MET Column | My Eyes Tokyo

Happy Birthday to Antigua and Barbuda!

2018-11-01

English Harbour, Antigua. *Photo from Wikipedia November 1 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Antigua and Barbuda from the United Kingdom in 1981. The islands were inhabited by three successive Amerindian (Pre-Columbian peoples of the Americans) societies. The islands were neglected by the first wave of European colonization, but were settled by England in 1632. Under British control, the islands witnessed an influx of both Britons and African slaves. In 1981, the islands were granted independence as the modern state of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island country lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic

Happy Birthday to Turkey!

2018-10-29

İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul is visited by nearly 3 million people on weekend days. *Photo from Wikipedia October 29 is the Republic Day of Turkey, commemorating the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic age by various ancient Anatolian civilizations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Great conquered these lands, the area was Hellenized, a process which continued under the Roman Empire and its transition into the Byzantine Empire. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into the area in the 11th century, starting

Happy Birthday to Czech & Slovakia!

2018-10-28

The declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia. *Photo from Wikipedia October 28 is Day of the Establishment of an Independent Czecho-Slovak State, celebrates the independence of Czechoslovakia from Austria-Hungary in 1918. Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918 until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993. From 1939 to 1945, following its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, the state did not de facto exist but its government-in-exile continued to operate. From 1948 to 1990, Czechoslovakia was part of the Soviet bloc with a command

Happy Birthday to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines!

2018-10-27

The island of Mustique in the Grenadines. *Photo from Wikipedia October 27 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from United Kingdom in 1979. The island now known as Saint Vincent was originally named Youloumain by the native Island Caribs who called themselves Kalina/Carina. The Caribs aggressively prevented European settlement on Saint Vincent until 1719. Prior to this, formerly enslaved Africans, who had either been shipwrecked or who had escaped from Barbados, Saint Lucia and Grenada and sought refuge in mainland Saint Vincent, intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Black Caribs or Garifuna.

Happy Birthday to Turkmenistan!

2018-10-27

Darvaza gas crater, known locally as the “Door to Hell” or ”Gates of Hell”, a natural gas field collapsed into an underground cavern located in Derweze, Turkmenistan. Geologists set it on fire to prevent the spread of methane gas, and it is thought to have been burning continuously since 1971. The diameter of the crater is 69 meters (226 ft), and its depth is 30 meters (98 ft). *Photo from Wikipedia October 27 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Turkmenistan from USSR in 1991. The region’s written history begins with the region’s conquest by the Achaemenid Empire of ancient

Happy Austria’s National Day!

2018-10-26

World-famous Vienna State Opera. *Photo from Wikipedia October 26 is National Day of Austria, celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Neutrality in 1955. Formally, the declaration was promulgated voluntarily by the Republic of Austria. Politically, it was the direct consequence of the allied occupation by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France between 1945 and 1955, from which the country was freed by the Austrian State Treaty (May 15, 1955). Since then, neutrality has become a deeply ingrained element of Austrian identity. Austria’s national holiday on October 26 commemorates the declaration. Austria was dominated by

Happy Birthday to Zambia!

2018-10-24

Pupils at a girls’ secondary school in Zambia. *Photo from Wikipedia October 24 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Zambia from United Kingdom in 1964. Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region was affected by the Bantu expansion of the 13th century. After visits by European explorers in the 18th century, Zambia became the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the 19th century. For most of the colonial period, Zambia was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company. On October 24, 1964, Zambia became independent of the

Happy Hungary’s National Day!

2018-10-23

Crowd cheers Hungarian troops in Budapest. *Photo from Wikipedia October 23 is Memorial day of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Also the day of the proclamation of the Third Hungarian Republic (1989). The day is celebrated with speeches and exhibitions. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from October 23 until November 10, 1956. Though leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR’s forces drove Nazi Germany from its territory

Happy Columbus Day! *Latin America/Italy/Spain

2018-10-12

Landing of Columbus (12 October 1492), painting by John Vanderlyn. *Photo from Wikipedia October 12 is Columbus Day, a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. The landing is celebrated as; Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) (some countries in Latin America) Día de la Hispanidad/Fiesta Nacional (Spain) Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) (Belize, Uruguay) Día de la Raza to Día del Encuentro de las Culturas (Day of the Encounter of Cultures) (Costa Rica) El día

Happy Birthday to Equatorial Guinea!

2018-10-12

Malabo (formerly Santa Isabel), the capital of Equatorial Guinea. *Photo from Wikipedia October 12 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Equatorial Guinea from Spain in 1968. The Portuguese explorer Fernando Pó, seeking a path to India, is credited as being the first European to discover the island of Bioko in 1472. In 1778, Queen Maria I of Portugal and King Charles III of Spain signed the Treaty of El Pardo which ceded Bioko, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the Bight of Biafra between the Niger and Ogoue rivers to Spain. From 1827 to 1843, the United Kingdom had

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