The Republic of the Philippines, located on the archipelago of the same name — the place is interesting, but not always very clean. It is not too dangerous here, despite the poverty of the country, and the locals are friendly. However, it is better for tourists to avoid visiting the south of the country — a revolutionary cauldron is now brewing there.
Facts about the Philippines
- This island nation was named after the Spanish King Philip II.
- The Philippines owns more than 7,100 islands – both large and very tiny, not even having a name.
- Near the coast of the island of Mindanao, the Philippine Trench lies at the bottom of the ocean – it goes into the thickness of the ocean floor at 10,830 m and is one of the deepest on the planet.
- Pearl clams live in the coastal waters of the Philippines, capable of forming pearls in their shells (interesting facts about molluscs).
- In this country, there are special military units that deal with the kidnapping of foreigners for ransom.
- The remains of ancient people who inhabited these places in the 65th millennium BC were discovered on the islands of the Philippine archipelago
- Approximately 45% of Filipinos earn no more than $ 2 a day.
- Filipino scientists have developed several unique dishes and foods, such as musk lime and banana ketchup.
- An international rice research institute has been operating on these islands since the 1960s.
- In the middle of 1990 1990s, the Philippines first bought a space satellite, and 20 years later launched its own microsatellite into orbit.
- One of the traditional Philippine dances, tinikling is a dance with bamboo sticks.
- When cooking, Filipinos often use tangerine-fortunella hybrids (calamondins), fish sauce, coconuts, mangoes, and the saba plant, which resembles plantain.
- In the Philippines, it is customary to eat not with chopsticks, but with Western cutlery.
- A popular way of eating among Filipinos is “Budle Fight”, in which food is laid out on large banana leaves intended for several people at once.
- One of the most popular entertainments for Filipino men is cockfighting, which existed on the islands even before they were colonized by the Spaniards.
- The yo-yo toy, which is loved by children and teenagers around the world, was invented by Filipino Pedro Flores. On the islands, his invention still breaks records of popularity among the younger generation.
- In the Philippines, fourth cousins are among the closest relatives of local residents.
- Philippines are forbidden to divorce and artificially terminate pregnancies.
- Karaoke was invented in the Philippines, and from there the system migrated to Japan, where it gained incredible success.
- Representatives of some Filipino tribes kiss, moving their lips together and quickly inhaling the air.
- Of the 500 varieties of coral that exist on the planet, 488 can be found in the waters off the coast of the Philippines.
- The total area of the islands of the Philippine archipelago is approximately comparable to the size of Italy (interesting facts about Italy).
- The Philippine capital Manila was named after a mangrove tree with white flowers.