Happy Birthday to Panama!

Market in Serekunda, the largest city in The Gambia. *Photo from Wikipedia February 18 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965. The Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese, during which era it was A Gâmbia, and later, on May 25, 1765, the Gambia was made a part of the British colony when the government formally assumed control, establishing the Province of Senegambia. On

Old City of Luxembourg at night. Luxembourg, also known as Luxembourg City, is the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. *Photo from Wikipedia June 23 is Grand Duke’s Official Birthday, also known as Luxembourgish National Day. It is celebrated on 23 June, although this has never been the actual birthday of any ruler of Luxembourg. Although its recorded history can be traced back to Roman times, the history of Luxembourg proper is considered to begin in 963. Over the following five centuries, the powerful House of Luxembourg emerged, but its extinction put an end to the country’s independence.

A Pakistani dish prepared using the tandoori method (*tandoor is a variety of ovens, the most commonly known is a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cooking and baking). *Photo from Wikipedia August 14 is Pakistan’s Independence Day, which celebrates the country’s independence from the British rule on that date in 1947. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander III of Macedon, the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Afghan Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire (partially), and most recently,