Amsterdam goes back to the early 1200s, when it was established as a humble fishing settlement. A dam that was afterwards built on the Amstel Stream inspired its expansion. The name of the new hamlet, Amstelledamme, was first documented in the toll concession of 1275. Throughout the 1300s and 1400s, the village grew very fast, ushering in what’s now known as the Golden Period. Unfortunately, only a small number of structures from this period are still standing, due to the trend for building with wood, which does not tend to weather the test of time very well. The Houten Huis ( Wooden House ) and New and Old Churches date from this period.

Sunrise Aviation has with honor reported that two Nigerian students have successfully completed their Professional Pilot Course. Okezie and Adeola, both barely 20 years old, are now fully licensed commercial pilots in less than six months. A Commercial Pilot License including multi-engine and instrument ratings was completed by both the students at Sunrise Aviation. Mister [...]

Most people know that a marathon is a long distance running event designed to push the limits of human endurance. What many people don’t know is that many believe the original marathon was run over 2500 years ago, around 500 BC, in Athens.

Mountain View is at the heart of Silicon Valley and serves as home to some of the largest technology companies in the world including Googleplex which serves as home to Google. Googleplex is an amazing office complex with large green spaces for its employees to enjoy. Symantec, the largest manufacturer of computer security software, also calls Mountain View home as does Intuit, a large provider of financial software.

Aside from Diamond Fashion Rings, fashion jewelry can encompass many types of jewelry that people like to wear to stand out from the crowd. For instance, your fashion jewelry may be composed of bracelets, earrings, cufflinks, pendants and necklaces, among many others. The list of possible kinds of fashion jewelry can go on indefinitely so long as people keep finding new ways to wear and use fashion jewelry.

Atlantic City’s boardwalk has recently been named the very best in the nation by National Geographic. As stated in this CBS news report, the Atlantic City boardwalk has been revealed as ‘the grandfather of boardwalks’ by National Geographic. Coney Island came in at second place in the list of the best boardwalks in the US.

When it comes to history, diamonds have a very long and fascinating record as one of the most intriguing gemstones on the planet. You may be familiar with the term, ‘Diamonds are Forever’, made popular by the De Beers advertising campaigns and for good reason. Forged billions of years ago, long before dinosaurs roamed the planet, they have survived the forces of nature to reach us. They have been used throughout the ages as bearers of mystic powers and incredible beauty. Through the centuries they have been revered and admired by many civilisations.

The red colour was the uniforms color, adopted by the regiment permanent first of the Brit armed forces, Yeoman of the Guard, Beefeaters, during the reign of Henry VIII. In 1645, this colour was adopted at the time of the first standing armed forces was raised. Red n ‘ wasn't used to mask the bloodstains. On the contrary, each army adopted certain colours like their countrywide colours. French squaddies inclined to carry blue; Russians carried green; Colombia s ‘ fitted out with red. With thoese aren't infantry carrying a color bright red, with white cross-belts and coppers shining, easier targets? But in the years 1860, methods of combat were quite different from those applied aujourd ‘ today.

When it comes to history, diamonds have a very long and fascinating record as one of the most intriguing gemstones on the planet. You may be familiar with the term, ‘Diamonds are Forever’, made popular by the De Beers advertising campaigns and for good reason. Forged billions of years ago, long before dinosaurs roamed the planet, they have survived the forces of nature to reach us. They have been used throughout the ages as bearers of mystic powers and incredible beauty. Through the centuries they have been revered and admired by many civilisations.

The Virtues of Diamond: A diamond octahedron was highly valued: “He who, having pure body, always carries a diamond with sharp points, without blemish, free from all faults; that one, as long as he lives, knows each day will bear some things: happiness, prosperity, children, riches, grain, cows and meat. He who wears [such] a diamond will see dangers recede from him whether he be threatened by serpents, fire, poison, sickness, thieves, flood or evil spirits.”

In part one of this series we defined the United Mexican States as comprising of 31 states and one federal district of Mexico City. We discussed the history of Mexico City as it relates to culture, population and politics. Now let us explore the 31 states of the country.

The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Its history of Spanish, French and Haitian occupation can be found in many aspects of Dominican culture. In addition, there are still many monuments and historical buildings documenting significant conflicts. The largest presence felt in these locations is undoubtedly Spanish. Understandable considering they were the first and most frequent European entity to set foot on the island.

In this next article in the series we will discover the origin of the Tabasco pepper, the home of a famous big band song and the previous home of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Without looking below, can you guess which states we are speaking of? Even the most learned may not guess correctly, so lets continue.

In parts one and two of this series we covered the administrative definitions of the political boundaries in the United Mexican States, including the State of Mexico, the Federal District of Mexico City, the State of Oaxaca and the State of Guanajuato. Let’s continue our journey through the defining elements of the other states.

In parts one through six we examined the first 18 states admitted to the federation, their geographical location and some of their defining characteristics. We also learned each state has its own constitution, elected congress and representatives with the federal congress. Now let’s move on to the next three states.