RANDOM FACTS ABOUT DEAD SEA

Located between Israel and Jordan, about 15miles east of Jerusalem.
Is the second saltiest body of water in the world and sit at the lowest point of elevation on earth.
The Dead sea has been recognized for its incredible health benefits.
Dead sea is actually not a sea at all, it is a saltwater lake.
 Because of the high content of salt, it is impossible for marine life to exist.
It is called Dead sea because no life in it, even it looks gorgeous, sunny and so alive.
The salt of Dead sea is very bitter not like usual salt.
The Dead sea is already 3million years old.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE

Bermuda Triangle is also known as Devil’s triangle. One of the legends of the sea that has persisted even to today is the story of the Bermuda Triangle. Here ships and airplanes seem to disappear more often than in other parts of the ocean. Usually the craft are never seen again, which is not too surprising in an area noted for hurricanes and high waves. The Bermuda Triangle covers an area from the southern Virginia coast to Bermuda to the Bahama Islands.
Is the Bermuda Triangle really the "graveyard of the Atlantic"? We guess that most of the disappearances of boats and planes could be explained if only someone other than those who sank had been there to watch what really happened.


Flight 19

Adding to the mystery, a search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew was dispatched to aid the missing squadron, but the Mariner itself was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion at about the time the Mariner would have been on patrol. Flight 19 was a training flight of TBM Avenger bombers that went missing on December 5, 1945 while over the Atlantic. The squadron's flight path was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base, but they never returned. The impression is given that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day under the supervision of an experienced pilot, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown."

While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident, and naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between Taylor and the other pilots of Flight 19 do not indicate magnetic problems.

NEW 7 WONDERS IN THE WORLD

There are 7 natural wonders in the world. It keeps changing over time, those all the unique monuments will have to compete with each other to meet the title as the wonder in the world. Here is the list of the 7 wonders in the world:

1. GREAT WALL OF CHINA

- The Great wall of china as called is the largest building construction ever carried out, running to around 6,400 Km east to west from gulf of china to the yellow sea to a point in Central Asia. The construction of this fortification dates from 4th century B.C. shih Huang-ti in 214 B.C.

- The Great Wall of China stretches over approximately 4,000 miles from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west. Simply put, the path of the Great Wall of China stretches from a seaport on China's east coast to Xinjiang in China's northwest and in between it passes through a variety of mountains, plateaus and deserts.

- The labor force used in the construction of the Great Wall of China was made up of three main groups: the soldiers, common people, and criminals. The soldiers were the primary workforces, while the criminals were forced into labor as punishment.

- The Great Wall of China was never built at one go. Initially, powerful regional kingdoms built their own walls, which were solely meant for their own defensive military requirements. The earliest known sections of the Great Wall of China were constructed in the 7th century BC. After the emergence of unified China in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the Great Wall of China became a collective entity. Around 1700 years after this the Great Wall of China was enlarged and enhanced.

- During its construction, the Great Wall was called “the longest cemetery on earth” because so many people died building it. Reportedly, it cost the lives of more than one million people. The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world. The Great Wall has often been compared to a dragon. In China, the dragon is a protective divinity and is synonymous with springtime and vital energy. The Chinese believed the earth was filled with dragons which gave shape to the mountains and formed the sinew of the land.

2. TAJMAHAL INDIA

- Located in Agra, India.

- The Taj Mahal in Agra India is considered one of the best examples of Mughal architecture in India. The history of the Taj Mahal is one of the great love stories of the world.

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ruled from 1628 to 1658 and was married to Arjumand Bano Begum in 1612 A.D. He called his wife Mumtaz Mahal or Crown of the Palace, because she was so precious to him. Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan had 14 children and the queen accompanied Shah Jahan everywhere, even on military campaigns. It was on one of these campaigns, in Burhanpur in central India, that Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, shortly after giving birth to her 14th child. Her dying wish to Shah Jahan was that he should "build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before." The history of the Taj Mahal begins with Mumtaz Mahal's tragic end.

- Shah Jahan fulfilled her wish, creating the most beautiful mausoleum the world had ever seen. Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb. He spent the last years of his life under house arrest in the Agra Fort. He used to spend his time looking across the Yamuna River at the beautiful tomb he had built for his beloved empress, waiting for the day they could be united again. After Shah Jahan's death in 1666 A.D., he too was laid to rest beside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal. Their real tombs are in a basement of the Taj Mahal. The two ornately decorated tombs on the ground floor, sheltered by the dome of the Taj Mahal are part of the stylistic design of this beautiful monument in Agra India. The history of the Taj Mahal is the history of the steadfast love of a Mughal Emperor for his Queen.

- It took 22 years for the Taj Mahal to be completed. A huge labor force of 20,000 workers led by Muhammed Hanif, the head of the masons and the Persian architect Ustad Isa or Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, were employed in its construction. Finished in 1648, the Taj Mahal cost the Mughal exchequer 32 million rupees. The Taj Mahal has been described by the poet Sir Edwin Arnold, as"Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones."

- The aesthetic beauty of this beautiful mausoleum is enhanced by the romantic story that inspired its construction. Tourists come from around the world come to Agra, to feel the aura of eternal love that surrounds the Taj Mahal. The history of the Taj Mahal is a love story that transcends time and continues to be retold each day to the tourists who visit the Taj Mahal in Agra India.

3. COLOSSEUM, ITALY

- Colosseum is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

- The Coliseum, also known as "Amphitheatre Flavio", built on the order of the Imperator Vespasiano in the honour of the grandiosity of his empire, was inaugurated by his son, Tito, in 80 after Christ with celebrations 100 days long.

- The name Coliseum probably comes from the big bronze statue of about 38 metres, known as the "Colosso" (giant), that Nerone wanted built on his image in the Domus Aurea. The work, representing the Imperator in the pants of the God Apollo, wanted to call back to the mind, with its extraordinary dimensions, the prestige and the fascination that another symbol of the Antiquity had had: the Colosso of Rhodes.

- The statue was moved by the Imperator Adriano close to the Amphitheatre and afterwards modified in its lines in order to look like to various imperators on one hand, and then, on the other hand, with the addition of a "crown of sun rays", to the God Sun. However, it was only in the Middle Ages, with the oblivion of the imperial magnificence and of the aristocratic "gens", that the name Coliseum started to take the place, in the common diction, of the name of "Amphitheatre Flavio".

- The Coliseum, projected by Rabirio or maybe Gaudenzio, was welcoming long combats between gladiators, executions and hunting spectacles. More or less 80000 spectators were following the combats that could go on from the sunrise to the sunset and also up to the deepest night when the gladiators were fighting illuminated by the light of the torches.

According to the chronicles of the time it looks like that the fights preferred by the public were the chaotic melange of tens of gladiators invented by the Imperator Claudio, called "sportule". All the religious celebrations, the recurrence and the military victories were celebrated, during the imperial era, with the combats of the gladiators. To defend the spectators from the ferocious animals they were installing a metallic fence, while during the most sunny days or the raining days, the public was protected by a big blue "velario" with yellow stars operated by a team of sailors of the fleet of Capo Miseno and of Ravenna.

In general, to the Coliseum are also associated the persecutions suffered by the Christian martyrs, also if, according to recent studies, there are not documented proofs demonstrating the effective existence of massacres and slaughters inside the walls of the Amphitheatre Flavio. In any case, in 313 after Christ, the Imperator Constantine proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the empire, obviously forbidding the executions of Christians but also the combats between gladiators and the hunting spectacles.

During the following centuries the Coliseum initially became a cemetery, and then a fortress called "Frangipane" and finally a sort of cava for the construction materials. The degradation of the structure due to fires, earthquakes and sacks was stopped by Pope Benedetto XIV who consecrated the Amphitheatre to the Via Crucis and forbade any ulterior spoliation.

4. CHRIST REDEEMER, BRAZIL

- Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the second largest Art Deco statue in the world. The statue is 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 meter (31 feet) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tonnes (700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.[3] It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931.

- On 7 July 2007, Christ the Redeemer was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a list compiled by the Swiss-based The New Open World Corporation. Leading corporate sponsors, including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo, had lobbied to have the statue voted into the top seven wonder.

5. PETRA, JORDAN

- Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable scenes that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site still-standing nowadays.. It has been said "perhaps there is nothing in the world that resembles it", actually, for sure, there is nothing in the world that resembles it. The rock-carved rose-red city of Petra is full of mysterious charm, it was "designed to strike wonder into all who entered it".

- Petra is considered the most famous and gorgeous site in Jordan located about 262 km south of Ammanand 133 km north of Aqaba. It is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site and one of The New 7 Wonders of the World that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe.

- The Petra basin boasts over 800 individual monuments, including buildings, tombs, baths, funerary halls, temples, arched gateways, and colonnaded streets, that were mostly carved from the kaleidoscopic sandstone by the technical and artistic genius of its inhabitants.

Petra sights are at their best in early morning and late afternoon, when the sun warms the multicolored stones, you can view the majesty of Petra as it was seen first when discovered in 1812 after being lost by the 16th century for almost 300 years!

 

6. MACHU PICCHU, PERU

- There are 112krn of railway line between the city of Cusco and the station of Puente Ruinas or Machu Picchu. The trip starts in the station of San Pedro in Cusco, zig-zagging up the Picchu mountain until it reaches the highest point, a spot called "El Arco" (the arch), in the northwest part of the city. The route then descends to the villages of Poroy, Cachimayo and lzcuchaca until it reaches the Anta plains, an extensive cattle area. It climbs down the gully of Pomatales before descending to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, arriving at the station of Pachar. The route then crosses the Urubamba River to the right bank and arrives at the station of Ollantaytambo. For those who arrived here by the asphalt road of the Sacred Valley, one can board the train to continue to Machu Picchu.

- The railway line runs parallel to the river in winding loops that follow the riverbed. From here one can seethe typical vegetation of the upper jungle, which climbs up to the top of the steep mountain range that forms the Urubamba Canyon. The train passes through the Chilca train station from where one can see the snowcapped peak called "Veronica". With a height of 5,750 meters (18,975 feet) above sea level, it is the highest peak in the Urubamba range. The train stops at Kilometer 88, where the Inca Trail begins.

- The train then continues on its way, passing through the station of Pampacahua and the town of Aguas Calientes, located at Kilometer 110. When the train line comes up against a wall of imposing granite mountains, it then plunges into two tunnels before arriving at the station of Puente Ruinas. From here, minibuses take the travelers up 8 kilometers of roads up to the Tourist Hotel. The entry control to the Inca citadel is done near the hotel.

7.  Chichen Itza, Mexico

- For anyone touring Mexico hoping to view Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza Mexico is the place to be. With scores of palaces, ball courts, pyramids, and other fascinating stone buildings, Chichen Itza is a Mayan ruin paradise. While the major attraction to Chichen Itza is the city of ruins, Chichen Itza also has a nice group of beautiful resorts near the ancient Mayan remains.

- Here are some interesting facts about Chichen Itza:

• The name ‘Chichen Itza’ literally means ‘At the mouth of the well of the Itza’.
• In Chichen Itza, each of the structures has a name of its own.
• The Temple of the Warriors is one of the most impressive structures at Chichen Itza.

- While the earliest archaeological artifacts thus far found at Chichen Itza date from AD 1 to 250, it is probable that the site was settled at a far earlier time. Proto-Mayan tribes had inhabited the flat limestone plateau that makes up much of the Yucatan peninsula for at least 8000 years. These nomadic peoples would certainly have discovered the enormous natural well, called a cenote, next to which the city of Chichen Itza later grew. As a Maya social center, Chichen Itza began its rise to prominence with the arrival of a seafaring people in the eighth century. Called the Itza by archaeologists, these merchant warriors first colonized the northern coastal areas of the Yucatan peninsula and then ventured inland. After their conquest of the holy city of Izamal, the Itza settled at the great cenote, then known as Wuk Yabnal, meaning "Abundance Place". Their city became known as Chichen Itza, which means "Mouth of the Well of the Itza". From this site, the Itza Maya rapidly became the rulers of much of the Yucatan peninsula.

EARTH NOW

Last Monday (15/11), Mr.Ken showed us one documentary film about the earth we are living now. It relates to the subject we are covering now which is sustainable development.

Sustainable development in simple definition is a development that causes damage for the earth. We cannot avoid that every single development happens in this world causes some negative effect for the earth as the main resource of our life. The truth is we could not survive if we had not damaged the earth until it is left with nothing. Man is supposed to take care of earth and not spoiled it for his own satisfaction but now people do not care about other things as long as they satisfied with what they can get. One quote that I got from this film is “Earth does not belong to man but man belongs to earth”.

One of the biggest impacts for the earth is US. Without realizing that actually we are exhausting world’s resources. Another quote that I got from the film is “Like Titanic, we cannot see the iceberg and by the time we see it, it is too late”­

The film highlighted some environmental issues as well such as deforestation, global warming and soil degradation. What we meant by deforestation is the loss of naturally occurring forests from logging and burning. Nowadays, there are hazes everywhere, the average temperature increases. It is all because the logging and burning of forest in order to “use” the trees for “better” use. They cut the trees in order to produce paper, tissues, etc. They burn the trees in order to clear the land and use it for agriculture.

One real example is in Brazil, they use sugar cane known as ethanol to fly the plane. It is a good thing that we could finally invent another source of fuel without feeling worry that petroleum is coming to scarcity. But actually there are still some negative effect that sugar cane brings to earth and man. There are some other facts that I got from the film about sugar cane plantation:

1. Deforestation caused by sugar cane plantation, because more more land is being used to produce fuel.

2. People who work there in sugar cane plantation are being poisoned.

3. Carbon monoxide in the atmosphere because they have to burn the leaves before they harvest them.

4. Surprisingly, sugar cane needs a lot of water.

Global warming is no longer a new word for us, and it is seriously threatening the existence of us and earth. As we knew that global warming is the increase in temperatures around the world. One of the causes of this increase is what we called “Green House effect”. I will not go in depth about this global warming since we knew quite well about it. But what I will highlight here is the use of CFC by using refrigerator, hairspray, and air-conditioner. Personally, I cannot live without air-conditioner and I do feel guilty about this issue. I feel like I cannot do much about this and just waiting until the day comes when earth that we knew will not be the same anymore.

Soil degradation is one of the issues which rarely spoken but it plays role in the existence of our life as well. Soil degradation is the decline in the quantity and quality of soil. This happens because the overuse of soil itself. It causes health risk from direct or indirect contact of contaminated soil.

There are some facts that I quoted from the movie watched. Some of them are really surprising, here they are:

- If everyone consumpts like French does, we will need 3 earths.

- In 30 years, 30% of resources are disappearing.

- 200 years ago, there were about 7million bison but now there are only 300.000.

- One species in the world disappear every 18minutes.

- In 50years time, meat consumption has multiplied by 5.

- US produce 60% of world’s corn. In US, 10% of corn produced is used to make biofuel.

- 80% of cereal goes to animal feed in France.

- In Brazil, they use sugar cane known as ethanol to fly the plane.

- In Los Angeles, 4 and half million people died because of air pollution.

- In 20years time the world will not be as the same as it today.

TSUNAMI AFTERMATH

TSUNAMI AFTERMATH is a television mini-series dramatizes the tsunami event happened in Thailand on 26^th of December 2004. It was filmed in Phuket and Khao Lak as two of the worst hit areas when tsunami happened.

It begins in Oasis hotel in Khao Lak where two families spent their holiday in Thailand. Everything was fine and peaceful until this disaster came and tore the members of family apart. Fortunately, the young couple Ian and Susan Carter survived their lives, as well as Kim and Adam Peabody. However, the Carters couldn’t find their 6years old daughter. She was last seen with her father when the tsunami suddenly hit them and tore them apart. At the end, they thought they finally found their daughter in one of clinic in Thailand where all the sufferers are because they saw Martha’s name in the survivor’s list in website. Once they arrived, it was wrong that actually the girl was someone else who looked exactly like Martha. Susan as the mother who couldn’t take the traumatic feeling turned foolish and decided to take whoever is that girl as her daughter replaced Martha. Ian couldn’t do anything much about the situation happened to his wife beside he finally had to accept the reality that they couldn’t find his daughter Martha.

While in Peabody, Kim and Adam his son survived because when the tsunami came they wasn’t there in hotel. They went diving while her husband James and her oldest son John stayed at hotel and played around in the beach. Ian was happened to see James who was terribly injured with blood all over his body and he was dying. But at the time they tried to take James to clinic, he couldn’t hold on and he was dead. At the same time, Kim and Adam were in British embassy and tried as they could to find their family without knowing that James was already dead. However, when Ian was about to go to clinic, he saw Kim and he remembered that both of them stayed in the same hotel. He approached Kim and told her that her husband James was already dead on the way to clinic. Kim was so sorrow but she could hide it in front of her son Adam. By the time she finally knew that her husband was dead, Adam brought a good new that John was hospitalized in one clinic. They rushed to the clinic and found that John was dying. As a mother, Kim couldn’t guarantee John’s life on the medical in Thailand because that time everything was so minor. Then Kim went to British embassy and asked them to take John back to UK to get proper medical helps.

There are some other players in this movie that I won’t cover on, because I focus more to the victims such as Carter and Peabody. After watched this movie, I could feel how pathetic and shocking disaster is. Personally, I never experienced such disaster before beside I ever experienced earthquake but it wasn’t in my city. I just experienced the shakes so I will never know how traumatic that is if I happen to experience disaster.

One thing I learned from this movie is that family is the most important thing in life. Even though we are survived from one disaster, if one of our family members is gone life will not be the same anymore and move on is the hardest thing to do. Family is a part of me and if one part of me is gone I cannot live my life as normal anymore. This lesson teaches me how I should cherish every moment when I am with my family because that moment may not come for the second time. It also teaches me how I should prioritize my family than any other. Because regret always comes too late and there is no point regretting things we have done, but we should regret the things we have never done when we had a chance.

WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?

Geography comes from Greek word γεωγραφία - geographia. 
Basically, Geography is the study of the earth's surface and landscape includes people's responses to topography, climate, soil, and vegetation or else we say man-land relationship. In modern geography, we learn about human and earth complexities. Its not anymore about what it is but its about how we have changed and come to be. 
Geography is divided into 2main branches which are human geography and physical geography.
Human geography is a branch that focuses on the study of pattern and processes of human interaction, the study of human use. It includes most aspect of social science such as politic, economy, culture, development, etc. 
Whereas, Physical geography focuses on geography as an Earth's science. There are some sub fields of physical geography such as climatology, biogeography, pedology, hydrology, oceanography, glaciology,etc.