Al Farwaniyah

Al Farwaniyah is situated in Kuwait, between Kuwait (Al Asimah, Al Jahra, Al Ahmadi, Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Hawalli). Its coordinates are 29.277°N 47.959°E.

Al Farwaniyah is the most populous of the six governorates of Kuwait, in terms of total number of residents. It is Kuwait's main residential area and also forms an important part of Kuwait's commercial activities.

Economy:

Jazeera Airways, Kuwait Airways, and Wataniya Airways have their head offices on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport. The Kuwait Airways building was constructed from 1992 to 1996.

Capital:

Al Farwaniyah is the capital of the Al Farwaniyah Governorate in Kuwait.

No coat of arms

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Kuwait International Airport.

Al Buraimi

Al Buraimi is situated in Oman, between the United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi) and Oman (Ad Dhahirah, Al Batinah). Its coordinates are 24°15′N 55°45′E.

Al Buraimi is the newest governorate of Oman which was split from the Ad Dhahirah region.

Until October, 2006, the area was part of Ad Dhahirah region. At this time, the new governorate was created from the wilayats Al Buraymi and Mahdah. A third wilayat, Al Sinaihah was created from parts of the two.

Geography:

The surrounding landscape of Buraimi differs vastly from that of Al Ain, consisting mainly of wide open gravel plains and sharp jutting rocks. Samr and Ghaf trees are fairly common on these gravel plains.

History:

Buraimi was part of Oman from early historical times from around 600 AD the Azd tribes of Oman occupied the area. Then Al Buraimi town was abandoned in the 700s. Al Nuaimi tribe, the original people of the town, ruled it rebuild it and ruled it in the 1800s to the 1950s. It had only two rulers, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al-Hamood Al Qurtasi Al Naimi, then Sheikh Saqer bin Sultan bin Mohamed Al Hamood Al Qurtasi Al Naimi. The late President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was born in Abu Dhabi but was brought to Al Ain by his mother, Shaikah Salaamah, following the assassination of his father, Sultan bin Zayed. Zayed was raised in a fortified house in the Muaiji district of Al Ain. Since 1761, Abu Dhabi had been ruled by sheikhs of the Al Abu Falah dynasty.

The community of Buraimi is probably best known as the result of an incident known as the "Buraimi Dispute", an episode that contributed to the confirmation of Zayed as the most astute leader in the region.

The Buraimi Dispute arose from Saudi Arabia's claim, first made in 1949, of sovereignty over a large part of Abu Dhabi territory where oil was suspected to be present and an area in a 20-mile circle around the centre of the Buraimi Oasis. The Saudis relied on historical precedent and tax records. Their claim was backed by the American oil company Aramco, which provided logistics and research to support Saudi Arabia. In 1952 a small group of Saudi Arabian guards led by the Saudi Emir of Ras Tanura, Turki bin Abdullah al Utaishan, crossed Abu Dhabi territory and occupied Hamasa, one of three Omani villages in the Oasis, claiming it as part of the eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The Sultan of Muscat and Imam of Oman gathered their forces to expel the Saudis but were persuaded by the British Government to exercise restraint.

A standstill agreement was implemented and, on 30 July 1954, it was agreed to refer the dispute to an international arbitration tribunal. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia embarked on a campaign of bribery to obtain declarations of tribal loyalty on which its case was based. This campaign even extended to Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahayan, brother of Sheikh Shakhbout, Ruler of Abu Dhabi whom he would later overthrow in 1966. Zayed reportedly turned down an offer of $20,000,000, a very large sum in those days. In 1955 arbitration proceedings began in Geneva only to collapse when the British abitrator, Sir Reader Bullard, objected to Saudi Arabian attempts to influence the tribunal and withdrew. A few weeks later, the Saudi party was forcibly ejected from Hamasa by the Trucial Oman Levies, a British-backed force based in Sharjah. Together with a few refugee sheikhs and their families, the Saudis were taken to Sharjah and dispatched to Saudi Arabia by sea. The dispute continued to rumble on for many years to come until settled in 1974 by an agreement, known as the Treaty of Jeddah, between Sheikh Zayed and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

Capital:

The town Al Buraymi is an oasis town in northeastern Oman, on the border of the United Arab Emirates. An adjacent city on the UAE's side of the border is Al Ain. For many decades there has been an open border between Al Buraimi located in Oman and Al Ain. Effective from 16 September 2006, this border has been relocated to an area around Hilli which is around 8 kilometers from the traditional open border. The traditional border near Al Ain city is now closed to all except to those with valid visas.

Buraimi is considerably smaller than the adjoining city of Al Ain and is visibly less affluent. Streets in Buraimi are not named and development could be considered "piece meal" with large villas often appearing some metres from the roads, and footpaths do not occur away from the main streets.

No coat of arms

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Queen Alia International Airport then to Al Ain International Airport and then go by car to Al Buraimi.

Adana

Adana is situated in Turkey, between Turkey (Kayseri, Nigde, Mersin, Hatay, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras). Its coordinates are 37°22′06″N 35°42′22″E.

Geography:

Adana Province has a surface area of 14.030 km². Southern portion of the province is plain, northern section is formed of mountains.

Population:

The population of the Adana Province is 2,085,225. 88% of the population lives in the urban areas making the province one of the most urbanized provinces in Turkey. Annual population growth of the province is %1.12 below the average growth of the nation. %76 of the province residents corresponding to a population of 1,591,518, live in the Adana metropolis.

Parks and Conservation Areas:

Akyatan Lagoon is a large wildlife refuge which acts as a stopover for migratory birds voyaging from Africa to Europe. Wildlife refuge has a 14700-hectar area made up of forests, lagoon, marsh, sandy and reedy lands. Akyatan lake is a nature wonder with endemic plants and endangered bird species living in it together with other species of plants and animals. 250 species of birds are observed. The conservation area is located 30 km south of Adana, near Tuzla.

Yumurtalık Nature Reserve covers an area of 16,430 hectares within the Seyhan-Ceyhan delta, with its lakes, lagoons and wide collection of plant and animal species. The area is an important location for many species of migrating birds, the number gets higher during the winters when the lakes become a shelter when other lakes further north freeze.

Aladağlar National Park, located north of Adana, is a huge park of around 55,000 hectares, the summit of Demirkazik at 3756m is the highest point in the middle Taurus mountain range. There is a huge range of flora and fauna, and visitors may fish in the streams full of trout. Wildlife includes wild goats, bears, lynx and sable. The most common species of plant life is black pine and cluster pine trees, with some cedar dotted between, and fir trees in the northern areas with higher humidity. The Alpine region, from the upper borders of the forest, has pastures with rocky areas and little variety of plant life because of the high altitude and slope.

Adana is a city in Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean Sea, in south-central Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Adana Province has a population of almost 1.6 million, making the city fifth most populous in Turkey.

Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, with a population of 3 million, stretches over 100 kilometres from east to west and 25 kilometres from north to south; encompassing the cities of Mersin, Tarsus, Adana and Ceyhan. It is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Turkey and one of the country's leading centres of commerce and culture.

Adana lies in the heart of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay. Home to approximately six million people, the region is mostly a large stretch of flat, fertile land regarded as one of the most agriculturally productive areas of the world.

According to numerous sources, the name Adana is derived from the Hittite Adaniya of Kizzuwatna, while others assert that it is related to the legendary character Danaus, or to the Danaoi, a mythological Greek tribe who came from Egypt and established themselves in the Greek city Argos.The earlier Egyptian texts for a country Danaja are inscriptions from Thutmosis II (1437 BC) and Amenophis III (1390-1352 BC). After the collapse of the Mycenean civilization (1200 BC) some refugeees from the Aegean area went to the coast of Cilicia.The inhabitants Dananayim or Danuna are identified as one group of the sea-peoples who attacked Egypt on 1191 BC during the reign of Ramesses III. Denyen are identified as inhabitants of the city Adana. It is also possible that the name is connected with the da-nu, Da-na-vo, Skythian nomad people, water demons in Rigveda (Danavas).

In the Iliad of Homer, the city is called Adana. In Hellenistic times, it was known as Antiochia in Cilicia or Antiochia ad Sarum. The editors of The Helsinki Atlas tentatively identify Adana as Quwê, the Neo-Assyrian capital of Quwê province. The name also appears as Coa, and may be the place referred to in the Bible, where King Solomon obtained horses.

According to an ancient Greco-Roman legend, the name has its origins in Adanus and Sarus, the two sons of Uranus, who came to a place near the Seyhan River, where they built Adana. An older legend relates the city's name to Adad, the Thunder God in the Akkadian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Hittite mythologies, who was believed to live in the nearby forest, and whose name was given to the region. The Hittites' names and writings have been found in the area, evidencing this possibility. The theory goes that since the Thunder God brought so much rain and this rain in turn brought such great abundance in this particular region, this god was loved and respected by its inhabitants and, in his honor, the region was called the "Uru Adaniyya;" in other words "The Region of Ada."

Adana's name has had many different versions over the centuries: Adanos, Ta Adana, Uru Adaniya, Erdene, Edene, Ezene, Batana, Atana, Azana, Addane.

Adana is located at the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, where it serves as the gateway to the Çukurova plain, which has historically been known in the West as the Cilicia plain. This large stretch of flat, fertile land lies southeast of the Taurus Mountains.

From Adana, crossing the Çukurova westwards, the road from Tarsus enters the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. The temperature decreases with every foot of ascent, as the road reaches an altitude of nearly 1,200 m. It goes through the famous Cilician Gates, the rocky pass through which armies have coursed since the dawn of history, and continues to the Anatolian plain.

The north of the city is surrounded by the Seyhan reservoir and HEP, which was completed in 1956. The dam was constructed for hydroelectric power and to irrigate the lower Çukurova plain. Two irrigation channels in the city flow to the plain, passing through the city center from east to west. There is another canal for irrigating the Yüreğir plain to the southeast of the city.

Adana has a typical Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild and wet and summers are hot and dry. The highest recorded temperature was on 8 July 1978 with 44.0 °C. The lowest recorded temperature was on 30 January 1980 with −4.2 °C.

The history of Adana goes back more than 3,000 years; archaeological finds in the region have revealed human settlements dating from the Paleolithic Age. Tepebağ Tumulus, where archaeologists found a stone wall and a city center, was built in the Neolithic Age; it is considered to be the oldest city of the Çukurova region. A place called Adana is mentioned by name in a Sumerian epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the geography of this work is too imprecise to identify its location.

According to the Hittite inscription of Kava, found in Hattusa, Kizzuwatna was the first kingdom that ruled Adana, under the protection of the Hittites by 1335 BC. At that time, the name of the city was Uru Adaniyya, and the inhabitants were called Danuna. Beginning with the collapse of the Hittite Empire, c. 1191-1189 BC, invasions from the west caused a number of small kingdoms to take control of the plain, as follows: Kue Assyrians, 9th century BC; Persians, 6th century BC; Alexander the Great in 333 BC; Seleucids; the pirates of Cilicia; Roman statesman Pompey the Great; and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

The history of Adana is intrinsically linked to the history of Tarsus; they often seem to be the same city, moving as the neighbouring Seyhan River changed its position, and the name changed too over the course of centuries. Adana was of relatively minor importance during the Roman period, while nearby Tarsus was the metropolis of the area. During the era of Pompey, the city was used as a prison for the pirates of Cilicia. For several centuries thereafter, it was a waystation on a Roman military road leading to the East. After the permanent split of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, the area became a part of the Byzantine Empire, and was probably developed during the time of Julian the Apostate. With the construction of large bridges, roads, government buildings, irrigation and plantation, Adana and Cilicia became the most developed and important trade centers of the region. Ayas, and Kozan were the other major urban and administrative centers in the area, especially during the period of the Cilicians.

In the mid 7th century, the city was captured by the Arabs. According to an Arab historian of that era, the name of the city was derived from Ezene, the prophet Yazene's grandson.

The Byzantines recaptured Adana in 964. After the victory of Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk Turks overran much of the Byzantine Empire. They had reached and captured Adana sometime before 1071 and continued to hold the place until Tancred, a leader of the First Crusade, captured the city in 1097.

In 1132, it was captured by the forces of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, under its king, Leo I. It was taken by Byzantine forces in 1137, but the Armenians regained it around 1170. In 1268, there was a terrible earthquake which destroyed much of the city. Adana was rebuilt and remained a part of the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia until 1359, when the city was ceded by Constantine III to the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt in return for obtaining a peace treaty. The Mamluks' capture of the city allowed many Turkish families to settle in it. The Ramazanoğlu family, one of the Turkish families brought by the Mamluks, ruled Adana until the Ottomans captured the city.

From the end of the Renaissance to the modern era (1517–1918), the Ottoman Empire ruled the area.

In the 1830s, in order to secure Egypt's independence from the Ottoman Empire, the army of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the vali of Ottoman Egypt and Sudan, invaded Syria on two occasions, and reached the Adana plain. The soldiers of Muhammad Ali Pasha destroyed Adana Castle and the Walls, a major hit to city's history. The subsequent peace treaty secured Egypt's independence, but required the evacuation of all Egyptian forces from Syria, and its return to Ottoman sovereignty. In the aftermath, Adana was established as a province in its own right.

The Adana massacre occurred in the Ottoman Vilayet of Adana in April 1909. A religious-ethnic clash in the province amid governmental upheaval resulted in a series of anti-Armenian pogroms throughout the district. Reports estimated that the massacres in the entire Vilayet of Adana resulted in about 25,000 deaths. In 1915, Ottoman troops rounded up all Armenians (approx. 20,000) living in the city of Adana and marched them out into the Syrian desert in the course of the Armenian Genocide, resulting in the complete eradication of the Armenian communities in and around the city.

After World War I, the Ottoman government surrendered control of the city to French troops, and the four battalions of the French Armenian Legion were sent to occupy Adana and oversee the repatriation of Armenian refugees. The French forces were, however, spread too thinly in the region and, as they came under withering attacks by Muslim elements both opposed and loyal to Mustafa Kemal Pasha, eventually reversed their policies in the region. The Armenian Legion was gradually disbanded, the repatriation was halted, and the French ultimately abandoned all pretensions to Cilicia, which they had originally hoped to attach to their mandate over Syria. On October 20, 1921, the Treaty of Ankara was signed between France and the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Based on the terms of the agreement, France recognized the end of the Cilicia War, and French troops together with the remaining Armenian volunteers withdrew from the city on January 5, 1922.

On 30 January 1943, British prime minister Winston Churchill secretly met with Turkish president İsmet İnönü inside a train wagon at the Yenice Station, 23 kilometres outside of Adana. Churchill wanted Turkey to join the Second World War on the side of the Allies; the details of which were later discussed at the Second Cairo Conference in December 1943, which was attended by İnönü, Churchill and Roosevelt.

The city was hit by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake (1998 Adana-Ceyhan earthquake) on June 27, 1998. The disaster killed 145 and left 1,500 people wounded and many thousand homeless in the city. The total economic loss was estimated about US$ 1 billion.

Adana is one of the first industrialized city and currently one of the economically developed cities of Turkey. With the construction of Seyhan Dam and improvements in agricultural techniques, there was an explosive growth in agricultural production during 1950s. Large-scale industries were built along D-400 state road and Karataş road. Service industry, especially banking, also developed during this period.

Adana is the marketing and distribution center for Çukurova agricultural region, where cotton, wheat, corn, soy bean, barley, grapes and citrus fruits are produced in great quantities. Farmers of Adana produce half of the corn and soy bean in Turkey. 34% of Turkey's peanut and 29% of Turkey's orange is harvested in Adana. Most of the farming and agricultural-based companies of the region have their offices in Adana.

Adana is an industrialized city where large-scale industry is based mostly on agriculture. Textile and leather are the major industry constituting 29% of Adana's manufacturing, plant oil and processed food manufacturing plants are also numerous. As of 2008, Adana has 11 companies in Turkey's top 500 industrial firms. The largest company of Adana, Temsa Global, in automotive manufacturing, has more than 2,500 employees and manufactures 4,000 buses annually. Marsan-Adana is the largest margarine and plant oil factory in Turkey. Advansa Sasa is Europe's largest polyester manufacturer employing 2,650. Organized Industrial Region of Adana has an area of 1,225 hectar and hosts almost 300 plants, mostly medium-scale.

A leading commercial center in southern Turkey, city hosts regional headquarters of many corporates and public institutions. TÜYAP Exhibition and Congress Center hosts fairs, business conferences and currently it is the main meeting point for businesses in Çukurova. Academic oriented 2000-seater Congress Center is expected to open in 2010 at Çukurova University campus. Tourism industry is developing as luxury hotels are built on the banks of Seyhan River and along D-400 state road. Hilton International, Seyhan and Sürmeli hotels are the 5-star hotels of the city. Sheraton and Türkmen hotels on the east bank of the river are currently under construction.

Media in Adana runs by national and local agencies. Yeni Adana is the oldest living newspaper in Adana dating back to 1918. Ekspres, Toros and Bölge are other local newspapers who serve not only to Adana, but to Çukurova in general. Çukurova TV is the largest broadcasting company.Kanal A, Akdeniz TV and Kent TV are the other major broadcasters. Many national newspapers have their regional publishing centers in Adana. Hürriyet publishes a supplement paper, Hürriyet Çukurova, the most popular regional newspaper that has circulation of 48,000.

Traditional shops, modern shops and malls create a mixture of shopping opportunities in Adana. Çakmak Street is the traditional shopping street that is located in the old town. There are also several historical bazaars around Büyük Saat and Yağ Camii. Ziyapaşa Boulevard is the street of elegance where pricey brands are located. The streets around Ziyapaşa and the streets of northern Adana, Özal, Demirel and Evren boulevards also host high-end shops. There are four American-style shopping malls in the city; M1 and Carrefour at the west end, Galleria and Optimum Outlet on the banks of Seyhan River.

Adana was named among the 25 European Regions of the Future for 2006/2007 by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine. Chosen alongside Kocaeli for Turkey, Adana scored the highest points for cost effectiveness against Kocaeli's points for infrastructure development, while Adana and Kocaeli tied on points for the categories of human resources and quality of life.

Public, private and not-for profit foundation institutions conduct education in Adana. There are 282 public and 12 private primary schools which pupils attend from grade 1 to 8. From grade 9 to 11, pupils go to one of the 85 public and 26 private high schools. Notable high schools of the city that require examination to enter are; Adana Fen Lisesi, Adana Anadolu Lisesi,Gündoğdu Lisesi, Bilfen Lisesi. There are also 6 public and 6 private schools for pupils with special needs. 9 Community Training Centers serve adult residents to improve their skills. There are two state universities in the city and one university just outside.

Çukurova University is a state university located at the east shores of Seyhan Reservoir. In 2008, with 3 faculties, it is placed among the top 500 universities of the world at a research conducted by Blackwell Publishing, Quacquarelli Symonds and The Times. The university was founded in 1973 with the union of the colleges of Agriculture and Medicine. It has a beautiful campus overlooking to the reservoir with many cultural, social and athletic facilities, currently holding 40,000 students.

Çağ University is a not-for-profit tuition-based university founded in 1997. The university is located just outside of the city, midway to Tarsus. University holds around 2500 students, most of them commuting from Adana, Tarsus and Mersin. Faculty of Management is the most popular school in the university.

Adana University for Science and Technology is a recently founded state university that is planned to have ten faculties, two institutions and a college. It will accommodate 1,700 academic, 470 administrative staff, and it is expected to enroll students by 2012.

Adana is a major health center to a wide region from Mediterrenean to Southeastern Anatolia. There are 4 university hospitals, 8 state hospitals and 7 private hospitals in the city. Balcalı Hospital of the Çukurova University is one of the major hospitals of Turkey.

As being on the major route that is connecting Europe to Middle East, Adana is well served by many forms of transportation. Until the 16th century, Adana was a port city where ships could navigate on Seyhan River to the port just south of Taşköprü.

Direct flights to Düsseldorf, Hannover and Nicosia from Adana Şakirpaşa Airport run by Germania and Cyprus Turkish Airlines. Mersin-Aleppo Train connects Adana and the rest of Çukurova region to Aleppo, the largest metropolitan area of Syria. This train service started in 2008, but did not get popular, as the ride from Adana to Aleppo takes 8 hours. Hatay-based buses take this distance in 3-3.5 hours.

Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Atlas Jet Airways, Anadolu Jet Airlines, Onur Air and SunExpress provide daily flights to Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, Trabzon, Diyarbakır and Van from Adana Şakirpaşa Airport. Turkish State Railways provides trips to most of the cities in Turkey from the Adana Railway Station. The railway line was built during 1910s by the Ottoman-German co-operation and the bridges, tunnels that were built along the Taurus Mountains were the engineering wonders of their time. Numerous bus companies provide service to almost all the cities in Turkey. Although lost its popularity as private airlines introduced inexpensive flights to major cities, bus is still the major form of transportation to and from Adana. Adana has two intercity bus terminals. Bus companies that serve transportation to cities west of Adana, departs from Central Bus Terminal, whereas the buses that serve to cities east of Adana depart from Yüreğir Bus Terminal. There is shuttle service between two terminals.

Adana-Mersin Railway Line runs like a commuter train serving every 20 minutes between Mersin, Tarsus and Adana. With the new railbuses, train trip between Adana and Mersin takes 45 minutes. Train service from Adana to Ceyhan, Osmaniye and Islahiye run three times per day. Regional bus services from Adana to other places in Çukurova are plentiful and carried by bus and minibus co-operatives. Seasonal Bus Services to high plains of Tekir, Bürücek and Kızıldag run in summer, due to high demand of Adana residents escaping the heat.

There is an extensive motorway network (O50-O59) in the region, connecting Adana to as far as Erdemli at the west, Niğde at the north, Şanlıurfa at the east and Iskenderun at the south. Traffic runs smooth at anytime of the day, driving can take as short as 40 minutes to Mersin and 2 hours to Gaziantep.

Local transport in Adana is provided by the Metropolitan Municipality and by dolmuş and bus co-operatives.

Adana Metro is a rail rapid transit system which fully opened to service on May 14, 2010. It is 14 km long and has 13 stations. The system can transport 21,600 passengers per hour one-way, a complete journey taking 21 minutes. The second line of the metro will run from Akıncılar to Çukurova University in the Sarıçam District. It will be 9.5 km long and will have 7 stations. The project is contracted in January 2010 and the construction is expected to start after an agreement is made with the Çukurova University. Adana Metro will then extend to 23.5 km. serving at 20 stations.

Adana Metropolitan Municipality Bus Department serves the city with 229 buses, 8 of them designed specifically for disabled users. Payments are collected by Kentkart Smartcard system; one of the most advanced in Turkey. 6 Bus Co-operatives serve the city with 411 buses. Kentkart and cash are accepted at these buses. 18 Dolmuş Co-operatives, with total of 1,086 minibuses, provide service even to secondary streets. The only form of payment is by cash.

Twin towns Adana is twinned with:

Córdoba, Spain

Beer Sheba, Israel

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Famagusta, Cyprus

Bremerhaven, Germany

Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Livorno, Italy

Ulan Bator, Mongolia

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Ataturk International Airport then to Adana Sakirpasa Airport.

Adiyaman

Adiyaman is situated in Turkey, between Turkey (Malatya, Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir). Its coordinates are 37°48′02″N 38°18′19″E.

Adıyaman is a province in south-central Turkey. The province was created in 1954 out of part of Malatya Province. Area 7,614 km². Population 590,935. The capital is Adıyaman. The area has been inhabited since the earliest times and many civilisations have settled here. There are therefore a number of places of historical interest which attract visitors. Nemrud Dağı is a major site of interest here, noted for its sanctuary of statues built by Antiochus Theos, king of Commagene. It is accessed through the town of Kâhta.

A branch of the large Atatürk reservoir lies between Adıyaman and the town of Samsat, and with more investment the irrigation this could become a rich agricultural zone. Currently it does feel impoverished and people travelling by mule or donkey are a common sight.

Capital:

Adıyaman is a city in southeastern Turkey, capital of the Adıyaman Province. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Turkey.

The city officially had the Arabic name Hısn-ı Mansur until the year 1926, named after the fortified castle perched on a hill around which the city grew. As this name was difficult for Turks to pronounce, people were referring the city as adı yaman, which means "its name is tough" or "(the place) whose name is tough" in Turkish. In 1926, this term was adopted as the official name of the city. In present-day Turkish, the word yaman can also have a strong positive connotation, just like the English word 'terrific'.

Adıyaman has a semi-arid climate. Summers are very hot and very dry. Temperatures reach 40 °C at the height of summer for the majority of the time. The highest recorded temperature was 45.3 °C on 30 July 2000. Winters in Adıyaman are cold and quite often snowy. The lowest recorded temperature was −10 °C on 23 February 1985.

The area has been inhabited as far back as it's possible to discover. Research in the cave of Palanlı 10 km north of Adıyaman show occupation in 40,000 BC and other digs in Samsat reveal continuous occupation through the stone and Bronze Ages.

From 900BC onwards came waves of invasions from Assyrians, Persians, and Macedonians until the Commagene kingdom was founded in 69BC. This was the civilisation that built the statues on top of nearby Mount Nemrut. The capital was in Samsat but the town of Adıyaman was a walled city of the Commagenes. The city walls of Adıyaman have been restored and replaced many times since.

The Commagene kingdom lasted until the Romans came in 72AD. Yet more campaigns and invasions followed and Adıyaman was controlled by Byzantines 395-670, Ummayads from 670 and then Abbasids 758-926. Then the area returned to Byzantine control during 859-1114. The Arabs returned from 1114 to 1204 and finally came the arrival of the Turks. The Arabic name for the castle and town was Hısn-ı Mansur.

Turks moved into the area from 1114 onwards and for most of the 13th century was settled by the Selçuk Turks often disrupted by Mongol invasions. From 1298 to 1516 the town was under the control of the Mameluks. Adıyaman was brought into the Ottoman Empire by Selim I in 1516, but local power often rested with the Dulkadiroğulları tribe of Türkmen people that settled here.

The city of Adıyaman provides shops and infrastructure to an agricultural region watered by the River Euphrates. It is not an industrial city, people riding mules and donkeys are still a common sight. The Atatürk reservoir is near the city and with more investment in irrigation, this could become a richer agricultural zone. The people are religious and conservative; it is hard to find a beer in Adıyaman, or other social amenities like cafes, cinemas, and theatre. The cuisine is typical of south-east Turkey, including dishes like çiğ köfte and Maraş-style ice-cream.

The Türkmen identity persisted into the 20th century although today Adıyaman is inhabited by a cosmopolitan mixture of people from other parts of Turkey. There is a small town feel to the place far warmer than the rambling mess that has become of bigger cities like nearby Urfa.

The folk dances of Adıyaman are well-known.

Adıyamanspor is a minor league football team. There is some passing tourist trade, people coming to see Mount Nemrut usually stay here, and the countryside around is pleasant too.

The caves of Pirin are 5 km. from Adiyaman. These are a burial ground dating back thousands of years BC. The sights include the ruins of the city and burial caves carved into the rock.

No coat of arms

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Ataturk International Airport then to Adiyaman Airport.

Afyonkarahisar

Afyonkarahisar is situated in Turkey, between Turkey (Eskisehir, Kutahya, Usak, Denizli, Burdur, Isparta, Konya). Its coordinates are 38°39′06″N 30°40′12″E.

Afyonkarahisar is a province in western Turkey.

The provincial capital is Afyonkarahisar. It covers an area of 14.230 km², and the population is about 697,559.

Capital:

Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyonkarahisar Province. Afyonkarahisar is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, 250 km south-west of Ankara along the Akar River. Elevation 1,034 m. Population 173 100.

The name is Turkish for the opium black castle, since opium was widely grown here and there is a castle on a black rock. Older spellings include Karahisar-i Sahip Afium-Kara-hissar and Afyon Karahisar. The city was known as Afyon, until the name was changed to Afyonkarahisar by the Turkish Parliament in 2004.

The top of the rock in Afyon has been fortified for a long, long time. It was known to the Hittites as Hapanuwa, and was later occupied by Phrygians, Lydians and Achaemenid Persians until it was conquered by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander the city, now known as Akroinon, was ruled by the Seleucids and the kings of Pergamon, then Rome and Byzantium. The Byzantine emperor Leo III after his victory over Arab besiegers in 740 renamed the city Nicopolis. The Seljuq Turks then arrived in 1071 and changed its name to Kara Hissar after the ancient fortress situated upon a volcanic rock 201 meters above the town. Following the dispersal of the Seljuqs the town was occupied by the Sahipoğulları and then the Germiyan.

The castle was much fought over during the Crusades and was finally conquered by the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid I in 1392 but was lost after the invasion of Timur Lenk in 1402. It was recaptured in 1428 or 1429.

The area thrived during the Ottoman Empire, as the centre of opium production and Afyon became a wealthy city with the typical Ottoman urban mixture of Turks, Armenians and Greeks. During the 1st World War British prisoners of war who had been captured at Gallipoli were housed here in an empty Armenian church at the foot of the rock. During the Greco-Turkish War campaign Afyon and the surrounding hills were occupied by French, Italian and then Greek forces. However, it was recovered on 27 August 1922, a key moment in the great Turkish counter-attack in the Aegean region. After 1923 Afyon became a part of the Republic of Turkey.

The region was a major producer of raw opium until the late 1960s when under international pressure, from the USA in particular, the fields were burnt and production ceased. Now Poppies are grown under a strict licensing regime. They do not produce raw opium any more but derive Morphine and other opiates using the poppy straw method of extraction.

Afyon was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 50 lira banknote of 1927-1938.

Afyonkarahisar has a continental climate and semi-arid climate, with cold and snowy winters and hot and dry summers. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn.

Afyon is the centre of an agricultural area and the city has a country town feel to it. There is little in the way of bars, cafes, live music or other cultural amenities, and the standards of education are low for a city in the west of Turkey. However Afyon Kocatepe University opened in the 1990s and this must surely lead to improvements eventually. Nowadays Afyon is known for its marble, its sucuk, its kaymak and various handmade weavings. There is also a large cement factory.

This is a natural crossroads, the routes from Ankara to İzmir and from Istanbul to Antalya intersect here and Afyon is a popular stopping-place on these journeys. There are a number of well-established roadside restaurants for travellers to breakfast on the local cuisine. Some of these places are modern well-equipped hotels and spas; the mineral waters of Afyon are renowned for their healing qualities. There is also a long string of roadside kiosks selling the local Turkish delight. Afyon is also an important railroad junction between İzmir, Konya, Ankara and Istanbul.

Twin Towns:

Hamm, Germany

No coat of arms

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Ataturk International Airport then to Usak Airport and then go by car to Afyonkarahisar.

Adjara

Adjara is situated in Georgia, between Georgia (Guria, Samtskhe-Javakheti), the Black Sea and Turkey (Artvin, Ardahan). Its coordinates are 41°39′N 42°0′E.

Adjara, officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, is an autonomous republic of Georgia.

Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea. Adjara is a home to the Adjar ethnic subgroup of Georgians.

Adjara is also known as Ajara, Adzhara, Ajaria, Adjaria, Adzharia, Achara, and Acharia. Formerly Adjara was known as Acara under Ottoman rule. It became the Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Adjar ASSR) under the Soviet Union.

History:

Adjara has been part of Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times. Colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. It became part of the region of Egrisi before being incorporated into the unified Georgian Kingdom in the 9th century AD. The Ottomans conquered the area in 1614. The people of Adjara converted to Islam in this period. The Ottomans were forced to cede Adjara to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878.

After a temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918–1920, Adjara became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920. After a brief military conflict in March 1921, Ankara's government ceded the territory to Georgia due to Article VI of Treaty of Kars on condition that autonomy is provided for the muslim population. The Soviet Union established the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 in accord with this clause. Thus, Adjara was still a component part of Georgia, but with considerable local autonomy.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Adjara became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. It avoided being dragged into the chaos and civil war that afflicted the rest of the country between 1991–1993 due largely to the authoritarian rule of its leader Aslan Abashidze. Although he successfully maintained order in Adjara and made it one of the country's most prosperous regions, he was accused of involvement in organised crime—notably large-scale smuggling to fund his government and enrich himself personally—as well as human rights violations. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Adjara; during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze, it seemed convenient to turn a blind eye to events in Adjara.

This changed following the Rose Revolution of 2003 when Shevardnadze was deposed in favour of the reformist opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who pledged to crack down on separatism within Georgia. In the spring of 2004, a major crisis in Adjara erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It threatened to develop into an armed confrontation. However, Saakashvili's ultimatums and mass protests against Abashidze's autocratic rule forced the Adjaran leader to resign in May 2004, following which he went into exile in Russia. After Abashidze's ousting, a new law was introduced to redefine the terms of Adjara's autonomy. Levan Varshalomidze succeeded Abashidze as the chairman of the government.

For many years, Russia maintained the 12th Military Base in Batumi. This was a source of great tension with Georgia, which had threatened to block access to the facility. Following talks in March 2005, the Russian government proposed to begin the process of withdrawal later the same year; Russia returned the base to Georgia on November 17, 2007, more than a year ahead of schedule.

In July 2007, the seat of the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi.

Geography and climate:

Adjara is located on the south-eastern coast of the Black Sea and extends into the wooded foothills and mountains of the Lesser Caucasus. Most of Adjara's territory either consists of hills or mountains. The highest mountains rise more than 3,000 meters above sea level. Around 60% of Adjara is covered by forests. Many parts of the Meskheti Range are covered by temperate rain forests.

Adjara is well-known for its humid climate and prolonged rainy weather, although there is plentiful sunshine during the Spring and Summer months. Adjara receives the highest amounts of precipitation both in Georgia and in the Caucasus. It is also one of the wettest temperate regions in the northern hemisphere. No region along Adjara's coast receives less than 2,200mm of precipitation per year. The west-facing slopes of the Meskheti Range receive upwards of 4,500mm of precipitation per year. The coastal lowlands receive most of the precipitation in the form of rain. September and October are usually the wettest months. Batumi's average monthly rainfall for the month of September is 410mm. The interior parts of Adjara are considerably drier than the coastal mountains and lowlands. Winter usually brings significant snowfall to the higher regions of Adjara, where snowfall often reaches several meters. Average summer temperatures are between 22–24 degrees Celsius in the lowland areas and 17–21 degrees Celsius in the highlands. The highest areas of Adjara have lower temperatures. Average winter temperatures are between 4–6 degrees Celsius along the coast while the interior areas and mountains average around -3–-2 degrees Celsius. Some of the highest mountains of Adjara have average winter temperatures of -8–-7 degrees Celsius.

Economy:

Adjara has good land for growing tea, citrus fruits and tobacco. Mountainous and forested, the region has a subtropical climate, and there are many health resorts. Tobacco, tea, citrus fruits, and avocados are leading crops; livestock raising is also important. Industries include tea packing, tobacco processing, fruit and fish canning, oil refining, and shipbuilding.

The regional capital, Batumi, is an important gateway for the shipment of goods heading into Georgia, Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia. The port of Batumi is used for the shipment of oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its oil refinery handles Caspian oil from Azerbaijan which arrives by pipeline to Supsa port and is transported from there to Batumi by rail. The Adjaran capital is a centre for shipbuilding and manufacturing.

Adjara is the main center of Georgia's coastal tourism industry, having displaced the northwestern province of Abkhazia since that region's de facto secession from Georgia in 1993.

Religion:

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the re-establishment of Georgia's independence accelerated re-Christianisation, especially among the young. However, there are still remaining Sunni Muslim communities in Adjara, mainly in the Khulo district. According to the 2006 estimates by the Department of Statistics of Adjara, 63% are Georgian Orthodox Christians, and 30% Muslim. The remaining are Armenian Christians (0.8%), Roman Catholics (0.2%), and others (6%).

Capital:

Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. It has a population of 121,806.

Batumi, with its large port and commercial center, is also the last stop of the Transcaucasian Railway and the Baku oil pipeline. It is situated some 20 km from the Turkish border, in a subtropical zone, rich in agricultural produce such as citrus fruit and tea. Industries include shipbuilding, food processing, and light manufacturing.

Batumi is located on the site of the ancient Greek colony in Colchis called Bathus or Bathys - derived from the Greek phrase bathus limen or bathys limin meaning "deep harbour". Under Hadrian (r. 117-138 AD), it was converted into a fortified Roman port later deserted for the fortress of Petra founded in the times of Justinian I (r. 527-565). Garrisoned by the Roman/Byzantine forces, it was formally a possession of the kingdom of Lazica until being occupied briefly by the Arabs who did not hold it; in the 9th century it formed part of the Bagratid monarchy of Tao-Klarjeti, and at the close of the 10th century of the unified kingdom of Georgia which succeeded it.

From 1010, it was governed by the eristavi of the king of Georgia. In the late 14th century, after the disintegration of the Georgian kingdom, Batumi passed to the princes of Guria, a western Georgian principality under the nominal sovereignty of the kings of Imereti. A curious incident occurred in 1444 when the Burgundian flotilla, after a failed crusade against the Ottoman Empire, penetrated the Black Sea and engaged in piracy along its eastern coastline until the Burgundians under the knight Geoffroy de Thoisy were ambushed during their landing raid at the port of Vaty as Europeans then knew Batumi. De Thoisy was taken captive and released through the mediation of the emperor John IV of Trebizond.

In the 15th century, in the reign of the prince Kakhaber Gurieli, the Ottoman Turks occupied the town and its district, but did not hold them. They returned in force a century later after the decisive defeat which they inflicted on the Georgian and Imeretian armies at Sokhoista. Batumi was recaptured, first by the prince Rostom Gurieli in 1564, who lost it soon afterwards, and again in 1609 by Mamia Gurieli. Since 1627 Batumi was part of the Ottoman Empire. With the Turkish conquest the Islamisation of the Adjara region, hitherto Christian began. It was completed by the end of the 18th century. Under the Turks, Batumi, a large fortified town was already an active port, the principal centre of the Transcaucasian slave-trade.

In 1878, Batumi was annexed by the Russian Empire in accordance with Treaty of San Stefano between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In exchange, according to a secret Anglo-Ottoman Cyprus Convention, the British were to be allowed to occupy Cyprus - Cuprum probatum. Occupied by the Russians on 28 August 1878, the town was declared a free port until 1886. It functioned as a center of a special military district until being incorporated in the Government of Kutaisi on June 12, 1883. Finally, on 1 June 1903, with the Okrug of Artvin, it was established as the region of Batumi placed under the direct control of the General Government of Georgia.

The expansion of Batumi began in 1883 with the construction of the Batumi-Tiflis-Baku railway completed in 1900 by the finishing of the Baku-Batumi pipe-line. Henceforth Batumi became the chief Russian oil port in the Black Sea. The town expanded to an extraordinary extent and the population increased very rapidly.

During 1901, 16 years prior to the Russian Revolution, Joseph Stalin the future leader of the Soviet Union, lived in the city organizing strikes. Unrest during World War I led to Turkey re-entering in April 1918, followed by the British in December, who stayed until July 1920. Kemal Atatürk then ceded it to the Bolsheviks, on the condition that it be granted autonomy, for the sake of the Muslims among Batumi's mixed population.

When the USSR collapsed, Aslan Abashidze was appointed head of Adjara's governing council and subsequently held onto power throughout the unrest of the 1990s. Whilst other regions, such as Abkhazia, attempted to break away from the Georgian state, Adjara maintained an integral part of the Republic's territory. However due to a fragile security situation, Abashidze was able to exploit the central government's weaknesses and rule the area as a personal fiefdom. In May 2004 he fled the region to Russia as a result of mass protests sparked by the Rose Revolution in Tbilisi.

Batumi today is the main port of Georgia. It has the capacity for 80,000-tonne tankers to take materials such as oil which is shipped through Georgia from Central Asia. Additionally the city exports regional agricultural products. Since 1995 the freight conversion of the port has constantly risen, with an approximate 8 million tonnes in 2001. The annual revenue from the port is estimated at between $200 million and $300 million.

Since the change of power in Ajara, Batumi has attracted several international investors with real estate prices in the city trebling since 2001. Kazakh investors have reportedly invested $100 million to purchase more than 20 hotels in the Ajara region of Georgia. Construction of a number of new hotels will be launched in Ajara’s Black Sea resorts starting from 2007.

Batumi was also host to the Russian 12th Military Base. Following the Rose Revolution, the central government pushed for the removal of these forces, and in 2005 an agreement with Moscow was reached. According to the agreement, the process of withdrawal was planned to be completed in a course of 2008, but the Batumi base was officially handed over to Georgia on November 13, 2007, ahead of planned schedule.

In July 2007, the seat of the Constitutional Court of Georgia was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi in an attempt to further facilitate the regional development.

Batumi lies at the northern periphery of the humid subtropical zone. The city's climate is heavily influenced by the onshore flow from the Black Sea and is subject to the orographic effect of the nearby hills and mountains, resulting in significant rainfall throughout most of the year, making Batumi the wettest city in both Georgia and the entire Caucasus Region.

The average annual temperature in Batumi is approximately 14 °C. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of 7 °C. August is the hottest month with an average temperature of 22 °C. The absolute minimum recorded temperature is -9 °C, and the absolute maximum is 40 °C. The number of days with daily temperatures above 10 °C is 239. The city receives 1958 hours of sunshine per year.

Batumi's average annual precipitation is 2,718mm. September is the wettest month with an average of 335mm of precipitation, while May is the driest, averaging 92mm. Batumi generally does not receive significant amounts of snow, and the number of days with snow cover for the year is 12. The average level of relative humidity ranges from 70-80%.

The city is served by Batumi Airport, one of three international airports in the country.

Attractions include:

the Adjara State Museum

Batumi Botanical Garden, started by professor Krasnov

aquarium

circus

Medea statue

former resort area along the Black Sea coast.

Twin towns:

Italy, Bari

Spain, San Sebastian

USA, Savannah

Greece, Piraeus

Turkey, Trabzon

Armenia, Vanadzor

Greece, Volos

Ukraine, Yalta

Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Ataturk International Airport then to Batumi International Airport.

Al Jabal al Akhdar

Al Jabal al Akhdar is situated in Libya, between the Mediterranean Sea and Libya (Marj, Al Wahat, Derna). Its coordinates are 30.76°N 21.73°E.

Jabal al Akhdar is one of the districts of Libya. It lies in the north east of the country. The capital is Bayda.

In its territory, close to the city of Shahhat, can be found the remains of the old Greek colony of Cyrene, and the neighbouring city of Apollonia, a major port in the Mediterranean Sea in Antiquity.

In its southern part is the fertile upland area of Jebel Akhdar. North of this is a dry, sub-desert area between the uplands and the Mediterranean on its northern edge.

Capital:

Bayda is a commercial and industrial city in eastern Libya. It is located in the northern Cyrenaica. With a population 250,000 people, Bayda is the fourth-largest city in Libya, after Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata. It is the capital city of the Jabal al Akhdar District.

Bayda's history stretches back to Ancient Greece, when it was known as Balagrae. The 2000 year old ruins of the ancient Greek colony Cyrene are located nearby in Shahad.

One of the greatest attractions in the city today is the tomb of a famous companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Ruwaifi bin Thabit al-Ansari. For that reason, the city was known as Sidi Rafaa after him. After the arrival of Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi in the area in the 19th century, and the construction of a zawiya, the city was renamed Az Zawiya Al Bayda. The modern city was built in the 1950s. It was originally intended to be the new capital of Libya, and most of the necessary government buildings were constructed there. Eventually, the plan to move the capital from Tripoli to Bayda was dropped. Bayda is the administrative seat for Jabal al Akhdar District today.

Bayḍāʾ means "white" in Arabic. The naming of the city is connected with the Senussi movement, which had dedicated zawiyas in the town to educate local people in Islamic theology, Quranic memorisation to the young, as well as local and tribal conflict resolution, as was customary at the time. The town became known as az-Zawiya al-Bayḍāʾ because of the white painted zawiya, which lies on top of a high hill and was clearly visible from a distance. Within time, the word zawiya was dropped and the city became known simply as Bayda.

When the settlement was first founded by the Greeks, it was known as Balagrae. During Italian rule, the city was known as Beda Littoria. During monarchy, the zawiya at Bayda was considered a focal point for the Senussi movement, and in addition to the zawiya, the city was also the political capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Libya until the 1969 Al-Fateh revolution. The zawiya still exists, but it is in a neglected state and sits near the University of Omar Al-Mukhtar at the western entrance to the city.

The city is famous for the valleys and forests nearby, which are not found in the other cities of the 'Green Mountain'—Akhdar Mountains. It is named the "Green Mountain" because they are covered by dense forests and woodlands, of which the best known are the Hamri, Alpellnj, and Belaid forests. The highest point in the Akhdar Mountains is around 850 metres, located in the Hamri area.

The Akhdar mountain range lies within the Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe ecoregion. The native flora has many plants closely related to those found in similar Greek, Italian, and Spanish coastal mountains and forests. There about 1,800 species of Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub trees, plants, and flowers. The forests are characterized by many oak species, junipers, pines, carobs, Albarbc, cypress, hawthorn, Chammari, and olive trees. There is a network of natural springs in most parts of the mountains, which makes them one of the most fertile areas of coastal Maghreb North Africa. The forested areas and springs provide habitat supportive of a diversity of birds and wildlife.

The Akhdar Mountains are part of the larger Jabal al Akhdar Plateau, an area of 15,000 square kilometres, with a length of 200 km from the Albakur in the west to the Valley of Bef to the east of Derna, and a width of 75 km. Beaches stretch along the chain for about 350 kilometres, in a diverse terrain with many coastal bays and inlets. Bayda is famous for the neighboring locale of Susa, a seaside resort on the Mediterranean Sea.

Cultivated plants include many fruit trees, including apples, grapes, nuts, and other fruits estimated at about four million trees, as well as many medicinal and herbal plants, such as thyme, wandering herb Alkhalap, and rosemary. In the past the mountains probably also had the Silphium plant, which was treasured in antiquity but is now believed to be extinct. Honey is also found in this region, due to the abundance of herbs. Bozharh is a center for the production of honey, for which Jabal al Akhdar is famous. The finest honey comes from bees which feed on the thyme and lotus plants. Honey is also extracted from the Chammari plant, which blooms in the months of December and January. Honey-murr from the cove region has proved to be useful for the treatment of liver diseases, such as diabetes.

The city of Bayda has a Mediterranean climate. It is famous for recurring snow fall and heavy rains, where the temperature rises in the summer time to 30 °C, but in the winter snow and freezing temperatures are common. The city is in a Mediterranean-Arab area about 240 km south of Crete, and it is referred to as the City of Snow, which distinguishes it from the rest of the cities of Libya. The region of Jabal al Akhdar is characterized by a moderate climate, being cold in the winter with an average annual rainfall of about 400 mm. Bayda's climate is considered by many Libyans to be the most pleasant in the country.

Bayda is one of the major cities in eastern Libya, and one of its major economic centers. It is also the industrial and commercial center in Libya. The major manufactured goods include food products, fertilizers and agricultural products, food processing, and imported goods, and produce from villages near the city in the Akhdar region, including cereals, dates, olives, wool, and meat. Bayda also has one of the most important markets of vegetables and fruits in Libya, because of the naturally fertile lands.

Financing is also important, and the city's National Commercial Bank is the second largest bank in Libya. It also has a number of other large banks, including the Office of the Central Bank of Libya in the city center. There is also the Agricultural Research Centre and the main animal and large national firms, such as Brega Oil Marketing Company and Gulf oil, are important to the city's economy. Coupled with an increase in consumer prices, is an increase in the importance of the retail sector in the economy of the city. In recent years, international privileges such as United Colors of Benetton, H & M, and Nike, have opened in Bayda.

Tourism as an industry is still in the very early stages in Libya. Bayda is an important tourist city in Libya, a base to explore the near by tourist areas such as the Ancient Greece ruins of Cyrene and Apollonia, and Libyan Desert trips south into Kufra. The village Balagrae contains several large hotels, due to the tourist population.

As with other cities in Libya, there is a reasonable amount of ethnic diversity in Bayda. The people of eastern Libya, Bayda included, have in recent centuries been of predominantly Arab descent. However, the earliest inhabitants were Berber peoples, and from the 7th century BC until the 7th century Ad, the main ethnic group was Greek. In recent times, there has been an influx of African immigrants into Bayda. The city also hosts many Egyptian immigrants. A small Greek community is also present. The Greek island of Crete is a short distance from Bayda, and many modern families in the city bear Cretan surnames.

The majority of Libyans in Bayda are of Arab descent. In the 11th century, the Sa'ada tribe from the Bani Salim migrated to Cyrenaica; each clan of the Sa'adi historically controlled a section of Libya. Bayda and its surrounding areas were controlled by the Awaqir and Barghathi clans, as well as immigrants from Misrata. In modern times, a large quantity of Libyans from different parts of the country have moved into the city.

Education in Bayda, as is the case throughout Libya, is compulsory and free. Compulsory education continues up until ninth grade. There are many public primary and secondary schools throughout the city, as well as some private and international schools such as the Pakistani school and others. Omar Al-Mukhtar University education is also free for all Libyan citizens in Bayda. It holds the country's second largest university, the former Al-Jami'a al-Libiya.

Omar Al-Mukhtar University is the second university established in the country, and the first Islamic university, but after the Revolution of 1960, it was changed to the University of Agriculture, and then to a regular university. It now includes 14 colleges in several cities, such as Tobruk and Derna.

The predominant religion in Bayda is Islam. Almost all of the city's inhabitants are Sunni Muslims. During Islamic holidays such as Ramadhan, most abstain from food; restaurants are usually empty during the day, with the exception of some expatriates and tourists. Alcohol is banned by law in Bayda and throughout Libya in accordance with Islamic principles. The conservative Islamic nature of Bayda creates a strong sense of family life in the city: almost all teenagers and young adults live at home until they marry. Many in Bayda adhere to the traditional Maliki school of religious law. In recent years however, some people are beginning to practice schools of thought popular in Saudi Arabia, such as Salafism, with an increase in the number of literalist inclined Islamic television channels. It is not uncommon, therefore, to see women wearing black niqabs and men with full beards in Bayda.

There is also a small foreign Christian community in the city. The Roman Catholic Franciscan Church of the Immaculate Conception serves Bayda's Catholic community of roughly 4,000. For Egyptian Copts, there used to be a Coptic Orthodox church, which is now closed, although there is a project to reopen the old church. There is a Church of Christ, the first major Protestant church in Bayda. Jews lived in Bayda as they did elsewhere in Libya, from Roman times until 1967, when most were airlifted out after a series of riots in the years following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. For Muslims, there are many mosques throughout the city; the oldest and best known is the Mosque Ruwayfi bin Thabit Al-Ansari; the oldest mosques are located in and around the medina.

Bayda has some of the best sports facilities in the country. The city has various sporting centres of different standards, such as football stadiums, as well as several other public and private facilities. Football is the most popular sport in Bayda, and one of the country's most successful football clubs, Alakhdhar, is based in the city.

The largest sporting centre in Bayda is the Medina al-Riyadhia. The complex is situated just north of the city centre, and houses the Al Bayda Stadium and athletics stadium, and the Slayman al Tharrat basketball stadium. Several matches of the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship were hosted at the arena.

Judo and taekwondo are popular men's sports in Bayda. In recent times, rugby sevens has seen great success, with three clubs to its name. Gyms have also become more popular in the city in recent years, because of a greater concern for healthy living amongst Libyans.

Bayda is on the historic Libyan Coastal Highway. The local road network is generally well designed. An efficient system of highways, flyovers, ringroads and underpasses serve the city, and allow for the transport of goods and vehicles. The roads are not always well-maintained however, and often have incorrect, poorly visible or no road markings, as well as potholes in some roads and inner city streets. In recent years, a rapid increase in car ownership has meant that traffic jams, lack of parking spaces and overcrowding are also common, especially on smaller streets. Road accidents are also on the rise because of the increase in vehicles and the subsequent lax in attention given by authorities to dangerous driving.

There is no systemized public transport system in Bayda, despite the city's size and significance. A popular system of microbuses has developed in recent years and covers many areas of the city, they run on fixed routes and passengers embark and disembark anywhere on the route. There are also international services to Cairo and Alexandria.

As of 2010, earthworks are underway in the city for a rail network which will traverse northern Libya. Russian Railways is responsible for the 3 year contract. In the future, a rail link may be built to both Tunisia and Egypt, forming a North African coastal rail network.

The La Abraq Airport airport has daily flights to Tripoli, and also serves the length of the line in the pilgrimage to Mecca and Jeddah. Benina International Airport serves national and international flights. Bayda port is a vital terminal for the region, and allows for the import and export of national and international goods and food products.

No coat of arms

You can get here from London by taking a plane from London-Heathrow Airport to Tripoli International Airport then to La Abraq Airport.