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Westie (person)

Westie, or  Westy, is slang in Australian and New Zealand English for residents of the Greater Western Sydney, the western suburbs of Melbourne, or the western suburbs of Auckland.

The term originated, and is most often used, in relation to residents of the numerous western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, and of Auckland, New Zealand. According to the Macquarie Dictionary, the term in Australian English now refers to people from outer suburbs and a lower socio-economic background, or to the stereotypes associated with such people. It also states that the term has spread throughout Australia and may refer to people who may not live in the western part of their city. With reference to its use in Sydney, the Macquarie Book of Slang says the term is applied negatively to anyone that may live west of one's own suburb.

Stereotype
"Westie" is often stereotyped as people from the outer suburbs who are unintelligent, undereducated, unmotivated, unrefined, lacking in fashion sense, working-class or unemployed. Clothing such as flannelette shirts, Ugg boots, leopard-print fabric, Adidas outfits with stripes, and blue singlets are associated with the stereotype, as are the "uniform" of black T-shirt and ripped jeans.

Auckland, New Zealand
In Auckland, westies are almost entirely residents of West Auckland and in particular the suburbs of Massey, Te Atatū, Henderson, Sunnyvale, Glen Eden, Green Bay, Titirangi, Ranui, and New Lynn. Until 2010, these western suburbs formed much of Waitakere City. Some people from Avondale are called by others and themselves westies although Avondale was within the territory of the former Auckland City.

To be called a Westie in Auckland is sometimes ambiguous as it can be both a pejorative or good natured, depending on intent. Many people from west Auckland will call themselves Westies with pride yet not meet the stereotypical criteria. Westies are stereotypically seen as being more brash and of-the-soil than other districts of Auckland. The stereotype also incorporates black jerseys and old V8 cars.

The shift from a pejorative to a societal identifier has been abrupt and in no small part due to the 1993 single Westy Gals by Auckland singer Jan Hellriegel and local comedian Ewen Gilmour's stand-up comedy act as Ewen "Westie" Gilmour between 1995 and 2000 in the premier television programme Pulp Comedy. Both of these instances gave the term national prominence. Gilmour was "unofficially appointed cultural ambassador" for Waitakere City. He was elected as councillor for the Waitakere City Council in 2004 and joins former mayor Tim Shadbolt as stereotypical westies who entered local body politics. The biography of Bob Harvey, former mayor of Waitakere City, was titled Wild Westie.

The successful television series Outrageous Fortune is set in west Auckland with the main characters being the West family, a play on the word "Westie".

The persona of the standard Auckland "Westie" continues to evolve. In November 2008 Paula Bennett defeated Lynne Pillay, the long-standing Labour Member of Parliament for Waitakere under the banner "Proud to be a Westy". Bennett is a solo mother and a former social service beneficiary who became Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand in the former National-led Government. Simon Bridges (an ex-Westie) served as leader of the Opposition from 2018 to 2020, during this time National was led by two "Westies".

As of the 2010 amalgamation of Auckland's council boundaries into one regional greater council, Waitakere City no longer exists as a distinct entity. Yet, those living within the former boundaries remain claiming themselves as Westies essentially within the former boundaries.

Sydney, Australia
The term "Westie" was a creation of the 1960s and 1970s as young, working families were encouraged westward into the newly built, rather austere public and private housing subdivisions on Sydney's urban fringe. It was a term of division and derision, and became shorthand for a population considered lowbrow, coarse and lacking education and cultural refinement. Immortalised in the 1977 social realist film, The FJ Holden, by Michael Thornhill, the classic Westie was a male of Anglo-Celtic origin who lived in the vast, homogenous flatlands west of the Sydney CBD. The checked flannelette shirt symbolised his attire and vandalism, cheap drink and hotted-up cars his behaviour. Westie became a rhetorical device to designate the other Sydney: spatially, culturally and economically different from the more prosperous and privileged Sydneysiders of the North, East and South

Some in the eastern suburbs might consider residents of Epping as Westies, others may restrict the term to areas such as Blacktown, Granville, Burwood and Berala. Westies were also a common sight in the 1980s in the south-western suburbs such as Minto and Campbelltown. The term may also be used to describe someone who acts or uses the same mannerisms as a person from the western suburbs but lives somewhere else.

Coastal suburbs
It could be noted in this context that in Sydney, the western suburbs often have no (or less prominent) coastal access. This is often reflected in house prices and suburb "status". The typical commute of a resident living in the western suburbs of these cities also involves driving towards the sun each way, possibly explaining the cultural similarities across multiple cities. The commuters are commonly known as squinters due to the fact that they must squint while driving because of the rising and setting sun.

Ballarat, Australia
A Westie in Ballarat is a person living in the western portions of Wendouree, a suburb in the north-west of Ballarat also known for its lower socio-economic status.

title: Westie (person)


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Grovelands Park

Grovelands Park is a public park in Southgate and Winchmore Hill, London, that originated as a private estate. The park is Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Grovelands, the house on the western side of the park, is Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England.

History
The mansion, which was initially called 'Southgate Grove', was built in 1797–98 to the designs of John Nash for Walker Gray, a Quaker brewer. The grounds were landscaped by Humphry Repton. In 1816 the building was described as being "a regular building of Ionic order, and presents a fine example of that beautiful style". Lucinda Lambton has called the building an "idiosyncratically flounced, classical villa", and mentions that the owner bought much of the parkland to avoid the sight of other people's chimneys. She goes on to describe the interior: "Inside, there survives one of the most delicate delights in all London: Nash's octagonal dining-room, painted as if you are in a bamboo birdcage, looking our through the bars at the fields, woods and sky."

After Gray's death the property was acquired by John Donnithorne Taylor (also connected to the Taylor Walker & Co Brewery), whose family continued to live at Grovelands up to the First World War.

Part of the estate was purchased by the Municipal Borough of Southgate in 1913 to become a public park. The house is part of the Priory Hospital Group. In 1998, General Pinochet was held under house arrest initially in Grovelands House while a patient at the Priory Hospital.

Listed and at risk
Grovelands Park was designated Grade II* Listed in October 1987, and has been on English Heritage's "Heritage at risk register" since 2009. English Heritage describe the park as highly vulnerable with "significant localised problems" and the trend of further decline. English Heritage believe the issues are caused due to the fragmented management of the park due to the number of landowners. A "historic environment assessment" commissioned by the London Borough of Enfield in 2008, provided priorities and guidelines for landowners when carrying out "repairs and restoration".

Planned development
In 2013 Enfield Council revealed several concepts to improve the park, including refurbishing existing sports facilities, opening up disused land owned by Thames Water, and the provision of a new primary school.

Enfield Council reassured residents that the park they currently have access to will not be built on or reduced in size. The council has stated that: "Options include locating the new school in the area near to existing tennis courts whilst restoring and extending the existing tennis provision which may involve an artificial turfed surface."

Flora and fauna
The terrapins in the lake were believed to be the descendants of discarded pets that were able to survive and breed. Feral terrapins are a recurring problem in many London waterways.

Recreation
The park is home to a Parkrun.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Grovelands Park


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User:Tufflaw

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Talk:Mont-Saint-Michel

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 19 January 2021 and 7 May 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jcgy.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 04:26, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Ferry
I notice the comment about replacing the causeway with a ferry. I cannot discover any information about this... though I have been able to find information about making it a bridge to stop the silting up problems. Can anyone back this up? User_talk:Renata you made the point - do you have a weblink for this proposal? CustardJack

 * It may be a problem with a translation of the word navette which means shuttle, but also frequently refers to ferries. The official site of the désensablement project is here: English version. Man vyi 06:45, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I don't see why the line "it is also claimed by Brittany" was changed. It was a neutral statement. Would "it is also claimed by Bretons" be better? Doire, 16:35, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

 * It's not a diplomatic question whereby the region of Brittany claims the territory as per a territorial dispute between states. It's also not even to be compared with the "claim" to Loire-Atlantique. I think the folkloric nature of the rival claims is adequately dealt with for encyclopaedic purposes futher down, although perhaps more detail on the vagaries of the course of the Couesnon would be useful, but should probably go in a Couesnon article. (Disclaimer: I'm a Norman ;-) and therefore not disinterested) Man vyi 18:02, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

Lord of the Rings
I have noticed that there is a citation needed tag on the point stating that the appearance and structure of the city of Minas Tirith in the final Lord of the Rings movie was based on MSM - if the author fails to cite his point, why not just remove the point altogether? NoahMoth

Height?
It surprises me that nowhere in thisarticle does it mention the height of the island. Is it 30m, 50m or 100m? --Mark J 14:16, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
 * The appropriate thing to do in such cases is to determine the information and add it -- that's what Wikipedia is all about. I've done so. -- Jibal 09:34, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Picture
The picture looks almost exactly like a 1960s photo of the Mont. Are we sure it isnt the same one? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Spwicy (talk • contribs).

 * Isn't MSM one of those places where everybody takes the famous shot? Another example is the Marin Headlands where everyone stands on the hill and shoots the view looking towards the Golden Gate Bridge with the San Francisco business district in the bacground. Only the varying fog lets you realize that it isn't the exact same photograph used by thousands of people. ;-)

 * Atlant 19:15, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

a map, perhaps?
Just thought it might be useful to have a map showing where it is... I'll see if I can find one. Do you think one should be added? 71.71.198.236 23:18, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

I've done a map of Lower Normandy showing Mont St-Michel and other interesting sites. There is a copy available on my article [france-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_normandy_coast] with an inset showing the region on a map of France. I'd be happy to supply a larger version.(Joanne brannan 21:17, 31 July 2007 (UTC)).

Hey Wikipedia users!! Y'all need a map of Mont Saint Michel! Fixwizard

World War II Damage and Rebuilding
I seem to recall a tour guide telling me that large parts of many buildings were almost completely destroyed in the second world war, and that much of the buildings that we see today are in fact modern replacements done in a sympathetic style. Is this a false memory, or can anyone provide sources? Andrew Oakley 13:57, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

 * You're probably thinking of nearby St. Malo. -- Jibal 03:34, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

 * No, I know about the rebuilding of the walled town of St Malo (lovely town, try Bar Absinthe!). I specifically recall hearing a tour guide say that "la salle des hôtes" room in Mt St Michel was the only original room unaffected by the bombing, which did not need rebuilding. Andrew Oakley 11:44, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
 * No, Mont-Saint-Michel was not destroyed at all. Nothing !Nortmannus (talk) 15:00, 25 November 2016 (UTC)

Replacement of first image
I replaced the image titled Mont-Saint-Michel-2004.jpg with a very similar picture but without the color issues. I hope no one minds. Please leave me a message if you do. Janet13 02:46, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Certainly a nice picture, thanks! But I've rearranged the pics, partly to put a view of the whole Mont at the top. With an expanded gallery, the photo with the sheep is now nearer the mention of the sheep in the text. Man vyi 05:49, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Hiya, I don't see a pic with sheep near mention of sheep in the text. And I can put up another picture with a more complete view of Mont St Michel (I just cut off a little bit of the left side of MSM on the pic I uploaded)... the current opening pic has color/fading issues that I find a bit off-putting as a lead photo). Thoughts? Janet13 20:26, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Nevermind, the page just refreshed. Wonder why it took so long. Janet13 20:27, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

sono una marionetta ia ia oo — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.247.157.39 (talk) 15:32, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

Funding/Economy
What is the source of revenue/funding/economy for Mont Saint-Michel? Naturally I assume tourism and wealthy patrons are key, but I wish there was some specific information on that. I'm sure there's a mini-economy operating there. What is the closest economic center to the island? ~ Rollo44 03:07, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

 * Other than the Catholic church, I'm sure the main funding stream is rent from tourist shops/restaurants and parking fees from visitors. Unfortunately I can't cite this, that's just from a personal guess as someone who has visited the place dozens of times, so I won't update the article. The largest nearby city is the regional capital Rennes (pop. 200,000; 80km/50 miles away). It is also within a 45 minutes drive of three major English Channel ports, St Malo, Cherbourg and Caen, St Malo being the closest at only 40km/25 miles. Despite being a Catholic centre, it is very popular with English tourists. As an English tourist myself, it seems very commercialised (holy water in bottles the shape of the mountain, Virgin Mary pencil cases, eleven knuckle-bones of Christ etc). Andrew Oakley 17:24, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Anonymous editors removing material with no discussion and no edit summary
On May 6, this material (possibly among other material) disappeared: "Mont Saint-Michel is located in Normandy in the department of Manche. Its name comes from a small island, a granitic outgrowth approaching 960 meters in circumference that reaches 92 meters above sea level, dedicated to archangel Michael. The extraordinary architecture of Mont Saint-Michel and its bay make it the most visited tourist attraction in Normandy and the third in France (after the Eiffel tower and the palace of Versailles), with some 200,000 visitors each year. Classified as a historic building in 1874, the site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The church is crowned by a gold statue of St. Michael. which was sculpted by Emmanuel Frémiet, reaching a height of 155 metres (510 feet) above sea level. 48°38′10.05″N, 1°30′40.9500″W."

While some of that material remains, scattered throughout the page, much does not. -- Jibal 03:30, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Text has been deleted.
I notice that there is obviously missing text under the header "Tidal Island". Unfortunately, I'm not qualified to make corrections.

Ve2dc (talk) 12:47, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Proposed move of this page
I propose that this page be moved to Le Mont-Saint-Michel (the correct name of the commune according to the INSEE Web site), and that this become a redirect to that page, rather than the reverse. Ksnow (talk) 17:24, 11 November 2008 (UTC)Ksnow
 * I'm not sure that this is the best approach. This article is about a different subject matter from the actual commune, and the name Mont Saint-Michel, I would suggest, is well-known.  Maybe there should be another article called Le Mont-Saint-Michel (commune) or something similar to distinguish the two different subject matters.  Kiwipete (talk) 00:35, 12 November 2008 (UTC) (p.s. please place this notice in WP:FRCOM so you can get feedback from a wider audience)

Who lives there?
I think the article should say who the 41 people are that live there. Are they monks? I can't tell if this place is a monastery or something else. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.53.85.43 (talk) 14:17, 5 June 2010 (UTC)

If it is monks, would we ever know they're there? Monks don't talk to anyone, right? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fixwizard (talk • contribs) 17:33, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

I don't want to Start an Edit war, but...
Can You Please stop editing this page, stating that Heartcatch Precure! The Movie was also set in Mont Saint-Michel where The Pretty Cures defeat Baron Salamander?!

because, Everyone knows that Mont Saint-Michel was a Realistic City in France!!! >:( — Preceding unsigned comment added by ONS3Tnow (talk • contribs) 19:07, 10 April 2011 (UTC)

Heraldry
Have just corrected the Heraldry section by translating from. 86.26.254.183 (talk) 16:55, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

The heraldry section needs to add the formal blazon of the coat of arms. It's in the Wikimedia links from the coat of arms. Coat of arms of Mont-Saint-Michel city (Normandy) drawn by SSire (version "saumons") for Blazon Project of French-speaking Wikipedia, with Inkscape. Source: unspecified - Blazon: azure two bars wavy vert, overall two salmons argent in bend sinister placed palewise, the upper one facing sinister — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bob Richmond (talk • contribs) 00:11, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

Restoration of the Bay
There should be some content on the project to restore the bay at Mont Saint-Michel. As of April 2012 vehicles can no longer park along the causeway. Instead there is a new lot 2 km from the island and tourists can either walk from there or take a free shuttle. In 2014 pedestrians and shuttles will travel on a new bridge instead of the causeway. In 2015 the old causeway will be dismantled and Mont Saint-Michel will once again be an island. See http://www.projetmontsaintmichel.fr/en/why_act/objectives.html and http://www.accueilmontsaintmichel.com/change/en. 68.163.165.253 (talk) 23:37, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

My apologies, this is mentioned in the Tidal Island section. Don't know how I read past this. 68.163.165.253 (talk) 11:28, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

monastic order?
I could not find any history of what monastic order or orders have lived at Mont Saint-Michel which was my main reason for looking it up on Wikipedia, does anyone know? I also noticed that someone have mentioned this same thing in 2010, thanks. Mickey 26/02/2013 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.201.234 (talk) 09:38, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

 * According to the abbey's French web site (Histoire du Mont-Saint-Michel), it was founded as a Benedictine abbey in 966, transformed into a prison 1791-1864. A restoration was begun in 1874, and it remains a Benedictine monastery since 1886. --Fama Clamosa (talk) 17:16, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

 * There is now a wikipedia article about the Mont Saint Michel Abbey that talks about the religious history of the place. The article needs a lot more to be of good value but it's a start. Nodar95 (talk) 22:14, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

Le Mont-Saint Michel
Its very small, I don't want to live there. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.56.63.128 (talk) 09:22, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Controversy regarding Finnikin of the Rock
At | 10:46 on May 23, 2013 an anonymous contributor added the book “Finnikin of the Rock” in the “In popular culture” section of the article, along with a reference for it. This edit was reverted a few hours later by Eric with for justification “doesn't seem notable”. I disagreed with this as the book takes place, in his first chapter, at the Mont Saint Michel and the reference provided support for this fact. So I reverted the revert, along with this justification.

A few hours later, Hchc2009 removed the line, this time arguing “this tells us something about the origins of the book Finnikin of the Rock, but nothing really about Mont Saint-Michel”.

There is at least some misunderstanding here of what this part of the article is about. “In popular culture” means use of the Mont Saint Michel as a set, reference, etc.. in movies, books, films, music or any other mean of popular culture. EVERY entry in that part of the article is about the use of the Mont Saint Michel as an inspiration. So Hchc2009 is saying to have the entire section “in popular culture” of the article removed. Wikipedia articles are about encyclopedic knowledge of a subject and as far as I know the use of an historical place as inspiration in popular culture is part of that knowledge, especially when many pieces of that popular culture have their own Wikipedia articles.

Users Eric and Hchc2009 would you mind elaborate more on the reasons you removed this specific information? As so far it looks more like a feud against the book “Finnikin of the Rock” that anything else.Nodar95 (talk) 20:54, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

 * Of course. I should say at the outset that I doubt there's any feud being conducted against the book Finnikin of the Rock; from my perspective, at least, I can assure you that have no strong views about the novel either way.
 * One of the challenges in any Popular Culture section is balancing one of the major benefits of the wiki, the ability to reflect current popular culture, with the need to avoid the inclusion of trivia. I would argue that articles are rarely improved by stray connections between topics (e.g. "in video game X, location Y appears in part Z", or "in novel A, character B mentions location C in passing"), but certainly benefit from information that adds to the understanding or perception of the topic of the article itself (e.g. the popular image of the village of Portmeirion is certainly influenced by the series the The Prisoner).
 * This connection can be asymmetric. If I were editing the article on Finnikin of the Rock, the cited statement by the author that "in the first chapter of FINNIKIN, I knew it would be Mont Saint-Michel in France and although my climb was nothing like Finnikin’s, the smell and the views and the atmosphere was all there including the room where Finnikin first sees the novice Evanjalin" might be quite relevant (albeit a primary, rather than secondary, source); the reverse, that our understanding of Mont Saint-Michel is influenced by its appearing in Finnikin, might be less clear, and indeed probably original research. Melina Marchetta is talking about her novel, not the Mont. The Mont has been standing for thirteen (?) centuries or so; that it inspired the first chapter of Finnikin isn't all that important to the Mont's history, relevant though it is to the novel.
 * As it is, the article is, in my opinion, bloated in the popular culture section and shouldn't be expanded yet further without good cause. Indeed, I'd argue it should be cut back. How important is it, really, to the location that "Contemporary Mont Saint-Michel is displayed in the game Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (2004) by Capcom", or that it appeared in the "1985 : IMAX film Chronos"? I suggest that this is, to be honest, trivia - potentially relevant to the articles on Demon Siege and Chronos, but not to the Mont. I'd feel differently, I'd admit, if there were secondary sources about the Mont commenting on the links (e.g. a journal article or a part of a guidebook talking about its use as a film set etc.) - but at the moment we don't have them. Hchc2009 (talk) 22:17, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the comments. Those are very good points and made me realized that this section is indeed too long compared to the rest of the article. I wouldn't know which part to cut back and which to keep so I just added a cleanup tag hoping some discussion can emerge as to what to remove.
 * Maybe the cut could be done by limiting the mention to a few major pieces in each type of cultural media. Or to the one with Wikipedia articles about them. Or either to a list of authors/directors/musicians that used the Mont Saint Michel in their creations. I am aware that none of those are perfect solutions.
 * Alternatively we could create a new article (list?) dedicated to the use of Mont Saint Michel in popular culture, then even the smallest reference to it could be part of it without altering the balance of the main article. Nodar95 (talk) 22:59, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I rather like your last option. It's not a purist approach, but I've used it elsewhere, and it allows (particularly) new editors to add material from popular culture, without having to discourage them through reverts. Hchc2009 (talk) 06:52, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Well said, Hchc2009, and good of you to take the time to make your point so well on this topic. I'll be tempted to quote you on the talk pages of many articles with voluminous "in popular culture" sections. Eric talk 12:22, 24 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I've created a subsidiary article for the popular culture, linked it from the relevant section, and cut down the list on the main article page. If anyone disagrees with my selection - I tried to base it on the referenced items, with a cross-section of media - please feel free to amend, alter etc.! Hchc2009 (talk) 18:45, 6 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Awfully good of you to do that. Might have to make a new acronym for you: WBCOD—way beyond the call of duty, or maybe better: BOBTAT—bending over backwards to accommodate trivia! Thanks. Eric talk 19:16, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Area?
97 hectares seems a bit high - on maps, the island looks like it is at most 300 metres across, and thus I'd estimate it as 6 hectares. The internet disagrees (16-fold) so maybe I've misunderstood, like perhaps the area is measured at low tide or something. I'd edit it myself, but (i) I'm not that confident, and (ii) five minutes with Google hasn't come up with a definitive alternative, other than various travel guides stating "Massive walls measuring more than half a mile in circumference surround one of Europe's great attractions" which would tend to support my estimate.

Thank you and good luck. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.242.139.102 (talk) 10:39, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

I agree. On satellite imagery the island looks no more than 1000 feet across, meaning the area would be more like 10 hectares not 100. If 100 hectares is correct then more explanation on what is covered/owned is needed. I also do not want to change the article as I am not an expert on this subject.

 * This has been raised before. I guess that the "area" given is the area of the commune, which includes a chunk of the surrounding marsh, and even perhaps some mudflats. A bit of grinding around the french sources would probably sort it out. Imaginatorium (talk) 14:46, 14 November 2015 (UTC)

18 year High Tide
This may be useful information to add to the article, but I am not sure where. March 21 2015 18 year High Tide surrounding Mont Saint-Michel with water. Explanation and photograph: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/explained-the-supertide-that-swallowed-a-french-abbey1/ Jcardazzi (talk) 11:58, 24 March 2015 (UTC)jcardazzi

Title, and commune name
Back in 2008 someone briefly suggested this should be moved to Le Mont-Saint-Michel, since this is the formal name (according to fr:WP) of the commune -- but (rightly, IMO) this did not happen, since the article is really about the geographic feature, rather than the French administrative division. However, currently the lead opens with Le Mont-Saint-Michel, which is inconsistent with the rest of the article. Before changing this, I would like to check if there has been discussion I have missed. Note that fr:WP has separate articles fr:Le Mont-Saint-Michel and fr:Mont Saint-Michel (note the different hyphenation, as well as the definite article!). I suggest the lead should refer to the name as in the title, and there should be a brief note about the slightly different name of the commune. Any opinions? Imaginatorium (talk) 07:30, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20100113215212/http://www.l-co.co.jp:80/times/log/09/090522/28.html to http://www.l-co.co.jp/times/log/09/090522/28.html

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Smithsonian magazine source
This might be a useful source for some of the questions about the economy, government, and other things: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/massive-controversial-attempt-preserve-one-worlds-most-iconic-islands-180951441/ Cloveapple (talk) 23:43, 13 December 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Mont Saint-Michel. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20081218070040/http://www.i-newswire.com:80/pr233899.html to http://www.i-newswire.com/pr233899.html

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Assessment comment
Substituted at 00:23, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Is Mont Saint Michel Really In France?
No! It's in Normandy! Everyone thinks of it as French territory, however, it isn't!!! --Fixwizard (talk) 17:37, 9 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure how to break this to you, but Normandy has been French territory since 1204, with a brief seizure by the English. Ogress 17:49, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Size seems wrong
How can this be 0.97 km², the island is only about a quarter km in diameter? The area is off by at least a factor of ten. In the St Michael's Mount article, it is claimed that St Michael's Mount is smaller, but it is in fact bigger, not smaller! The measurement (allegedly "French Land Register data") must either include areas not part of the mount, or the two islands are measured differently. It cannot possibly be the geographical area of the mount itself. Edit: sorry, I didn't see the comment above. Still, it's a pointless measurement, which leads to the wrong assumption that St Michael's Mount is smaller, obviously based on this "administrative area" or whatever it is, which has nothing to do with the size of the actual islet.

2.108.158.80 (talk) 11:45, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

 * There's somehow now a link below this to the French article. It clearly states that the island itself is 7ha, which is 0.07 km². That is the area of the mount itself, relevant when comparing with the British mount (for example). Both measures should be included in the article, because in the article it is written as if the 0.97 km² is the area of the island. The commune itself is much bigger than 0.97 km², that number isn't even in the French article at all, that article says it's 387ha. There are two Mont Saint Michel articles in French, one about the commune (Le_Mont-Saint-Michel) and one about the mont (Mont_Saint-Michel). In the article about the mont, there's only one size mentioned, 7ha. Edit: it just dawned on me that 9 is awfully close to 0 on a keyboard. It is curious that the number is 0.97 km², when the real size in 0.07 km². I suspect that it could be a simple misprint. 2.108.158.80 (talk) 15:07, 23 November 2016 (UTC)
 * I agree. I have updated this to 4.00 square kilometres, as I suspect the 29 population figure refers to the commune as a whole, too, and it makes sense to be consistent. Squajar (talk) 15:45, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

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Visitors
Are visitors allowed? When is the best time to visit? How much does it cost to visit? How far drive to the nearest town? 68.3.235.60 (talk) 23:18, 23 November 2022 (UTC)

Buildings
I need pictures of the buildings. Are there restaurants? Are there hotels? Are there some kinds of bigger buildings? I want to know. 2A00:1D50:3:0:90A9:3530:1FC1:62FD (talk) 07:34, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

Oldest known likenesses of Mont St Michel?
When did depictions of Mont St Michel first appear in print/paintings/drawings/early film and early photography? 2A00:23C7:2B13:9001:C599:16AB:8915:7F65 (talk) 23:25, 26 December 2022 (UTC)

In Popular Culture: Cinema
Should be added that the 1990 movie Mindwalk is set in its majority in M-S-M 77.124.169.59 (talk) 18:03, 16 February 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Mont-Saint-Michel


text:
Arabic Bayán

The Arabic Bayán is a book written by the Báb around 1848. Its larger sister book is the Persian Bayán. The work is incomplete, containing only eleven Vahids. Each Vahid serves as a chapter and contains nineteen Abwab. The grammar is highly irregular. The work was composed while the Báb was imprisoned in Maku, Iran.

title: Arabic Bayán


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/John Blossom

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was userfy. – ABCD 23:31, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)

John Blossom
This is a vanity article, and I can't decide whether he's notable. If not, there's a few more edits by JBlossom that may need to go. Delete. SeventyThree 22:59, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Userfied and deleted. RickK 23:36, Apr 15, 2005 (UTC)

 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
Category:Nations at the 2000 Summer Olympics

This category includes nations that participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.


text:
Air Méditerranée

Air Méditerranée was a French charter airline headquartered on the property of the Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport in Juillan. It operated chartered passenger and cargo flights, mostly to and from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

History
Air Méditerranée was established and started operations in 1997 and had its headquarters in Le Fauga, near Toulouse. In January 2015, the airline filed for receivership. By January 2016, there had been offers by potential investors to secure new funds for the struggling airline with no final decision made by the authorities.

The only incident of the airline occurred in February 2016 where a man urinated on a passenger over not being allowed to smoke on the flight. However, the victim fought back by punching the man in the face. The flight was diverted to Lyon, where both passengers were arrested.

On 15 February 2016 the airline was liquidated by the courts after amassing debts of €60m and all aircraft were returned to their lessors.

Fleet
Prior to ceasing operations, the Air Méditerranée fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

title: Air Méditerranée


text:
David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet

David Kenneth Roy Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet (born 12 June 1957), is a Canadian/British  hereditary peer and media magnate. Upon the death of his father in 2006, Thomson became the chairman of Thomson Corporation and also inherited his father's British title, Baron Thomson of Fleet. After the acquisition of Reuters in 2008, Thomson became the chairman of the merged entity, Thomson Reuters.

As of June 2024, Thomson is the richest person in Canada and 22nd richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of $61.3 billion USD.

Early life and education
He was born on June 12, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario, the eldest child of Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, and his wife, Marilyn Lavis. He has a sister named Taylor Thomson, and his brother, Peter Thomson, is a race car driver.

In 1978, Thomson received his Bachelor of Arts (subsequently upgraded to an MA (Cantab)) at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he studied History. As a child, he attended both Upper Canada College and the Hall School.

Business career
Thomson started his business career as a junior associate at McLeod Young Weir in Toronto. He left the firm to enter the family business, working in a number of positions in companies controlled by the Thomson family. Thomson was manager of The Bay store at Cloverdale Mall in Etobicoke, and president of Zellers. In an effort to develop his independence, Thomson founded the real estate firm Osmington Incorporated, owned and operated outside of the Thomson empire. Osmington acquires and manages commercial real estate assets on behalf of institutional shareholders, such as the Thomson empire. In 2010, Osmington sold its stake in eight retail properties to the Canada Pension Plan for $336 million. Osmington is a major investor in FarmersEdge, a precision agriculture company. Osmington is also a partner in True North Sports and Entertainment, owners of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. Osmington is redeveloping the retail space of Toronto's Union Station. In 2023, Osmington revealed that it was bringing the fast food chain Shake Shack to Canada with plans for 35 outlets. Thomson's investment activities are managed through Toronto hedge fund Morgan Bay Capital.

According to a plan devised decades ago by Thomson Corporation founder Roy Thomson, when Kenneth Thomson died (in June 2006), control of the family fortune passed on to David: "David, my grandson, will have to take his part in the running of the Organisation and David's son, too," Roy Thomson wrote in his 1975 autobiography. "With the fortune that we will leave to them go also responsibilities. These Thomson boys that come after Ken are not going to be able, even if they want to, to shrug off these responsibilities."

Following Thomson Reuters' sale of a controlling stake in its financial business in 2018, Thomson expressed frustrations working in the family business. He is currently engaged in discussions with family members to leave the family business, Thomson Reuters, to focus on his own art and real estate activities.

Art collection
Thomson is a noted art collector and owns works by Rembrandt, J. M. W. Turner, Paul Klee, Hammershoi, Edvard Munch, Patrick Heron, Joseph Beuys, E. L. Kirchner, and Egon Schiele. Thomson owns the world's largest collection of paintings and drawings by the English painter John Constable. In an interview with Geraldine Norman in The Independent in 1994, Thomson said he bought his first Constable drawing at 19, giving the seller "an oil painting in exchange and quite a lot of money". Norman described him as a "fanatical collector", and Thomson described how he "fell in love" with Constable's style as a young child. In his twenties, Thomson stunned the art world with two monumental purchases. In 1984, he acquired J. M. W. Turner's spectacular 'Seascape: Folkestone", for a record £7.3 million (£21.8 million in 2017) from the sale of the collection of noted British art historian Kenneth Clark, Lord Clark. The following year, Thomson, 27,  broke another world record when he bought Rembrandt's monumental "Christ Presented to the People", from 1655, for a record £561,000 (£1.7 million in 2017) at Christie's London, when the Duke of Devonshire sold the Chatsworth Collection in one of the largest auctions of the time. Thomson sold both masterpieces within a few years during the 1980s financial crisis.

In 2002, Thomson and his father paid a world record price of $76.7 million to acquire Rubens' "Massacre of the Innocents", now the centrepiece of the Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario. In 2012, Thomson shattered records buying a painting by Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi, "Ida Reading a Letter", paying the highest price ever for a Danish artist. In 2012, Thomson broke the record for the most expensive 18th-century British watercolour when he paid £2.4 million for a small landscape by John Robert Cozens.

Thomson has donated upwards of $276 million to the Art Gallery of Ontario's renovation costs, in addition to creating a permanent endowment with an additional $20 million donation.

Thomson is an active acquirer of Canadian art. In 2007, Thomson paid $1.8 million for a face mask, the highest price ever paid for a single piece of Native North American art. And in November 2016 he paid a record C$11.2 million to buy a painting at auction by Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris entitled "Mountain Forms".

Thomson operates his collecting activities through his personal Thomson Works of Art. Thomson also funds the Archive of Modern Conflict, based in London. Specialists within the archive purchase photography collections worldwide and also run a book-publishing arm, AMC Books, which has a Canadian imprint, Bone Idle Books, based in Toronto.

Personal life
Thomson is the father of seven children from four different mothers. With his first wife, Mary Lou La Prairie, he has two daughters: Thyra Nicole and Tessa Lys. With his second wife, Laurie Ludwick, Thomson has one son, Benjamin, born after Thomson left the marriage. With the actress Kelly Rowan, Thomson has a daughter, Braelyn, also born after Thomson left the relationship. With his partner Severine Nackers, a former employee of Sotheby's, Thomson has three daughters, Ottilie, born in 2015, Elodie, born in 2018, and Idalie, born in 2021. His three youngest children live in Toronto with their father and mother. Thomson was estranged from his eldest daughter, Thyra, for five years, with Thyra eventually suing her father over mismanagement of the family trusts. The case was settled out of court in 2017. One daughter lives in Victoria, British Columbia, and two others live in the United Kingdom. In Toronto, Thomson has expanded his home in the Rosedale neighbourhood to house his expanding art collection, first purchasing the home of Toronto architect Raymond Moriyama.

Thomson is a patron of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Upon the death of his father, he became the 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet on 12 June 2006, his 49th birthday. He does not use this title in Canada. He is an avid art collector and owns the world's top collection of John Constable.

Thomson has rarely given interviews to the press and maintains a low public profile. "The only substantial interview he has given was to James FitzGerald, who wrote a book about the elite private school (Upper Canada College) they both attended in Toronto", according to a 3 July 2006 article in The New York Times. "In his comments to Mr. FitzGerald 12 years ago, David had little positive to say about many people in the business world". In the interview, Thomson said: "When you try to live a more balanced life, traditional businessmen think that you are not a real man. But who is not the real man? You are telling me? You have not taken a weekend with your wife, you have no spare time that you use constructively, you do not have any hobbies, you do not know how to spell Mozart. And here you are telling me that I am weak?"

Thomson lives in Rosedale, Toronto, in a ravine compound that houses an underground art gallery.


text:
Niverville, Manitoba

Niverville is a town in the Eastman Region, Manitoba, Canada. The town lies between the northwest corner of the Rural Municipality of Hanover and the southeastern portion of the Rural Municipality of Ritchot. Niverville's population as of the 2021 census is 5,947, the largest town and 10th-largest community in Manitoba.

History
In 1874, after the establishment of the Mennonite East Reserve, William Hespeler, who had recruited Mennonites to the area, saw the opportunity to develop a rail station to supply the new Mennonite settlements, at a location selected by railway tycoon Joseph Whitehead. Initially the town that grew up around the station was named Hespeler, but eventually became known by the name of the railway station, Niverville, after 18th-century explorer and fur trader Chevalier Joseph Boucher de Niverville.

The first grain elevator in western Canada, a unique round structure was built in Niverville in 1879 by Hespeler.

Originally within the Rural Municipality of Hanover, Niverville was incorporated as a village in 1969. In 1970, Niverville was host to the Niverville Pop Festival, the first rock festival in Manitoba.

Niverville has expanded on multiple occasions through annexation of land from the Rural Municipality of Ritchot to the west and Hanover to the east and north. It was incorporated as a town in 1993. Many inhabitants today are Mennonite or British, with a growing number of immigrants of other backgrounds. In recent years, Niverville has grown into a "bedroom community" of Winnipeg and is among the fastest growing towns in the province.

Geography
Niverville lies in the Red River Valley. It is located at the crossing of Provincial Road 311 and the CPR Emerson rail line, between Provincial Road 200 and Provincial Trunk Highway 59.

Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Niverville had a population of 5,947 living in 1,971 of its 2,010 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 4,610. With a land area of 8.7 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy
Niverville's economy is based on agriculture and construction as the town has become a bedroom community for Winnipeg. Employers include the Great GORP Project (Food Industry), Spectis Moulders (polyurethane architectural products), Maple Leaf Foods (agribusiness), William Dyck and Sons (hardware store and lumberyard), Wiens Furniture (furniture, appliance and bedding retailer) and Niverville Credit Union.

Arts and culture
Niverville host an annual Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair, which is held the second weekend of June.

Niverville's Community Resource and Recreation Centre (CRRC) is the community's main indoor recreation complex that houses an athletic fieldhouse, theatre, and an ice hockey arena that is home to the Niverville Nighthawks of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and Niverville Clipper ice hockey teams. The town's other recreational facilities include the Niverville Centennial Arena, Niverville Curling Club, an outdoor tennis court located at Niverville Middle School, a fitness and dance gym, a nine-hole golf course, and Hespeler Park. The Crow Wing Trail also runs through the town.

A heritage wall documenting Niverville's history was opened on Main Street in 2021. A museum documenting local history, including a Red River Ox Cart, is located on the second floor of the CRRC.

Government
The town is governed by a mayor and council elected by the residents. The current mayor is Myron Dyck. Niverville lies within the federal riding of Provencher; the current MP for this riding is Ted Falk. At the provincial level, Niverville has been part of several different ridings as boundaries have changed over the years. Currently, Niverville is part of the Springfield-Ritchot electoral district, represented by Ron Schuler.

Infrastructure
Niverville improved its Water Treatment Plant in 2012, expanding the reservoir to 1.2 megalitres.

In June 2017, hot, dry weather caused higher water usage, and town notified residents to cut back on water usage because the reservoir could not be replenished quickly enough. A new well field opened in 2017 to prevent future water shortages.

Education
Niverville schools are part of the Hanover School Division. Niverville Elementary School (K-4), Niverville Middle School (5-8), and Niverville High School (9-12) provide education for the students of Niverville and surrounding area. Niverville High School (NHS) replaced the former Niverville Collegiate Institute (NCI) in 2019.

Notable people

 * David Bergen, novelist
 * K.R. Byggdin, novelist
 * Amanda Lindsey Cook, Christian recording artist
 * Jordan St. Cyr, Christian recording artist
 * William Hespeler, town founder

title: Niverville, Manitoba


text:
Wikipedia talk:PMID

Entrez
Since Entrez is not the only interface to this database, it would be kind of nice if these links worked a little more like ISBN, i.e. a page of links. Or perhaps if a user preferences option could specify what URL to use when autolinking PMIDs. I prefer http://www.hubmed.org/ for most purposes, plus I would like to link PMIDs to Errata. --Chinasaur 23:01, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Great site, hubmed, especially the feature of having an rss feed for a search query! Thanks for the link. --WS 01:56, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

HMID

 * Should create HMID if you want to support linkage to Hubmed as opposed to Pubmed. It wil only create confusion if you were to do a wholesale replacement of PMID templates with HMID; people are familiar with the pubmed interface and would be thunderstruck to find themselves carried somewhere else. Courtland 02:58, August 1, 2005 (UTC)

Suggestions
However, to really be author-friendly, eventually we must have Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Clinical_medicine Badgettrg 15:46, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * To be consistent with the Template:Doi, why not:
 * allow to work, as well as allow doi: xxxxxxxx and doi:xxxxxxxx to work for Template:Doi
 * To be more author-friendly and also consistent with the National Library of Medicine why not:
 * allow pmid: xxxxxxxx and pmid:xxxxxxxx to work. pmid: xxxxxxxx is especially needed as authors who copy paste from pubmed will inadvertently carry over the colon mark.

Obsolete?
I added a reference to Template:Cite pmid which takes only 5 characters additional effort to type and creates a vastly superior reference. Perhaps it's time to retire this and replace it with Template:Cite pmid? Leopd (talk) 04:17, 3 May 2011 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia talk:PMID


text:
Wikipedia talk:Bandwagon

Wouldn't bots be able to most of the jobs listed on this page? BrokenSegue 23:02, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Page empty
All the projects on this page have been completed. (I verified the merge tag project was complete by doing a grep on the latest database dump.) Template:Opentask is actually a much more visible place to list projects that need a short burst of volunteer help, so I redirected this rather underused page there, in the hope of concentrating effort. -- Beland 06:24, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)

title: Wikipedia talk:Bandwagon


text:
Talk:Sandtroopers

I fixed the page up, added images and more information to the article. I also moved it to Sandtroopers because according to the official site, thats what they're called. --Kross 23:03, Apr 15, 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Sandtroopers


text:
David Thomson

David Thomson may refer to:

Business

 * David Couper Thomson (1861–1954), Scottish publisher, founder of D. C. Thomson & Co.
 * David Kinnear Thomson (1910–1992), Scottish businessman
 * David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet (born 1957), Canadian businessman

Entertainment

 * David Thomson (film critic) (born 1941), American-based British film critic
 * David Thomson (writer) (1914–1988), writer and radio producer
 * Dave Thomson (born 1982/83), Canadian songwriter, record producer and former member of Wave

Politics

 * David Thomson (Labor Party politician) (1856–1926), Australian politician
 * David Thomson (New Zealand politician) (1915–1999), New Zealand politician
 * David Thomson (Australian National Party politician) (1924–2013), Australian politician

Sports

 * David Thomson (footballer, born 1847) (1847–1876), Welsh international footballer
 * David Thomson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–?), Scottish footballer (Dundee FC and Scotland)
 * Dave Thomson (footballer, born 1938) (1938–2016), Scottish football player for Dunfermline Athletic
 * Dave Thomson (footballer, born 1943), Scottish footballer (Rochester Lancers and Toronto Metros)

Other

 * David Thomson (bishop) (born 1952), Bishop of Huntingdon
 * David Thomson (historian) (1912–1970), English historian
 * David and Mary Thomson (1760–1834), Scottish immigrants, first official European settlers in what became Scarborough, Ontario
 * David Cleghorn Thomson (1900–1980), Scottish journalist, author and politician
 * David Landsborough Thomson (1901–1964), Canadian biochemist
 * David J. Thomson, professor of statistics
 * David K. Thomson (born 1960s), judge in New Mexico
 * David Thomson (physicist) (1817-1880) Scottish physicist

title: David Thomson


text:
Splendid China (Florida)

Splendid China was a theme park in Four Corners, Florida. It was opened in 1993 but closed on December 31, 2003. It was a sister park to the Splendid China in Shenzhen, China, and cost $100 million to build.

It was a 75 acre miniature park with more than 60 replicas at a one-tenth scale at its height of popularity. Each piece was handcrafted to maintain authenticity. Initially, Chinese artists were hired to perform in the park. After a number of them tried to seek political asylum in the United States, they were replaced by local performers.

Citizens Against Communist Chinese Propaganda criticized the Chinese government's ownership of Splendid China; the state-owned corporation China Travel Service owned and operated the theme park.

Origins
The original idea for the Florida Splendid China theme park was that of Josephine Chen, a former educator from Taiwan. In 1988, Chen toured a prototype park, "Splendid China Miniature Scenic Spot", in Shenzhen, China operated by China Travel Service (CTS). This park is close to Hong Kong. 3.5 million people visited the park during the first year. CTS recouped its US$100 million investment during this first year.

She negotiated an agreement with CTS, controlled by Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, under the China National Tourism Administration. Under the agreement, Chen supplied the land and management services, while CTS would construct the building, and supply non-management personnel.

Construction
On December 19, 1989, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the start of construction for Florida Splendid China.

The park's replica of the Great Wall took nearly seven million 1 inch long bricks and stretched about .5 mi. The replica of the Leshan Buddha was four stories tall.

Buyout
In December 1993, the American partners were bought out by the Chinese government.

Changes in 1996
In May 1996, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the President, General Manager, and Senior Vice-president for Entertainment were replaced in what was described as a 'big management shakeup'.

In July 1996, the Orlando Business Journal reported that Florida Splendid China was changing their name to "Chinatown." In August 1996, the Orlando Business Journal reported that marketing department of Florida Splendid China had shrunk by 5 positions.

FARA violation
In March 1998, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Citizens Against Communist Chinese Propaganda asked Attorney General Janet Reno and the US Department of Justice to investigate Florida Splendid China for violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

In May 1999, the Far East Economic Review reported that Florida Splendid China was losing $9 million a year.

Protests and bans
A group called Citizens Against Communist Chinese Propaganda (CACCP) staged several protests at the park against perceived Chinese Communist Party propaganda in the Mongolian and Tibetan exhibits.

In November 1995, the Pinellas County, Florida school board voted to ban trips to Florida Splendid China. In March 1996, at the 11th demonstration against perceived Chinese Communist Party propaganda in the Tibetan, Mongolian and Eastern Turkestan exhibits, five college students sat down and closed the front gate Florida Splendid China while a large crowd of demonstrators watched.

On April 19, 1996, the Representative Assembly of the 1996 Florida Teaching Professionals-NEA State Conference in Orlando passed a resolution to ban personal or school trips to Florida Splendid China by its members. The resolution passed overwhelmingly.

In October 1997, the brother of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet (Takster Rinpoche), attended the 20th demonstration at Florida Splendid China to commemorate the 48th anniversary of takeover of Eastern Turkestan.

In December 1999, CACCP held the 32nd demonstration at the main gate of Florida Splendid China to commemorate the 6th anniversary of the Grand Opening.

Plans for closure
In May 2000, the Orlando Business Journal reported that Sunny Yang, Florida Splendid China president, confirmed that the property was about to change hands and that sources close to the attraction had said that the park was to be sold and closed.

In November 2000, the Orlando Business Journal reported that amid allegations of financial mismanagement, the former president (Sunny Yang) of the struggling Splendid China attraction has been sent back to mainland China.

After closure
After closing its gates, Splendid China suffered a rash of attacks from thieves and vandals. Hundreds of items were taken ranging from small miniatures to portions of life-size statues. The perpetrators, thought to be local youths, were never caught. The property has passed through several owners and in July 2009 was up for sale at an asking price of $30 million.

On May 9, 2013, the new owners started to tear down the park.

In August 2015, Encore Homes reported that Margaritaville Resort would open on the former Splendid China site, with resort homes and condos and in Jimmy Buffett themed setting.

By March 2016, there was nothing left of the park as construction had begun for the new Margaritaville resort. The former park is located on a parcel of the southern and eastern property of the resort bordering Fins Up Circle, Formosa Gardens Blvd. and Funie Steed Rd.

Exhibits

 * The Mogao
 * The Mogao Grottoes Cave
 * The Yungang Grottoes
 * The Longmen Grottoes
 * Leshan Buddha in Sichuan province
 * Buddhist Stone Sculptures in Dazu
 * Midair Temple
 * Cliffside Tombs
 * Stone Forest Yunnan Province
 * Shanhai Pass of the Great Wall
 * Nine Dragon Wall
 * Mongolian Yurt
 * Mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Inner Mongolia
 * The Great Wall
 * 1000 Eyes and 1000 Hands Guanyin Buddha Statue
 * Xiang Fei's Tomb (Tomb of Apak Hoja)
 * Id Kah Mosque
 * Panda Playground
 * Bai Dwelling Houses
 * Three Ancient Pagodas in Dali
 * Manfeilong Pagoda
 * The Dai Village
 * Jinzhen Octagonal Pavilion
 * Potala Palace in Tibet
 * Lijiang River Scenery
 * Foshan Ancestral Temple in Guangdong Province
 * Zhenghai Tower
 * Dwelling House of the Hakkas
 * Water Village
 * Tengwang Pavilion
 * West Lake Scenery in Hangzhou
 * Town God Temple
 * Chinese Garden
 * Temple of Confucius
 * Summer Palace in Beijing
 * Zhaozhou
 * Lugouqiao (Marco Polo Bridge) in Beijing
 * Forbidden City in Beijing
 * Jin Gang Bao Zuo Pagoda
 * The White Pagoda in Miaoying Temple in Beijing
 * Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
 * Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum
 * Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an
 * Jiayuguan Pass of the Great Wall
 * Ancient Star-Observatory
 * Memorial Temple of Zhuge Liang (Temple of Marquis Wu)
 * Buyi Village
 * Miao Village
 * Wind and Rain Bridge, Drum Tower of the Dong
 * Yueyang Pavilion (Tower)
 * Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan
 * Feihong Pagoda
 * Shaolin Temple
 * Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple
 * Jin Ancestral Temple
 * Temple of Heaven in Beijing, and seen at China Pavilion at Epcot
 * Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing

title: Splendid China (Florida)


text:
Semnan, Iran

Semnan is a city in the Central District of Semnan County, Semnan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county and the district. The city is on the alluvial fan of the Golrudbar creek in the north-central part of the country, 216 km east of Tehran and 640 km west of Mashhad. With a population of 185,129 people in 2016, Semnan is the most populous city in the province and the hub of the Semnani language, a sub-branch of the Iranian languages spoken to the north. It is home to the Semnani ethnic group.

At the 2006 census, its population was 124,999 in 36,298 households. The following census in 2011 counted 153,680 people in 45,311 households. The 2016 census showed a population of 185,129 people in 49,124 households.

Semnan offers various recreational activities, historical and religious sites, festivals, gardens and parks, centers of higher education, and Semnani culture. The city is as the cultural and political capital of the Semnan Province. The city's main souvenirs are daffodil flowers, Shirmal pastry, Kolüçe cookies, kilim rugs, and shortbread.

Etymology
There are several theories which seek to explain the origin of the name Semnan.  Semnan was an ancient pre-zoroastrian city in which the locals practiced idol-worshipping. Their religion was called samīna, hence the name Semnan. Semnan was an ancient civil establishment by the Scythians, an Iranian people who named their settlement Sakanān. A theory produced by the local people themselves claims the first settlers of Semnan were two of the Prophet Noah's children, Sim An-Nabi and Lam An-Nabi, and that their settlement became known as Simlam; the local people believe that over time the name Simlam turned into Semnan. Semnan was established by the mythical character Tahmuras, and that he named his city Saminā. The ancient regional language was known as Sa ma nān, and that the city of these people took on the name of their language. The name Semnan comes from the phrase sa ma nān, which is supposed to be a corrupted Persian way of saying 'three months of bread.' This phrase traces back to the Semnani women's tradition of cooking three months worth of bread in one day.

Geography
The city of Semnan is situated on an alluvial fan at 1,138 metres above sea level, straddling the southern foothills of the Alborz Mountains and the vast desert plain to the south of the city. The Golrudbar creek, which begins in the mountains to the north of Shahmirzad, has historically provided a reliable supply of water for municipal and agricultural consumption. Irrigation methods since ancient times have allowed the people of Semnan to drink clean water, raise livestock such as cattle and sheep, and cultivate diverse crops.

Climate
Semnan has a hot desert climate (BWh) bordering a cold desert climate (BWk) according to the Köppen climate classification. The city enjoys the traditional four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and autumn each year.

The rain season starts in December and lasts into May, however, precipitation throughout the rain season is generally very light. During some winters, moisture-abundant blizzards make their way down from the Alborz mountains to the north of the city and dump several centimeters of snow in a single twenty-four-hour period. As a result of the city's position straddling the open desert plain, many winter days are dominated by a cold and gusty wind that often produces a potent windchill factor which makes the city feel much colder than the actual air temperature. According to Iranian Meteorological statistics, Semnan experiences around 44.5 days in which the minimum temperature falls below freezing each year.

Spring is characterized by mild to warm day temperatures and cold to cool nights. Muinimun Temperatures do not fall below freezing from May to October and rarely do so in March, April and November.

Summers are often hot during the day and mildly warm at night. Summer months remain extremely dry with only trace amounts of rain. Occasionally, moisture from the Caspian Sea passes over the High Alborz. With the right amount of heat and moisture, thunderstorms may develop during the afternoon and evening hours. Though the amount of precipitation is light, these thunderstorms often produce strong and gusty winds with frequent lightning strikes.

Autumn is mostly a transitional season.

Pre-Islamic Era
The city of Semnan has historically been one of the fourteen civil establishments of the ancient, Avesta-era province of "Vern." Semnan remained an important city throughout the era of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. After the invasion of Alexander the Great, which resulted in the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, and the establishment of the Seleucid Empire, the region which hosts the city of Semnan became known as Komesh. The beginning of the prosperous era of the city arrived with the rise of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia. The Parthians are an Iranian people. The Arsacid dynasty of Parthia was very interested in the importing of Hellenism, or Greek culture. This resulted in the pioneering of sculpting and other forms of Western art in the city of Semnan. One of the capital cities of the Parthian Empire was Hecatompylos, and its ruins and numerous historical sites remain between the modern day city of Semnan and Damghan. With the fall of the Parthian Empire, and the rise of the Persian Sassanid Empire, Zoroastrianism was chosen as the state religion, and the city of Semnan was once again brought under the reign of Persian customs and traditions.

Post-Islamic Era
After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the religion of Islam was established within the city of Semnan. Though, unlike modern day Semnan, the people of the city originally practiced Sunni Islam, similar to the rest of early Islamic Persia. However, the institution of Sunni Islam did not last very long. The Alavids of Tabaristan had established a Shi'a Islamic emirate and upon conquering Semnan, brought the Zaidi Shi'a sect of Islam. Then, in the year 427 AH, the Seljuq Turks invaded and devastated the city. Nevertheless, it was the very Seljuq Turks that built many of the historical monuments and infrastructure of medieval Semnan. As the Seljuq Empire grew weak, the Abbasids managed to reconquer and assert their sovereignty over Persia. The people of Semnan suffered severely under the Abbasid Caliphate. It is possible that the years of Abbasid rule traumatized the people of Semnan, and even to this day, the Semnani people despise the color black because of its utilization for the black flags of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasid rule was ended by the brutal, devastating invasion of the Mongols in the year of 618 AH. The Mongol hordes massacred the people and burnt much of the city to the ground. Semnan would not recover until the rise of the Turco-Persian Safavid dynasty. The Safavids brought the Twelver Shi'ism sect of Islam to Semnan, and contributed to the reconstruction of the city.

Qajar Era
With the rise of the Qajar dynasty, historical Semnan witnessed economical, cultural, infrastructural, and political progress. The very tribe that rose into becoming the Qajar dynasty was based out of the mountainous terrain between modern-day Semnan, Mazandaran, and Golestan. The Qajars turned Semnan into a civil fortress, from which they oversaw the major trade route between their capital in Tehran and the holy city of Mashad. In addition to infrastructural growth, some Qajar royals built their estates in the city. Semnan was also an important medical center for members of the Qajar imperial family and was home to many notable physicians and doctors of the era. Economically, the city consisted of several feudal estates with agricultural plantations which relied on serf labor.

Pahlavi Era
The Pahlavi era marked the transition of Semnan into the industrial era. Semnan's original loyalty to the Qajar dynasty and the city's importance under the Qajars prompted a lot of anti-Pahlavi sentiment with the rise of Reza Shah. Reza Shah Pahlavi's government began the immediate construction of modern infrastructure and paved roads throughout the city, however, this called for the destruction of the citadel of Semnan and the artistic monuments of the Qajars. Upon attempting to destroy the Gate of Semnan, the locals chained themselves to the building and stopped its destruction. Many prominent families in Semnan were also restricted from attaining high political posts as a result of their previous connection with and service to the Qajar imperial family. This resulted in the exodus of many prominent Semnani families to Tehran during the early Pahlavi era. Despite the tension and confrontation, the Pahlavi dynasty was successful in transforming Semnan into a more modern city. Throughout the early Pahlavi era, Semnan experienced several rounds of extreme drought, famine, crop devastation, and poverty. Prominent Semnani language poets such as Nosratollah Nouhian encouraged the Farmers and General Labor class to rise up and demand their rights from the unjust, well-fed landlords who were carelessly watching the very farmers who grew the food starve and deteriorate into ruin and agony:

Patience and contentment is no more, rise up!

Oppression and atrociousness shall be no more, rise up!

―Nosratollah Nouhian

Historical sites and places of interest
Due to the relatively small size of Semnan when compared to other major Iranian cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, and Mashad, Semnan's rich historical monuments and scholarly figures are often forgotten. The following are some of the city's historical sites and places of interest:

Religious

 * Jame' Mosque of Semnan – built nearly 1,000 years ago by the Seljuq Turks over what used to be an ancient Zoroastrian fire temple. This ancient mosque also includes the famous Seljuq minaret with archaic carvings and designs.
 * Imam Mosque (Soltani Mosque) – built under the Qajar dynasty, this mosque is a rare four-terrace mosque. The design of the Imam Mosque utilized the expertise of Iranian architecture of the time, providing all sectors of the complex with equal acoustic sound systems.
 * The Shrine of Sheikh Ala'ed-dowleh Semnani – This shrine was constructed by the Safavid dynasty in honor of Sheikh Ala'ed-dowleh Semnani, a major Sufi mystic and poet of Iran.
 * Threshold of the Alavids – A memorial shrine to the Alavid sayyids that administered the affairs of the city during the reign of the Alavid dynasty, centered in the ancient region of Tabaristan. The shrine also has religious value, being that the Alavids were the direct descendants of the second Shi'a Imam, Imam Hassan.
 * Imamzadeh Yahya Mosque – Aside from the mosque's aesthetic tile work and architectural design, this is a designated place of Ziyarah, or Islamic pilgrimage. The mosque is characterized by its massive entrance, stained glass windows, glossy marble flooring, and unique interior design.
 * Imamzadeh Ali ibn Jafar Mosque – Another place of Ziyarah, or Islamic pilgrimage, with aesthetic tile work and architectural design. The mosque is characterized by its green domes and a massive adobe dome that towers above the complex.
 * Imamzadeh Ali ibn Ashraf Mosque – A place of Ziyarah, or Islamic pilgrimage.
 * Memorial of the Martyrs (Mezar Shohada) – this building was constructed as an interior cemetery for the soldiers of Semnan that were martyred in the brutal Iran–Iraq War of 1980–1988. The building consists of a glossy marble flooring, elegant chandeliers, murals, and stained glass windows.
 * Hakim Elahi Mausoleum – Hakim Elahi was a prominent scholar of Islam and philosophy.

Secular

 * Pehne Hot Springs – a public bath house which uses hot therapeutic waters. These waters are utilized for relaxation as well as hydrotherapy.
 * The Gate of the Semnan Fortress – built by the Qajar dynasty under Prince Bahman Mirzaye Baha'ed-dowleh, the son of Fath Ali Shah Qajar. Unfortunately, Reza Shah Pahlavi destroyed the other three entrances and the walls around the old city under the pretext of road construction.
 * Semnan Bazaar – the place to buy the souvenirs, handicrafts, appliances, food items, etc.
 * Pehne Bazaar – a large and vast center of commerce with multiple wings. Similar to most bazaars in Iran, Pehne Bazaar has almost all the necessities as well as local products.
 * Sheikh Ala'ed-dowleh Bazaar – a traditional center of commerce that carries all the basic necessities as well as tourist items.
 * Tadayyon House – a mansion style home of the wealthy class in the Qajar era of Semnan. This multi-story complex consists of a stable, a massive kitchen, a traditional cistern of water, along with a towering windcatcher, signature of Iran's arid cities. The complex also features a unique Azerbaijani architectural design, signature of Qajar era buildings.
 * The Interior Gardens of Semnan (Baghat Dakhil Shahr) – these massive gardens cover the entire southwestern portion of the city in a green, lush, and forested environment. The main trees that dominate the landscape are walnut and pomegranate trees. Within the gardens are numerous creeks trickling along the irrigated paths, as well as traditional adobe brick homes which provide much of the housing for the Maleh district of Semnan.
 * The Garden Restaurant – is a traditional restaurant in the city of Semnan offering traditional Iranian cuisine, including local dishes and outdoor dining. The restaurant features an entrance arch decorated with stained glass mosaic windows leading into a large courtyard filled with fountains, trees, flowers, and running water.
 * Qich Qaleh hotel museum - the hotel museum has been built by a construction worker from Qich Qaleh village in Semnan Province. The man, who has turned his own house into the anthropology museum, hosts tourists from all over the country at his local residence.

Historical innovations
Semnan's proximity to the Kavir Desert has provided the city with the opportunity to construct numerous facilities in order to cope with the dry climate. As a result, Semnan has numerous ancient, traditional irrigation systems known as qanat. In addition, the roofs of many buildings are decorated with windcatchers known in Persian as badgir. These badgirs were normally attached to a small cistern of drinking water known in Persian as Ab Anbar. These ancient, traditional, and clever designs and systems helped Semnan grow and prosper before the introduction of modern plumbing and appliances. Within the vicinity of the city, ancient caravanserais from the active era of the historic and legendary Silk Road can be found.

Economy
The city of Semnan has traditionally been an important center of commerce along the historical Silk Road, and is still an important agricultural, industrial, and cultural center today.

Industrial sector
The production of textiles and carpets were the most important industries in the history of the city. But nowadays, in relation to its population, Semnan has very powerful industrial sectors, with special regards to its automobile industry (cars and bikes). Another major industry is the production of cement from the nearby cement plants. The mountains and foothills around Semnan also hold major deposits of minerals used in the production of plaster; these mines are known in Persian as ma'dan e gach. Other minerals that are mined around the city consist of gypsum, salts, zeolite, bentonite, and celestine. Some heavy industries of Semnan consist of the Iran Khodro Semnan Production Plant (producing 100,000 Samand cars per year), Oqab Afshan Production Plant (largest bus production plant in the region of Asia), the Semnan Sodium Carbonate Company (largest in the region of Asia), and the Semnan Rolling Mills Group (major producer of piping and profiles). One of the largest industrial zone in the city is the Semnan Industrial Town, which features 2,100 hectares of land and 900 industrial units.

Agricultural sector
Agricultural traditions still persist around and within the city of Semnan. The Golrudbar river, which starts in the Alborz mountains in the north, runs through the western side of the city. With proper irrigation, the municipality has managed to convert the entire southwestern portion of the city into green and lush pomegranate gardens. Around the city, further irrigation of the Golrudbar river and the surrounding creeks and tributaries have provided the proper environment for the cultivation of herbs, eggplants, potatoes, walnuts, and cotton.

Semnan also produces handwoven rugs called Glim. These rugs consist of naturally dyed wools, woven into elaborate tribal and local designs.

Demography and ethnic influences
Majority of the city dwellers are Persians. Older Semnan was made up of four main districts: Shaji (Shahjoo), Naasaar, Latibaar and Espanjon (Esfanjan). These four districts still exist today, but the city has grown and become much larger including some new districts. To the west of the city is "Maleh" which used to be a separate settlement but was not a part of Semnan. In the local language the inhabitants are known as Malezh. "Maleh" consists of three parts: Koery (Kodivar), Koshmeni (Kushmaqaan) and Zaveni (Zavaqaan). "Maleh" is now part of Semnan.

As a result of the Qajar dynasty's heavy influence on the city of Semnan, especially under Fath Ali Shah's reign, some families in Semnan can trace their lineage back to the Qajar dynasty. Furthermore, much of the city's most important monuments have been built under Turkic dynasties. For example, the Jame' Mosque of Semnan, constructed nearly 1,000 years ago, was built by the Seljuq dynasty. The Imam Mosque, originally known as Soltani Mosque, was constructed by the Qajar dynasty. The Gate of Semman, or Arg e Semnan, which is the representative symbol of the city of Semnan, was also constructed by the Qajar dynasty. Many other historical sites within the city and the surrounding villages demonstrate a strong Turkic and Ilkhanate influence in their architectural designs.

Also, much of the city's Sayyid population tends to descend from the Alavids of the Caspian region to the north of the province.

Religion
The people of the city of Semnan are almost all entirely Shi'a Muslim. The Shi'a Islamic faith dominates the culture, norms, traditions, and beliefs of the city, and continues to dictate the style of life in city. As a result, the celebrations, rituals, and days of religious mourning play a major role in the life of a Semnani city dweller, and are for some families, more important that the national Iranian customs and holidays. The majority of the people of Semnan observe Shi'a Islam quite conservatively; hence, the martyrdom and birthdays of Shi'a Imams are very important days on the calendar.

Muharram traditions
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic Calendar, and also the month which marks the brutal and tragic martyrdom of the third Shi'a Imam, Imam Hussein and 72 members of his household. The people of Semnan observe Muharram and the overall 50 days of mourning by refraining from worldly pleasures, such as music and joyful gatherings, wearing dark clothes to show intimate grief, and participating in outdoor rallies consisting of massive mourning accompanied by sorrowful chants which recall the events of the tragedy in Karbala, the place of Imam Hussein's martyrdom. In addition, the mournings on the tenth day of Muharram, known as Ashura, consist of self-flagellation rituals in which the participants attempt to symbolically inflict pain upon themselves. Another major event held in Semnan during the month of Muharram is the reenactment of the tragedy of Karbala. Participating locals would wear the armor and clothing of the armies of Imam Hussein and his enemies, as well as decorating the local horses in the cavalry uniform of the era. Thus, the battle would be reenacted. During this month's sorrowful rituals, it is custom to cook a community meal (usually a stew). This is done by placing colossal cauldrons outside upon a source of heat, then, people would take turns stirring the stew until it is ready to be consumed by the community's mourners.

Norms

 * While the validity of the following has not been verified, some Semnani families have reported that the traditional norms and customs of the city called for a high level of respect and prestigious treatment towards the Sayyid population; in return, the Sayyids were expected to demonstrate a dignified source of emulation and guidance for the citizens. If such norms and traditions existed, it is not clear to what extent they are practiced and carried out in today's Semnan.
 * It has also been reported that the people of Semnan have historically refused to wear black clothing for the mourning of the dead, this does not include the religious mournings of Muharram or the deaths and martyrdoms of Shi'a imams and figures. The foundation of this refusal appears to be rooted in the hatred of the people of Semnan towards the Abbasid Caliphate and its utilization of black flags.
 * Superstitions are highly intertwined with the religious beliefs amongst the older generations in Semnan. One example would be the historical refusal of the local people to travel near the Rig-e Jenn or Dunes of the Jinn while leading trade caravans south towards the Province of Isfahan in the past. The local people believed that evil, demonic spirits lived and dwelled near the sand dunes.
 * Traditionally, the women were tasked with baking the oven-baked bread of the city. It is reported that in historical times, the women could make three months worth of bread in one day. Over time, the women responsible for the baking of the bread developed several folksongs that they would sing as they baked. Two famous folksongs are "môr siyô" and "nün bışkán".

Nowrouz traditions
The celebrations of Nowrouz are slightly different in the city of Semnan. Since the beginning of the Iranian (Islamic) solar month of Esfand, a man dressed in red with a charcoal-blackened face known as Hajji Firuz sits on top of a wooden horse, decorated with textiles, in the bazaars of Semnan. He congratulates the people and takes part in the establishment of the holiday environment. He sings in the Semnani language: arbaab e mani somboli baleikom, arbaab e mani sarbalaayii hei kon, arbaab e mani bozboz e qandi, arbaab e mani chera nemikhandi.

As the celebrations approach the Nowrouz, many celebrators blacken their faces with charcoal and join the celebrations. Another interesting aspect of the Nowrouz celebrations are the massive gatherings of the womenfolk in which they make covenants with God to cook large batches of samanu for the poor.

Unique foods and dishes
The people of Semnan have many foods and dishes that are specific to Semnan. Some of the common ingredients used in Semnani dishes consist of pomegranate extracts, fresh walnuts from Shahmirzad (şômırzé), a variety of greens and herbs known in Persian as sabzijat, and more recently, potatoes. Semnani food tends to be slightly sour and spicey when compared to the general culinary preferences of Tehran. In fact, there is an old proverb among the local people that says, "Semnan has so many foods, that a wife from this city can cook a different dish for every night of the year."

Some of the famous dishes are: Chelo Gousht, Sabzi polo, and Khoresht e Esfanaj va Gerdou (espenôj vu yüz). The Semnani people are also quite fond of a variety of breads such as shirmal, shortbread (kamôç), and Kolüçe pastries. In the Semnani language, bread that is baked in an oven is referred to as "nün," while bread made by other means is referred to as "sôdjí."

The following are the names of some foods in English and Semnani: chicken (gırká), pomegranate (nôr), grapes (engír), cucumber (djürüng), walnut (yüz), eggplant (vıngun), and apricot (şillık).

Persian language
The Persian language is the official language of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and thus within the city of Semnan. Every literate person in Semnan knows how to communicate in the Persian language.

Semnani language
The city also has its own language known as "Zaban e Semnani" in Persian or "Semani Zefön" in the Semnani language of the locals. The Iranian Constitution recognizes the use of regional dialects and languages, and permits their usage second to the Persian language.

According to the book Dictionary of Semnan Ancient Dialect, Semnan traditionally has had its own language. The book collected more than 12,000 words belonging to this language. The local people call their language Semani. Most of the older generations and some among the younger generations of the city still know and maintain communication in this language. However, the majority of the younger generations do not communicate in Semani as a result of schooling and education in Persian.

Poetry
Poetry is the most important form of literature in the city of Semnan, especially in terms of its cultural value. Semnani people have contributed greatly to their poetry; they use poetry to express their emotions, philosophies, politics, etc., as well as to preserve the native Semani language. Other poetic works tend to be about God and nature. Also, many books have been published full of traditional poetry. Perhaps the most famous is Nanén Hıkôtí, or Mom's Sayings. Two famous Semnani poets are Zabihullah Andaliba and Rahim Me`marian. The following is an excerpt from a poem about Spring, by Rahim Me`marian, in the Semnani language, along with an English translation:

The Season of Spring has arrived... It sways (the emotions) of the heart,

It spreads across the meadows and the desert... A velvet-like green.

-Rahim Me`marian

Short stories
There are countless short stories that belong to the Semnani language. Similar to poetry, short stories account for a major section of the literature of Semnan. Due to the previous, little use of orthography, the Semnani language was not able to produce any large single story or novel. Nevertheless, short stories were created to both record history and entertain. These short stories were passed on generation after generation, and have now been recently recorded in books. One famous short story is "frônsé shô vu rüá," or "(The) French King and (the) Cat."

Television
The city of Semnan receives all the nationwide stations broadcast by IRIB. In addition to the nationwide channels, Semnan is the broadcasting location of Semnan TV, the provincial television station. Semnan TV has made several great achievements in the film and documentary fields. One notable documentary is that of the life of Ali Akbar Moallem Damghani, an Islamic scholar and mystic. Because of the wide variety of dialects spoken throughout the Semnan Province, all of Semnan TV's main broadcasting is in the Persian language in order to avoid the unfair advancement of the city's own dialect. This policy has angered a significant portion of the population which remains deeply concerned with regards to the deteriorating state of the Semnani language altogether.

Radio
Similar to television, the city of Semnan receives all the national radio frequencies broadcast by IRIB. Due to Semnan's status as the provincial capital, Radio Semnan is based in the city and broadcasts for the entire Semnan Province. Radio Semnan first began to operate in 1976 with the utilization of 10 kilowatts. A few years after the Islamic Revolution, Radio Semnan underwent a major expansion in the year 1981. This provided a variety of broadcasting, i.e. religious, political, recent events, cultural, etc., as well as increasing the broadcasting duration up to fifteen hours per day. Today, Radio Semnan is an important media asset for the entire Semnan Province, and serves as a major source of reliable information and discussions from a wide variety of topics. According to the representative of Radio Semnan, Abdulreza Dehrouye, "the variety of regional dialects, the strategic geographical location, the good climate, the contributions of the educated elite, the centers of industry and mineral extraction, the various university complexes, the massive labor force, and the highly literate and educated municipal population are all contributing factors into establishing the framework of the great and spiritual network Radio Semnan offers today." Furthermore, Radio Semnan is unique in offering broadcast time in which residents may call in and engage in direct dialogue with city representatives and officials. This provides the people as well as city officials the opportunity to address general public concerns and discuss future plans.

Newspapers
In addition to the numerous nationwide newspapers such as "hamshahri" and "Jomhuri ye Eslami", Semnan publishes many of its own newspapers as well as newspapers for other major cities throughout the Semnan Province. These newspapers consist of:
 * the daily "Payam e Ostan e Semnan" (Message of the Semnan Province)
 * the weekly "Kavir" (Salt Marsh)
 * the weekly "Ham Nazar" (Comments)
 * the weekly "Javane ye Emrouz" (Daily Sprout)
 * the weekly "Shahvar" (Kingly)
 * the bi-weekly "Payam e Shahroud" (Message of Shahroud)
 * the monthly "Zofor" (Victory)
 * the monthly "Chafiyye" (Keffiyeh)
 * the monthly "Chante" (Wallet)
 * the "Journal" of the College of Anthropology of the University of Semnan
 * the monthly "Healthcare Newsletter" of the Semnan Center of Health

The city's extensive online newspaper can be accessed at www.semnannews.com. The Islamic Republic News Agency also features a provincial news outlet dedicated to the Semnan Province.

Airports and aviation
The city is served by both the Semnan Municipal Airport and New Semnan Airport.

Railways
The city is served by the Semnan Railway Station, which features double rails and services to the major cities of Tehran (Westward) and Mashad (Eastward). In addition to services to Tehran and Mashad, there are separate railway services to the cities of Garmsar, Shahrud, Damghan, Meyami, and Sorkheh, all within the Province of Semnan. The Semnan Railway Station features modern electric rail services as well.

The city is further served by the Semnan Municipal Train system which connects the major points of the city by rail. This train service resembles the light rail transit systems that serve several cities throughout the Western world.

Other transportation services
Semnan also offers an extensive bus route throughout the entire municipality as well as numerous public and private taxi services. Similar to most cities in Iran, Semnan has a particular taxi service referred to in Persian as "agence." This originally French word is used to denote taxis that arrive at the individual's place of residence and provide service to the individual's destination. This form of service varies from the regular taxi services in Semnan, which only operate on pre-assigned routes.

Higher education
Around 99% of all of Semnan's residents are literate. As a result, many residents seek higher education and high level services such as medical, pharmacological, and high-tech engineering professions.

Some of the major centers of higher education are:
 * University of Semnan
 * Semnan University of Medical Sciences
 * Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences
 * Islamic Azad University of Semnan
 * Payame Noor University
 * University of Imam Hosseyn
 * University of Shaheed Abbasspour

The University of Industry of Semnan is another planned, future university.

Notable people

 * Ala ud-Daula Simnani (1261-1336) - poet
 * Ashraf Jahangir Semnani (1287-1386) - Sufi saint
 * Nematollah Nassiri (1911-1979) - head of SAVAK
 * Nosratollah Noohian (born 1931) - poet
 * Shapoor Gharib (born 1933) - film director
 * Parviz Sabeti (born 1936) - security officer
 * Hassan Rouhani (born 1948) - 7th president of Iran
 * Majid Derakhshani (born 1957) - musician
 * Farhad Rahbar (born 1959) - politician
 * Ahmad Khatami (born 1960) - politician
 * Mostafa Kavakebian (born 1963) - politician
 * Mojtaba Shaban (born 1987) - volleyball player

title: Semnan, Iran


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