East Timor

We just learned about the country of Tajikistan

Let's learn a little about the country of East Timor, also called the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste!

This is a small country in Asia, that is just on the eastern half of the island of Timor.
The other half of the island is part of the country of Indonesia.

It is about 6,000 square miles, and has a little over 1 million people living there.
People in this country speak either Portuguese, Tetuma or English.


(from: wikipedia - east timor)

The flag of East Timor has a red background, with a yellow triangle covered by a black triangle, and a white star.
The yellow is for the country's history, the black is for truth, the red is for freedom, and the star is for peace.


(from: wikipedia - flag of east timor)

To eat in East Timor you might have bibinka, which is a kind of coconut cake.


(from: wikipedia - bibingka)

Visiting East Timor you might go see the statue Cristo Rei of Dili, which means Christ the King of Dili.
It is an 88 foot tall sculpture of Jesus standing on a globe, on top of a hill.
Below the statue is a small church, and behind the statue is a beach called Jesus' Backside Beach.




(from: wikipedia - cristo rei of dili)


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Tajikistan

We just learned about the country of Singapore

Let's learn a little about the country of Tajikistan!

This is a small country in Asia bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
It is about 55,000 square miles, and about 9.5 million people live there.
People in this country usually speak either the Tajik language or Russian.

(from: wikipedia - tajikistan)

The flag of Tajikistan is sideways stripes of red, white and green, with a yellow crown and stars in the white.
Red is for victory, white is for purity, and green is for nature.
The crown is for the Tajik people and the stars are for perfection and happiness.


(from: wikipedia - flag of tajikistan)

To eat in Tajikistan you might have Qurutob, which is cheese balls with bread and vegetables.


(from: wikipedia - qurutob)

Visiting Tajikistan you might go to Karakul which is a lake 16 mile wide lake inside of a 32 mile wide crater.


(from: wikipedia - karakul (tajikistan))

There is a Historical Museum of Sughd that is built inside of the ancient Khujand Fortress.

(from: wikipedia - historical museum of sughd)


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Singapore

We just learned about the country of Qatar

Let's learn a little about the country of Singapore!

This country is a small island that is just south of the country of Malaysia.
There is a river between Malaysia and Singapore, and bridges between the two countries.
It is a very small country, only 281 square miles, but it has over 5 million people living there.


(from: wikipedia - singapore)

The flag of Singapore is a red stripe over a white stripe, with a white moon and stars in the red part.
Red is for equality, white is for purity, the moon is for the growing nation, and the five stars are for democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.


(from: wikipedia - flag of singapore)

To eat in Singapore you might have bak kut teh, which is pork ribs cooked with spices, mushrooms and garlic.


(from: wikipedia - bak kut teh)

Visiting Singapore, you might go see the Botanical Gardens, which has over 200 acres of plants.

(from: wikipedia - singapore botanical gardens)

The name of Singapore means "lion city", so the city came up with a mascot called a "merlion" kind of like a mermaid but with the head of a lion.
There are many merlion statues all over Singapore.


(from: wikipedia - merlion)


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Qatar

We just learned about the country of Pakistan

Let's learn a little about the country of Qatar!

Qatar is a small country in the middle east, made up of only about 4,000 square miles but with about 2.7 million people living there.
People in Qatar mostly speak Arabic.


(from: wikipedia - qatar)

The flag of Qatar is white on the left and red on the right, and the middle is a jagged edge splitting up the two colors.

The red color is called "Qatar Maroon" and goes back over 100 years to when the country made a reddish colored dye from shellfish, and the white is for peace.


(from: wikipedia - flag of qatar)

To eat in Qatar you might have quzi, which is made of rice with lamb and nuts.


(from: wikipedia - quzi)

Visiting Qatar you might go see Al Zubara Fort, which is an old castle built in 1938.

(from: wikipedia - al zubara fort)

The Pearl is a 12 square mile man made island that was built for people to live there.


(from: wikipedia - the pearl-qatar)


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Pakistan

We just learned about the country of Oman

Let's learn a little about the country of Pakistan!

Pakistan is a medium sized country with a lot of people living there.
It is about 882,000 square miles, and has about 225 million people living there.

Pakistan borders the countries of India, Afghanistan, Iran, China, and also borders the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
In this country people speak the Urdu language.


(from: wikipedia - pakistan)

The flag of Pakistan has a white stripe on the left, and then the rest of the flag is dark green with a white moon and star.
The green flag with the white moon and star are for Islam, and the white is for Christians and Hindus.


(from: wikipedia - flag of pakistan)

To eat in Pakistan you might have Chapli Kebab which is ground beef mixed with spices and fried in a patty.


(from: wikipedia - chapli kebab)

Visiting Pakistan you might go to Lake Saiful Muluk, which is a lake surrounded by the Himalayan mountains in a place called the Kaghan Valley.


(from: wikipedia - lake saiful muluk)

There is a dam in Pakistan called Tarbela Dam, that is about 97 square miles, and helps control the water and also make electricty.


(from: wikipedia - tarbela dam)


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Oman

We just learned about the country of Mongolia.
Let's learn a little about the country of Oman! (sounds like oh-mah-n)

This is a country in the middle east, bordering United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
It is about 120,000 square miles, and 4.8 million people live there.
People in Oman speak the Arabic language.


(from: wikipedia - oman)

The flag of Oman has a red left side, and then sideways stripes of white, red green, and a white picture on the left.
Red is for the Persian Gulf, white is for the leader of the country, green is for the mountains, and the picture is swords and a dagger.

(from: wikipedia - flag of oman)

To eat in Oman you might have harees, which is wheet that is ground up, mixed with meat and water and then cooked.

(from: wikipedia - harees)

Visiting Oman you might go see Bahla Fort, which is ike a castle that was built around 1200 AD.


(from: wikipedia - bahla fort)

The capital city of Oman is called Sur, and it is right on the water so it is a famous city for sailors.

(from: wikipedia - sur, oman)


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Mongolia

We just learned about the country of Maldives

Let's learn a little about the country of Mongolia!

Mongolia is over 600,000 square miles, but only has 3.3 million people living there.
It borders Russia and China, and is the biggest country that does not border any seas or oceans.
People in this country speak the Mongolian language.


(from: wikipedia - mongolia)

The flag of Mongolia is three vertical stripes of red, blue, and red, with the yellow Soyombo on the left stripe.
The red is for living forever, the blue is for the sky, and the Soyombo is for the fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and spirit.


(from: wikipedia - flag of mongolia)

For a meal in Mongolia you might have khorkhog, which is a kind of meat stew made from lamb.
To make khorkhog, you take some rocks and put them in a fire to get them very hot. Then you take the rocks out and put them into a metal jug with some meat and water and close it up. After the meat is cooked by the hot rocks, the meat is handed out to everyone, and they also usually hand out the rocks for good health.


(from: wikipedia - khorkhog)

One special place in Mongolia is the Amarbayasgalant Monastery, that was built in 1727.

(from: wikipedia - amarbayasgalant monastery)

A special musical instrument in Mongolia is called the Morin Khuur.
It is kind of like a viola that is shaped a little different.


(from: wikipedia - morin khuur)


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Maldives

We just learned about the country of Laos

Let's learn a little about the country of Maldivecs!

This country is made up of 20 things called atolls, which are like islands made of coral rings that have lakes in the middle of them.
The coral rings are made up of small islands that people live on.
Maldives is about 115 square miles, and has about 500,000 people living in it.
It is about 400 miles away from the nearest continent in Asia.
People in this country speak Dhivehi or English.



(from: wikipedia - maldives)

The flag of Maldives has a red rectangle outside a green rectangle and a white moon in the middle.
Red is for the heroes of the country, the green is for peace, and the white is for islam.


(from: wikipedia - flag of the maldives)

To eat in Maldives you might have mas huni, which is made from tuna, onion, coconut and chili.


(from: wikipedia - mas huni)

Visiting Maldives you might go to Landaa Giraavaru, which is an island with a resort where people can go on the beach, swimming and snorkeling.

(from: wikipedia - landaa giraavaru)

Because the Maldives are all coral reefs in the ocean, there is a lot of wildlife living there.

(from: wikipedia - marine wildlife of baa atoll)


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Laos

We just learned about the country of Kyrgyzstan

Let's learn a little about the country of Laos!

Laos is a small country in Asia, bordering Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
It is only about 90,000 square miles, and about 7 million people live there.
People in this country speak the Lao language.


(from: wikipedia - laos)

The flag of Laos is sideways stripes of red, blue and red, with a white circle in the middle.
The blue is for money, the red is for blood, and the white is for the moon shining over the Mekong river.


(from: wikipedia - flag of laos)

To eat in Laos you might have khao niao, also called sticky rice.
This is a type of rice that grows in the area, and when cookied all of the pieces of rice stick to each other, so it is called sticky rice.

(from: wikipedia - lao cuisine)

Visiting Laos you might go to Si Phan Don which is a group of islands with rivers going around them.

(from: wikipedia - si phan don)

In Laos there is a place called the Plain of Jars, where there are thousands of stone jars laying around in big piles.
No one is sure what the jars are for, but they are thousands of years old.

(from: wikipedia - plain of jars)


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Kyrgyzstan

We just learned about the country of Kuwait

Let's learn a little about the country of Kyrgyzstan!

Kyrgyzstan, is a small country in Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China.
About 6.5 million people live there, and it is about 77,000 square miles.
People in this country speak either Kyrgyz or Russian.


(from: wikipedia - kyrgyzstan)

The flag of Kyrgyzstan is red with a yellow sun in the middle.
The red is for bravery and valor, and for the story of a famous hero named Manas.
The picture in the middle is the shape you would see if you were inside a tent called a yurt and looked up at the sun.


(from: wikipedia - flag of kyrgyzstan)

To eat in Kyrgyzstan, you might have qazı, which is a sausage usually made of horse meat.


(from: wikipedia - qazı)

Visiting Kyrgyzstan you might go to Issyk Kul Lake, which is the 10th largest lake in the world.
It is a salt water lake, and it never freezes even though it is right by snowy mountains.
The name Issyk Kul means Warm Lake.


(from: wikipedia - issyk kul lake)

In Kyrgyzstan they have a famous story written in the 1700s called the Epic of Manas.
It is an old story that tells about the hero Manas and his forty clans win battles against all of their enemies.
The story is so famous that people think the name of Kyrgyzstan comes from the word for his forty clans, and many things in the country are named after Manas.


(from: wikipedia - epic of manas)


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