· March, 2007

Stories about History from March, 2007

The Balkans, Japan: War Re-Enactment Games

  21 March 2007

Photos of a group of Japanese men clad in Croatian and Serbian military uniforms has caused a scandal in the Serbian blogosphere, Neretva River reports: “…these men were participating in a re-enactment of the recent wars in a ‘capture the flag’ style game which apparently had different scenarios, one apparently...

Latvia: Ukrainian and Russian Folk Music

  21 March 2007

Dykun posts a video and writes on a Ukrainian and Russian folk music performance in Riga, Latvia: “they performed together a show of russian and ukrainian wedding songs and rituals, with the structure of a ukrainian cossack marrying a russian bride. […] presented are typical wedding songs and a re-enactment...

Argentina: Maps and Buenos Aires’ Self Image

  21 March 2007

Robert Wright explains how the evolution of the free tourist map from Argentina's Subsecretaría de Turismo over the past two years demonstrates a gradual change in Buenos Aires’ self image. Also, a clarification about the odd orientation of maps of Buenos Aires.

Kurdistance: Newroz

The vernal equinox marks the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of the “New Year” or Newroz for the Kurdish people. The holiday is not limited to just the Kurds as cultures from Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, India, Turkey, Zanzibar, and from various countries of Central...

Kuwait: The Louvre is Off to Abu Dhabi

“The French people are not happy with the latest event of the French governement deciding to build a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi; they believe this museum is part of France and giving it away is like giving part of France too. This is the first time in...

300: More Than a Movie for Many Iranians

Cartoon by Afshin Sabouki from Project 300, an artistic response to 300, the movie. The movie “300”, based on a Frank Miller comic book, has been both a big hit at the box office and a hot topic in Iran's media, big and small. In Zack Snyder's movie, 300 Spartans...

Turkey is Typing….Business and Travel

What I thought were the interesting blog posts this week all seemed to revolve around business and travel. I think that it is the coming of spring that makes me what to run away from ordinary life. Of course, if you wish to run away to say…Turkey…blogger Talk Turkey has...

Russia: Now and Before

  20 March 2007

What has been written about Russia under Nicholas II sounds much like what could've been written about Putin's Russia. Apricotflan.com draws some conclusions and makes some forecasts.

Mauritius: give an egg for a bull

  19 March 2007

Following a friendship gesture on Independence Day from Mauritius to Madascar, Mauritian blogger at My quest for world presidency, Roushdat, writes: “But Madagascar is itself in quite a difficult posture, how will this country help Mauritius? I just couldn’t understand…At first I thought, maybe the government is fed up bestowing...

Bahamas: Ignoring abolition

  19 March 2007

Nicolette Bethel wonders whether the complete absence of any discussion about the anniversary of abolition in the Bahamas is because it's an election year: “Is it because people on the PLP are afraid to make too much out of it because of the long years of invoking slavery in election...

South Asia: Cricket Victories and Upsets

  19 March 2007

The Cricket World Cup 2007 appeared to have thrown quite a few surprises up for grabs over the weekend. Ireland won the match against Pakistan, and Bangladesh won the match against India. These outcomes were rather unexpected, especially the former one. The blogosphere has been buzzing with commentary and reflection...

Lebanon: Meanings and Consequences

This week's summary is a selection of posts that focus on meanings and on repercussions. For example, what does it mean to be a modern man or a leftist in Lebanon and what is the aftermath of not caring for rural communities and of not developing agriculture as a means...

  19 March 2007

The Russian Dilletante corrects Andre Glucksmann: “To use “the Kremin” to denote Russia's supreme authority in the 19th century is a crude anachronism. The seat of imperial power from Peter I to Nicholas II was St. Petersburg, and the period in Russian history from the early 18th century to 1917...

Somalia: the Land of the Gods

  19 March 2007

A brief study of the Land of the Gods by Abubakar Ali: Unlike ancient Egypt where scholars were able to uncover and translate numerous writings and records, our knowledge of Sumaria remained relatively scant and inadequate. The author, however, thought it of interest that Sumarian huts which were made of...

Ethiopia: naming system 101

  19 March 2007

Enset discusses Ethiopian naming system, “As a person who had a hard time understanding the idea of a family name and did not like being called by my grandfather's name when I first came to the United States, I did not know what to make of the gentleman's assertion that...

Liberia: Decoration Day 2007

  18 March 2007

“Wednesday was Decoration Day, the day when Liberians clean and decorate the graves of their ancestors. We walked around in the Palm Grove cemetery in the late afternoon, after most people had already come and gone, and many graves were freshly repainted,” Liberia Ledger reports.