Madagascar Independence Day - June 26

Madagascar is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, off Mozambique in East Africa. It includes the island of Madagascar, which is the fourth largest island in the world, and a large number of smaller peripheral islands.

Madagascar has a very diverse variety of animals and plants. According to continental migration theory, the island of Madagascar belonged to the Gondwana continent, which separated from India about 88 million years ago, causing local plants and animals to develop in isolation. As a result, in Madagascar you will find animals and plants unique only to her. Over 90% of the wildlife in Madagascar is not found anywhere else on earth.

In the photo: a cute lemur living in Madagascar

The official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French. On June 26, 1960, Madagascar gained independence from France, which had ruled it since 1885.

The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo, and it is also the largest city (about 2.1 million inhabitants). In total, Madagascar has about 26,000,000 inhabitants.

In honor of Madagascar's Independence Day, get the best reasons to travel there and spend your next vacation there:

1. The natural swimming pool at Isalo National Park

Madagascar has so many amazing views. In the Oslo National Park you will see some of them and also be pampered in the cool and pampering natural water pool.

Source: Follow your plan

2. Ile Saint Marie 

The coast of Madagascar is a tropical paradise. The island of St. Mary, also known as Nosy Boraha, is a 57-mile-long granite island off the east coast of Madagascar. The island used to be a hiding place for pirates so you can visit there in their cemetery. The island is full of tropical vegetation, has a wonderful coral reef (it is a highly recommended dive point) and is also home to the hampback whales that come to it during their breeding season and stay there for over four months.

mada-photo The humpback whale

3. The Hot Springs of Antsirabe

Antsirabe is the third largest city in Madagascar. It is located 167 km south of the capital Antananarivo in a mountain range 1500 meters above sea level. Due to the high location Antsirabe is the coldest city in Madagascar and the temperature in winter can reach 0 degrees Celsius. Its markets are vibrant and colorful, as everywhere on the island.

Hotels in the city of Antsirabe

4. The Baobab trees

The baobab trees are best known for Antoine de Saint-Exupery's book, The Little Prince. In Madagascar you will see them a lot because these amazing trees are part of the natural vegetation.

Baobab trees in Madagascar meltour.voyages

5. Railway of Fianarantsoa-Côte Est

The railway was built by the French when they ruled the island, between 1926 and 1936. It will take you on an amazing journey through some of the most endangered habitats in the world, by cyclones, floods and mudslides. Many of the trains traveling on this line still bear their date of manufacture from 1893. Maintaining the train helps prevent deforestation of 97,400 acres. The train is still running, but the line is suffering from disruptions due to broken rails caused by cyclone storms and obsolescence.

didimateos

6. Antennarivo

Antananarivo is the capital of Madagascar and is located on a mountain ridge in the Antananarivo district in the heart of the country. Antananarivo, called Tana for short, is a beautiful city full of colorful houses and streets, markets, parks and gardens. It is recommended to visit it at the Queen's Palace, the market and the botanical gardens.

only.tiana_aurely

7. Tsingy Rouge Red Tsingy Park

The red tsingi is a red stone formed by the erosion of the Irodo River in the Diana region of northern Madagascar. It is located about 60 km south of Antsiranana near the city of Sadjoavato.

furretosa

8. Our Lady of La Salette Cathedral, Antsirabé

Not all Madagascar wonders are the product of nature's creation. The cathedral of Antsirabe was built as a small clay church in 1900 by a French priest. At the beginning of the 20th century, the missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette arrived and upgraded it to a church 22 meters long, 16 meters wide and 8 meters high, with a 14 meter high bell tower. In 1921, with the establishment of the Diocese of Antsirabe, the church was rebuilt for the growing Catholic community in Madagascar. Today the length of the church is 60 meters, its width is 16.77 meters and its height is 14 meters. The height of its bell tower is 45 meters.

Antsirabé Cathedral from the inside, photo source: vincekbz

9. The special animals of Madagascar

Among the special animals in Madagascar you can meet the lemurs, which are the official animal of the island, the fossa, which is a reddish brown predator that resembles both cat and mongoose, the panther chameleon that lives in the forests of Madagascar, which is one of the largest chameleons, frogs, crocodiles , Butterflies, insects and more.

fossa

panther chameleon

10. Girls of the Sakalava tribe

The people of Madagascar are known as warm and kind people, and among them are different and fascinating ethnic groups with traditional tribal customs. One of the ethnic groups are the Sakalava tribe. The number of members of the tribe is estimated at about 600,000. Their name means "the people of the long valleys." They live mainly along the western end of the island of Toliara in the south to Sambirano in the north.

mada.photo

10. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park 

The park, also known as the Perinet Special Reserve, is located about 100 kilometers east of the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo. In the park you will meet the indri, the largest breed of lemur, and other animals. The most worthwhile hours to visit in the park are the morning hours, when the lemurs are alert and active and you can hear their cries from all sides.

A visitor to the park is pampered by Lamour who fell in love with her Chelsea Nowlin

Besides there are lots of other good reasons to come to Madagascar, like its beautiful tropical beaches, nice people, insane nature and more. To get to Madagascar you need an entry visa.

Flag of Madagascar

June 26 is also Beauticians' Day and 

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 

World Malaria Day- April 25

World Malaria Day is a special day of the year designed to raise awareness of the global effort to control malaria and ultimately eradicate it. The date of Malaria Day was set for April 25, 2001, but then it was called Malaria Day in Africa, in order to control malaria and reduce mortality from it there. In 2008 Malaria Day in Africa expanded to World Malaria Day.

World Malaria Day was set at the 60th Session of the World Health Assembly (a meeting sponsored by the World Health Organization [WHO]) to recognize that malaria exists in countries around the world other than Africa and raise awareness of the importance of the global fight against the disease.

Interesting facts about malaria

Malaria is an infectious disease also called swamp fever. It is most common in areas with tropical climates and especially in Africa, Central and South America and the Far Eastern countries.

Malaria mainly affects the red blood cells and causes damage to vital organs in the body as a result of anemia and blockage of blood vessels.

The origin of the name of the disease is in the Italian language, which means "bad air" (mala aria), due to the belief that existed in the past that the bad swamp air is the cause.

Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in the world! In 2018, an estimated 228 million people contracted malaria, of which about 405,000 died, most of them children under the age of 15 in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria is spread by the Anopheles mosquito. It exists in more than 100 countries around the world.

Malaria can be prevented by protecting against mosquitoes and spraying their incubators. The goal of the World Health Organization is to raise, among other things, the use of bed nets treated with insecticides and spraying with insecticides in places of origin in countries that are particularly vulnerable to malaria.

The cause of malaria is a unicellular creature called Plasmodium, which exists in the stomach of the Anopheles mosquito. There are ten other species of plasmodium that also harm other animals such as birds, reptiles and rodents.

In 1897, Ronald Ross, a British physician, parasitologist and epidemiologist, showed the existence of a plasmodium in the stomach of a mosquito. Thanks to this discovery he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1902.

The drugs for malaria are based on quinine, a substance extracted from the bark of quinine or synthetically produced. But the treatment with these drugs is not enough, and to fight Plasmodium additional drugs are needed.

In 2015, Tu Youyou, a Chinese physician specializing in pharmacology and drug treatment for malaria, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for the discovery of the substance Artemisinin, which is used as a cure for malaria.

Symptoms of malaria include high fever, tremor, joint pain, severe headache, vomiting that contains blood, excessive sweating, chills, diarrhea, abdominal pain, skin punctures, hypoglycemia and general malaise. Complications of malaria include coma and when left untreated, it ends in death in about 20% of cases.

The eucalyptus tree is a natural fighter for malaria. In the 19th century it was believed that the eucalyptus fought malaria by disinfecting the soil and air. At the end of the century, the real cause of the disease was discovered and the connection between it and the eucalyptus was clarified. The water-loving eucalyptus dries the swamp water in which the Anopheles mosquito larvae spread the disease. It originated in Australia, where malaria did not exist. Eucalyptus has been used as an anti-malarial agent in California, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Israel and Italy.

April 25 is also East meets West and DNA Day

South Africa coloring pages

Coloring pages of South Africa. South Africa is the southernmost country on the African continent.  Here you will find coloring sheets of South African animals, maps. flags and people, and symbols like the national tree - Real yellowwood, the national Bird - Blue crane, the national fish - Galjoen, the national flower - King protea and the national animal - Springbuck. The coloring pages of South Africa should be painted in bright, happy and vibrant colors because it is so rich in colors and nature and the diversity between animals, cultures and topography. On this page you will find a great opportunity to paint the coloring pages of South Africa as you wish. Coloring pages of South Africa flag, South Africa map, South Africa symbols, nature, animals and people. Fun coloring!

Choose the coloring page of South Africa you want to paint, print and paint for your enjoyment. To print the page you would like to color, click on page and then click Ctrl+P. Have fun!

PS- To save paper and help our planet, you can print on used pages, on the blank side ♥

Giraffe, rhino, pelican and zebra

Springbok

Suricata 

South Africa flag

South African girl and boy

Zulu people

South African tribal

Some interesting facts about South Africa:

Johannesburg is the largest city in the country. It has been completely rebuilt four times.

South Africa is the largest producer of macadamia nuts in the world.

The first human heart transplant took place at a Cape Town hospital in 1967.

It is estimated that there are about 3,000 shipwrecks off the coast of South Africa.

Hotels in South Africa - In South Africa there are 71,300 hotel rooms for rent.

South Africa is the only country in the world where two Nobel laureates have come from the same street: Vilakazi Street in the heart of the town of Soweto where two South African leaders lived; Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.

Route 62, Western Cape, is the longest wine route in the world: It is 850 kilometers long and leads from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and along its length you will see vineyards and wineries and nice villages where you can stop and drink wine.

If you want to bungy jump in one of the highest places in the world, drive to the Bloukrans Bridge, where there is a 216 meter high bungy jump site.

There are eight amazing world heritage sites in South Africa.

About 20% of the world's gold is mined in South Africa.

Mauritius Independence Day - March 12

On March 12, Mauritius, an island nation in the southwestern Indian Ocean belonging to African countries, celebrates its independence from Britain in 1968.

Mauritius flag

Here are some interesting fun facts about Mauritius:

Mauritius is home to about 1.2 million people and its capital city is Port Louis, home to about 150,000 residents.

Mauritius is a country with a democratic regime and its official language is English. Other languages ​​spoken by the residents: French and Creole.

Mauritius today is a stable and prosperous country in terms of tourism.

The national animal: legendary extinct Dodo.

The area of ​​Mauritius is 2,040 square kilometers, and it has a coastline about 150 km long, all of which are stunning white sandy beaches.

Mauritius has picturesque towns and villages, ancient military ruins and spectacular waterfalls.

The island of Mauritius is a volcanic island. It was formed by volcanic activity more than 8 million years ago.

The highest mountain on the island is the "peak of the Little Black River", the piton de la petite riviere noire, and is 828 meters high.

Mauritius is the most densely populated country on the African continent and also one of the most prosperous and rich countries on the continent.

Things to do in Mauritius 

Visit the Caudan Waterfront, the main shopping and entertainment center in Port Louis (link).

Visit the Post Museum, where you can see the famous "Blue Mauritius" stamp, which is the first stamp printed in Mauritius in 1847. The stamp shows Queen Victoria on a blue background.

Visit the "Seven Coloured Earths" in the village of Chamarel, a place where there are sand dunes in seven different colors: red, brown, purple, green, blue and yellow. It is an attraction that attracts many tourists, located in the Chamarel Plain, River Noir district, southwest of Mauritius.

(Link)

Visit the La Moran Peninsula southwest of Mauritius and watch the breathtaking scenery. Climb the basalt cliff Le Morne Brabant. The cliff rises to a height of 556 meters. Between the 17th and early 19th centuries there were escaped slaves found on the island and on a hiding cliff on the caves in the secluded and inaccessible mountain.

Go to the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden: Explore the tropical gardens, see the giant water lilies and pet the giant turtles.

Swim with dolphins in Tamarin Bay.

Visit the fishing village of Cap Malheureux in the north of the island.

Visit Hindu temples: Hinduism is the main religion on the island with almost half of the population of Mauritius belonging to this religion.

And sleep in a stunning turquoise seafront hotel (Link)

March 12 is also Plant a Flower Day

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation- February 6

February 6 has been declared by the UN today as zero tolerance for female  Genital Mutilation.

Female  Genital Mutilation is a cruel practice committed primarily against minors aged 3-13, which involves all procedures involving partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genitalia for non-medical reasons, and is recognized worldwide as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Female  Genital Mutilation is very common especially in Northeast African countries, the Horn of Africa and West Africa. The custom also exists among the Bedouin and Kurds in the Middle East (except in Israel). Thousands of women go through the process every day, even today.

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The custom is almost non-existent in Muslim countries in the rest of the Middle East and Central Asia.

Female circumcision is a cruel way of reflecting the inequality that is rooted between the sexes and is an extreme form of discrimination against women. Female circumcision not only destroys women's lives by infringing on their physical integrity and right to sexual pleasure, but also endangers their lives. The surgeries are apparently performed without medical supervision and often, with contaminated knives, leading to the deaths of many as a result of the surgery.

The practice of female circumcision has been going on for more than a thousand years, but the World Health Organization and UNICEF are working to eradicate it completely from the world. One of their major achievements was its outlawing in Egypt and Eritrea, but it seems the road is still long.

Although it seems to be done only in Third World countries, it turns out that even in Europe Muslims practice their daughters in secret. In East London, in 2010, young Muslim girls undergo the painful surgery at the initiative of their mothers Link to the article.

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February 6 is also Frozen Yogurt Day

Zebra Day - January 31

International Zebra Day falls on January 31 each year.

What do you know about the zebra other than that she has black and white stripes  ?

In honor of Zebra Day, get some interesting facts about her:

The origin of the zebra is the African continent.

The zebra is black with white stripes.

The offspring of a zebra and a donkey is called: a Zebroid. Any hybrid between a zebra and a different type of horse is called a Zebroid. In English, the combination of a zebra and a donkey is called: Zonkie.

Zebras are more responsible for injuries to U.S. zoo workers than any other animal.

If a zebra is attacked, her whole family will come to her defense and attack the wounded zebra in order to drive out the predators.

Ostriches and zebras often live together to protect each other from predators. The ostrich can see better and the zebra can hear or smell danger better.

In 2009 two zebras starved to death in a Palestinian Authority zoo and replaced them with donkeys painted in black and white stripes.

People pay thousands of dollars to hunt zebras and other African wildlife on large farms in Texas.

In the past, they tried to domesticate zebras, but stopped. Zebras are unpredictable and can attack humans.

Each zebra has stripes in a pattern unique to it. Scientists can identify zebras by "scanning" their stripes like a barcode.

Animal experts believe that the pattern of the stripes is intended to confuse and deter flying flies from landing on zebras. The flies are attracted to dark and solid surfaces so they prefer to avoid the stripes of the zebras being deceived.

From birth the legs of the zebra foal are like those of an adult. 20 minutes after birth, the zebra can already use its legs to run and run wild.

The zebra's hind legs are so strong that they can break the predator's jaw with a kick, like a lion for example. They can also run at speeds of almost 40 km / h.

January 31st is also Backwards Day

Kwanzaa - 26 December

Kwanzaa is a secular holiday celebrated among African-Americans in the US, as of December 26, for a week, until January 1. 

Holiday Kwanzaa reminds me a little Hanukkah , because of the custom of lighting the menorah candles with seven branches called Kinara, which begins with the lighting of a candle each and every day after lighting another candle. Holiday Kwanzaa is a modern holiday invented by Dr. Ron Maulana Carnegie in 1966 to honor and respect the cultural heritage of the United States from Africa. Customs of the holiday are: home decoration objects of arts, traditional African clothing, gift giving and fresh fruit. Before dinner revelers welcome cup of wine and passed it to them, including children. Kinara candle-lighting ceremony, an artistic performance and finally dinner. Blessing of the holiday is "Happy Kwanzaa feast" or "Habari Gani" (What's new in Swahili) or "Joyous Kwanzaa".

Happy Kwanza

Habari gani? whats the news?

Celebrating Kwanza

Happy Kwanza

December 26 is also Boxing Day

Jamhuri - 12 December

Jamhuri Day which takes place every year on December 12 is a national holiday in Kenya. Jomhuri is a Swahili word meaning "republic" and is an official holiday day score of Kenya's founding as a republic on December 12, 1964. However, the country also gained independence from Britain a year before on December 12, 1963, the day Jamhuri is double event and is generally considered the most important holiday shopping, many cultural celebrations mark the country's cultural heritage.

Fun facts about Kenya:

Kenya is located in East Africa, on the equator.

In 2017, Kenya's population was estimated at 47 million.

The official name of Kenya is the Republic of Kenya.

The capital and largest city in Kenya is Nairobi. Mombasa is the second largest city.

The two official languages in Canada are Swahili English, although there are dozens of other languages spoken in different parts of the country.

Kenya is on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world. More border with Lake Tanzania and Uganda.

Kenya has many national wildlife parks and an active safari, making it a very popular tourist destination.

The main agriculture of the Kenya economy is tea, coffee and flowers.

In Kenya there are large animals such as lions, buffalo, tigers, elephants and rhinos.

Kenya has a hotel where giraffes roam freely in its territory.

In Kenya they drive on the left side of the road.

Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in the country (5,199 meters, 17,057 feet), and the second highest in Africa.

Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Kenya is a developing country and half of its population lives in poverty.

In terms of sports, Kenya is best known for running medium and long distance and often produces Olympic champions.