Until World War II Iceland had very little contact with the United States. Because of the strategic importance of Iceland to the war in Europe The US and Iceland signed a treaty in June 1941. The Americans built military bases on land provided by Iceland. Construction on the airport began on 2 July 1942. It was occupied by US troops on 24 March 1943 and named Meeks field. After the war the US wanted to keep their bases but the Icelandic government said no. Ownership of Keflavik airport was returned to Iceland while the American military turned over their facilities to an American company to run for them. When Iceland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, they sided firmly with the Americans in the Cold War. In 1951 a new treaty was signed and the American military returned to Iceland. During the cold war the Icelandic bases were used for surveillance in the North Atlantic. In the 1990s, with the end of the cold war, the US scaled back its operations in Iceland. In 2006 it closed down its base at Keflavik.
During the 1950s two airlines served Iceland. Loftleidir Icelandic flew between Luxembourg and New York stopping in Iceland. The other carrier was Flugfelag Islands. They flew to Europe from Reykjavik. Sometime after the start of the jet age both moved to Keflavik. The two companies later joined together as “Icelandair”. In April 1987, the airport got the "Leifur Eiriksson International Air Terminal". It was remodeled and extended in 2001. When the US military left in 2006, the government owned company ISAVIA took over control. The company operates all airports and navigational aids in Iceland.
According to an article in USA Today, Leifur Eiriksson Air Terminal was ranked second best in the world. According to Frommers.com "Iceland's cozy, little international airport looks like it arrived in a flat pack from Ikea". The airport has beautiful views of the rugged Islandic landscape. The Leifur Eiríksson Terminal is well lit, clean and easy to navigate for travelers. It is open 24 hours a day. The tax-free and duty-free shops are available both for arriving and departing passengers.
Pontiac G6
Pontiac G6 was a mid-sized automobile sold by the Pontiac division of General Motors. It was available as a coupe, sedan or convertible. The G6 was introduced in 2005 to replace the Grand Am. The last model year for the G6 was 2010. It was unchanged from the 2009 model. General Motors declared bankruptcy in 2009 and Pontiac division was discontinued. The 2010 G6 was the very last U.S. built Pontiac.
Iceland Express
Iceland Express was a low-cost airline from Iceland. It began in 2002. Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport used to be their main hub. WOW Air bought the airline in 2012.
Braniff International Airways
Braniff International Airways was an American airline. The company started in 1928. The first flight was between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma on 20 June 1928. Called the Paul R. Braniff Inc. Airline, it set up service between Oklahoma City and Tulsa three days a week. During World War II it lost half it's fleet to government service. After the war, Braniff began flying to South America. It served Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Peru. Braniff became the first all-jet airline in 1960. After the airline deregulation of 1978, Braniff found the air fare competition cut into profits. The recession had caused fewer passengers. Braniff found itself with too many air routes. With rising interest rates and fuel prices, the company debt became a major problem. Braniff declared bankruptcy in 1982. Its last flight was on May 12, 1982.
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
The Early Dynastic Period of Egypt began when Lower and Upper Egypt were joined together as one country in about 3100 BC. This was called the "Two Lands". The First and Second Dynasties ruled during this time. It ended in about 2686 BC, at the beginning of the Old Kingdom.
The capital city of the "Two Lands" was moved from Thinis to Memphis. The united Egypt was ruled by an Egyptian god-king. The main features of ancient Egyptian civilization, such as art, architecture and religion, took shape during this time.
Before the Early Dynastic Period, Egypt was settled with small, separate villages. The rulers were able to set up a government system across the whole country, run by local royal governors. Government buildings were usually open-air temples made of wood or sandstone. Writing, in hieroglyphs began to be used just before this period. Little is known about the spoken language.
By about 3600 BC, neolithic Egyptian societies on the River Nile were growing crops and farming with animals. Shortly after 3600 BC Egyptian society began to grow and advance rapidly. They made pottery in a new style and began using copper. The Egyptians began using sun-dried bricks for building. They also started using the arch, and recessed walls for decorative effect.
The societies and towns on the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt began to join together. This was also happening in the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt. There were often wars between Upper and Lower Egypt. During his rule in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta. He joined the Kingdom of Upper and Lower Egypt together under his rule. Narmer is shown in pictures wearing the double crown, called the Pschent, with the lotus flower of Upper Egypt and the papyrus reed of Lower Egypt. These symbols of a united Egypt were used by all future rulers. In mythology, the falcon-god, Horus of Lower Egypt, won a battle over the god Seth, of Upper Egypt. This helped start the idea that Egyptian kings were gods and divine, which lasted for 3,000 years. It was the basis of Egypt's government. The unification of societies of the Nile has also been linked to the drying of the Sahara.
Rich people began to have more complex funeral practices. The Egyptians began building mastabas which became models for later buildings, such as the Old Kingdom's Step pyramid. The growing of cereal crops and the use of central control to organize farm workers helped the success of the state for the next 800 years.
It seems certain that Egypt was unified culturally and economically long before its first king ruled from the city of Memphis. Political unification was a slow process, taking place over a century or so. Local areas started trading networks and governments were able to organize farm workers on a large scale. Divine kingship gained importance as the cults of gods like Horus, Seth and Neith spread across the country.
The Egyptian writing system was further developed. At first Egyptian writing was a few symbols showing amounts of various items. By the end of the third dynasty it had been grown to more than 200 symbols, both phonograms and ideograms.
Manetho, an Egyptian historian, said almost three thousand years later that Menes was the first king of the "Two Lands". Menes is probably Narmer, the earliest recorded king of the First Dynasty Narmer's name is on the king lists of Den and Qa'a. The first dynasty kings saw Narmer as an important founding figure. Narmer is also the earliest king linked to the symbols of power over the two lands. The Narmer palette, a special cosmetic palette designed for ritual use, shows him wearing the Pschent, the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Another theory is that Narmer was the last king of the Protodynastic Period and that Menes was Hor-Aha.
Archimedean solid
In geometry, an Archimedean solid is a convex shape which is composed of polygons. It is a polyhedron, with the following properties: