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Slavery was a legal and important part of the economy of the Ottoman Empire and Ottoman society until the slavery of Caucasians was banned in the early 19th century, although slaves from other groups were allowed. In Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), the administrative and political center of the Empire, about a fifth of the population consisted of slaves in 1609. Even after several measures to ban slavery in the late 19th century, the practice continued largely unfazed into the early 20th century. As late as 1908, female slaves were still sold in the Ottoman Empire. Sexual slavery was a central part of the Ottoman slave system throughout the history of the institution.

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The strong abolitionist movement in the 19th century in England and later in other Western countries influenced slavery in Muslim lands. Though the 'position of the domestic slave in Muslim society was in most respects better than in either classical antiquity or the nineteenth-century Americas', thanks to regulation by Sharia law, the enlightened incentives and opportunities for slaves to be emancipated meant there was a strong market for new slaves and thus strong incentive to enslave and sell human beings. Appalling loss of life and hardships often resulted from the processes of acquisition and transportation of slaves to Muslim lands and this drew the attention of European opponents of slavery. The continuing pressure from European countries eventually overcame the strong resistance of religious conservatives who were holding that forbidding what God permits is just as great an offence as to permit what God forbids. Slavery, in their eyes, was 'authorized and regulated by the holy law'. Even masters persuaded of their own piety and benevolence sexually exploited their concubines, without a thought of whether this constituted a violation of their humanity. There were also many pious Muslims who refused to have slaves and persuaded others to do so. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire's orders against the traffic of slaves were issued and put into effect.

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The Ottoman Empire's sovereignty was embodied in the dynasty of Osman I, who was its founder and namesake. His family had ruled since 1299 in an unbroken lineage throughout the empire's history. The Ottoman dynasty (as Sultan) maintained supreme authority over the Ottoman Empire's polity. The sultan was the empire's sole and absolute regent, head of state and head of government. The Grand Viziers and polity established by the Ottoman Constitution functioned at the pleasure of the Sultan.

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Following the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II established the Millet System, according to which the different ethnic groups within Constantinople and the rest of the Ottoman Empire were to be governed by a group of institutions based on faith. For this purpose, Mehmed II also founded previously non-existent religious authorities such as the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1461. Earlier, the Byzantines considered the Armenian Church as heretic and did not allow the Armenians to have churches inside the walls of Constantinople. Several Armenian saints, such as Saint Narses, were exiled and imprisoned in the Princes' Islands near Constantinople, in the Sea of Marmara. With the Millet System, a great deal of the internal affairs regarding these communities were assigned to the administration of these religious authorities; such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the affairs of all Orthodox Christians, the Armenian Patriarchate for the affairs of the Armenian (and for some time also the Syriac) Christians, and later the Chief Rabbi for the affairs of the Jews.

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The Ottoman Empire was governed through a top-down hierarchy with all authority ultimately residing with the sultan. As the empire began aggressively acquiring vast territories with diverse populations, the imperial authority adopted the timar system to rule over these lands and foster a steady source of tax revenue. Choosing from members of the ulema (religious and legal scholars), the berats of the sultan appointed a kadi to a district. Within each district, a bey from the military class carried out the sultan’s executive authority while the kadi represented his legal authority. The division of power between these two authorities produced a delicate balance; the bey needed a kadi’s judgement to punish a subject, and the kadi could not carry out his own rulings. According to Amy Singer, “It was to them that peasants brought their complaints of abusive behavior suffered at the hands of the sipahis and others.” Although the kadi also often abused their authority, the division of power allowed the tax paying class to have their grievances addressed without involving the far-away imperial authority. The power vested in the kadi allowed them to protect the legitimacy of the timar system while also securing the empire’s tax base.

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Continuation of the system depended heavily on centralist state control of land possession and labor. An important aspect of this was the state's (i.e. the sultan's) absolute ownership of all land, and 'this lack of private ownership reinforced the core of the patrimonial system: the ruler's ability to maintain and secure his position'; however, it is important to note the complexity of the reality of land ownership during the entirety of Ottoman rule. This complexity is the reason why historian Attila Aytekin calls absolute land ownership in the empire a 'legal fiction.' The reality was defined by a tension between provincial agents and state control. The state's main concerns about the çift-hane system for much of the Ottoman reign were maintaining the integrity of family farms, keeping peasants on the land, and ensuring the protection of subsistence crops.

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The central bureaucracy dealt with the encroachment of local lords and provincial agents attempting to become provincial gentry from the 16th century onwards. The Ottoman state maintained the system by declaring dry-farming regions to be state owned and by protecting the integrity of the peasant household. The Ottoman state wanted all lands in the form of çiftlik in order to prevent the land's integration into landed properties and partition into smaller units. For this same reason, the central state often reassigned provincial governors to prevent them from acquiring loyalties. The system of timar-holding upheld this state centralism because the labor of the peasants helped maintain the military exploits of the empire—providing not only revenue but labor in the form of land cultivation and collection of firewood and straw for military families. However, the peasants resented these direct forms of servitude towards land holders, which is why the central state sought to maintain or even convert land to the çiftlik form of taxation. A main concern of the state was to keep peasants on the land, which was why peasants were not allowed to relocate. Land holders were incentivized to keep peasants on the land because peasant work was their main source of revenue.

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The Ottoman Empire saw military expansion and fiscalism as the source of wealth, with agriculture seen as more important than manufacture and commerce. Berkes described the Ottoman economy as a 'war economy' where its primary revenue comprised booty from expansion. This idea has been supported by Ottomanists Halil İnalcik and Suraiya Faroqhi . Western mercantilists gave more emphasis to manufacture and industry in the wealth-power-wealth equation, moving towards capitalist economics comprising expanding industries and markets whereas the Ottomans continued along the trajectory of territorial expansion, traditional monopolies, conservative land holding and agriculture. In economic terms, neither the Marxian Asiatic mode of production, nor the feudal mode found in medieval Europe reflect the Ottoman economy accurately, as it falls somewhere in between the two — excess peasant production was taxed by the state as opposed to it being paid in rent to feudal lords.

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The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire (Armistice of Mudros, 30 October 1918 – Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate, 1 November 1922) was a political event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was planned in several agreements made by the Allies early in the course of World War I, notably the Sykes-Picot Agreement. As world war loomed, the Ottoman Empire sought protection but was rejected by Britain, France, and Russia, and finally formed the Ottoman–German Alliance. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states. The Ottoman Empire had been the leading Islamic state in geopolitical, cultural and ideological terms. The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire led to the rise in the Middle East of Western powers such as Britain and France and brought the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. Resistance to the influence of these powers came from the Turkish national movement but did not become widespread in the post-Ottoman states until after World War II.

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As the Seljuk Empire declined following the Mongol invasion, the Ottoman Empire emerged as the new important Turkic state, that came to dominate not only the Middle East, but even southeastern Europe, parts of southwestern Russia, and northern Africa.

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The Ottoman Empire was one of the most successful empires in Southwest Asia (Middle East). It lasted from 1299-1924, and the rulers of the empire were caliphs. Their government was set up as a theocracy. The Ottoman Empire stretched out from parts in Southwest Asia to Europe and Northern Africa, making it an important trading route.

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The Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest empires in world history, both in size and duration. The Ottoman Empire grew up in Anatolia (in modern Turkey) during the 13th and 14th centuries, and spread throughout south-western Europe, much of the Middle East and North Africa during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.Its extent, duration and impact made it one of the greatest empires in world history.he Ottoman Empire was one of the greatest empires in world history, both in size and duration. The Ottoman Empire grew up in Anatolia (in modern Turkey) during the 13th and 14th centuries, and spread throughout south-western Europe, much of the Middle East and North Africa during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.

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The Ottoman Empire was an Islamic state in which the head of the state, the Sultan, also held the position of Caliph. The social system was organized around the millet structure. The millet structure allowed a great degree of religious, cultural and ethnic continuity across the society but at the same time permitted the religious ideology to be incorporated into the administrative, economic and political system. One can define this way of life as Islamism (Political Islam): 'the belief that Islam should guide social and political as well as personal life'.

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The Ottomans absorbed some of the traditions, art and institutions of cultures in the regions they conquered, and added new dimensions to them. Numerous traditions and cultural traits of previous empires (in fields such as architecture, cuisine, music, leisure and government) were adopted by the Ottoman Turks, who elaborated them into new forms, which resulted in a new and distinctively Ottoman cultural identity. Despite newer added amalgamations, the Ottoman dynasty, like their predecessors in the Sultanate of Rum and the Seljuk Empire, were thoroughly Persianised in their culture, language, habits and customs, and therefore, the empire has been described as a Persianate empire. Intercultural marriages also played their part in creating the characteristic Ottoman elite culture. When compared to the Turkish folk culture, the influence of these new cultures in creating the culture of the Ottoman elite was clear.

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Under Suleiman's patronage, the Ottoman Empire entered the golden age of its cultural development. Hundreds of imperial artistic societies (called the اهل حرف Ehl-i Hiref, 'Community of the Talented') were administered at the Imperial seat, the Topkapı Palace. After an apprenticeship, artists and craftsmen could advance in rank within their field and were paid commensurate wages in quarterly annual installments. Payroll registers that survive testify to the breadth of Suleiman's patronage of the arts, the earliest of documents dating from 1526 list 40 societies with over 600 members. The Ehl-i Hiref attracted the empire's most talented artisans to the Sultan's court, both from the Islamic world and from the recently conquered territories in Europe, resulting in a blend of Arabic, Turkish and European cultures. Artisans in service of the court included painters, book binders, furriers, jewellers and goldsmiths. Whereas previous rulers had been influenced by Persian culture (Suleiman's father, Selim I, wrote poetry in Persian), Suleiman's patronage of the arts saw the Ottoman Empire assert its own artistic legacy.

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The Ottoman Empire had a social system based on religious affiliation. The religious insignia extended to every social function. It was common to wear clothing that identified the person with their own particular religious grouping and accompanied headgear which distinguished rank and profession throughout the Ottoman Empire. The turbans, fezes, bonnets and head-dresses surmounting Ottoman styles showed the sex, rank, and profession (both civil and military) of the wearer. These styles were accompanied with a strict regulation beginning with the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent. Sultan Mahmud II followed on the example of Peter the Great in Russia in modernizing the Empire and used the dress code of 1826 which developed the symbols (classifications) of feudalism among the public. These reforms like that of Peter I of Russia or Sultan Mahmud II, was achieved through introduction of the progressive customs by decrees, while banning the traditional customs. The view of their social change proposed; if the permanence of secularism was to be assured by removal of persistence of traditional cultural values (the religious insignia), a considerable degree of cultural receptivity by the public to the further social change could be achieved. The dress code gave a chance for the removal of persistence of traditional values in the society.

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Ottoman culture evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the cultures of conquered lands and their peoples. There was a strong influence from the customs and languages of Islamic societies, Turkish 'the official language for the Empire, notably Arabic because of the origins of Islam, while Persian culture had a significant contribution through the heavily Persianized Seljuq Turks, the Ottomans' predecessors. Despite newer added amalgamations, the Ottoman dynasty, like their predecessors in the Sultanate of Rum and the Seljuk Empire, were thoroughly Persianised in their culture, language, habits and customs, and therefore, the empire has been described as a Persianate empire.' Throughout its history, the Ottoman Empire had substantial subject populations of Byzantine Greeks, Armenians, Jews and Assyrians, who were allowed a certain amount of autonomy under the confessional millet system of Ottoman government, and whose distinctive cultures enriched that of the Ottoman state.

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The tradition of kıssahan continued into the Ottoman period, as evidenced by the documentation of a kıssahan working in the royal palace named Mustafa during the reign of Mehmed II. In time, all story-tellers became known as meddah and their stories became more and more secular. They began to imitate animals and make innuendos to attract the attention of the audiences. According to a scholar, this occurred 'when the Mohammeddan clergy forbade any reference to the saints in the plays'. As such, the performances by the meddah became theatrical acts based on satire: their themes included heroic tales as well as occurrences of daily life; humorous anecdotes, mimicry of stereotypes and familiar people, 'mockery of social mores' and criticism of officials, at times even the sultan, became the quintessence of their plays.

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Meddah is the name given to a traditional Turkish story teller, who played in front of a small group of viewers, such as a coffeehouse audience. This form of performance was especially popular in the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century onwards. The play was generally about a single topic, the meddah playing different characters, and was usually introduced by drawing attention to the moral contained in the story. The meddah would use props such as an umbrella, a handkerchief, or different headwear, to signal a change of character, and was skilled at manipulating his voice and imitating different dialects. There was no time limitation on the shows; a good meddah had the skill to adjust the story depending on interaction with the audience.

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On the Ottoman side, young Sultan Osman II declared publicly that the result of this battle was an Ottoman victory over the 'giaour'. When he returned to Constantinople on 27 December 1621, he entered with a victory procession; there were three days and nights of victory celebrations. However, the young Sultan was personally very unsatisfied with the result of the battle and the behavior of his household troops, the janissaries, during the campaign and started taking measures to reform the Ottoman military. That attempt led to a revolt in Constantinople by the army, madrasa (religious school) students and wealthy merchants in May 1622, at the end of which Sultan Osman II was deposed and killed by the leaders of the mob. This revolt and the demise of the young Sultan (who was only 17 when killed) is one of the events most written about by Ottoman historians and appears often in Ottoman court literature and Ottoman popular literature. In the peoples' coffee houses in Istanbul (up to the end of the 19th century) public storytellers used to relate the tales, many in poetry form, of the exploits of Young Osman (including Khotin) and his tragic demise.

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Meddahs were generally traveling artists whose route took them from one large city to another, such along the towns of the spice road; the tradition supposedly goes back to Homer's time. The methods of meddahs were the same as the methods of the itinerant storytellers who related Greek epics such as the Iliad and Odyssey, even though the main stories were now Ferhat ile Şirin or Layla and Majnun. The repertoires of the meddahs also included true stories, modified depending on the audience, artist and political situation.

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A young, successful Sultan develops a sleeping disorder all of a sudden. Regardless of what he tries, his sleeping problem doesn’t vanish making him restless, disoriented and nervous. He orders his Vizier to find a solution to keep him occupied during the long, sleepless nights. His Vizier knows that the best way to entertain Sultan is storytelling. He says “My Sultan. The land you chose for the capital has the most skillful storytellers. I’ll gather the best ones in your sultanate and assign them with the task of narrating you one of their tales every night.” With that he starts sending a storyteller to Sultan to tell him a new story every night.

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A good example of the lack of popular Arabic prose fiction is that the stories of Aladdin and Ali Baba, usually regarded as part of the Tales from One Thousand and One Nights, were not actually part of the Tales. They were first included in French translation of the Tales by Antoine Galland who heard them being told by a traditional storyteller and only existed in incomplete Arabic manuscripts before that. The other great character from Arabic literature, Sinbad, is from the Tales.

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Osman's Dream is a mythological story relating to the life of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire. The story describes a dream experienced by Osman while staying in the home of a religious figure, Sheikh Edebali, in which he sees a metaphorical vision predicting the growth and prosperity of an empire to be ruled by him and his descendants. The story emerged in the fifteenth century, more than a hundred years after Osman's death, and is thought to have been created in order to provide a foundational myth for the empire, as well as to embellish the life of Osman and explain his subsequent success.<ref>

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The meddah originally started as the narrators of religious and heroic tales, having its roots in the tradition of Turkish oral literature. Whilst strongly based on Turkish nomadic and shamanist traditions brought from Central Asia rather than external influences, Turkish story-telling was influenced by the Arabic and Persian traditions by the 11th-13th centuries to become a form of one-man theatre. These narrators of mainly epic tales were known as kıssahan, with their stories containing strong Islamic elements that reinforced the faith of the Muslims in the audience and attempting to convert the non-Muslims. Such kıssahan existed during the Seljuq period and usually told Arabic and Persian epics, stories of Ali and Hamza, as well as tales from One Thousand and One Nights. These stories expanded over time to include stories such as Battal Gazi.

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As an historic city, Sarajevo has numerous myths and folklore. The character Nasrudin Hodža is popular throughout the former lands of the Ottoman Empire, and Sarajevo is no exception. Numerous stories about him dealing with the city have been written over the years. A famous piece of Sarajevo folklore is the story of the Orthodox Church. It was said that when a request came to build it, authorities required that it be no higher than the tallest minaret in Sarajevo. A wise old man was then said to have advised that the church be built into the ground. Thus the building reached a proper height but met the restrictions.

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The Ottoman Empire was governed by different sets of laws during its existence. The Kanun a secular legal system, co-existed with religious law or Sharia. Legal administration in the Ottoman Empire was part of a larger scheme of balancing central and local authority. Ottoman power revolved crucially around the administration of the rights to land, which gave a space for the local authority develop the needs of the local millet. The jurisdictional complexity of the Ottoman Empire was aimed to permit the integration of culturally and religiously different groups.

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The establishing structure (Ruling institution of the Ottoman Empire) of the Ottoman Empire (13th century) was an Islamic state in which the head of the Ottoman state was the Sultan. The social system was organized around millet. Millet structure allowed a great degree of religious, cultural and ethnic continuity to non-Muslim populations across the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire and at the same time it permitted their incorporation into the Ottoman administrative, economic and political system. The Ottoman-appointed governor collected taxes and provided security, while the local religious or cultural matters were left to the regional communities to decide. On the other hand, the sultans were Muslims and the laws that bound them were based on the Sharia, the body of Islamic law, as well as various cultural customs. The Sultan, beginning in 1516, was also a Caliph, the leader of all the Sunni Muslims in the world. By the turn of the 19th century the Ottoman ruling elite recognized the need to restructure the legislative, military and judiciary systems to cope with their new political rivals in Europe. When the millet system started to lose its efficiency due to the rise of nationalism within its borders, the Ottoman Empire explored new ways of governing its territory composed of diverse populations.

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Under Ottoman rule the major religious groups were allowed to establish their own self-governing communities, called millets, each retaining its own religious laws, traditions, and language under the general protection of the sultan. Millets were led by religious chiefs, who served as secular as well as religious leaders and thus had a substantial interest in the continuation of Ottoman rule.

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The Ottomans applied the millet system to Cyprus, which allowed religious authorities to govern their own non-Muslim minorities. This system reinforced the position of the Orthodox Church and the cohesion of the ethnic Greek population. Gradually the Archbishop of Cyprus became not only religious but ethnic leader as well, something the Ottoman Turks promoted, wanting to have somebody responsible for the loyalty of the Greek flock. In this way the Church undertook the task of the guardian of the Greek cultural legacy, although diminished since the country's independence.

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The main idea behind the Ottoman legal system was the 'confessional community'. The Ottomans tried to leave the choice of religion to the individual rather than imposing forced classifications. However, there were grey areas.

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The Ottoman Empire's millet system was abolished during British administration. In this period, the people of Cyprus were split into two main groups in censuses and administrative records. Because of the polarization politics of the British administration, Linobambaki were integrated into the Turkish Cypriot community. There were still Greek speaking settlements that identified themselves as Turkish Cypriots during the 1950s; settlements such as Lapithos, Platanissos, Agios Symeon and Galinoporni.

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Britain continued the millet system of the Ottoman Empire whereby all matters of a religious nature and personal status were within the jurisdiction of Muslim courts and the courts of other recognised religions, called confessional communities. The High Commissioner established the Orthodox Rabbinate and retained a modified millet system which only recognised eleven religious communities: Muslims, Jews and nine Christian denominations (none of which were Christian Protestant churches). All those who were not members of these recognised communities were excluded from the millet arrangement. As a result, there was no possibility, for example, of marriages between confessional communities, and there were no civil marriages. Personal contacts between communities were nominal.

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Today the millet system is still used at varying degrees in some post-Ottoman countries like Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and Greece (for religious minorities). It is also in use in states like India, Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh which observe the principle of separate personal courts and/or laws for every recognized religious community and reserved seats in the parliament.

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Article 14 of the British Mandate of Palestine required the mandatory administration to establish a commission to study, define, and determine the rights and claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. Article 15 required the mandatory administration to see to it that complete freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship were permitted. Those mandates were never enforced or put into effect. The High Commissioner established the Orthodox Rabbinate and retained a modified Millet system that recognized only eleven religious communities: Muslims, Jews and nine Christian denominations (none of which were Christian Protestant churches). All those who were not members of these recognised communities were excluded from the Millet arrangement, and 'marriages' conducted in Palestine outside these communities were not recognised. Consular marriages remained customary during the British Mandate and civil divorces granted in other countries were registered and recognized by the mandatory administration. Provision was made for the registration of marriages, but not for the manner in which marriages would be conducted.

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The State of Israel supports religious institutions, particularly Orthodox Jewish ones, and recognizes the 'religious communities' as carried over from those recognized under the British Mandate - in turn derived from the pre-1917 Ottoman system of Millets. These are: Jewish and Christian (Eastern Orthodox, Latin [Catholic], Gregorian-Armenian, Armenian-Catholic, Syrian [Catholic], Chaldean [Uniate], Greek Catholic Melkite, Maronite, and Syrian Orthodox). The fact that the Muslim population was not defined as a religious community is a vestige of the Ottoman period during which Islam was the dominant religion and does not affect the rights of the Muslim community to practice their faith. At the end of the period covered by the 2009 U.S. International Religious Freedom Report, several of these denominations were pending official government recognition; however, the Government has allowed adherents of not officially recognized groups freedom to practice. In 1961, legislation gave Muslim Shari'a courts exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status. Three additional religious communities have subsequently been recognized by Israeli law: the Druze (prior under Islamic jurisdiction), the Evangelical Episcopal Church, and the Bahá'í. These groups have their own religious courts as official state courts for personal status matters (see millet system).

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Utah's temperatures are extreme, with cold temperatures in winter due to its elevation, and very hot summers statewide (with the exception of mountain areas and high mountain valleys). Utah is usually protected from major blasts of cold air by mountains lying north and east of the state, although major Arctic blasts can occasionally reach the state. Average January high temperatures range from around in some northern valleys to almost in St. George.

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Utah Weather. There's a saying here in Utah: If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.. Our weather is as varied as our terrain. Some of our mountains receive over 500 inches of snow in the winter. In the summer, parts of the state can reach temperatures well over 100°F.

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While Utah is widely perceived to be a desert state, and statistically it is the second driest state in the nation, its climate, soils, and vegetation are as diverse as are its landforms. Utah has three climatic regions--humid, sub-humid or semi-arid, and arid--and each region covers about one-third of the state. The high mountains and plateaus are humid; the lower basins, valleys, and flatlands are often arid; and the transitional places in between are sub-humid to semi-arid.

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Hot and dry some snow in the high desert areas. Northern Utah which is Provo, Utah and up experiences winters with average temperatures in the thirties between November and March. In may temperatures rise to 60's and low 70's. Between June and August consistent 90 degree weather is not unusual but the temperature is ussually around 80. Utah is arid and semi-arid.

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Utah Weather. There's a saying here in Utah: If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.. Our weather is as varied as our terrain. Some of our mountains receive over 500 inches of snow in the winter.In the summer, parts of the state can reach temperatures well over 100°F.tah Weather. There's a saying here in Utah: If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.. Our weather is as varied as our terrain. Some of our mountains receive over 500 inches of snow in the winter.

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Kanab has a borderline Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa), more typical of exposed regions around Arizona’s Mogollon Rim. The city is rather wetter, especially during the winter months, and hotter than the typical Mountain West cool semi-arid climate. The dry spring season from April to June is warm to hot during the day and very clear but the hot sun and thin air typical of Utah mean that nights remain cool and frosts can occur even in May. In the summer, monsoon thunderstorms break up the dry weather between July and October. The winters are cool during the day and very cold at night, though a large proportion of the precipitation is still rain rather than snow, which rarely accumulated beyond and has a median total fall of only , or three-tenths that of Salt Lake City. As noted above, overall winter precipitation is slightly in excess of that required to qualify as a subhumid rather than semi-arid climate.

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In the summertime many valley residents of the Wasatch Front visit the town to escape high temperatures. Park City is usually 20 °F (11 °C) cooler than Salt Lake City, as it lies mostly above above sea level, while Salt Lake City is situated at an elevation of about .

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Salt Lake City (Utah Transit Authority) has purchased ten A300L buses for its MAX Bus Rapid Transit system. These buses differ from AC Transit's A300Ls as they have three doors and are equipped for cold weather and high altitude operations. They have also recently placed an order for four more because of overwhelmingly positive support of the first 10 buses and the 'MAX' BRT service they operate.

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Utah-Climate. The climate of Utah is generally semiarid to arid. Temperatures are favorable along the Wasatch Front, where there are relatively mild winters. At Salt Lake City, the normal daily mean temperature is 52°F (11°C), ranging from 28°F ( 2°C) in January to 78°F (26°C) in July. The record high temperature, 117°F (47°C), was set at St. George on 5 July 1985; the record low temperature, 69°F ( 56°C), in Peter's Sink, on 1 February 1985.

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Salt Lake City is evolving into a true metropolitan city. From its sustainable infrastructure, to its diverse communities and neighborhoods, the capital city fire department strives to maintain a focus on providing value to the residents, business owners, and visitors who live work and play within its boundaries.

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Immigration of international LDS members, mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad initially brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed the Crossroads of the West. It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913, and presently two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, intersect in the city. Salt Lake City has since developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry based primarily on skiing, and hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is the industrial banking center of the United States.

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Local, state, and federal governments have a large presence in the city, and trade, transportation, and utilities also take up a significant portion of employment, with the major employer being the Delta hub at Salt Lake City International Airport. Equally significant are the professional and business services, while health services and health educational services are significant areas of employment, including the largest health care provider in the Intermountain West, Intermountain Healthcare. Other major employers include the University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Historically known as the 'Crossroads of the West' for its railroads, when nearby steel, mining and railroad operations provided a strong source of income with Silver King Coalition Mines, Geneva Steel, Bingham Canyon Mine, and oil refineries, Salt Lake City's modern economy is service-oriented. Today the city's major sectors are government, trade, transportation, utilities, and professional and business services. The daytime population of Salt Lake City proper swells to over 315,000 people, not including tourists or students.

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Local, state, and federal governments have their largest presence in Salt Lake City, accounting for 21% of employment. Trade, transportation, and utilities account for another 18% of employment, with the major employers being the regional Delta Air Lines hub at Salt Lake City International Airport. Equally significant are the professional and business services, which account for another 18% of employment. Health services and health educational services comprise an additional 10% of employment. Other major employers include the University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Salt Lake City has since developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry based primarily on skiing, and was host to the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is the industrial banking center of the United States.

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Since the establishment of Alta Ski Area in 1939 and the subsequent development of several ski resorts in the state's mountains, Utah's skiing has become world-renowned. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world (the state license plate claims 'the Greatest Snow on Earth'). Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and this served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues built along the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. Preparation for the Olympics spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

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Other economic activities include tourism, conventions, and major suburban call centers. Tourism has increased since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and many hotels and restaurants were built for the events. The convention industry has expanded since the construction of the Salt Palace convention center in the late 1990s, which hosts trade shows and conventions, including the annual Outdoor Retailers meeting and Novell's annual BrainShare convention.

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Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world. Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, and this has served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues scattered across the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

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Since hosting the 2002 Winter Games, Utah has hosted over 60 World Cup events as well as 7 world championships and numerous other sporting events.<ref>'Salt Lake City Still Basking in 2002 Winter Games Legacies.' Salt Lake City Still Basking in 2002 Winter Games Legacies. Olympic.org, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

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Holger Preuss in his book The Economics of Staging the Olympics: A Comparison of the Games 1972–2008 argues that 'The export of the ‘Olympic Games’ service results in an inflow of funds to the host city, causing additional production which, in its turn, leads to employment and income effects.' According to the study '2002 Olympic Winter Games, Economic, Demographic and Fiscal Impacts,' the estimated creation of new job years of employment was 35,424, and additional earnings of $1,544,203,000. It was noted that the increase of Olympic related job started in 1996 and continued till 2003. These effects can be estimated on the ground of historical relationship between job and corresponding population growth. A lot of people migrated into the future place of the Olympic Games for expanding and favorable employment opportunities that the Olympics ensured. Although many of the higher paying jobs created by the Games were occupied by residents, many of the vacated jobs were filled by immigrants who relocated for the better employment opportunities.

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The Olympic Cauldron Park at Rice-Eccles Stadium, features the Olympic Cauldron from the games, a visitor's center, and the Hoberman Arch. The Olympic Legacy Plaza, located at the Gateway District, features a dancing fountain set to music and the names of 30,000 Olympic volunteers carved in stone. The Utah Olympic Park, located near Park City, features the Olympic ski jumps, as well as bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton runs. Today, the Olympic Park is used for year-round training and competitions. Visitors to the park can watch the various events and even ride a bobsled. The Utah Olympic Oval, located in nearby Kearns, was home to the speed skating events and is now open to the public. Other popular Olympic venues include Soldier Hollow, the site of cross-country skiing events, located southeast of Salt Lake near Heber City.

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The men's individual sprint Nordic combined competition for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City at Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow on 21 and 22 February.

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The Men's team Nordic combined competition for the 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Park City & Soldier Hollow, United States. The ski jumping part took place on February 16, and the cross-country race on February 17.

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Alpine skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics consisted of ten events held near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The downhill, super-G and combined events were held at Snowbasin, the giant slalom at Park City, and the slalom at Deer Valley. The ten events took place 10–23 February 2002.

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After a population decline following the shutdown of the area's mining industry, the city rebounded during the 1980s and 1990s through an expansion of its tourism business. The city currently brings in a yearly average of $529,800,000 to the Utah Economy as a tourist hot spot, $80,000,000 of which is attributed to the Sundance Film Festival. The city has two major ski resorts: Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort. Both ski resorts were the major locations for ski and snowboarding events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although they receive less snow and have a shorter ski season than do their counterparts in Salt Lake County, such as Snowbird resort, they are much easier to access.

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Other cultural festivals in Salt Lake City include the Peruvian Festival, the Utah Brazilian Festival, the Polynesian Cultural Festival, the Nihon Matsuri Japanese Festival, and the Buddhist Obon Japanese Festival.

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Salt Lake City has begun to host its own events in the last few years, most notably the Friday Night Flicks, free movies in the city's parks, as well as the Mayor's health and fitness awareness program, Salt Lake City Gets Fit.

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Many of Salt Lake City's cultural events take place at Washington Square, and often 200 East Street between it and Library Square is blocked off to create one large event plaza. Events that take place in this space include Utah Pride Festival, the Utah Arts Festival, and Salt Lake City Jazz Festival and the Living Traditions Festival that celebrates all the different cultures that reside within the state. These occur once per year and usually run over the weekends.

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Salt Lake City has a thriving and vibrant festival culture. Various festivals happen throughout the year, celebrating the diversity of the communities in the Salt Lake Valley. From culture, food, religion and spirituality, to dance, music, spoken word, and film, almost any type of festival can be found. Many of the festivals have been ongoing for decades.

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While the holiday has strong links to the LDS Church, it is officially a celebration of everyone, regardless of faith and nationality, who emigrated to the Salt Lake Valley during the pioneer era, which is generally considered to have ended with the 1869 arrival of the transcontinental railroad. Notable non-LDS American pioneers from this period include Episcopal Bishop Daniel S. Tuttle, who was responsible for Utah's first non-Mormon schools (Rowland Hall-St. Mark's) and first public hospital (St. Mark's) in the late 1800s. The Intertribal Powwow at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City honors the rich cultural heritage and contributions of the area's Native Americans, helping Utahns to gain a deeper understanding of the region's history.

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Winter sports, such as skiing and snowboarding, are popular activities in the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City. Eight ski resorts lie within of the city. Alta, Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird all lie directly to the southeast in the Wasatch Mountains, while nearby Park City contains three more resorts. The popularity of the ski resorts has increased nearly 29 percent since the 2002 Winter Olympics. Summer activities such as hiking, camping, rock climbing, mountain biking, and other related outdoor activities are popular in the mountains, as well. The many small reservoirs and rivers in the Wasatch Mountains are popular for boating, fishing, and other water-related activities.

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The western portion of the county descends toward the valley of the lake, but perhaps the most dominating physical feature in Salt Lake County are the Wasatch Mountains in the eastern portion of the county, famous for both summer and winter activities. The mountains are administered as part of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The snow in the region is often coined the 'Greatest Snow on Earth' for its soft, powdery texture, and led to Salt Lake City winning the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Salt Lake County has four ski resorts: Snowbird and Alta in Little Cottonwood Canyon and Solitude and Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Hiking and camping are especially popular summer activities. The Oquirrh Mountains border the western part of the county. These two mountain ranges, together with the much smaller Traverse Mountains to the south of the valley, delimit Salt Lake Valley, which is also flanked on the northwest by the Great Salt Lake, and the north by the Salt Lake Anticline (most notably Ensign Peak).

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Summer in Salt Lake can be hot in the valley, with temperatures frequently reaching 100°F. Nearby canyons and mountains provide a refreshing break from the heat (mountain areas and canyons can be as much as 20° cooler) with perfect opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, or a picnic.

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Salt Lake City Weather. The weather in Salt Lake City, Utah is ideal for recreation in each of the four seasons. Ample snow in the winter make it a top destination for skiers from all over the world. Mild falls and springs are perfect for hiking, biking, fishing and more.

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Best Time to Visit Salt Lake City, Utah & Other Travel Tips. Salt Lake City is a popular tourist destination all year long. Winter is the peak season because of all of the ski slopes in the area. Summer is another peak season because schools are on break and many people enjoy the great outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and enjoying the lake.

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On the other hand, some cornucopian researchers, such as Julian L. Simon and Bjørn Lomborg believe that resources exist for further population growth. In a 2010 study, they concluded that 'there are not (and will never be) too many people for the planet to feed' according to The Independent. Some critics warn, this will be at a high cost to the Earth: 'the technological optimists are probably correct in claiming that overall world food production can be increased substantially over the next few decades...[however] the environmental cost of what Paul R. and Anne H. Ehrlich describe as 'turning the Earth into a giant human feedlot' could be severe. A large expansion of agriculture to provide growing populations with improved diets is likely to lead to further deforestation, loss of species, soil erosion, and pollution from pesticides and fertilizer runoff as farming intensifies and new land is brought into production.' Since we are intimately dependent upon the living systems of the Earth, some scientists have questioned the wisdom of further expansion.

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The term food security was first used in the 1960-1970s to refer to food supply and consistent access to food in international development work. In 1966 the treaty titled the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was created to ensure economic, social and cultural rights including the “inalienable right to adequate nutritious food”. In 1974 the World Food Conference focused on producing enough food for the world, ensuring the supply was reliable, and reducing dramatic price fluctuations. Even early on it was clear that there was a great discrepancy between the world’s food supply and people’s access to food. Advances in agricultural technology in non-industrialized countries resulting in production of more food did not necessarily result in improved food access as evidenced by the Green Revolution. Rather, many environmental problems such as insecticide resistant pests, soil erosion, and pesticide poisoning of both people and wildlife resulted. During the 1980s and 1990s food security became recognized as a major public health concern in industrialized countries. The concept of food entitlement was introduced in 1981 along with a shift in focus to ensured food access with adequate supply at the individual or household level in industrialized nations. Food security was measured directly by anthropometric means or by food intake assessment, and indirectly by indicators of poverty, comparison of wages to food costs, employment rates and the use of emergency food programs. At the 1996 World Food Summit, the Rome Declaration on World Food Security reaffirmed, “the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger”. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s most responses to food insecurity tended to occur at the community level. Community level initiatives allowed for more long lasting solutions to food issues as they were designed to empower individuals and increase knowledge and skills as opposed to providing only a temporary solution to food access. These efforts contributed largely to the evolution of the concept of CFS in the 1990s when environmental concerns were gaining recognition. The emerging concept of CFS captured the central idea that addressing food security at the community level would allow more interested parties to become involved in the decision-making and planning process as well as enable a larger range of issues to be addressed such as environmentally sustainable food production, fair wages for local producers, and more sustainable food assistance programs.

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Some argue from an environmental perspective that the developed world needs to moderate its appetite for animal meat. Rearing animal protein food uses significantly more water, land, and energy than that of fruit and vegetables. For example, producing one kilo of pork can create over 31 times as much carbon dioxide as the same amount of weight of potatoes. European food consumption and production is estimated to account for 20-30% of the European Union's total environmental impact.

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The environmental impact of meat production varies because of the wide variety of agricultural practices employed around the world. All agricultural practices have been found to have a variety of effects on the environment. Some of the environmental effects that have been associated with meat production are pollution through fossil fuel usage, animal methane, effluent waste, and water and land consumption. Meat is obtained through a variety of methods, including organic farming, free range farming, intensive livestock production, subsistence agriculture, hunting, and fishing.

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Feeding more than six billion human bodies takes a heavy toll on the Earth’s resources. This begins with the appropriation of about 38% of the Earth’s land surface and about 20% of its net primary productivity. Added to this are the resource-hungry activities of industrial agribusiness – everything from the crop need for irrigation water, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to the resource costs of food packaging, transport (now a major part of global trade) and retail. Food is essential to life. But the list of environmental costs of food production is a long one: topsoil depletion, erosion and conversion to desert from constant tillage of annual crops; overgrazing; salinization; sodification; waterlogging; high levels of fossil fuel use; reliance on inorganic fertilisers and synthetic organic pesticides; reductions in genetic diversity by the mass use of monocultures; water resource depletion; pollution of waterbodies by run-off and groundwater contamination; social problems including the decline of family farms and weakening of rural communities.

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She writes that livestock farming is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, and is responsible for health pandemics and the use of a significant percentage of the world's grain and water. According to the report, based on figures from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, the production of 1 kg (2.2 lb) of beef requires 15,455 litres of water (32,662 pints, or 110 bathtubs), cheese 5,000 litres, rice 3,400 litres and carrots 131 litres. Over 75 kg (165 lb) of meat is consumed in the United States per person per year, 60 kg in Germany, 38 kg in China, and under 20 kg in Africa.

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According to a report published by the Water Footprint organization in 2010, a single kilogram of beef requires 15 thousand litres of water; however, the authors also make clear that this is a global average and circumstantial factors determine the amount of water used in beef production.

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India has the largest water withdrawal out of all the countries in the world. Eighty-six percent of that water supports agriculture. That heavy use is dictated in large part by what people eat. People in India consume a lot of rice. Rice farmers in India typically get less than half the yield per unit area while using ten times more water than their Chinese counterparts. Economic development can make things worse because as people's living standards rise, they tend to eat more meat, which requires lots of water to produce. Growing a tonne of grain requires 1,000 tonnes of water; producing a tonne of beef requires 15,000 tonnes. To make a single hamburger requires around 4,940 liters (1,300 gallons) of water A glass of orange juice needs 850 liters (225 gallons) of freshwater to produce.

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BEING VEGETARIAN CAN SAVE WATER. 1 Meat production, especially the feeding of cattle, is a water-intensive process. 2 Livestock production accounts for over 8 percent of global human water consumption: if everyone in the United States went vegetarian for a single day, they would save 100 billion gallons of water.

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April 11, 2013 by factsaboutbeef. Myth: Water management and raising cattle do not go hand in hand, and it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of meat. The Facts: In reality, it takes 441 gallons of water to produce one pound of boneless beef.

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Access to water: Animal Agriculture is also one of the biggest consumers of. potable water; 1kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 litres of water. whereas to produce 1kg of wheat requires between 500 and 4,000 litres of water.

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Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food (The Food Revolution by John Robbins). It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat and only 25 gallons to produce one pound of wheat (Water Inputs in California Food Production by Marcia Kreith)

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Meat production requires a much higher amount of water than vegetables. IME state that to produce 1kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 litres of water whereas to produce 1kg of wheat requires between 500 and 4,000 litres of water. The table below shows typical values for the volume of water required to produce common foodstuffs.

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Grain-fed beef production takes 100,000 liters of water for every kilogram of food. Raising broiler chickens takes 3,500 liters of water to make a kilogram of meat. In comparison, soybean production uses 2,000 liters for kilogram of food produced; rice, 1,912; wheat, 900; and potatoes, 500 liters.

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But when the water required for forage and grain production is included, livestock's water usage rises dramatically. Every kilogram of beef produced takes 100,000 liters of water. Some 900 liters of water go into producing a kilogram of wheat. Potatoes are even less thirsty, at 500 liters per kilogram.ivestock are directly or indirectly responsible for much of the soil erosion in the United States, the ecologist determined. On lands where feed grain is produced, soil loss averages 13 tons per hectare per year. Pasture lands are eroding at a slower pace, at an average of 6 tons per hectare per year.

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The city promotes a meat-free day on Thursdays called Veggiedag, with vegetarian-only food in public canteens for civil servants and elected councillors, soon in all schools, and promotion of vegetarian eating options in town (through the distribution of 'veggie street maps'). This campaign is linked to the recognition of the detrimental environmental effects of meat production, which the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization has established to represent nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Environmental vegetarianism is based on the concern that the production of meat and animal products for mass consumption, especially through factory farming, is environmentally unsustainable. According to a 2006 United Nations initiative, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contribute on a 'massive scale' to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change, and loss of biodiversity. The initiative concluded that 'the livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.'

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Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism or veganism based on the indications that animal production, particularly by intensive farming, is environmentally unsustainable. The primary environmental concerns with animal products are pollution—including greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)—and the use of resources such as fossil fuels, water, and land.

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3 Eating Habits to Minimize Your Ecological Footprint. The ecological footprint of the food we throw away is usually much larger than the footprint of all our personal travel. Here are a few ways to do your part. 1. Eat more vegetarian food.If you plan to eat meat today ¦ think about having vegetables instead.Food production is the biggest contributor to your personal ecological footprint, and nearly all of that comes down to the land disturbance, water consumption and greenhouse gas pollution involved in the farming of animal products.ut back on dairy. One of the reasons why dairy products loom large in your personal ecological footprint is that dairy cattle need to feed on grass that requires lots of water. Try having hummus with crudites crudita©s instead of a cheese, platter or opt for water with lemon and mint over an iced. coffee

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Eliminating all animal products increases the risk of deficiencies of vitamins B and D, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Craig advised vegans to eat fortified foods or take supplements, and warned that iron and zinc may be problematic because of limited bioavailability. Vegans might be at risk of low bone mineral density without supplements.

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In some cases, iron and zinc status of vegans may also be of concern because of the limited bioavailability of these minerals. There are concerns about the bioavailability of iron from plant foods, assumed by some researchers to be 5–15% compared to 18% from a nonvegetarian diet. Iron deficiency anaemia is found as often in nonvegetarians as in vegetarians, though studies have shown vegetarians' iron stores to be lower.

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A vegetarian diet can be perfectly healthy; in fact, a vegetarian or vegan diet can improve digestion and skin tone, give you more energy and help you lose weight. But many vegetarians and vegans don't realize that their diets could be lacking in vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals. If you follow a vegetarian diet, you could be at risk of developing health problems including chronic fatigue, lowered immune response and even malnutrition.

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Health & Nutrition. Veganism can conform to a healthful eating plan, but it takes work, and the risk of insufficient amounts of key nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B-12, zinc and iron is real. That worried experts a bit, but they still gave the diet a respectable score. See all Health & Nutrition ».

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Make whole foods the basis of your vegetarian diet for best health. Photo Credit: brebca/iStock/Getty Images The benefits of a meat-free diet include lower risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and certain cancers. But vegetarians who make poor food choices, such as centering their diets around pizza, pasta and processed foods, can gain pounds that put them at risk for chronic health conditions. Vegetarians who don't eat eggs or dairy should opt for foods that prevent deficiencies of vitamins B-12 and D, and of the minerals calcium and zinc.

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Proteins are composed of amino acids. Vegans obtain all their protein from plants, omnivores usually a third, and ovo-lacto vegetarians half. Sources of plant protein include legumes such as soy beans (consumed as tofu, tempeh, texturized vegetable protein, soy milk and edamame), peas, peanuts, black beans and chickpeas (the latter often eaten as hummus); grains such as quinoa (pronounced keenwa), brown rice, corn, barley, bulgur and wheat (the latter eaten as bread and seitan); and nuts and seeds. Combinations that contain high amounts of all the essential amino acids include rice and beans, corn and beans, and hummus and whole-wheat pita.

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Current recommendations are that vegetarians eat a wide variety of foods during the course of a day. Eggs and dairy products are good sources of protein, but also try nuts, peanut butter, tofu, beans, seeds, soy milk, grains, cereals, and vegetables to get all the protein your body needs.

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Vegan protein sources include: 1 soy foods: soya beans. 2 processed soy like tofu and soymilk. 3 processed soy foods like veggie burgers, hot dogs and sausage. 4 non-soy beans (lentils, black beans, chick peas, etc) 5 nuts and seeds. 6 whole grains. 7 mildly processed foods: like tempeh and seitan.

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How should not be the issue, but where, is a valid question. In an animal protein based society, we grow up believing the only sources of protein are from animals. As a vegan athlete I outline meal programs that are protein-rich and plant derived to show exactly where and how vegans get their protein. I pay special attention to protein and my main protein sources come from hemp, soy, tempeh, nuts, beans, lentils, grains and a variety of powders and bars including complete meal replacements, adding up to 200-300 grams per day. Tofu, a soy product, typically has 10-20 grams of protein per serving.

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Legumes include some of the most common protein sources in the vegetarian diet, such as soy, lentils, black beans, chickpeas, peanuts and peanut butter. These foods are much higher in protein than most grains, with a single serving providing between approximately 14 and 89 percent of your daily intake.