Happy Birthday to Panama!

Historic Centre of Riga, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. *Photo from Wikipedia May 4 is the Day of the adoption of the declaration of independence. On May 4, 1990, Latvia proclaimed its independence from the USSR, and restoration of the Republic of Latvia. Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. Due to Latvia’s strategic location and prosperous trading city of Riga, its territories were a frequent focal point for conflict

Junkanoo celebration in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes across the Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year’s Day (January 1). *Photo from Wikipedia July 10 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Bahamas from the United Kingdom in 1973. The Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the American War of Independence, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists in the Bahamas; they brought their slaves with them and established plantations on land grants. Africans constituted the

Traditional Omani Food. *Photo from Wikipedia November 18 is Oman’s National Day, celebrates independence from Portugal control in 1650. From the late 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was a powerful empire, vying with Portugal and Britain for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence or control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to modern-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar (today part of Tanzania, also former capital). As its power declined in the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. Historically, Muscat