1.
Municipalities of Portugal
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The municipality is the second-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. As a general rule, each municipality is subdivided into parishes. Six municipalities are composed of one parish, and Barcelos is the municipality with most parishes. Corvo is, by law, the municipality with no parishes. Since the creation of a local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese municipalities have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body. The municipal chamber is the body and is composed of the president of the municipality. Both bodies are elected for four years, Portugal has an entirely separate system of cities and towns. Cities and towns are located in municipalities but often do not have the same boundaries, there are around twice as many cities and towns as there are municipalities. The municipality has been the most stable subdivision of Portugal since the foundation of the country in the 12th century and they have their origin in the foral, a legal document, issued by the King of Portugal, which assigned privileges to a town or a region. The present subdivisions have their origins in the 19th century after the administrative reforms conducted by the middle of 19th century by the governments of the constitutional monarchy, the concelhos probably formed after the expulsion of the Visigothic rulers by the Moors during the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. Towns were thus free to govern themselves, and the population started to organize in councils in order to govern the town. These were also a reminder of Roman municipalities, there are 308 municipalities in Portugal,278 in mainland Portugal and 30 in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. They are usually named for their biggest city, or at least, however, the municipality is not synonymous with the city, and can include various towns or cities. In Portugal, cities/towns are a distinction based on population size and associated services. Before the 2013 local government reforms, Portugal was divided into 18 continental districts, the municipalities with the lowest population densities are also found in these inland regions, with smaller populations distributed over a greater area. This chart gives the number of inhabitants in the municipality area, municipality List of municipalities of Portugal Subdivisions of Portugal
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
4.
Administrative divisions of Portugal
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Administratively, Portugal is a unitary and decentralized State. Nonetheless, operationally, it is highly centralized system with administrative divisions organized into three tiers, the State is organized under the principles of subsidiarity, local government autonomy, and democratic decentralization of the public service. The government structure is based on the 1976 Constitution, adopted after the 1975 Carnation Revolution, in law 75/2013 of September 2013 the two types of administrative regions were defined, metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities. Also, the powers and duties of the parishes, municipalities, metropolitan areas. In addition, the Portuguese territory was redefined during European integration and these NUTS definitions, used for collecting statistical information, follow many of the countries border definitions. Although utilized by the Portuguese government, they do not have a status in law. Since 1978, Portugal conceded political autonomy to its North Atlantic archipelagos due to their distance, isolation, geographical context, the Azores is an archipelago of nine islands and several islets that were discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. The Azores lies a third of the distance between Europe and North America, along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Madeira is an archipelago that includes two principal islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, plus two uninhabited natural group of islands, the Desertas and Savage Islands. The archipelago is located closer to Africa than Europe, is commercial and urbanized. A plan to divide mainland Portugal in eight regions was defeated in a referendum in 1998, the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto were created in 1991. Finally in law 75/2013 of September 2013 the current two types of regions were defined, metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities. The Metropolitan Areas are territorial units formed by grouping municipalities, in order to economize on municipal investments, the territories of the intermunicipal communities are based on the NUTS III statistical regions. Preceding the nations independence, the oldest of the municipalities still in existence Coimbra and Santarém were founded in 1085 e 1095. São João da Pesqueira is the oldest Portuguese municipality, founded in 1055, since the creation of a democratic local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese municipalities have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body and a deliberative body. The municipal chamber is the body, and is composed of a president of the municipality. There are 308 municipalities in Portugal and they are usually named for their biggest city, or at least, their historically most important city or town. However, the municipality is usually larger than the city or town after which it is named. The largest in area is Odemira with 1720.60 km², nearly all municipalities are subdivided into civil parishes
5.
Alentejo
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Alentejo is a geographical, historical and cultural region of south-central and southern Portugal. Literally, in Portuguese means beyond Tagus river, Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo. It corresponds to the districts of Beja, Évora, Portalegre, the main cities are, Évora, Beja, Serpa, Estremoz, Elvas and Portalegre. It has borders with Beira Baixa in the North, with Spain (Andalucia and Extremadura in the east, with Algarve in the South and with the Atlantic Ocean, Ribatejo and Estremadura in the West. The Alentejo is a known for its traditional polyphonic singing groups, similar to those found on Tuscany, Corsica. The comarca of the Alentejo became the Alentejo Province, divided into upper and lower designations, the modern region of the Alentejo was expropriated from the medieval provinces and historical territories of Estremadura Province. The term Entre-Tejo-e-Guadiana has become obsolete, it referred to roughly the same area between the Tagus and the Guadiana rivers part of the Kingdom of Portugal. Alentejos area extends to 27,272 square kilometres and has a population of 537,556, excluding Ponte de Sor, its area is 26,432 km2 and its population 520,834. The population density of Alentejo is 19. 1/km², topographically, the countryside varies from the open rolling plains of the south of the Alentejo to the granite hills that border Spain in the north-east. To feed the water needs of this area a number of public dams have been constructed. In the north, traditional economic activity may be more livestock-based as typified by cow, sheep, to the south agriculture may be more predominant. To the east of Portalegre is the Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede, in the south near Mértola there is another Nature Park Area named Parque Natural do Vale Guadiana. This is more scarcely inhabited than the former, to the west, the coastal strip that runs from the port of Sines down to Cape St. Vincent comprises the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park. In fact, it is the most interesting part of the climate of this region and this much resembles a place like Casablanca in Morocco and the Moroccan interior where the same cold sea gives way to extreme differences from coast to even nearby inland. We can find the warmest place in the lowest parts away from the coast, which usually will be in the Guadiana valley from about Mertola to Juromenha with hotspots near Moura and in the small river valleys north of Serra da Adiça. If the winds are strong enough another deep and very low lying valley, despite the fact that they are relatively close to the coast. The highest temperature recorded in Portugal and in fact Europe was measured on the first of August 2003 in Amareleja. Since the meteorological station is about 100 metres above the valley near Moura it is very likely that about 48.5 °C was reached there
6.
NUTS statistical regions of Portugal
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The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics is developed by Eurostat, and employed in Portugal for statistical purposes. The NUTS branch extends from NUTS1, NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions, with the complementary LAU sub-categorization being used to differentiate the local areas, until 4 November 2002, the Sistema Estatístico Nacional used a NUTS codification system that was distinct from the Eurostat system. With the enactment of Decree Law 244/2002, published in the Diário da República, the NUTS system subdivides the nation into three levels, NUTS I, NUTS II and NUTS III. In some European partners, as is the case with Portugal, the LAU, or Local Administrative Units, in the Portuguese context pertains to the 308 municipalities and 3092 civil parishes respectively. In the broadest sense, the NUTS hierarchy, while they may follow some of the borders diverge in their delineation, the first and broadest subdivision of Portugal is between mainland Portugal and the two autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira. Although the districts are still the most socially relevant subdivision, their function is being phased in favour of locally oriented regional units, and regions are growing in importance. The seven regions of Portugal are likewise subdivided into 25 subregions that, from 2015, represent the 2 metropolitan areas, the 21 intermunicipal communities, therefore, since the 2013 revision, the Portuguese subregions have a statutory and administrative relevance. The two autonomous regions in the Atlantic, correspond to their own NUTS I, II and III categories. com Municipalities of Portugal, Statoids. com Regiões de Portugal, LOCAL. PT
7.
Baixo Alentejo (intermunicipal community)
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The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Baixo Alentejo is an administrative division in Portugal. It is also a NUTS3 subregion of the Alentejo Region, the seat of the intermunicipal community is Beja. Baixo Alentejo comprises 13 of the 14 municipalities of the former Beja District, the population in 2011 was 126,692, in an area of 8,542.72 km². It is bordered on the North by Alentejo Central Subregion, on the East by Spain, on the South by the Algarve and it covers the Eastern part of the former Baixo Alentejo Province. It is composed of 13 municipalities, Official website CIM Baixo Alentejo
8.
Districts of Portugal
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The Districts of Portugal, are the most important first-level administrative subdivisions of mainland Portugal. Currently, mainland Portugal is divided into 18 districts, the Portuguese autonomous regions of Açores and Madeira are no longer divided into districts. As an administrative division, each district served mainly as the area of jurisdiction of a civil governor, the Portuguese Constitution of 1976 specifies that Portugal has only, as first level divisions, the autonomous regions and the administrative regions. According to the Constitution, the districts shall be disestablished in the territories where an autonomous or administrative region has been created, so, the districts were abolished in Azores and Madeira when these autonomous regions were created, in 1976. In 1998, a proposal was submitted to referendum to create eight administrative regions in mainland Portugal and this proposal was rejected in the ballot and so the districts continued to exist in mainland Portugal. However, the importance of the districts has been decreasing, in recent years, some administrative, financial and political competencies have been delivered to the CCDRs and to the municipalities, to the detriment of the districts. In 2003, the Portuguese municipalities were allowed to organize themselves into communities and metropolitan areas. Besides, the abolition of the districts is a subject that came back for discussion in Portuguese society, other personalities support the creation of administrative regions and therefore the abolition of districts. In September 8,2011, a decree from the Portuguese Government de facto extinguished all the offices of civil governor, as the existence of the civil governors is still included in the Portuguese Constitution, its de jure extinction can only be done after a constitutional amendment. In mainland Portugal, for administrative purposes, the districts are used as the areas of jurisdiction of the local branches. In these territories, each district was headed by a district governor, in Angola and Mozambique, the former district areas mostly coincide with the modern province areas. In the former Portuguese India, the Damão and Diu districts are still divisions of the present union territory of Daman and Diu, constituição da República Portuguesa, VII Revisão Constitucionl
9.
Freguesia (Portugal)
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Freguesia, usually translated as parish or civil parish, is the third-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution. It is also an administrative unit in the former Portuguese overseas territories of Cape Verde. In the past, was also a division of the other Portuguese overseas territories. The parroquia in the Spanish autonomous communities of Galicia and Asturias is similar to a freguesia, a freguesia is a subdivision of a município. In cases where the seat is divided into more than one parish. Be it a city district or village, the parish is often based on an ecclesiastical parish. Since the creation of a local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese parishes have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body. The members of the assembleia de freguesia are publicly elected every four years, the presidents of the parish boards are also members of the municipal assembly. Freguesia, the traditional Portuguese word for parish, had its beginning in the filius ecclesiae and filius gregis, but, the power of the clergy built theses areas, accumulating immense wealth and power. The liberal government of Mouzinho da Silveira abolished the parishes in 1832, the freguesia began to refer to the civil/administrative entity, while the paróquia became affiliated with the religious entity. Before the 2013 local government reforms, the 308 municipalities were subdivided into 4,259 civil parishes, the government of Pedro Passos Coelho introduced a plan to reform the administrative divisions, in order to create efficiencies and save money. The plan envisioned the reform of the management, territorial geography and political form of how Portugal functioned at the level, including specifically at the freguesia. It was determined that these changes would then be formalized before the 2013 local government elections, as part of a process to reduce expenditures, a condition of the $110 Billion accord. In addition to the reduction of the number of representatives in the local boards, the plan also established criteria for the reduction, amalgamation or extinction of various civil parishes. The reform was implemented according to Law 11-A/2013 of 28 January 2013, which defined the reorganization of the parishes, This way. Barcelos is the municipality with the most civil parishes, list of parishes of Portugal Bairro Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau - replaced the former municipal councils during Portuguese rule of Macau, but retain the Freguesias model
10.
Portuguese Socialist Party
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The Portuguese Socialist Party was a political party in Portugal. The party was founded in 1875, during its initial phase the party was heavily influenced by Proudhonism, and rejected revolutionary Marxism. The party suffered constant factional struggles, in 1919 the leftwing of the party broke away. In general the Socialist Party lacked mass support, the union movement was led by anarchists and was not affiliated with the socialist International Federation of Trade Unions. The party claimed a membership of 2,500 as of 1925 and it had an educational and workers sport organization, with a membership of 3,000. The headquarters of the party were located at Alameda das Linhas de Torres,34, the party won two seats in the parliamentary elections of 1911,1912,1915 and 1925. The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between March 1925 and 1933, after the military coup of May 1926, the Socialist Party was the only tolerated political party. Initially the party adopted a passive tactic towards the military dictatorship, the party sharply distanced itself from the republic uprising in February 1927. The national conference of 1930 decided that the party should openly cooperate with the government, one of the main leaders of the party at the time, Ramado Curto, was commissioned by the government to formulate a labour code. From 1930 he worked with the reformist trade unions in the corporativist National Economic Committee, after the establishment of Estado Novo by António de Oliveira Salazar in March 1933 the party was banned. The party responded by dissolving itself
11.
Western European Time
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Western European Time is a time zone covering parts of western and northwestern Europe. WEST is called British Summer Time in the UK and is known as Irish Standard Time in Ireland. Conversely, Iceland and eastern Greenland are included although both are west of 7. 5°W, in September 2013, a Spanish parliamentary committee recommended switching to WET, a move being considered by MPs. However, the German occupation switched France to German time, two other occupied territories, Belgium and the Netherlands, did the same, and Spain also switched to CET in solidarity with Germany under the orders of General Franco. In the United Kingdom, from 1940 to 1945 British Summer Time was used in winters, between 18 February 1968 and 31 October 1971, BST was used all year round. In Ireland, from 1940 to 1946 Irish Summer Time was used all year round, between 18 February 1968 and 31 October 1971, Irish Standard Time was used all year round. In Portugal, CET was used in the mainland from 1966 to 1976, the autonomous region of the Azores used WET from 1992 to 1993. Iceland Mykines, Faroe Islands Western Ireland Western Portugal Madeira Canary Islands These areas are located between 7°30′ W and 22°30′ W Areas using UTC+1, See Central European Time
12.
Western European Summer Time
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Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme,1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. Also sometimes erroneously referred to as Irish Summer Time, the scheme runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October each year. At both the start and end of the schemes, clock changes take place at 01,00 UTC, during the winter, Greenwich Mean Time is used. The asymmetry reflects temperature more than the length of daylight, Ireland observes Standard Time during the summer months and changes to UTC+0 in winter. As Irelands winter time period begins on the last Sunday in October and finishes on the last Sunday in March, the result is the same as if it observed summer time. The following countries and territories use Western European Summer Time during the summer, starting in 1916, the dates for the beginning and end of BST each year were mandated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In February 2002, the Summer Time Order 2002 changed the dates and times to match European rules for moving to, note, Until 1 October 1916 time in all of Ireland was based on Dublin Mean Time, GMT −25 minutes. BBC News report, Tundra time call in clocks debate, UK Government Report, Overview of the pros and cons of British Summer Time
13.
Concelho
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Concelho, is the Portuguese-language term for municipality, referring to the territorial division. In comparison, the word refers to the organs of State. After the civil parish, the Portuguese concelho is the most stable territorial subdivision within the country, founded in the royal charters attributed to parcels and territorial enclaves, in order to establish a presence by the Crown, rather than personal fiefdoms of the nobility and aristocracy. Today, the municipalities are governed by the municípios, constituted by the Câmara Municipal, its organ and by the Assembleia Municipal. The Câmara is the body that is charged with governing the territory. Owing to population, the chamber can comprise a number of alderman elected by lists, using direct, universal suffragan vote. The municipal assembly, sometimes parliament, is principally for auditing the activities of the executive branch
14.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
15.
Population density
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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume, it is a quantity of type number density. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and most of the time to humans and it is a key geographical term. Population density is population divided by land area or water volume. Low densities may cause a vortex and lead to further reduced fertility. This is called the Allee effect after the scientist who identified it, commonly this may be calculated for a county, city, country, another territory, or the entire world. The worlds population is around 7,000,000,000, therefore, the worldwide human population density is around 7,000,000,000 ÷510,000,000 =13.7 per km2. If only the Earths land area of 150,000,000 km2 is taken into account and this includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica. If Antarctica is also excluded, then population density rises to over 50 people per km2, thus, this number by itself does not give any helpful measurement of human population density. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city-states, microstates, cities with high population densities are, by some, considered to be overpopulated, though this will depend on factors like quality of housing and infrastructure and access to resources. Most of the most densely populated cities are in Southeast Asia, though Cairo, for instance, Milwaukee has a greater population density when just the inner city is measured, and the surrounding suburbs excluded. Arithmetic density, The total number of people / area of land, physiological density, The total population / area of arable land. Agricultural density, The total rural population / area of arable land, residential density, The number of people living in an urban area / area of residential land. Urban density, The number of people inhabiting an urban area / total area of urban land, ecological optimum, The density of population that can be supported by the natural resources. S. States by population density Selected Current and Historic City, Ward & Neighborhood Density
16.
Alcoutim
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Alcoutim is a town and a municipality in southeastern Portugal near the border with Spain. The population in 2011 was 2,917, in an area of 575.36 km² and it is the least densely populated municipality in Portugal. The Moorish Alcoutim Castle, located in the municipality, dates from the 14th century, the municipality is located in the northeast corner of Faro District. The present Mayor is Francisco Augusto Amaral, elected by the Social Democratic Party, the municipal holiday is June 13
17.
Guadiana
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The Guadiana River, or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalucia from Alentejo and Algarve. With a course that covers a distance of 829 kilometres, it is the fourth-longest in the Iberian peninsula, the Romans referred to the river as the Flumen Anas, the river of ducks. During the Moorish occupation and settlement, the name was extended and referred to as Wadi Ana, later passed on to Portuguese and Spanish settlers as the Ouadiana, and later just Odiana. It is 818 kilometres long, of which 578 kilometres are within Spanish territory,140 kilometres within Portugal, about 82 percent,55,444 square kilometres, of its basin is in Spain, while about 17 percent,11,560 square kilometres is in Portugal. This legend developed from a belief that the river appeared and disappeared over time. In fact, no subterranean course exists, and the belief that the Lagunas de Ruidera is the source is also controversial, toponomically and traditionally the Upper Guadiana, which runs from Viveros until Argamasilla de Alba had been identified as the main branch of the Guadiana. But even hydro-geological characteristics indicate that the Upper Guadiana may not be the river within the system. Another of the theories, postulated that the Cigüela and Záncara rivers were the sources of the Guadiana. Today, they are considered parts of the rivers headwaters and important tributaries. The Ciguelas source is in Altos de Cabreras and pertains to the Sistema Ibérico and its course is 225 kilometres long, receiving contributions from the rivers Jualón, Torrejón, Riánsares, Amarguillo and Záncara. From its origin/spring runs from the southern Iberian plain in a direction east to west, to near the town of Badajoz, where it begins to track south leading to the Gulf of Cádiz. The Guadiana marks the border of Spain and Portugal twice as it runs to the ocean, first, for the most part, the Guadiana is navigable from the Atlantic ocean until Mértola, a distance of 68 kilometres. North of Mértola on the Guadiana is the highest waterfall is Southern Portugal called Pulo do Lobo, the ecosystem has Mediterranean hydrological characteristics, including high variation in intra- and inter-annual discharge, large floods and severe droughts. This variability is a consequence of variation in rainwater supply averaging around an annual mean of 400 to 600 millimetres. The climate is semiarid with an annual temperature of 14 to 16 °C. The estuary has a width of 550 metres, and its depth ranges from 5 to 17 metres. Tides are semi-diurnal, ranging from 0.8 to 3.5 metres, in Spain, three autonomous communities, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia) are crossed by the Guadiana. Meanwhile, in Portugal the river crosses the regions of Alentejo and Algarve, there are over 30 dams on the river basin
18.
Classical antiquity
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It is the period in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe, North Africa and Southwestern Asia. Conventionally, it is taken to begin with the earliest-recorded Epic Greek poetry of Homer, and continues through the emergence of Christianity and it ends with the dissolution of classical culture at the close of Late Antiquity, blending into the Early Middle Ages. Such a wide sampling of history and territory covers many disparate cultures, Classical antiquity may refer also to an idealised vision among later people of what was, in Edgar Allan Poes words, the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome. The culture of the ancient Greeks, together with influences from the ancient Near East, was the basis of art, philosophy, society. The earliest period of classical antiquity takes place before the background of gradual re-appearance of historical sources following the Bronze Age collapse, the 8th and 7th centuries BC are still largely proto-historical, with the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appearing in the first half of the 8th century. Homer is usually assumed to have lived in the 8th or 7th century BC, in the same period falls the traditional date for the establishment of the Ancient Olympic Games, in 776 BC. The Phoenicians originally expanded from Canaan ports, by the 8th century dominating trade in the Mediterranean, carthage was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had firmly established strongholds in Sicily, Italy and Sardinia, which created conflicts of interest with Etruria. The Etruscans had established control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming the aristocratic. According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21,753 BC by twin descendants of the Trojan prince Aeneas, Romulus and Remus. As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins and the Sabines. Archaeological evidence indeed shows first traces of settlement at the Roman Forum in the mid-8th century BC, the seventh and final king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus. As the son of Tarquinius Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius Tullius, Superbus was of Etruscan birth and it was during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. Superbus removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the Tarpeian Rock, the people came to object to his rule when he failed to recognize the rape of Lucretia, a patrician Roman, at the hands of his own son. Lucretias kinsman, Lucius Junius Brutus, summoned the Senate and had Superbus, after Superbus expulsion, the Senate voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government in 509 BC. In fact the Latin word Rex meaning King became a dirty and hated throughout the Republic. In 510, Spartan troops helped the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias, cleomenes I, king of Sparta, put in place a pro-Spartan oligarchy conducted by Isagoras. Greece entered the 4th century under Spartan hegemony, but by 395 BC the Spartan rulers removed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost her naval supremacy. Athens, Argos, Thebes and Corinth, the two of which were formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War, which ended inconclusively in 387 BC
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Umayyad conquest of Hispania
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The Umayyad conquest of Hispania was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania, largely extending from 711 to 788. The conquest marks the westernmost expansion of both the Umayyad Caliphate and Muslim rule into Europe, forces commanded by Tariq ibn Ziyad disembarked in early 711 at Gibraltar at the head of an army consisting of Berbers. He campaigned his way northward after the decisive Battle of Guadalete against the usurper Roderic, by 717, the combined force had crossed the Pyrenees into Septimania and Provence. Precisely what happened in Iberia in the early 8th century is uncertain, there is one contemporary Christian source, the Chronicle of 754, regarded as reliable but often vague. There are no contemporary Muslim accounts, what Muslim information there is comes from later compilations subject to contemporary ideological influence. The most prominent such compilation is that of Al-Maqqari, which dates from the 17th century and this paucity of sources means that any specific or detailed claims need to be regarded with caution. Numismatic evidence suggests a division of authority, with several coinages being struck. There is also a story of one Julian, count of Ceuta, whose wife or daughter was raped by Roderic, however, these stories are not included in the earliest accounts of the conquest. According to the later chronicler Ibn Abd-el-Hakem, in 711, Tariq Ibn Ziyad led an approximately 1, however,12,000 seems a more accurate figure. They defeated the Visigothic army, led by King Roderic, in a battle at Guadalete in 712. Tariqs forces were reinforced by those of his superior, the wali Musa ibn Nusair. According to the Muslim historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Iberia was first invaded some sixty years earlier during the caliphate of Uthman, however, this putative invasion is not accepted by modern historians. The conquering army was made up mainly of Berbers who had only recently come under Muslim influence. Both the Chronicle of 754 and later Muslim sources speak of raiding activity in previous years, the Chronicle of 754 stated that the entire army of the Goths, which had come with him fraudulently and in rivalry out of hopes of the Kingship, fled. This is the contemporary account of the battle and the paucity of detail led many later historians to invent their own. The location of the battle is not totally clear but was probably the Guadalete River, Roderic was believed to have been killed and a crushing defeat would have left the Visigoths largely leaderless and disorganized. The resulting power vacuum, which may have indeed caught Tariq completely by surprise, in 714, Musa ibn Nusayr headed north-west up the Ebro river to overrun the western Basque regions and the Cantabrian mountains all the way to Gallaecia, with no relevant or attested opposition. During the period of the second Arab governor Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, the northern areas of Iberia drew little attention to the conquerors and were hard to defend when taken
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Mosque
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A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. There are strict and detailed requirements in Sunni jurisprudence for a place of worship to be considered a mosque, many mosques have elaborate domes, minarets, and prayer halls, in varying styles of architecture. Mosques originated on the Arabian Peninsula, but are now found in all inhabited continents, the mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for salat as well as a center for information, education, social welfare, and dispute settlement. The imam leads the congregation in prayer, the first mosque in the world is often considered to be the area around the Kaaba in Mecca now known as the Masjid al-Haram. Others regard the first mosque in history to be the Quba Mosque in present-day Medina since it was the first structure built by Muhammad upon his emigration from Mecca in 622. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad went on to another mosque in Medina. Built on the site of his home, Muhammad participated in the construction of the mosque himself and helped pioneer the concept of the mosque as the focal point of the Islamic city. The Masjid al-Nabawi introduced some of the still common in todays mosques, including the niche at the front of the prayer space known as the mihrab. The Masjid al-Nabawi was also constructed with a courtyard, a motif common among mosques built since then. Mosques had been built in Iraq and North Africa by the end of the 7th century, the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala is reportedly one of the oldest mosques in Iraq, although its present form – typical of Persian architecture – only goes back to the 11th century. The shrine, while operating as a mosque, remains one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims, as it honors the death of the third Shia imam. The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As was reportedly the first mosque in Egypt, serving as a religious, like the Imam Husayn Shrine, though, nothing of its original structure remains. With the later Shia Fatimid Caliphate, mosques throughout Egypt evolved to include schools, hospitals and it was the first to incorporate a square minaret and includes naves akin to a basilica. Those features can also be found in Andalusian mosques, including the Grand Mosque of Cordoba, still, some elements of Visigothic architecture, like horseshoe arches, were infused into the mosque architecture of Spain and the Maghreb. The first mosque in East Asia was reportedly established in the 8th century in Xian, however, the Great Mosque of Xian, whose current building dates from the 18th century, does not replicate the features often associated with mosques elsewhere. Indeed, minarets were initially prohibited by the state, mosques in western China were more likely to incorporate elements, like domes and minarets, traditionally seen in mosques elsewhere. In turn, the Javanese style influenced the styles of mosques in Indonesias Austronesian neighbors—Malaysia, Brunei, Muslim empires were instrumental in the evolution and spread of mosques. Although mosques were first established in India during the 7th century, reflecting their Timurid origins, Mughal-style mosques included onion domes, pointed arches, and elaborate circular minarets, features common in the Persian and Central Asian styles
Portugal
