It is estimated that land in about 100 countries is threatened by desertification. The poor areas are hardest hit with 81 countries. This has led to the conclusion made by the United Nations Environment Programme that desertification is “one of the most serious global environmental problems.” But what exactly is desertification? What are some of […]
Features
A Look at Ancient Egypt
I. Gods and Pharaohs “Osiris, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of the two countries… son of the Sun, beloved of the gods, lord of the diadems, Rameses, prince of Heliopolis, triumphant! Thou art in the condition of a god, thou shalt arise as Usr, there is no enemy to thee, I give to […]
The Wondrous Dolphin
A Greek biographer and essayist of the mid first to early second century AD, known as Plutarch, observed that the dolphin “is the only creature that loves man for his own sake.” These unique mammals of the seas truly inspired wonderment and imagination among humankind for centuries. In fact, dolphins were even fused into ancient […]
Vienna – A Coffee Lover’s Paradise
Once the residence of the Holy Roman Empire and the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Vienna survived two World Wars with its flamboyant fatalism intact; for instance, even today mannequins in black dance on a memorial that celebrates the end of a 17th century plague. The Macmillan Encyclopedia points out that the 18th and 19th […]
Marriage Among the Ancients
Weddings are to many one of the happiest memories of their lives! For centuries, the very word “wedding” has suggested joy and merriment, family gatherings, and bountiful banquets. To be sure, each generation and country have had their special customs. But, if one reads about the wedding ceremonies in ancient Greece and Rome, one discovers […]
