Outstanding Facts in Turkey

2016: July 15
In Turkey, on Friday night, sectors of the armed forces carry out a coup and decree martial law. Almost seven hours later, in the early hours of Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears before the media to declare the coup quelled, warning that "those involved will pay a high price." Thus begins an unprecedented purge of the military, police, education and justice. In the next few days, tens of thousands of people will be detained and thousands of judges will be removed from office. (5 years ago)

2001: November 24
The Turkish National Assembly ratifies the amendments to Article 41 of the Constitution to provide for the equality of spouses in marriage. Several notable changes in the Civil Code reflect the new approach to gender equality, for example, the husband is no longer the head of the family and the spouses are partners at the same time, jointly managing the union with equal decision-making power. (19 years ago)

1999: August 17
In northwestern Turkey and shortly after 3 in the morning, an earthquake of more than 7.4 degrees on the Richter scale, hits the area where a third of the country's population lives and where, in addition, the half of your valuable industry. In Izmit, just over 100 km from the capital, the epicenter has taken place. 17,000 people die immediately when their houses collapse on them, as many will die in the following days from dehydration or exhaustion. The material damage will amount to more than 6,000 million dollars. (22 years ago)

1930: March 28
Built as Byzantium around 657 BC, renamed in the 4th century AD as Constantinople after Constantine the Great made it his capital, today, this Turkish city, is officially called Istanbul due, in great measure measure to common use, since during the Ottoman period the Turks called it Istanbul, alteration of the phrase in Greek language "eis-tan-pólei", which literally means "to go to the city". (91 years ago)

1923: October 29
After abolishing the sultanate of the Ottoman Empire on November 1 of the previous year and overthrowing Sultan Mehmet VI Vahdettin, the Turkish Republic was established with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as its first president. (98 years ago)

1923: July 24
The Treaty of Lausanne (Switzerland) is signed, which establishes the borders of Turkey, a Republic born after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. (98 years ago)

1922: November 1
In Turkey, once the external threats are resolved, Kemal Ataturk leads a coup that abolishes the sultanate, ending the Ottoman empire. Already as president, Ataturk will create a modern secular state, with a broad program of reforms, which will include the abolition of the caliphate, the adoption of penal codes, Western clothing and calendar, the Latin alphabet, etc. (99 years ago)

1916: January 8
In the Gallipoli peninsula (Turkey), in the framework of the First World War, or Great War, after 11 months of bloody and ineffective advances in which 250,000 allied soldiers and as many Turks die, the British and French forces withdraw putting end to the catastrophic invasion of the Ottoman Empire. The Gallipoli peninsula, the key entrance to the Sea of Marmara, has been, during these 11 months, the scene of a terrible massacre when the Allies attacked the Turkish positions in February 1915. The Allied battleships showed their might over the artillery of Turkish land, but the naval mines decimated the Allied fleet and forced the commanders' decision to a land battle. (105 years ago)

1914: November 5
The Triple Entente of the Allied Powers (France, Russia and Great Britain) declares war on the Ottoman Empire. (107 years ago)

1885: June 7
In Constantinople (Turkey), a devastating and gigantic fire consumes more than 300 buildings in ash. (136 years ago)

1883: June 5
It leaves from the East Station in Paris (France), bound for Istanbul (Turkey), a luxury fast train, which will soon be known as the "Orient Express". The entire journey, of more than 3,000 kilometers, will take about 72 hours in glamorous carriages, with sophisticated and comfortable compartments, for millionaire passengers and members of the wealthy European aristocracy. (138 years ago)

1853: November 30
During the Crimean War, the Russians destroy the Turkish fleet located in the port of Sinope (present-day Turkey), on the Black Sea, provoking vigorous protests from Great Britain and France. By ignoring Russia, these two European powers will end up declaring war on it in March 1854. (167 years ago)

1829: September 14
The "Treaty of Andrinópolis" is signed, by means of which the great powers manage to stop the victorious march of the Russian troops on the city of Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire recognizes the political independence of the Greeks in return. (192 years ago)

1787: August 13
Turkey declares war on Russia, following Catherine II's rejection of the ultimatum given by Turkey to abandon its "protectorate" of Crimea. (234 years ago)

1770: July 6
The Russians destroy the Ottoman fleet in the naval battle of Cesme, off the Anatolian coast, accelerating Catherine II's policy of dismembering the Turkish empire. (251 years ago)

1687: November 8
The Janissaries, the elite of the Ottoman army, with an increasingly independent and influential power, overthrow Mehmet IV, and elect Suleiman III sultan of the Ottoman Empire. (334 years ago)

1509: September 14
A strong earthquake completely destroys one of the most populated neighborhoods in Constantinople (Turkey), killing more than 13,000 people and exacerbating the decline in which the ancient Byzantine capital is plunged. A special tax will be established to cover reconstruction work and more wooden houses will be built. (512 years ago)

1453: May 29
After two months of siege and unequal fighting, Constantinople (the largest city in Turkey today) falls. At dawn, 200,000 men under the command of the monarch Mehmet II assault the city defended by 7,000 soldiers. The fall of the city will radically modify the prevailing relationship of forces in the world and will momentarily isolate Europe from trade routes with Asia. (568 years ago)

1453: April 6
The Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, with an army of about 100,000 men and ten artillery batteries, including three huge cannons, begins the siege of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey). The artillery will subject the walls to an almost constant bombardment. After several skirmishes, finally, on May 29 the final attack will begin and at sunset the Janissaries will manage to break through the walls destroyed by artillery next to the door of San Romano and the Turkish flag will fly in the, until that moment, impassable walls of Constantinople. (568 years ago)

1423: September 6
In present-day Turkey, Sultan Osmanlí Amurates II orders all his brothers to be strangled to get rid of his rivals to the succession to the throne. (598 years ago)

1402: July 28
Near Ankara, in present-day Turkey, Tamerlane defeats and captures the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. After this victory the Mongols will occupy Smyrna, where they will destroy the garrison of the Hospitallers, and will reach the Bosphorus Strait. (619 years ago)

1205: April 14
In today's Turkey, on the plains of Adrianople, the scene of fierce battles for centuries to conquer Constantinople, the battle of the same name takes place in which the Bulgarians almost completely destroy the Frankish army, managing to capture their Emperor Baudouin I, from whom it will never be heard again, thus ending the goal of conquering the Byzantine Empire. (816 years ago)

1204: May 16
At the Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul, Turkey, Baudouin IX is crowned the first Latin emperor as Baldwin I. The Latin Empire replaces the Byzantine Empire as successor to the Roman Empire in the east, with a Western Catholic emperor in place. of the Eastern Orthodox emperors. This Empire will not achieve political and economic domination over the other Latin fiefdoms and will go into decline until its end in 1261. (817 years ago)

1204: April 12
Alexius V, the last Greek emperor of a united Byzantium and who has led the defense of Constantinople with great courage, flees the city when he sees the desperate situation due to the siege to which the Fourth Crusade is subjecting it, which this very day will conquer the city. (817 years ago)

1098: June 3
The troops of the First Crusade, who in the early hours of the 2nd to the 3rd captured Antioch (Turkey), organize a massacre of the entire Turkish population that is exterminated, without sparing the lives of the elderly, women or children who inhabit the city. The looting and pillaging will continue until late in the afternoon of the following day. Subsequently, on November 5, Antioch will be assigned to Bohemond of Tarentum, becoming part of the Principality of Antioch, in the midst of the opposition of Raymond IV of Tolosa, who will be the only one who will insist on fulfilling the oath of fidelity taken to the emperor Alexius I, but that the other crusaders will refuse to comply, as the emperor did not give them the promised help during the siege of the city. (923 years ago)

1097: October 21
The crusaders, led by Geoffrey of Bouillon, Bohemond of Tarentum, and Raymond IV of Tolosa, begin the siege of Antioch (present-day Turkey), a city that they will conquer on June 2, 1098. (924 years ago)

1097: July 1
After the siege of Nicea on June 19, the crusader army of Bohemond of Tarentum advanced towards Jerusalem when, at dawn today, in Dorilea (Anatolia, Turkey), it was attacked by surprise by the soldiers of Kilij Arslan I, leading to the Battle of Dorilea. Godfrey de Bouillon will break the Turkish line and defeat the Muslim army thanks to the later help of Adhemar de Le Puy, who will attack from the rear. (924 years ago)

1097: June 19
At dawn on this day, after a siege that began on May 14, the crusaders wake up observing the Byzantine banners raised on the walls of the city of Nicea (in present-day Turkey), as Sultan Kilij Arslan I surrendered to the Byzantine Emperor Alejo I. Thus the taking of this city takes place during the First Crusade that passes to the power of the crusaders. In a week, on the 26th, the Crusaders will hand over the custody of Nicaea to the Byzantines and set out for Antioch, halfway between Constantinople and Jerusalem, where they will begin another long siege. (924 years ago)

1071: August 26
At the Battle of Manzikert (present-day Turkey), the Seljuk Turks under the command of Alp Arslan defeat the Byzantine troops and capture the Roman Emperor IV Diogenes, who is brought before Alp Arslán who is magnanimous in victory and sets him free. after signing a peace treaty in acceptable conditions: Romano will pay a million coins and deliver Manzikert, Edessa, Manjib and Antioch, which will mark the beginning of the fall of the Byzantine Empire by opening the doors of Anatolia to the Turkish push and the repopulation of numerous areas of Asia Minor. In exchange for this, both empires will remain at peace. Once Roman IV died, Alp Arslam will consider that the deal agreed by both after the battle of Manzikert will have expired and he will feel liberated to continue attacking the Byzantine Empire. (950 years ago)

963: August 16
Nicephorus II "Phocas", prominent general, is crowned Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in Santa Sofia by Patriarch Polyeuctus, after the premature death of Roman II, probably by poisoning. In 969 he was assassinated in a plot in which his wife and nephew Juan Tzimisces participated. (1058 years ago)

867: September 23
In Byzantium, present-day Turkey, after assassinating his protector, Emperor Michael III, Basilio I, a native of Macedonia, ascended to the throne, thus founding the so-called Macedonian dynasty. During his reign, the Byzantine Empire will expand territorially and will become the greatest power in Europe of its time, achieving important victories over its enemies who threaten its borders. Basilio will also initiate a reform of the legal codes, which will end with his son León VI. He will die with high fevers due to a hunting accident in 886. (1154 years ago)

717: August 15
The second Arab siege of the city begins in Constantinople (Turkey), one of the largest Islamic campaigns against the Byzantine Empire that for 12 months will surround the capital of the empire with a great army that by land and sea. Had it succeeded, it could have spelled the end of Europe as we know it. (1304 years ago)

532: January 11
In Byzantium (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) the rebellion of Nika broke out, shaking the throne of Emperor Justinian I, when General Hypatio was proclaimed emperor by the people. This same day, with the fortitude of the Empress Theodora, the troops of Belisarius arrest and execute him. In a week, on January 18, the final triumph of Justinian I over the popular revolt will take place, allowing him to face a vast plan of internal reforms and military expansion in the West. The rebels will be mercilessly slaughtered. (1489 years ago)

475: January 9
A revolt instigated by Verina in favor of her brother Basilisco, forces the Byzantine emperor Zeno to flee from his capital in Constantinople (present-day Turkey). The emperor will hide in a fortress in Antioch where he will spend the next year and a half recruiting an army to march on Constantinople in August 476. Then chaos will reign in the capital where Basilisk is little loved so the entry into the city will take place practically without opposition being Zeno restored to the throne. (1546 years ago)

457: February 7
Supported by the head of the Gothic militias, Leo I the Great (401-474) ascends to the throne of Byzantium, who will establish the divine nature of the Eastern emperors. During his reign, the Balkans will be devastated by the Ostrogoths and the Huns. In October 473, he designated his grandson, Leo II as his successor, dying four months later. (1564 years ago)

451: October 8
Under the authority of Pope Saint Leo I the Great, the ecumenical council of Chalcedon (modern Turkey) begins in which the two natures of Jesus Christ are proclaimed in one person: divine and human. (1570 years ago)

382: October 3
In Constantinople (present-day Turkey), the Roman emperor Theodosius I signs peace with the Visigoths, by which, and with subsidies paid by the imperial government, they are allowed to settle south of the banks of the Danube River with the commitment to fight by the Empire when required. (1639 years ago)

378: August 9
The Battle of Adrianople (in present-day Turkey) takes place when the Visigoths face the Roman army of 60,000 troops led by the Emperor Valente, who falls dead in the battle, along with 40,000 other Romans. After this battle the barbarians will notice the weakness of Rome and will continue to make frequent incursions into Roman territory, being the beginning, to a certain extent, of the decline of the Empire, which after the sack of Rome in 410 by Alaric's troops, will culminate with the final fall at 476. (1643 years ago)

335: September 19
In Byzantium (present-day Turkey), Flavius Dalmatius, censor and nephew of Constantine I the Great, is elevated to the rank of Caesar, with control of Thrace, Aquea and Macedonia. He will be killed by his own soldiers in the late summer of 337. (1686 years ago)

330: May 11
After six years of work, and still without finishing the works, Emperor Constantine the Great proclaims Byzantium (Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, in Turkey) as the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, an act that will help transform it into one of the main cities of the world. (1691 years ago)

325: August 25
In the kingdom of Bithynia, the Council of Nicea (city of Asia Minor in Turkey) concludes, the first ecumenical council of the Christian church convened by Emperor Constantine I the Great, to put an end to the Arianism controversy, reaching the conclusion of that the Son of God possesses the same nature as God the Father. From this Council will emerge the "Nicene Creed", which is the most universally accepted Christian creed. (1696 years ago)

324: September 18
In the Battle of Chrysopolis (current Uskudar, Turkey) the final encounter between Constantine the Great and Licinius takes place, who is defeated and captured, establishing the exclusive control of Constantine over the Roman Empire. (1697 years ago)

321: March 7
From Constantinople, present-day Turkey, Constantine I the Great, to reinforce his imperial authority for administrative purposes against Licinius, decrees by edict that the "dies solis" (current Sunday) will be a holiday, gradually entering the traditions of the Church, replacing thus to Saturday, until then the most guarded by Christians. On November 3, 383, another emperor, Theodosius I, established that the day of rest, the "dies solis", would be renamed "dies dominicus." (1700 years ago)

313: June 13
In Nicomedia (present day Izmit, Anatolia, Turkey), the Roman emperor Flavio Galerio Valerio Licinius Licinius publishes what later will be known like "Edict of Milan" admitting the freedom of worship of all the religions in the territories of the Empire. In this way Christianity is legalized, although this edict does not make it the official religion of the Empire, but it does grant Christians the same rights as other citizens. (1708 years ago)

69aC: October 6
In Tigranocerta, former capital of the Armenian Empire (in present-day Turkey), the Battle of Triganocerta takes place where the Roman forces, commanded by the consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus, defeat the army of Tigranes II, which doubles them in number, and takes the capital after the battle. (2090 years ago)

356BC: July 21
In Ephesus, an ancient town in Asia Minor, near the current city of Smyrna, in Turkey, the Temple of Artemis is burned by the arsonist shepherd Erostratus, who does so seeking a path to personal fame at any cost. With its destruction, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World disappears, and a place of worship visited by thousands of worshipers from all over the known world. (2377 years ago)

1906: January 20
Born in Izmir (Turkey) Aristotle Onassis, businessman in the shipping industry and Greek billionaire. (115 years ago)

1792: December 12
Born in Constantinople (Turkey) Alejandro Ypsilantis, who will be the leader of the secret society for the independence of Greece, Philikí Hetairía. In 1821, he will fight against the Ottoman domination, and will enter Moldavia, in Turkish hands, with a small army. In 1822, his brother Dimitros convened an assembly proclaiming the independence of Greece in the theater of Epidaurus. (228 years ago)

1642: January 2
In the Topkapi Palace of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), capital of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV was born, son of Ibrahim I. At just 6 years old, in 1648, he ascended to the throne as sultan, marking the end of a very unstable time for the Ottoman dynasty. In 1687 he was overthrown by the Janissaries and replaced by his brother Suleiman II. (379 years ago)

1566: May 26
Mehmed III, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603, was born in Manisa, Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey). Frivolous and idle ruler, he will order the strangulation of his 19 brothers to achieve the succession. (455 years ago)

1524: May 28
In the city of Istanbul (Turkey), the one who will be sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death was born: Selim II. Son of Suleiman the Magnificent and his favorite Aleksandra, he will come to the throne through palace intrigues and family disputes. He will be the first sultan who will not continue with the military campaigns and will leave power in the hands of his ministers, to be left alone during their revelries and orgies. For this reason he will be known as Selim "the Beodo". (497 years ago)

1432: March 30
In Edirne (Turkey), capital of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed II, nicknamed "the Conqueror", was born, son of Murad II, who will be the Ottoman Sultan of the Osmanli dynasty between 1451 and 1481. In 1453 he will take Constantinople, which will mean the end of the Byzantine Empire. He will establish the borders of his empire on the Danube. (589 years ago)

905: September 2
In Constantinople, present-day Istanbul (Turkey), he was born who from 912, and first under the regency of his uncle Alexander, and after his mother Zoé and later dominated by his father-in-law, and until his death in 959, will be Emperor Byzantine under the name of Constantine VII. It will continue the wars against the Muslims of Mesopotamia and Syria, stop the advance of the Hungarians and maintain diplomatic relations with Russia. He will be known as a scholar and writer. (1116 years ago)

Reported deaths in Turkey
2006: November 5
In Ankara, the capital of Turkey, the Turkish politician Bulent Ecevit, a secular and modernist mindset, and close from a young age to the Turkish left, died of a stroke. He was Prime Minister of his country several times and champion of the renewal and modernization of Turkey in order to achieve the approach to the Western model. (15 years ago)

1938: November 10
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President of the Republic and sponsor of the secularization of Islamic society, dies in Turkey. (83 years ago) 1774: January 21In Costantinople, Turkey, the caliph and sultan of the Ottoman empire Mustafa III, who attempted government and military reforms aimed at halting the fall of the empire, passed away. In spite of everything, his reign has been characterized by the loss of power and territories. His brother Abdul Hamid will succeed him. (247 years ago)

1574: December 12
In the city of Istanbul (Turkey), Selim II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death today, dies. He was one of the sons of Suleiman the Magnificent and his favorite Aleksandra. After acceding to the throne through palace intrigues and family disputes, he became the first sultan who did not want to continue with the military campaigns, delegating control to his ministers, in exchange for being left free for his great revelries and orgies. So he was known as Selim "the Beodo". (446 years ago)

1448: October 31
In Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire (now Turkey), Emperor Juan VIII Palaiologos, son of Manuel II, dies. In his fight against the Ottoman Turks, he requested military support in the West and tried to contain the fall of the Empire by uniting the Greek and Roman churches at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1439. (573 years ago)

1425: July 21
The Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, who during his reign suffered border pressure from the Ottoman Turks under the command of Sultan Bayezid, dies in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), the Byzantine emperor since 1391, a situation that was appeased by the appearance of the Turkish-Mongolian Tamerlane. who went to war against Bayezid. Thanks to his great diplomatic work, the final conquest of the Byzantine Empire at the hands of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II will be delayed until 1453. (596 years ago)

1282: December 11
In Turkish Thrace, along the shores of the Sea of Marmara, Michael VIII, emperor of Byzantium since 1261 and founder of the Palaiologos dynasty that will rule until the end of the Byzantine empire in 1453, dies. (738 years ago)

1190: June 10
The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa), whose reign represents the heyday of the Holy Roman Empire by consolidating imperial power, both within Germany and in northern Italy, and introducing a unified legislative body, again resorting to law Roman, falls from his horse and suffocates from the weight of his armor while trying to cross the Saleph River in Anatolia, present-day Turkey, during the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. (831 years ago)

1133: February 19
In Constantinople, Irene Ducas, Byzantine empress, married to Emperor Alexios I at the age of fifteen, died. He had nine children, including John II Komnenos, who succeeded his father to the Byzantine throne in 1118, and the historian Ana Komnenos. (888 years ago)

1056: August 31
In Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey), the Empress Teodora Porfirogeneta died suddenly without leaving an heir, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty. Power struggles will be unleashed between various noble families that will last until 1081 when Alexios I begins the dynasty of the Comnenos. (965 years ago)

1034: April 11
The Roman Emperor of Byzantium Romano III is assassinated in Constantinople (present-day Turkey), probably by order of his wife Zoé, for ignoring a plot that his sister Theodora was preparing to overthrow them. In life he tried to win over his subjects with a tax reduction policy that put the empire's coffers in serious difficulties. (987 years ago)

711: November 4
On the outskirts of Damatrys, Bithynia, present-day Turkey, Justinian II, emperor of the Romans, is executed for two separate periods, from 685 to 695 and from 705 to 711. Justinian II, who had assumed command of the empire in 685 with just 16 years ago, he soon revealed his lust for power characteristic of the Heraclian dynasty, exercising an aggressive despotism. This led to a revolt that in 695, the intermediate period, reached its peak, being overthrown and occupied by the usurping generals Leoncio and Tiberio III. Leontius ordered Justinian's nose to be cut off to incapacitate him as emperor. In spite of everything, in 705 Justianiano regained power by pursuing his enemies with blood and fire and murdering hundreds of people in the capital, accused of possible collaborations against him. So much nonsense took its toll and, finally, on this day, an officer cuts off his head, which he will send to Rome and Ravenna to be exhibited. His son Tiberius will also be assassinated, putting an end, in this tragic way, to the Heracleian dynasty. (1310 years ago)

565: November 14
Justinian I the Great, emperor of the Romans from August 1, 527 until his death, dies in Constaninople, present-day Turkey. He wanted to restore the old empire. (1456 years ago)

548: June 28
The empress Theodora, wife of Emperor Justinian I, died of cancer in Constantinople who, with her determined attitude, saved her husband's life and throne during the Nika uprising in 532. As a co-regent with her husband, she had great He influenced the politics of the Eastern Empire and was in charge of enacting various laws to protect the rights of women. She was originally a circus actress and Justiniano, to marry, had to annul the existing prohibition against marriages between the nobility and former actresses. (1473 years ago)

450: July 28
After reigning for 42 years, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire Theodosius II died in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). During his tenure, his Empire warred against the Huns and Persians, ordered the construction of the Walls of Constantinople, and two important Christological controversies took place with Nestorians and Eutychians. Also, in the year 429 he dictated the compilation of the laws in force known as the "Theodosian Code" that finally saw the light in the year 438. (1571 years ago)

337: May 22
Constantine I the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, and the first of them converted to Christianity, died in Ancycrona (present-day Turkey). He founded Constantinople (modern Istanbul), as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. (1684 years ago)

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Top 10 Amazing Facts About Bolivia

We’re back on the road again, crossing the exotic lands of South America for a stop off in Bolivia to see exactly why over one million people visit these exotic lands every year! So, fry up your salchipapa and grab a glass of mocochinchi as we explore this multi-ethnic and diversified country with these ten amazing facts about Bolivia.

10. Cuisine of Bolivia
Vegetarians and pet owners look away now – Bolivia’s specialty dish is... guinea pig! Guinea pig, or cuy, has been a traditional part of the Bolivian diet for many years as it is a major source of protein and is also considerably easy to raise. If you don’t have the stomach for guinea pig, other dishes on the menu include salteña, an empanada-style pastry filled with beef, pork or chicken, or Silpancho, a super filling dish consisting of rice, potato, meat, egg, vegetables and herbs. Feeling a little parched? Try a traditional licuado, a water or milk-based beverage blended with your choice of fruit.

9. World records
When it comes to setting world records, Bolivians are all about size. The largest charango - which is a South American guitar - was created in 2004 measuring 20-feet or 6.1-meters long, and the largest morenada dance, or Bolivian folk dance, was achieved in 2014 involving an incredible 3014 people. Bolivia also boasts three of the largest musical ensembles – 2,317 panpipes in 2004, 1,166 trumpets in 2006, and 1,157 charangos in 2009.

8. Famous Bolivians
Bolivia boasts many well-known faces, and you may recognize actresses Carla Ortiz, Tanya Callau and Ximena Herrera from such movies as Forgotten and The Princess Diaries 2. Bolivian football stars include Gilbert Álvarez and Carlos Saucedo, who have both played for their national team. Maria Fernanda Álvarez is also a recognizable Bolivian known for her tennis prowess and you may even recognize Claudia Balderrama, who competed at the 2012 summer Olympics as a race-walker. Bolivia is also the birthplace of several internet stars, including amazing YouTubers Elias Ayaviri, Favio Apaza-MansOn, and VicenticoTD, and Blogger Andrea Roman. Inventions include the Tiki-Taka - or click-clackers - a toy to both entertain and test your balance and skill; Coca Lorini, a syrup-type elixir that predates and paved the way for Coca-Cola, and Nit Occlud, a medical device for treating infant heart problems.

7. Stunning Sights
Bolivia’s most stunning sight is the Salar de Uyuni, a salt flat that surpasses any other. At over 4,000 sq-miles (10,000 square km), it is the largest salt flat in the world and measures roughly the size of Jamaica. Travelers have been known to spend days exploring this giant mirror-like wonder. Visitors also tend to flock to Lake Titicaca, South America’s largest lake by volume. Straddling the border with Peru, Titicaca measures up at 3,232 sq-miles (8,372 square-km) and is considered by many locals to be sa cred.

6. Sacred Lake Titicaca
Sacred Lake Titicaca has incredible origins and is said to be the birthplace of the region’s ancient civilization. The Inca myth states that the god Con Tiqui Viracocha, emerged from Titicaca, bringing with him a small group of humans. Under his orders, the sun, moon, and the stars rose into the sky, creating the universe which he populated with people created from stone. As the human populace was brought to life, Viracocha commanded them to populate the world, creating the ancient civilizations that predate the modern world. According to the Incas, after death, their spirit will return to Lake Titicaca for eternity.

5. Sports of Bolivia
As is the case with most South American nations, Bolivians are huge football fans, and the sport has an almost religious following. Club Bolívar is the most successful team in Bolivia and is currently at the top of the league. It’s also the only Bolivian team to reach the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores tournament, the major South American club tournament. Bolivia’s love of football is so strong that they bring that love indoors with a version of the sport called Futsal, or futsala, which can be played on a basketball court and uses smaller goals and balls and teams of only 5.

4. Bolivians and Nature
As of 2001, though 78% of Bolivia's population identifies as Roman Catholic, the nation's traditions are more deeply rooted in their respect for nature rather than the religion they follow. Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth, is still worshiped by many who offer sacrifices of llama to bring good luck and fortune. Bolivian’s have so much respect for nature in fact, that in 2010 the government passed the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, which grants nature the right to pure water, clean air, and to live free of contamination.

3. Bolivia’s festivals
Bolivians enjoy many fun-filled fiestas throughout the year, starting with the Alasitas Fair in January. The month-long festival is dedicated to giving gifts to Ekeko, the god of abundance. One quirky festival that sounds less enjoyable than most is Tinku. Loosely translating to “violent encounter,” brutal ritualistic combat erupts in the hill-towns of Bolivia once a year. Using fists and stones, participants supposedly fight to honor Pacha Mama, but nowadays it’s more to prove bravery. Warfare is so vicious that deaths are reported each year, meaning you’ll want to avoid the Bolivian highlands during early May if you plan to vacation there.

2. Bolivia’s Battle for Independence
Bolivia’s independence was hard fought for against the Spanish and 16 years of bloody wars were endured so that Bolivia could have the right to govern itself. Before becoming its own nation, Bolivia was part of the Spanish Río de la Plata viceroyalty. After failed revolutions in Sucre and La Paz in 1809, Spanish authorities continued to reign. But, as the Spanish American wars of Independence raged across the continent, Bolivians continued to fight for their freedom under the campaign of Simón Bolívar. Support came from the north via Bolívar’s friend and fellow Venezuelan Antonio José de Sucre, for whom the capital is now named. Independence was finally declared on August 6th, 1825, and Bolivians celebrate each year with parades and fireworks.

1. The Naming of “Bolivia”
Born in 1783 to a wealthy Creole family in Venezuela, Simón Bolívar was a military and political leader who played an integral part in the independence of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Upon its independence, the country was granted the right to a name of its own. Initially, the Republic of Bolívar stuck until congressman Manuel Martín Cruz declared that “if from Romulus comes Rome, then from Bolívar comes Bolivia”. The new name was made official in 1825, but was changed to “Plurinational State of Bolivia” in 2009, to recognize the diversity and multiple ethnicities spread throughout.

Top 10 Amazing Facts About China

Are you ready for another journey across the globe, fellow Archivists? For our next stop, we're going to a place that covers 3.7 million square-miles (9.6 million square-km) of the Earth and boasts the largest registered population at 1.4 billion people. China is a fascinating land filled with so many intriguing tidbits that it was quite the renwu (yen-woo) to narrow down a list of only the top ten amazing facts about the China Red Dragon.

10. A Longstanding Feud
During the Tang Dynasty, Chinese and Japanese relations were amicable, but it was a pleasant time that wouldn't last forever. Though the nations feuded over control of Korea, there was a relative peace between the two. Unfortunately, that wouldn't last forever, and when Commodore Perry butted into Japanese affairs in 1850, the empire was forced out of isolation and quickly became a military power, surpassing China. Though China started to admire Japan, radicals in the budding nation felt its Asian counterpart was inferior. This was most evident in the early 20th century, when Japan pushed into Chinese territories, sparking the Second Sino-Japanese War. Even today, anti-Japanese sentiment is rampant in China - and vice versa for Japan.

9. The Cuisine of China
It's time to clear something up. That take-out you get from the Flaming Panda every Friday night isn't exactly Chinese food. Sure, it's generally inspired by it, but it's very Americanized. In 2014, Business Insider did a piece on the dishes you should order from a Chinese restaurant, comparing them to the American versions. For instance, the crab rangoon you get isn't a Chinese delicacy, but Xiao Long Bao from Shanghai, which is filled with real crab or pork, is. As much as you may love Fortune Cookies, their country of origin is - you guessed it - the United States of America. Chinese take-out is considerably heavier than authentic Chinese food, as seen with the American-style egg roll and lo mein noodles. Instead, go for cong you bing, or scallion pancakes, and zha jiang mian (Ja jee-ang mee-en), a lighter noodle dish with stir-fried pork and fermented soybean paste.

8. Famous People of China
When you think of famous people from China, you may immediately think of General Tso, the man that created the popular chicken dish. Except he didn't, and Zuo Zongtang (Zow Zong-Tang) wasn't what we'd call "famous." Instead, you should think of people like the Dalai Lama who, despite being born in Tibet, was exiled to India and the ancient Chinese teacher and philosopher, Confucius. More modern recognizable names include Bruce Lee, Yao Ming, Jackie Chan, John Woo, Jet Li, Ming-Na, Zhang Ziyi, and Chow Yun-fat.

7. The Cave People of China
Not only are there an abundance of caves scattered across China's landscape, many of them are inhabited by people. According to a 2012 report by the Los Angeles Times, an estimated 30 million people in China live in caves. That's approximately 2% of the population. A bulk of that populous can be found in the Shaanxi province, which is known for porous and soft soil. Even well before modern man, the Zhoukoudian (Jo-Ko-Dee-On) cave system was inhabited by the Peking Man. One downfall of living in a cave, says Ren Shouhua (Show-Wa), who grew up in a cave, is that you aren't guaranteed modern conveniences, though some ritzier dwellings are equipped with electricity and running water.

6. Panda Diplomacy
Wouldn't the world be a better place if pandas could be gifted to other countries as a symbol of good faith and appreciation? Hate to break it to you, but panda gifting isn't the fix-all for the world's issues as China has implemented "Panda Diplomacy" dating as far back as the Tang Dynasty. The first use of the practice was when Empress Wu Zetian gifted pandas to the Japanese emperor...and we see how that ultimately turned out. As recently as 2014, Panda Diplomacy has been in practice with the last exchange being two pandas that were sent to Malaysia in celebration of 40 years of diplomatic ties.

5. Chinese Inventions
As much as people from the U.S. may joke about items "Made in China," many of the inventions today came from brilliant Chinese minds. Americans should, at the very least, praise China for its hand in creating gunpowder, which was a strange side effect created during the search for human immortality. We also have China to thank for silk, umbrellas, the compass, deepwater drilling, and even paper. The process of fermentation, which is used in alcohol production, is also said to have roots in ancient China.

4. China and Sports
We've covered much of the world but we're most excited to get to China so that we can talk about one of the nation's most popular sports - Pingpang. You may know it better as table tennis or ping pong. There was a time when ping pong was the only sport in China, and was the equivalent to football in the United States in popularity. If you thought Panda Diplomacy was nuts, China and the United States underwent "Ping-pong diplomacy," where the two nations exchanged table tennis players in the 1970s. Other sports that have a big pull in China include badminton, basketball, and soccer.

3. China's World Records
With a population of more than 1.4 billion people and growing, there are bound to be quite a few world record holders; and according to the Guinness World Records, in China, there are more than we have time for. In June of 2012, Liu Yang became the first female astronaut from China. In 2011, Kaifeng City in the Henan Province broke the record for longest carpet of flowers, measuring 6,597 feet and 8 inches (2,011 m). May of 2012 saw the record of the largest trouser mosaic, made from 23,171 trousers, and, in 2006, China was crowned for having the most hospitals. The list goes on and on, like earning a record for the largest producer of energy, highest consumption of cigarettes and honey, and the longest distance on a tightrope with a motorcycle with no front wheel.

2. The One-Child Policy
From 1979 to 2015, China implemented a policy that forced Han Chinese families to restrict their family size to one child per household. The fear was that China's population would grow to a point where an overpopulation catastrophe was inevitable. Limiting families to one child was believed to eventually have a positive effect on social, economic, and environmental strains. Families that didn't adhere to the policy faced income-based fines. On January 1st, 2016, the law was changed to a two-child policy, allowing families to have two children. The policy led to the creation of the term "black child," which is a baby that's born outside of the policy and not registered with the national household registration system.

1. The War on Pollution
If nations are going to lead the charge against pollution, China should definitely be one of the principal factions. When China hit a period of growth around the early 2000s, its increase in industry also created an exponential increase in carbon dioxide emissions, nearly doubling its production within a matter of years. Realizing something would have to be done, the nation started to combat pollution in an aggressive manner. Since 2015, China led the world in electronic vehicle sales and saw a drastic increase in use of solar panels. To further limit its production of pollution, which is estimated to cause 1.6 million deaths per year in the nation, China has also been pursuing wind energy and changing from coal to hydrogen.

10 Big Facts About The USA

10. President McKinley almost always wore a red carnation as a good luck charm. In 1901, moments after giving the flower to a little girl, he was assassinated.

09. There are tiny hidden images of an owl and spider hidden on the $1 bill. Many claim they are symbols of a Masonic club with several presidential members.

08. The US government are still paying 2 civil war pensions to the children of soldiers. They receive $867 a year. The last widow of the Civil War died in 2003.

07. In 1950 Tootsie Rolls were accidentally sent to fighting US Marines instead of ammunition. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir was lost when a request for the snack - codeword for ammunition-was taken literally.

06. 14,000 firework displays take place during 4th July celebrations. In 2013, 7400 were hospitalized with firework related injuries, with sparklers the number 1 cause.

05. John Adams & Thomas Jefferson both died on 4th July 1826 - exactly 50 years after signing the Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were “Jefferson Survives”, unaware his political rival had died hours earlier.

04. The 50-star USA flag was designed for a school project by Robert Heft, aged 17. His B- grade was raised to an A after chosen by President Eisenhower.

03. In New Jersey it is illegal to commit murder while wearing a bulletproof vest. In Ohio it is illegal to get a fish drunk & hunt whales on a Sunday.

02. In 1980 Saddam Hussein was given the key to the city & made an honorary citizen of Detroit. The honor came after he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to clear the debt of a Detroit Church.

01. The American National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, was composed by a British man. Francis Scott Key set his lyrics to the tune of a drinking song played in a London social club.