandonment, the place was looted and sacked. The building also sustained significant damage during the 1990 Luzon earthquake.
Recent use.
The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, formerly known as the Ministry of Human Settlements, took over the ownership of the hotel which soon became an asset for the Presidential Management Staff (PMS).
The property was then conveyed to the City Government of Baguio through TCT No. T-85948 in 5 April 2005 and it was renamed as the Dominican Heritage Hill and Nature Park. The deed of conveyance set by the Presidential Management Staff and city resolutions would obligate the city of Baguio in the rehabilitation and the development of the property. The property is now under the maintenance of the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO).
In May 2012, Baguio inaugurated two new function halls in the hotel as part of the development of the property as a preserved heritage site and to promote tourism. The halls could be rented for P200 an hour or P2,000 a day for weddings, trainings and workshops among others.
The entire property was declared as a historical site through City Resolution No. 168, series of 2013. It gained its National Historical Site status from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines on September 2014.
The city used the property as an art center for the launching of the Entacool Festival following Baguio City's conferment as a Creative City by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2017. Entacool is a fusion of the Cordilleran word "entaku" which means "let's all go" and the word "cool" to signify Baguio's cool climate. The former hotel hosted numerous art exhibits such as paintings, bamboo installations, sculptures, and a photo exhibit during the run of the festival. It would serve the same function for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Baguio Creative City Festival now named as the Ibagiw Festival. Ibagiw was derived from the word bagiw which is a moss that commonly grows around the city.
In 2019, the city government announced that the area will serve as a haven for the city's artists and artisans as a way to sustain its Creative City designation.
The place is a favorite spot for photography, airsoft tournaments, film making, wedding receptions and photography, cosplay photoshoots and many more.
In popular culture.
The hotel is considered by paranormal believers to be haunted due to its brutal World War II history. It was featured on television programs: "Magandang Gabi, Bayan's" 2004 Halloween Special, "AHA!" and "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho".


History of Turkmenistan

The history of Turkmenistan is largely shrouded in mystery, its past since the arrival of Indo-European Iranian tribes around 2000 BC is often the starting point of the area's discernible history. Early tribes were nomadic or semi-nomadic due to the arid conditions of the region as the steppe culture in Central Asia was an extension of a larger Eurasian series of horse cultures which spanned the entire spectrum of language families including the Indo-Europeans and Turko-Mongol groups. Some of the known early Iranian tribes included the Massagatae, Scythians/Sakas, and early Soghdians (most likely precursors of the Khwarezmians). Turkmenistan was a passing point for numerous migrations and invasions by tribes which gravitated towards the settled regions of the south including ancient Mesopotamia, Elam, and the Indus Valley Civilization.
The region's written history begins with the region's conquest by the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Iran, as the region was divided between the satraps of Margiana, Chorasmia and Parthia. Later conquerors included Alexander the Great, the Parni, Ephthalites, Iranian Huns, Göktürks, Sarmatians, and Sassanid Iranians. During this early phase of history, the majority of Turkmenistan's inhabitants were either adherents of Zoroastrianism or Buddhism and the region was largely dominated by Iranian peoples. These incursions and epochs, though pivotal, did not shape the region's history as the invasions of two later invading groups: Arabs and the Oghuz Turks. The vast majority of inhabitants were converted to Hanifism, while the Oghuz brought the beginnings of the Turkic Turkmen language that came to dominate the area. The Turkic period was a time of cultural fusion as Islamic traditions brought by the Arabs merged with local Iranian cultures and then were further altered by Turkic invaders and rulers such as the Seljuks. Genghis Khan and Mongol invasions devastated the region during the late Middle Ages, but their hold upon the area was transitional as later Timur Leng and Uzbeks contested the land.
Modern Turkmenistan was radically transformed by the invasion of the Russian Empire, which conquered the region in the late 19th century. Later, the Russian Revolution of 1917 would ultimately transform Turkmenistan from an Islamic tribal society to a totalitarian Leninist one during the Soviet era. Independence came in 1991, as Saparmurat Niyazov, a former local communist party boss, declared himself absolute ruler for life as Turkmenbashi or "Leader of the Turkmen" and transitioned the newly independent Turkmenistan into an authoritarian state under his absolute control and has thus far resisted the democratization that has influenced many of the other former Soviet Republics. Niyazov ruled until his death on December 21, 2006.
Ancient history.
Scant remains point to early human settlements east of the Caspian Sea, possibly including Neanderthals, although the archaeology of the region as a whole is underresearched.
Bronze Age and Iron Age finds support the probability of advanced civilizations in the area including finds associated with a society known to scholars as the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) – near the modern cities of Mary (previously Merv), Djeitun and Gonur Tepe.
By 2000 BCE, Indo-European peoples had settled throughout the region. Most of the present-day Turkmenistan was occupied by BMAC-related societies and the Dahae (also known as the Daae, Dahā, Daoi and similar names) – a tribal confederation located immediately east of the Caspian. The Massagetae and Scythians were also present, immediately north of BMAC and the Dahae.
Alexander the Great conquered the territory in the 4th century BC on his way to South Asia. In 330 BC, Alexander marched northward into Central Asia and founded the city of Alexandria near the Murghab River. Located on an important trade route, Alexandria later became the city of Merv. The ruins of Alexander's ancient city are still to be found and have been extensively researched. After Alexander's death his empire quickly fell apart. It was ruled by Seleucids before the satrap of Parthia declared independence. The Parthians – fierce, nomadic warriors from the north of Iran – then established the kingdom of Parthia, which covered present-day Turkmenistan and Iran. The Parthian kings ruled their domain from the city of Nisa – an area now located near the modern-day capital of Ashgabat – founded by Arsaces I (reigned c. 250–211 BC), and was reputedly the royal necropolis of the Parthian kings, although it has neither been established that the fortress at Nisa was a royal residence nor a mausoleum.
Excavations at Nisa have revealed substantial buildings, mausoleums and shrines, many inscribed documents, and a looted treasury. Many Hellenistic art works have been uncovered, as well as a large number of ivory rhytons, the outer rims decorated with Iranian subjects or classical mythological scenes.
During the 4th to early 7th century CE, much of the population was already in settlements around the fertile river valleys along the Amu Darya, and Merv and Nisa became centers of sericulture (the raising of silkworms). A busy caravan route, connecting Tang Dynasty China and the city of Baghdad (in modern Iraq), passed through Merv. Thus, the city of Merv constituted an important prize for any conqueror.
Arab conquests and Islamization.
Central Asia came under Arab control after a series of invasions in the late 7th and early 8th centuries and was incorporated into Islamic Caliphate divided between provinces of "Mawara'un Nahr" and Khorasan. The Arab conquest brought the religion of Islam to all of the peoples of central Asia. The city of Merv was occupied by the lieutenants of the caliph Uthman ibn Affan, and was constituted as the capital of Khorasan. Using this city as their base, the Arabs, led by their commander Qutayba ibn Muslim, brought under subjection Balkh, Bokhara, Fergana and Kashgaria, and penetrated into China as far as the province of Kan-suh early in the 8th century.
Merv achieved some political spotlight in February 748 when Abu Muslim (d. 750) declared a new Abbasid dynasty at Merv, and set out from the city to conquer Iran and Iraq and establish a new capital at Baghdad. Abu Muslim was famously challenged by the goldsmith of Merv to do the right thing and not make war on fellow Muslims. The goldsmith was put to death.
In the latter part of the 8th century Merv became obnoxious to Islam as the centre of heretical propaganda preached by al-Muqanna "The Veiled Prophet of Khorasan". Present Turkmenistan was ruled by Tahirids between 821 and 873. In 873, Arab rule in Central Asia came to an end as a result of the Saffarid conquest. During their dominion Merv, like Samarkand and Bokhara, was one of the great schools of learning, and the celebrated historian Yaqut studied in its libraries. Merv produced a number of scholars in various branches of knowledge, such as Islamic law, Hadith, history, literature, and the like. Several scholars have the name: Marwazi (المروزي) designating them as hailing from Merv. But Saffarid rule was brief and they were defeated by Samanids in 901. The Samanid dynasty weakened after second half of 10th century and Ghaznavids took present Turkmenistan in 990s. But, they challenged with Seljuks, newcomers from north. Seljuks' decisive victory against them, present Turkmenistan was passed to them in 1041.
Oghuz tribes.
The origins of the Turkmen may be traced back to the Oghuz confederation of nomadic pastoral tribes of the early Middle Ages, who lived in present-day Mongolia and around Lake Baikal in present-day southern Siberia. This confederation was composed of Turkic-speaking peoples who formed the basis of powerful steppe empires in Inner Asia. In the second half of the 8th century, Oghuz components migrated through Jungaria into Central Asia, and Arabic sources located them under the term Guzz in the area of the middle and lower Syrdariya in the 8th century. By the 10th century, the Oghuz had expanded west and north of the Aral Sea and into the steppe of present-day Kazakhstan, absorbing not only Iranians but also Turks from the Kipchak and Karluk ethnolinguistic groups. In the 11th century, the renowned Muslim Turk scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari described the language of the Oghuz and Turkmen as distinct from that of other Turks and identified twenty-two Oghuz clans or sub-tribes, some of which appear in later Turkmen genealogies and legends as the core of the early Turkmen.
In Old Turkic inscriptions, there are references to several Oghuz groups like simply "Oghuz", "Üç-Oghuz" ("three-Oghuz"; possibly Karluks), "Altı-Oghuz" ("six-Oghuz"), "Sekiz-Oghuz" ("eight-Oghuz"), possibly *"Otuz Oghuz" ("Thirty Oghuz"), and the Tiele-affiliated Toquz Oghuz ("nine-Oghuz") (Chinese: 九姓 Jiu Xing "Nine Surnames") in different areas in the vicinity of the Altay Mountains. Despite, the similarity of names, the Toquz Oghuz confederation, from whom emerged the founders of the Uyghur Khaganate, was distinct from the Transoxanian Oghuz Turks who'd later found the Oghuz Yabgu State: for instances, Istakhri and Muhammad ibn Muhmad al-Tusi kept the Toquz Oghuz and Oghuz distinct and Ibn al-Faqih mentioned "the infidel Turk-Oghuz, the Toquz-Oghuz, and the Qarluq" Even so, Golden notes the confusion in Latter Göktürks' and Uyghurs' inscriptions, where Oghuz apparently referred to Toquz Oghuz or another tribal grouping, who were also named Oghuz without a prefixed numeral; this confusion is also reflected in Sharaf al-Zaman al-Marwazi, who listed 12 Oghuz tribes, who were ruled by a "Toquz Khaqan" and some of whom were Toquz-Oghuz, on the border of Transoxiana and Khwarazm. At most, the Oghuz were possibly led by a core group of Toquz Oghuz clans or tribes. Likewise, Karluks and Oghuz Turks were distinct even though both were known as Turkmens in the 11th century; yet much later, Ilkhanate politician Rashid-al-Din Hamadani in his "Jami' al-tawarikh" mentions Karluks as of the Oghuz (Turkmen) tribes.
Oghuz expansion by means of military campaigns went at least as far as the Volga River and Ural Mountains, but the geographic limits of their dominance fluctuated in the steppe areas extending north and west from the Aral Sea. Accounts of Arab geographers and travelers portray the Oghuz ethnic group as lacking centralized authority and being governed by a number of "kings" and "chieftains." Because of their disparate nature as a polity and the vastness of their domains, Oghuz tribes rarely acted in concert. Hence, by the late 10th century, the bonds of their confederation began to loosen. At that time, a clan leader named Seljuk founded a dynasty and the empire that bore his name on the basis of those Oghuz elements that had migrated southward into present-day Turkmenistan and Iran. The Seljuk Empire was centered in Persia, from which Oghuz groups spread into Azerbaijan and Anatolia.
After the fall of Göktürk kingdom, Oghuz tribes migrated to the area of Transoxiana, in western Turkestan, in modern Kazakhstan and Kirghizstan. This land became known as the "Oghuz steppe" which is an area between the Caspian and Aral seas. Ibn al-Athir, an Arab historian, stated that the Oghuz Turks had come to Transoxiana in the period of the caliph Al-Mahdi in the years between 775 and 785. In the period of the Abbasid caliph Al-Ma'mun (813–833), the name Oghuz starts to appear in the Islamic historiography. By 780 AD, the eastern parts of the Syr Darya were ruled by the Karluk Turks and the western region (Oghuz steppe) was ruled by the Oghuz Turks.
The name Turkmen first appears in written sources of the 10th century to distinguish those Oghuz groups who migrated south into the Seljuk domains and accepted Islam from those that had remained in the steppe. Gradually, the term took on the properties of an ethnonym and was used exclusively to designate Muslim Oghuz, especially those who migrated away from the Syrdariya Basin. By the 13th century, the term Turkmen supplanted the designation Oghuz altogether. The origin of the word Turkmen remains unclear. According to popular etymologies as old as the 11th century, the word derives from Turk plus the Iranian element manand, and means "resembling a Turk." Modern scholars, on the other hand, have proposed that the element man /men acts as an intensifier and have translated the word as "pure Turk" or "most Turk-like of the Turks."
Seljuks.
In the 11th century, Seljuk domains stretched from the delta of the Amu Darya delta into Iran, Iraq, the Caucasus region, Syria, and Asia Minor. In 1040 the Seljuk Turks crossed the Oxus from the north, and having defeated Masud, sultan of Ghazni, raised Toghrul Beg, grandson of Seljuk, to the throne of Iran, founding the Seljukid dynasty, with its capital at Nishapur. A younger brother of Toghrul, Daud, took possession of Merv and Herat. Toghrul was succeeded by his nephew Alp Arslan (the Great Lion), who was buried at Merv. It was about this time that Merv reached the zenith of her glory. In 1055 Seljuk forces entered Baghdad, becoming masters of the Islamic heartlands and important patrons of Islamic institutions. Until these revolts, Turkmen tribesmen were an integral part of the Seljuk military forces. Turkmen migrated with their families and possessions on Seljuk campaigns into Azerbaijan and Anatolia, a process that began the Turkification of these areas. During this time, Turkmen also began to settle the area of present-day Turkmenistan. Prior to the Turkmen habitation, most of this desert had been uninhabited, while the more habitable areas along the Caspian Sea, Kopetdag Mountains, Amu Darya, and Murgap River (Murgap Deryasy) were populated predominantly by Iranians. The city-state of Merv was an especially large sedentary and agricultural area, important as both a regional economic-cultural center and a transit hub on the Silk Road. The last powerful Seljuk ruler, Sultan Sanjar (d. 1157), witnessed the fragmentation and destruction of the empire because of attacks by Turkmen and other tribes. During the reign of Sultan Sanjar or Sinjar of the same house, in the middle of the 11th century, Merv was overrun by the Turkish tribes of the Ghuzz from beyond the Oxus. It eventually passed under the sway of the rulers of Khwarizm (Khiva). After mixing with the settled peoples in Turkmenistan, the Oguz living north of the Kopet-Dag Mountains gradually became known as the Turkmen.
The Seljuk empire broke down in the second half of the 12th century, and the Turkmen became independent tribal federation.
Mongols and Timurids.
In 1157, the rule of Seljuks dynasty came to an end in the province of Khorasan. The Turkic rulers of Khiva took control of the area of Turkmenistan, under the title of Khwarezmshahs in 1221, central Asia suffered a disastrous invasion by Mongol warriors who swept across the region from their base in eastern Asia.
Under their commander, Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, the Mongols conquered Khwarezm and burned the city of Merv to the ground. The Mongol leader ordered the massacre of Merv's inhabitants as well as the destruction of the province's farms and irrigation works which effectively ended the Iranian dominance in urban areas and agricultural communities of khwarezm. These areas were soon repopulated by the Turkmen who survived the invasion and had retreated northward to the plains of Kazakhstan or westward to the shores of the Caspian Sea. After the division of the Mongol Empire, present Turkmenistan was passed to Chagatai Khanate except southernmost part was belonged to Ilkhanate.
Small, semi-independent states arose under the rule of the region's tribal chiefs later in the 14th century. In the 1370s, Amir Timur (also known as Tamerlane), one of the greatest conquerors in human history, captured Turkmen states once more and established the short lived Timurid Empire, which collapsed after Timur's death in 1405, when Turkmens became independent once again.
New political arrangements.
As a whole, the 14th to 16th centuries was a period in which the Turkmen's dislocation due to the Mongol invasions gave way to new political groupings which became tribal groupings which have continued to modern day.
In addition to the new political arrangements, historical sources suggest that a large tribal union called the Salor confederation remained from the original Oghuz tribes and into modern times. In the late 17th century, the confederation fell apart and three senior tribes moved eastward and then southward. Of these tribes, the Yomud split into eastern and western groups, and the Teke migrated to the Ahal region near the Kopetdag Mountains and eventually into the Murghab River basin. Other Salor tribes moved into the region near the Amu Darya delta and into other parts of modern-day southeast Turkmenistan. Salor groups also live in Turkey, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and China.
Turkmenistan in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The history of Turkmenistan from the 16th until the 19th century is mostly known by the relations with the states of Iran, Khiva, Bukhara, and Afghanistan. Wars of the period took place mostly in the lands of Turkmenistan. The invasion of the Khan of Khiva, Abul Gazi Bahadur Khan, from 1645 to 1663, caused some difficulties to the Turkmens, coupled with the impact of the drought that occurred at about the same period, most of the Turkmens within the khanate moved to areas around Ahal, Atrek, Murgap and Tejen. In this period, many of the Turkmens tribes living around the Aral Sea also migrated because of pressures from both the Khiva Khanate and the Kalmyks, and migrated to Astrakhan and Stavropol in the northern Caucasus.
Popular epics such as Koroglu, and other oral traditions, took shape during this period which could be taken as a beginning of Turkmen nation. The poets and thinkers of the time such as Devlet Mehmed Azadi and Magtymguly Pyragy became a voice for an emerging nation, calling for unity, brotherhood and peace among Turkmen tribes. Magtymguly Pyragy is venerated in Turkmenistan as the father of national literature. Most of present Turkmenistan was divided between Khanates of Khiva and Bukhara except southernmost parts were handed to Persia. Nader, Shah of Persia, conquered it in 1740 but after him assassination in 1747, Turkmen lands were recaptured by Uzbek khanates of Khiva and Bukhara. During the 1830s, the Teke Turkmen, then living on the Tejen River, were forced by the Persians to migrate northward. Khiva contested the advance of the Tekes, but ultimately, about 1856, the latter became the sovereign power of southern and southeastern parts of present Turkmenistan.
Russian colonization and Great Game.
In the 18th century Turkoman tribes came into contact with Tsarist Empire. The Russian Empire began to move into the area in 1869 with the establishment of the Caspian Sea port of Krasnovodsk, present-day Turkmenbashy. After the suppression of Khanates of Bukhara (1868) and Khiva (1873) the Turkmen area remained independent. Russians decided to move into Transcaspian region, allegedly to subdue Turkmen slave trade and banditry. The service of some Turkmen tribes, especially the Yomud, for the Khivan Khan also encouraged the Russia to punish them by raids into Khorazm, which killed hundreds. These wars culminated in the Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881 where General Skobelev massacred 7,000 Turkmen at the desert fortress of Geok Depe, near modern Ashgabat; another 8,000 were killed trying to flee across the desert. By 1894 imperial Russia had taken control of almost all of Turkmenistan except around part of Konye-Urgench was in Khiva and around part of Charju was in Emirate of Bukhara.
The Transcaspian Railway was started from the shores of the Caspian in 1879 in order to secure Russian control over the region and provide a rapid military route to the Afghan border. In 1885 a crisis was precipitated by the Russian annexation of the Pandjeh oasis, to the south of Merv, on a territory of modern Afghanistan, which nearly led to war with Britain. as it was thought that the Russians were planning to march on to Herat in Afghanistan. Until 1898 Transcaspia was part of the Governor-Generalship of the Caucasus and administered from Tiflis, but in that year it was made an Oblast of Russian Turkestan and governed from Tashkent. Nevertheless, Turkestan remained an isolated colonial outpost, with an administration that preserved many distinctive features from the previous Islamic regimes, including Qadis' courts and a 'native' administration that devolved much power to local 'Aksakals' (Elders). In 1897 the Transcaspian Railway reached Tashkent, and finally in 1906 a direct rail link with European Russia was opened across the steppe from Orenburg to Tashkent. This led to much larger numbers of Slavic settlers flowing into Turkestan than had hitherto been the case, and their settlement was overseen by a specially created Migration Department in St. Petersburg (Переселенческое Управление). This caused considerable discontent amongst the local Turkmen population, as mainly Russian-populated cities such as Ashgabat appeared.
The best-known Military Governor to have ruled the region from Ashkhabad was probably General Kuropatkin, whose authoritarian methods and personal style of governance made the province very difficult for his successors to control and led to a revolt in 1916. Consequently, the administration of Transcaspia became a byword for corruption and brutality within Russian Turkestan, as Russian administrators turned their districts into petty fiefdoms and extorted money from the local population. In 1908 Count Konstantin Konstantinovich Pahlen led a reforming commission to Turkestan which produced a monumental report detailing these abuses of power, administrative corruption and inefficiency.
Revolution and civil war.
Following the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, Ashgabat became a base for anti-Bolshevik counter-revolutionaries, who soon came under attack from the Tashkent Soviet. The Communists succeeded in taking control of Ashkhabad in the summer of 1918, forming a Soviet. In response, Junaid Khan and forces loyal to the Czarist government joined together to drive out the Communists. In July 1919, these anti-Communist allies established the independent state of Transcaspia. A small British force, led by General Wilfrid Malleson, from Meshed (Persia) occupied Ashgabat and parts of southern Turkmenistan until 1919. It is alleged that 26 Baku Commissars were gunned down by British forces or their Transcaspian allies. The region was one of the last centres of Basmachi resistance to Bolshevik rule, with the last of the rebellious Turkoman fleeing across the border to Afghanistan and Iran in 1922–23.
Soviet Union.
On 27 October 1924, the Turkestan ASSR was dissolved. In accordance with the decree of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR and the Turkmen SSR, it became one of the republics of the Soviet Union. At this time the modern borders of Turkmenistan were formed. The Turkmen Government renamed Ashgabat into Poltoratsk after a local revolutionary, however the name "Ashgabat" was restored in 1927. In February 1925, the Turkmenistan Communist Party held its first Congress in Ashkhabad. From this period onward the city experienced rapid growth and industrialisation, although it was severely disrupted by the October 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. With an estimated surface wave magnitude of 7.3, the earthquake killed 10,000–110,000. According to other local sources, two-thirds of a population of 176,000 inhabitants perished.
In the 1950s, the 1,375 kilometre long Qaraqum Canal was built. Draining the Amu-Darya river, it enabled huge areas to be opened for cotton production. It also greatly diminished the inflow of water to the Aral Sea, resulting in an ecological catastrophe.
Turkmenistan was not among the most economically developed Soviet republics, with a largely agrarian economy. This is despite exploration and exploitation of enormous oil and gas resources – discovery of 62 trillion cubic feet Dawletabad gas field in the 1960s became the largest gas field find in the world outside Russia and Middle East.
Independence and Turkmenbashi.
Turkmenistan became independent on October 27, 1991, amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union (commemorated annually). The former head of Turkmenistan's Communist Party at the time of independence, Saparmurat Niyazov, was elected president of the newly independent nation in an uncontested election. At the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan in the autumn of 1991, the party decided to dissolve itself, a process that continued into 1992. In its place, the Turkmenistan Democratic Party (TDP) was organized, and on December 16, 1991, Saparmurat
Niyazov, who was elected President of Turkmenistan in October 1990, signed a decree officially
conferring TDP membership on former TCP members.
The authoritarian Niyazov, who has assumed the title of "Turkmenbashi", or "Leader of all Turkmen", was accused of developing a totalitarian cult of personality. His opus, the "Ruhnama", was made a mandatory reading in Turkmenistan's schools and months of the calendar were renamed after members of his family. Opposition parties are banned in Turkmenistan and the government controls all sources of information. In December 1999, Turkmenistan's constitution was amended to allow Niyazov to serve as president for life.
Niyazov was the main proponent of Turkmenistan's constitutional neutrality. Under this policy, Turkmenistan does not participate in any military alliance and does not contribute to United Nations monitoring forces. This in fact means an internal isolation of Turkmenistan from world politics.
In late 2004, Niyazov met with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to discuss an oil contract in Turkmenistan for a Canadian corporation. In March 2005, news of this meeting caused an uproar amongst opposition circles in Canada, who claimed the affair could damage Chrétien's legacy.
In 2005, Niyazov announced that his country would downgrade its links with the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of post-Soviet states. He furthermore promised free and fair elections by 2010 in a move that surprised many Western observers.
Death of Niyazov.
Niyazov acknowledged having heart disease in November 2006. On December 21, 2006, Niyazov died unexpectedly, leaving no heir-apparent and an unclear line of succession. A former deputy prime minister rumored to be the illegitimate son of Niyazov, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, became acting president. Under the constitution the Chairman of the People's Council, Öwezgeldi Ataýew, should have succeeded to the post. Ataýew was accused of crimes and removed from office.
Since 2006.
In an election on February 11, 2007, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow was elected president with 89% of the vote and 95% turnout, although the election was condemned by outside observers.
Following his election, Berdimuhamedow moved to reduce foreign isolation and reversed some of Niyazov's more egocentric and damaging policies. Internet cafes offering free and uncensored Web access opened in Ashgabat, compulsory education was extended from nine to ten years and classes in sports and foreign languages were re-introduced into the curriculum, and the government announced plans to open several specialized schools for the arts. President Berdimuhamedow has called for reform of education, health care and pension systems, and government officials of non-Turkmen ethnic origin who had been sacked by Niyazov have returned to work.
President Berdimuhamedow began to reduce the personality cult surrounding Niyazov and the office of the president. He called for an end to the elaborate pageants of music and dancing that formerly greeted the president on his arrival anywhere, and said that the Turkmen "sacred oath", part of which states that the speaker's tongue should shrivel if he ever speaks ill of Turkmenistan or its president, should not be recited multiple times a day but reserved for "special occasions." Previously the oath was recited at the beginning and end of TV news reports, by students at the beginning of the school day, and at the beginning of virtually all meetings of any official nature that took place in the country.
However, Berdimuhamedow is criticized for building a personality cult of his own (albeit a modest one compared to his predecessor's). For example, he is the only person whose first name is used in government press releases; other officials always have their first names abbreviated to a single letter. He is also sometimes called the "Turkmen leader" by his country's press. Additionally, while his regime is somewhat less heavy-handed than Niyazov's, it is still rigidly authoritarian.
On March 19, 2007, Berdimuhamedow reversed one of Niyazov's most unpopular decrees by giving pensions back to 100,000 elderly people whose pensions Niyazov had slashed in the face of an unspecified budget crisis.
On March 20, in a decision of significant symbolic weight in the ongoing rejection of Niyazov's personality cult, he abolished the power of the president to rename any landmarks, institutions, or cities.
On March 31, 2007, the 20th Congress of the Halk Maslahaty began in the city of Mary. New laws relating to agricultural efficiency were passed, and it was decreed that school teachers' wages would soon rise by 40%.
On May 12, Russia and Turkmenistan announced that they had reached an agreement to build a new natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Russia, via Kazakhstan. This has led to speculation that the European Union will become more energy-dependent on Russia, which buys Turkmen gas at below-market prices, and that as a result Russia's political influence in Eastern Europe may increase.
On May 16, in what was described as one of his boldest moves up to that time, Berdimuhamedow sacked a high-ranking security official who had been instrumental in building and maintaining the late president Niyazov's extensive cult of personality. According to official Turkmen news media, Akmyrat Rejepow, the head of the presidential security service, was removed from office by presidential decree and transferred to "another job." The nature of this job was not specified.
On June 14, Berdimuhamedow re-opened the Turkmen Academy of Sciences, which had been shut down by his predecessor. According to reports, as of June 25 Berdimuhamedow had also ordered the closure of the International Fund of Saparmurat Niyazov, the former Turkmenbashi's personal private fund, and stated his intent to begin a series of reforms in the military.
Berdimuhamedow celebrated his 50th birthday on June 29, 2007. He was awarded the Watan Order (Order of the Motherland) for his "outstanding achievements" – a gold and diamond pendant weighing about 1 kilogram. The President also published his biography and held a gala birthday celebration. The government also issued 400 gold and silver coins decorated with the president's portrait.
In 2008, Berdimuhamedow restored the traditional names of the months and days of the week (Niyazov had renamed them after himself and his mother, among other things), and announced plans to move the infamous gold rotating statue of Niyazov from Ashgabat's central square. He has not, however, moved toward Western-style democracy.
In September 2008, a new constitution was accepted by the People's Council. Parliamentary elections under this new constitution were held on December 14, 2008.
In December 2008, Berdimuhamedow announced changes to the national anthem, which involved removing the repeated references to former President Niyazov. The new version was to take effect on December 21, the second anniversary of Niyazov's death.
In February 2017, president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was re-elected for a third term in office, after receiving 97.69 percent of all votes according to official results. He continued to rule as authoritarian strongman.


George Wyman Bury

G. Wyman Bury (3 January 1874 – 23 September 1920) was a naturalist, explorer, author, Arabist, and political officer in the British army.
Born in Mancetter Manor House near the town of Atherstone, Bury was educated at Atherstone Grammar School and then by tutors ("Army crammers") who specialized in preparing students for the examinations that were part of Army Officer Selection. In 1894 he received a commission in the 3rd Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. In 1895 Bury joined one of the rebel tribes in southern Morocco. In 1896 in the Aden littoral desert, he worked in archaeology and natural history, as well as intelligence gathering among the mountain tribes of Aden. From 1897 to 1901 he explored in the Rub' al Khali. In 1902 he was with the Aden Boundary Commission. In 1903–1904 he was engaged as a political officer in military operations in the Aden Protectorate. As an explorer and naturalist, Bury was a member of: in 1905–1906 a zoological expedition in Somaliland, in 1908–1909 southern Arabian peninsular exploration, and in 1912–1913 Yemen highlands exploration. He was in special service in Egypt in 1914 and served on the intelligence staff on the Suez Canal front in 1915. He became a political officer in the Red Sea Northern Patrol and was given in 1915 the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. In the first half of 1916 he participated in naval operations along the Arabian coast and was involved with the successful revolt led by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.
He met his future wife, Florence Ann Marshall, in 1911 when he was a tuberculosis patient in Westminster Hospital and she was his nurse. On 19 June 1913, they married in Hodeida, Yemen. In July 1916 he was sent on convalescent leave to live in Cairo under the care of his wife. At the end of World War I, Bury and his wife went to live in Helwan, where he died in 1920 from tuberculosis.


Anacopia Fortress

Anacopia Fortress () is an ancient military citadel in New Athos (as it is currently known) in the disputed Republic of Abkhazia, located some 22 km (14 miles) by road along the coast from Sukhumi. The site, approximately 450 × 150 meters in extent, is located a mile or so inland, at the top of the Iverian Mountain. It is the most complete surviving building of ancient Anacopia, the former capital of the Kingdom of Abkhazia.
History.
A military structure was constructed here between the second and fourth centuries. At the end of the seventh century walls were constructed around the site of the citadel, with support from the Byzantines who had become alarmed by Islamist expansionism. The walls, up to 60 com (2 feet) thick, are constructed of largely tightly assembled and carefully hewn limestone blocks. There is a single entrance, a small gate on the south side of the enclosure. At the centre is a Roman style tower, four storeys high, with excellent views in all directions across the surrounding landscape and, to the south-west of the fortress, the Black Sea. A small Christian basilica was also constructed in the centre of the fortress during or before the eighth century. The stone altar from it survives (2014), along with some frescoes featuring a cross and some fishes, a religious symbol frequently used by early Christians in and around the Eastern Roman empire. Next to the church is a cistern filled naturally with spring water by means of a 25 meter deep well beneath it.
During the eighth century Anacopia found itself near the moving frontier that separated Byzantine Christendom from the Umayyad Caliphate, and in 736/737 Abū ʿAbd Al-Malik Marwān ibn Muḥammad, the future Marwan II, appeared outside the walls with a force of 60,000 men and laid siege to what was by now the capital of the Abkhazian Kingdom. The Georgian chronicle relates that the citadel was defended by a force of 1,000 Iberians and 2,000 Abkhazians under the leadership of Leon I of Abkhazia. The chronicle recalls that the Arab forces suffered from an epidemic that killed 35,000 of them while a further 3,000 were killed in the fighting. The successful defence of Anacopia is regarded as a pivotal turning point in Georgian history.
A restoration was undertaken in 2008 to improve the safety of the site and reinstate the tower as a usable lookout point.


Ulug Depe

Ulug Depe is an ancient Bronze Age site in the foothills of the Kopet Dag Mountains in the Karakum Desert of Kaka District (Kaahka) in the Ahal Province of south-eastern Turkmenistan. It covers around 13 hectares and lies on a mound at a height of about 30 meters, displaying the longest stratigraphic sequence of Central Asia, from the Late Neolithic, represented by Jeitun culture, until the pre-Achaemenid period.
History.
The following table, by Olivier Lecomte, brings the chronology for South Central Asia and Ulug-depe settlement:
Discoveries.
Excavations in the Late Bronze layers also found a "pressure set" for making soma drink. This set, similar to those found in Gonur Depe,
Gonur Depe seems to be the central city on the ancient Oxus civilization, also known as the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex, from about 2000 BCE.