LibGuides: Culinary Arts Diploma CAD: Mediterranean Basin Country Profiles

Ancient Civilizations

Ancient Greece: Topic
Ancient civilization that flourished 2,500 years ago on the shores of the Ionian and Aegean Seas (modern Greece and the west coast of Turkey).
Ancient Rome: Topic
Ancient Rome was a civilization based on the city of Rome. It lasted for about 800 years.
Ancient Egypt: Topic
Ancient civilization, based around the River Nile in Egypt, which emerged 5,000 years ago and reached its peak in the 16th century BCE.
Minoan Civilization: Topic
Ancient Cretan culture representing a stage in the development of the Aegean civilization. It is named for the legendary King Minos of Crete.
Mycenaean Civilization: Topic
An ancient Aegean civilization known from the excavations at Mycenae and other sites.

Credo Reference: Ancient History

Credo Reference: Encyclopedias

Credo Reference: Agriculture, Aquaculture & Food Sciences

Places: Capitals

Algiers city (1998 pop. 1,519,570), capital of Algeria, N Algeria, on the Bay of Algiers of the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the leading ports of North Africa (wine, citrus fruit, iron ore, cork, and cereals are the major exports), as well as a commercial center. Industries include metallurgy, oil refining, automotive construction, machine-building, and the production of chemicals, tobacco, paper, and cement. Founded by the Phoenicians and called Icosium by the Romans, the city disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire. Many of the Moors expelled from Spain in 1492 settled in Algiers. In 1511 the Spanish occupied an island in the city's harbor, but they were driven out when Barbarossa captured Algiers for the Turks. Algiers then became a base for the Muslim fleet that preyed upon Christian commerce in the Mediterranean (see Barbary States). Under the Ottoman Empire, the city's population reached 100,000. The ruling Turkish official in Algeria, the dey of Algiers, made himself virtually independent of Constantinople in the 18th and 19th cent.
Amman Town, ✽ of Jordan, 25 mi. (40 km.) NE of the Dead Sea; munic. area pop. (2001c) 627,505; administrative, financial, and commercial center; university (1962). Chief city of the Ammonites; besieged and captured by Hebrew soldier Joab and King David (2 Sam. xi–xii); improved by Egyptian King Ptolemy II…
Andorra Landlocked country in the east Pyrenees, bounded north by France and south by Spain. Government Under the 1993 constitution, Andorra is an independent, democratic, multiparty ‘parliamentary’ co-principality, with full sovereignty in the hands of the people, but with Spanish and French co-princes (the bishop of Urgel in Spain and the president of France respectively) as joint heads of state with limited, constitutionally defined, powers. The co-princes are represented by permanent delegates, the vicar general of the Urgel diocese, and the prefect of the French…
Ankara Capital of Turkey and the country's second-largest city after Istanbul; population (2003 est) 3,456,100, urban agglomeration 3,582,000. Industries include cement, food products, wine, farm machinery, iron and steel, electronics, textiles, and leather products. Grains, vegetables, and fruit are grown nearby, and angora goats, famous for the mohair made from their coats, are bred here. Ankara replaced Istanbul (then in Allied occupation) as capital in 1923. History Known in ancient times as Ancyra and later as Angora, the city was an important commercial centre as early as…
Athens: Topic
Capital city of Greece and of ancient Attica; population (2003 est) 747,300, urban agglomeration 3,247,000.
Baku (Baki) Capital city of the republic of Azerbaijan , located on the Apsheron Peninsula on the western shore of the Caspian Sea; population of the city (2013 est) 1,200,300; population of the metropolitan area (1997 est) 1,727,200. Baku is an important industrial city and port. It has been a major centre of oil extraction and refining since the 1870s; the oilfields here are linked by pipelines with the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi, while petroleum exports to Russia are shipped across the Caspian to Astrakhan and along the Volga River. Heavy engineering enterprises in the city produce…
Beirut Arab. Bayrut , Fr. Beyrouth , city (1996 est. pop. 1,200,000), W Lebanon, capital of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Lebanon Mts. Beirut is an important port and financial center with food processing industries. Tourism is also significant.
Belgrade
city (1991 est. pop. 1,168,454), capital of Serbia, and of the former nation of Yugoslavia and its short-lived successor, Serbia and Montenegro, at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. It is the commercial, industrial, political, and cultural center of Serbia, as well as a transportation and communications hub. An industrial city, Belgrade produces a variety of manufactures.
Bern Capital of Switzerland and of Bern canton, in the west of the country on the River Aare; population (2003 est) 122,700. Industries include the manufacture of textiles, precision instruments, chocolate, pharmaceuticals, and light metal and electronic goods.
Bratislava City and capital of the Slovak Republic, and a leading port on the River Danube; population (2003 est) 428,800. A well-diversified industrial centre, its manufacturing includes textiles, chemicals, and metal goods. During the Communist period, heavy industry was focused on the production of armaments. The city is surrounded by forests, large farms, and vineyards, and has an active trade in agricultural products. It was the capital of Hungary from 1541 to 1784 and capital of the province of Slovakia (within Czechoslovakia) from 1919 until 1949,
Brussels City and capital of Belgium, and of Brabant province, situated almost in the centre of the country in the Senne river valley at the junction of the Charleroi-Brussels and Willebroek canals; city population (2003 est) 981,200, urban agglomeration 1,750,600. Industries include lace, textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, processed food, machinery, and chemicals. It is the headquarters of the European Union (EU) and, since 1967, of the international secretariat of NATO. It contains the Belgian royal seat, the chief courts, the chamber of commerce, and is the centre of the principal banks of the country. Founded on an island in the River Senne c. 580, Brussels became a city in 1312, and was declared capital of the Spanish Netherlands in 1530 and of Belgium in 1830. The city is officially bilingual (French and Flemish).
Bucharest city (1990 pop. 2,394,284), capital and largest city of Romania, SE Romania, in Walachia, on the Dîmboviţa River, a tributary of the Danube. It is Romania's chief industrial and communications center. Agricultural machinery, automotive equipment, and buses are the main manufactures. The city, probably founded in the late 14th cent., was first known as Cetatea Dambovitei [Dambovita citadel] and was a military fortress and commercial center astride the trade routes to Constantinople. It became (1459) a residence of the Walachian princes and changed its name (15th cent.) to Bucharest. In 1698 the city became the capital of Walachia under Constantine Brancovan; after the union (1859) of Walachia and Moldavia it was made (1861) the capital of Romania.
Budapest ity (1990 pop. 2,016,100), capital of Hungary, N central Hungary, on both banks of the Danube. The largest city of Hungary and its industrial, cultural, and transportation center, Budapest has varied manufactures, notably textiles, instruments, and electronics. Budapest has well-developed commercial, transport, and communication services as well. Educational and cultural institutions in the city include Loránd Eötvös Univ. (1635), Central European Univ., the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the National Széchenyi Library, the National Museum,
Cairo City (pop., 2006: city, 7,786,640; 2007 est.: urban agglom., 16,100,000), capital of Egypt. Located on the banks of the Nile River near the site of a Roman city captured by the Arabs in 641, Al-Fusṭāṭ was first built by the Arabs as a military camp. Cairo’s newer section (Al-Qāhirah) was built by the Fāṭimid dynasty (c. 968) and was made the capital in 973; both cities coexisted until Al-Fusṭāṭ was destroyed by fire in 1168, then rebuilt and joined with Cairo by Saladin. From the 13th century, as the capital of the Mamlūk dynasty, it reached its greatest prosperity as a trade and cultural centre. The metropolis is a blend of old and new, East and West. It is the centre of one of the largest urban agglomerations in the Middle East and Africa, and the popularity of its movies, music, and literature place it among the chief cultural centres of the Arab world.
Chişinǎu
Capital of Moldova, situated in a rich agricultural area; population (2004) 647,500. It is a commercial and cultural centre; industries include cement, food processing, tobacco, and textiles. Founded in 1436, Chişinǎu was the capital of Bessarabia . It was wrested from three centuries of Ottoman…
Damascus city (1995 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of Syria and of its Damascus governorate, SW Syria, on the eastern edge of the Anti-Lebanon Mts. It is Syria's largest city and its administrative, financial, and communications center. Damascus stands in the oasis of Ghouta on the margins of the Syrian Desert, and is bisected by the Barada River. Manufactures include textiles, metalware, refined sugar, glass, furniture, cement, leather goods, preserves, confections, and matches.
Jerusalem eb. Yerushalayim , Arab. Al Quds , city (1994 pop. 578,800), capital of Israel. The city of Jerusalem was the ancient capital of the Israelite kingdom and the center of its religious life from the days of King David; it has retained its central position as the focal point of Jewish prayer and the center of Jewish national identity. By extension, it has also become a holy city for Christianity and Islam.
Kiev city (1990 est. pop. 2,600,000) and municipality with the status of a region (oblast), capital of Ukraine and of Kiev region, a port on the Dnieper River. The largest city of Ukraine, Kiev is a leading industrial, commercial, and cultural center. Food processing (notably the processing of beet sugar), metallurgy, and the manufacture of machinery, machine tools, rolling stock, chemicals, building materials, and textiles are the major industries. Known to Russians as the “mother of cities,” Kiev is one of the oldest towns in N Europe. It probably existed as a commercial center as early as the 5th cent. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kiev was tributary to the Khazars when the Varangians under Oleg established themselves there in 882. Under Oleg's successors it became the capital of medieval Kievan Rus (the first Russian state) and was a leading European cultural and commercial center. It was also an early seat of Russian Christianity.
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a small, oil-rich Arab country at the head of the Persian Gulf. It consists of a mainland area and several offshore islands. The capital, Kuwait City, stands on a natural harbour called Kuwait Bay. Most of the land is a flat or gently undulating plain. The highest point is…
Lisbon Port. Lisboa , ancient Olisipo , city (1991 pop. 677,790), W Portugal, capital of Portugal and of Lisboa dist., on the Tagus River where it broadens to enter the Atlantic Ocean. Lisbon is Portugal's largest city and its cultural, administrative, commercial, and industrial hub. It was under Roman rule from 205 bce ; Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia.
Ljubljana
City (pop., 2002 prelim.: 257,338), capital of Slovenia . Located on the Ljubljanica River, it is surrounded by the northern Dinaric Alps . The site of the Roman city of Emona in the 1st century bc , it was destroyed in the 5th century ad and rebuilt by the Slavs as Luvigana. It passed to Carniola in the 12th century and came under…
London Capital and largest city (pop., 2006 est.: 7,517,700) of the United Kingdom, situated in southeastern England on the River Thames . It is the political, industrial, cultural, and financial centre of the country. Formally known as the metropolitan county of Greater London. Roman Londinium was the provincial capital of Roman Britain from c. ad 60 onwards. First surviving reference to London is found in Tacitus ( Annals , xiv) written ad 115–117
Luxembourg
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is one of the smallest and oldest countries in Europe. The N belongs to an upland region that includes the Ardennes in Belgium and Luxembourg, and the Eiffel Highlands in Germany. Population: 486,200 Currency: Euro Official language: French, German, and Luxembourgish.
Madrid city (1990 pop. 3,120,732), capital of Spain and of Madrid prov., central Spain, and the focus of its own autonomous region, on the Manzanares River. The newest of the great Spanish cities, it lacks the traditions of the ancient Castilian and Andalusian towns.
Nicosia Capital of Cyprus, with leather, textile, and pottery industries; population (2001) 205,600. Nicosia was the residence of Lusignan kings of Cyprus 1192–1475. The Venetians, who took Cyprus in 1489, surrounded Nicosia with a high wall, which still exists; the city fell to the Turks in 1571. It was again partly taken by the Turks in the invasion in 1974. In 1995 the Greek Cypriot national assembly voted unanimously to change the divided city's name to Lefkosia. Turkish Cypriots already referred to their half of the city as Lefkosha. The Greek and Turkish sectors are separated by the Attila Line.
Paris city (1999 pop. 2,115,757; metropolitan area est. pop. 11,000,000), N central France, capital of the country, on the Seine River. It is the commercial and industrial focus of France and a cultural and intellectual center of international renown. The city possesses an indefinable unity of atmosphere that has fascinated writers, poets, and painters for centuries. Paris is sometimes called the City of Light in tribute to its intellectual preeminence as well as to its beautiful appearance.
Podgorica city (2011 pop. 185,937), capital and largest city of Montenegro, SE Montenegro, at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers. A commercial center, it has industries producing aluminum, furniture, tobacco, and foodstuffs. An ancient town, it was the capital of Serbia in the 11th cent. and was known as Ribnica until the 13th cent. It was ruled by the Turks from the mid-15th cent. until 1878, when it was transferred to Montenegro. The old city was almost entirely destroyed in World War II. From 1946 to 1992 the city was called Titograd.
Prague City and capital of the Czech Republic on the River Vltava; population (2001) 1,169,100. Industries include cars, aircraft, chemicals, paper and printing, clothing, brewing, and food processing. It was the capital of Czechoslovakia 1918–93. Features Charles University, founded in 1348 by Emperor…
Rabat Capital and industrial port of Morocco, on the Atlantic coast, 177 km/110 mi west of Fès; population (2004) 1,622,900 (Rabat-Salé urban area). It is situated on the Bou Regreg River, opposite Salé. Industries include textiles, asbestos, carpets, pottery, leather goods, fishing; carpets, blankets, and leather handicrafts are also important, and other exports include skins, wax, cork, slippers, and beans. Founded in 1190, it is named after its original ribat or fortified monastery.
Rome: Topic
Capital of Italy and of Lazio region, on the River Tiber, 27 km/17 mi from the Tyrrhenian Sea; population 2,459,800.
Sarajevo city (2013 pop. 438,443), capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the Miljacka River. An important industrial and railway center, its industries include food and tobacco processing and furniture manufacturing. Lignite and iron ore are mined nearby. The city is the seat of an Orthodox Eastern metropolitan, a Roman Catholic archbishop, and the chief ulema of Bosnia's Muslims, who constituted about 50% of the population before the city was torn apart by war in 1992.
Skopje city (1994 pop. 444,760), capital of Macedonia, on the Vardar River. It is an important transportation and trade center as well as an industrial hub where chemicals, cement, machinery, and diverse light manufactures are produced. The city is also the see of an Orthodox Eastern archbishop and the seat of a Macedonian university (founded 1949). Dating from Roman times, Skopje was captured by the Serbs in 1282 and was the scene (1346) of Stephen Dušan's coronation as czar of Serbia. It fell to the Turks in 1392 and until the fall of Constantinople (1453) was considered the second city of Turkey. Skopje was taken by the Serbs in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 and was included in Yugoslavia in 1918. It was occupied by the Germans during World War II. After liberation, it became the capital of the Yugoslavian constituent republic of Macedonia from 1945 until 1991, when Macedonia declared its independence.
Sofia city (1993 pop. 1,114,476), capital of Bulgaria, W central Bulgaria, on a high plain surrounded by the Balkan Mts. It is Bulgaria's chief industrial, transportation, and commercial center. Among the chief manufactures are engineering and metal products, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and leather goods, furniture, footwear, and chemicals.
Sparta: Topic
City of ancient Greece, capital of Laconia, on the Eurotas (Evrótas) River in the Peloponnesus.
Tbilisi
City (pop., 2010 est.: 1,122,300), capital of Georgia , on the Mtkvari ( Kura ) River. Founded c. 458 ce as the capital of the Georgian kingdom, its strategic position on trade routes between Europe and Asia led to its frequent capture. It endured under successive Persian, Byzantine, Arab, Mongol, …
Tehran (or Tehrān or Teheran) Capital of Iran; population (2006) 7,797,500. The city produces over half of the country's manufactured goods, and industries include textiles, chemicals, pottery, electrical equipment, oil refining, vehicle assembly, engineering, and tobacco and sugar processing. It is built at an average altitude of 1,220 m/3,937 ft on a slope running south from the Elburz Mountains. Tehran was founded in the 12th century and made the capital in 1788 by Muhammad Shah. Much of the city was rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s.
Tirane or Tirana capital of Albania and of Tiranë dist., central Albania, on the Ishm River. It is the largest city and the chief industrial and cultural center of the country. Tiranë is located on a fertile plain that yields a variety of agricultural products. Its manufactures include metal products, agricultural machinery, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs. After 1990 (the end of Communist rule), new industries sprang up in scattered locations around the city. Lignite is mined nearby. A railroad and highway link Tiranë with the port city of Durrës, its chief outlet. The center of the city is Scanderbeg Square, with the government buildings and the 18th-century mosque of Etchem Bey. The bazaar and the mosque of Sulayman Pasha are nearby. The city has a university (founded 1957) and the institute of sciences of Albania. The population of Tiranë is mostly Muslim. Tiranë was founded in the early 17th cent. by the Turkish general Sulayman Pasha, who is buried there. It was originally named Tehran, for a Turkish victory in Persia. The larger part of Tiranë was built after 1920, when it was selected as the capital of Albania. A new residential quarter was built under Italian rule (1939–43), and an industrial sector was developed after World War II. On Jan. 11, 1946, the Communist government of Enver Hoxha was proclaimed there. In the early 1990s, Tiranë was rocked by massive and often violent demonstrations that forced the Communist government to institute substantial political and economic reforms. Since the end of the Communist dictatorship the city has experienced enormous population growth.
Tripoli, city, Libya city (1984 pop. 990,697), capital of Libya and of Tripoli dist., NW Libya, a port on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a commercial, industrial, administrative, and transportation center. Manufactures include processed food, textiles, tobacco products, and woven goods. Located on the edge of a large oasis, the city was founded (probably in the 7th cent. B.C.) as Oea by Phoenicians from Tyre. The main city of the historic region of Tripolitania, it was later captured by the Romans (1st cent. B.C.), the Vandals (5th cent. A.D.), and the Arabs (7th cent.). The city was a terminus of important trans-Saharan caravan routes. Captured in 1510 by the Spanish, Tripoli was granted (1528) to the Knights of St. John, who held it until 1551, when it was taken by the Ottoman Turks. From 1711 to 1835, Tripoli was the seat of the Karamanli dynasty, which ruled most of what later became Libya with little control from Constantinople. The city was a major base of the Barbary pirates
Troy: Topic
Ancient city in Asia Minor (modern Hissarlik in Turkey), just south of the Dardanelles.
Tunis The capital and largest city of Tunisia lies on the western bank of the Lake of Tunis, a shallow lagoon linked to the Mediterranean Sea by a narrow channel. A settlement already existed on the site in the ninth century BCE, when Phoenician merchants founded Carthage on the coast some ten miles away.. The Romans destroyed Tunis along with Carthage after their victory in the Third Punic War (146BCE). Although the revival of Tunis preceded that of Carthage itself, the city existed in the shadow of its more famous neighbor throughout the early Christian era.
Vaduz City (pop., 2006 est.: 5,070), capital of Liechtenstein. It is located on the Rhine River. It was greatly damaged in 1499 in a war between the Swiss and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, but it was subsequently rebuilt. The Liechtenstein family gained possession in the early 18th century. It is a flourishing tourist centre and the residence of the ruling prince, whose castle overlooks the town. The town’s Fürst Liechtensteinische Gemäldegalerie displays parts of the world-famous art collection of the princes of Liechtenstein.
Valletta Seaport city (pop., 2007 est.: 6,154), capital of Malta. It is located on a rocky promontory with harbours on either side. Built after the Great Siege of Malta (1565), which checked the advance of Ottoman power in southern Europe, it was named after Jean Parisot de la Valette, grand master of the Knights of Malta. It became the Maltese capital in 1570. After 1814 it was made the principal base of the British Mediterranean naval fleet and remained important through World War II, during which it suffered heavy damage from bombing raids. Several 16th-century buildings still exist. The city’s economy relies mainly on trade and tourism.
Vienna The capital city of Austria. It was settled by the Celts, became a military centre under the Caesars and was the home of the later Holy Roman emperors. Duke Henry founded the Schottenkloster (‘Irish monastery’) of Our Lady c .1156. The various nationalities in this multinational empire, among them Austrians, Slavs, Italians, and Hungarians, all contributed to what are today known as Viennese cuisine and Viennese sweets.
Yerevan City (pop., 2004 est.: 1,101,900), capital of Armenia. Fortified since the 8th century bc and part of Armenia since the 6th century bc, it developed as an important centre of the caravan trade. Over the centuries, its rulers have included the Romans, Arabs, Turks, and Russians; it fell to the latter in 1827. In 1920 it became the capital of independent Armenia and remained so during the period of Soviet rule and after independence was restored. Its industries include those producing chemicals, aluminum, automobiles, and electrical machinery.
Zagreb city (2011 pop. 790,017), capital and largest city of Croatia , on the Sava River. Zagreb is Croatia's largest industrial, manufacturing, and financial center and, prior to Yugoslavia's disintegration in the early 1990s, was also Yugoslavia's largest. It has industries that produce machinery, machine tools, electrical and metal products, and chemicals. It is also the cultural center of Croatia, with an Academy of Arts and Sciences (founded 1861), a university (founded 1669), an institute of nuclear physics, an observatory, and several fine museums and art…Read more

Culinary Arts Diploma CAD: Mediterranean Basin Country Profiles

Mediterranean Region

Ancient Civilizations

Credo Reference: Ancient History

Credo Reference: Encyclopedias

Credo Reference: Agriculture, Aquaculture & Food Sciences

Places: Capitals