In ancient times – long before the emergence of money – trading meant direct exchange of goods between interested parties. These so-called barter deals are said to have been cultivated by the Phoenicians some 6,000 years ago, yet this form of legal swapping still has its place in our modern society and economy parallel to monetary systems. In a barter deal, usually no cash is flowing.
That Singapore is a survivor is corroborated by the fact, that even the drama of her independence happened twofold! For the first time, when released from the bondage of British colonisation in 1959. For the second, after an involuntary merger with the Federation of Malaysia was terminated following a phase of political and racial unrest. Singapore finally gained her well-deserved sovereignty in 1965.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of her reinstalled freedom, the city throws a gargantuan party lasting the entire year. Considering, that a state is made up of its people, it seems a logical consequence for Singapore to share her Golden Jubilee with her truly diverse ethnic community by inviting them to help plan and organise a series of festivities. After all it was their concerted efforts that made Singapore’s skyrocketing ascent possible. The official body guiding procedures and founded especially for that purpose, is the Singapore50 (SG50) Steering Committee. It comprises representatives from public, private and people sectors. Bearing in mind the multi-cultural denizenship Singapore’s fabric is woven from, an exciting array of vibrant events is sure to rain down on locals and visitors alike. A small choice of what is on the agenda is laid out below. The full range is here: www.Singapore50.sg
If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to bear in mind the wide variety of accommodation options it offers. But if you’re going to San Francisco for a stunning view of the city itself, you may want to choose a place on the opposite side of the bay. Here is one in Sausalito that would fulfil this concrete wish of yours – and perhaps satisfy a number of other visions stressed-out business travellers or leisurely vacationers might maintain.
There was no Golden Gate Bridge yet, when the U.S. Army acquired the site of Horseshoe Cove at the mouth of San Francisco Bay in 1866 to establish a strategic military base. Much later, 24 Colonial Revival buildings – erected between 1901 and 1915 – embraced the 10-acre parade ground of the camp named Fort Baker. When the Golden Gate National Parks were founded in 1972 and Fort Baker was no longer needed by the military, it was designated to be taken under the wings of the National Park Service, a transaction officially concluded in 2002. The post has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1973.
Coffee is not just an invigorating brew but rather a scientific field of expertise worth being explored. Barista Schools popping up the world over bear witness to the cognition that a cup of coffee is not something to be prepared in one’s stride. It is a challenge which has to be given care and devotion at least as deep as is granted to the meticulously performed Asian Tea Ceremony.
Here in Vienna, each type of coffee is honoured with its individual cryptical name. The least one can do for a treasure accidentally left by the Ottomans after their siege of Vienna in 1683. Apart from war and devastation, they had brought along with them a culinary novelty: Viennese citizens discovered a number of bags filled with precious coffee beans in an abandoned Turkish camp after the battle was over. Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, had taken hold of the bags and opened Vienna’s first coffeehouse in the same year. www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/coffeehouses/in-the-old-city
Chinese Kazakh eagle hunters ride with their eagles during a local competition in January, 2015 in the mountains of Qinghe County, Xinjiang, northwestern China. The festival, organised by the local hunting community, is part of an effort to promote and grow traditional hunting practices for new generations in the mountainous region of western China that borders Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. The training and handling of the large birds of prey follows a strict set of ancient rules that Kazakh eagle hunters are preserving for future generations. (Photos by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images, introduction: Qinghe, Xinjiang/China)
