open-index/open-wikipedia-markdown huggingface dataset:
Badakhshan Province

caravan traveling to the Shewa Valley in northern Badakhshan]]

**Badakhshan** (Persian: بدخشان - *Badakhshān*) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan.  It has 28 Districts.  The capital is Feyzabad. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya along the border with Tajikistan.

## Geography
Badakhshan is bordered by Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province and Khatlon Province in Tajikistan to the north and east. In the east is the Wakhan Corridor. The province has a total area of 44,059&nbsp;km².  Much of the land is the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges.

## Economy
  specimen from  Sar-e-Sang district. Size 7.4 x 5 x 5 cm.]]
Badakhshan is one of the poorest areas in the world. Opium poppy growing is the only real source of income in the province.

Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Sar-e-Sang mines for over 6,000 years.  The mines were the largest and most well-known source in ancient times. 

## Demographics
The population of the province is estimated at 889,700 people.  The majority of them are Persian-speaking Tajiks. 

The residents of the province are largely Sunni.

## Districts of Badakhshan
## Sport 
The province is represented in Afghan domestic cricket competitions by the Badakhshan Province cricket team.

## Notable people from Badakhshan 
* Burhanuddin Rabbani - leader of the Jamiat-e Islami political party and former president of Afghanistan
* Tahir Badakhshi - political activist
* Latif Pedram - political activist and candidate for Afghanistan's presidency
* Mahboobullah Kushani - political activist and candidate for Afghanistan's presidency
* Mohammad Wali (Prime Minsiter) - Prime Minsiter (Amanullah Khan)
* Shah Wali Taranasaz - Musician
* Nasratullah Nasrat - Afghan cricketer

## Related pages 
* Badakhshan

## References
Telephone numbers in Afghanistan

Area codes in Afghanistan are two digits long. It is common to write phone numbers as **(0xx) yyy-yyyy**, where **xx** is the area code. The 0 prefix is for long-distance dialing from within the country. International callers should dial **+93 xx yyyyyyy**.

Area codes for common cities are:

***020 yyy yyyy**: Kabul
***030 yyy yyyy**: Kandahar
***040 yyy yyyy**: Herat
***050 yyy yyyy**: Mazar-i-Sharif
***060 yyy yyyy**: Jalalabad

## References
Helmand Province

**Helmand** (Pashto/Dari: هلمند) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation.

Helmand is the world's largest opium-producing region.  It makes 75% of the world's total production. This is more than all of Burma, which is the second largest producing nation after Afghanistan. Afghan opium accounts for more than 90% of the global supply.

The current governor is Mohammad Golab Mangal (since March 2008).

Much of the fighting between NATO and Taliban forces is taking place in this province. Helmand is said to be a Taliban stronghold.

## Border with Pakistan
Helmand has a southern border with the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Many domestic and international observers have criticized Pakistan's efforts towards securing the border against Taliban insurgents.

## Cities
*Lashkar Gah
*Sangin
*Musa Qala

## Demographics
The population is 1,441,769. The area is 58,584 square kilometres. Pashtuns are the majority estimated at 92% of the population. There are also Balochs who are in the south.  Also there are small numbers of Hazara, Brahui and Tajik. 

## Districts
## References
Nuristani languages

The **Nuristani languages** (زبان نورستانی) are one of the three groups in the Indo-Iranian language family. The other two languages being Indo-Aryan and Iranian. They are spoken mainly in the Nuristan Province of eastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. The speakers of the Nuristani languages are known as Nuristani people.

## Languages
* Askunu (Ashkun) 2,000 speakers
* Kamkata-viri (Bashgali, includes the dialects Kata-vari, Shekhani, Kamviri & Mumviri) 24,200 speakers
* Vasi-vari (Prasuni) 2,000 speakers
* Tregami (Gambiri) 1,000 speakers
* Waigali (Kalasha-ala) 2,000 speakers
* Zemiaki 500 speakers (traditionally classified as a dialekt of Indo-Aryan Nangalami-Grangali, belongs here according to Grjunberg 1999)

## References
Ghazni Province

**Ghazni**  () () is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City. 

## Demographics and geography
The major ethnic groups in the province are Hazaras, Pashtuns and Tajiks. There are also some Burki, and Uzbeks. Ghazni is made up of 19 districts.

Some Sikhs and Hindus also live in Ghazni province. During the Taliban regime they fled the country. With the current administration they have returned to Ghazni city.

## Infrastructure
Band E Sardeh Dam is located in Andar District near the border with Paktika Province.  It creates a large water reservoir that is important to the irrigation of the Kahnjoor farming zone.  

## Related pages 
* Ghazni

## References
Pashayi languages

**Pashayi** - also known as **Pashai** - are a group of Dardic languages spoken by the Pashai people in parts of Kapisa, Laghman, Nuristan, Kunar, and Nangarhar Provinces in northeastern Afghanistan.

It is spoken by over 216,842 people who are mostly Muslim. Most of them are bilingual in Pashto.  Only 25% are able to read.  The Pashai language was not written prior to 2003.

## References
Kushan Empire

The **Kushan or Kaswan Empire** was first formed in the early 1st century AD. It was located in Afghanistan, most of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and parts of northwest India.  

The Kushan were a branch of the Yuezhi or tibetian confederation. Previously a nomadic people living in eastern Central Asia, the Yuezhi moved southwest and settled in ancient Bactria.

## Notes
## References
Ghazni

**Ghazni** (Persian/Pashto: غزنی - *Ġaznī*; historically known as غزنین / *Ġaznīn* and غزنه / *Ġazna*) is a city in central-east Afghanistan. It is the capital of Ghazni Province at present.

Just like other cities of Afghanistan, Ghazni is very old and has seen many historic military invasions.

## Infrastructure 
### Education 
The city has a number of public schools.

### Resources 
Ghazni City is located in an area of extreme drought. In 2007, one of the gates on a fifty-year-old dam on the Jikhai River broke.  This worried the people of Ghazni city about the water supply. The dam serves as a good source of irrigation water to Ghazni City and the surrounding agricultural areas. Nearby rivers have a history of flooding  and causing severe damage and death, though efforts have begun to fix this.

## Notables from Ghazni 
* Sadiq Ali Khan Tanoli (sons named Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Akbar Khan (director), Indian film actors,
* Hajweri Ghaznawi
* Mahmud of Ghazni
* Sanai
* Hassan Ghaznavi
* Faiz Muhammad Katib Hazara
* Farrukhi Sistani, Manuchehri Damaghani, Abul-fazl Bayhaqi (royal poets and writers who lived during the Ghaznavids period)

## Points of interest 
* Citadel
* Minarets of Ghazni
* Palace of Sultan Mas'ud III
* Tomb of Sebuktigin
* Mausoleum of Sultan Mahmud
* Mausoleum of Sanai
* Museum of Islamic Art
* Tapa Sardar Excavations

## Related pages 
* Ghazni Province

## References and footnotes 
*
Uzbek language

**Uzbek** (''O'zbek tili* or *O'zbekcha'' in Latin script, Ўзбек тили or Ўзбекча in Cyrillic script, أۇزبېك تیلی in Arabic script) is a Turkic language. It is the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 40 million native speakers. It is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia. Uzbek belongs to the southeastern Turkic or Karluk family of Turkic languages.

## References
Tahirid dynasty

The **Tahirid dynasty** () was a Arabian Sunni Islamic dynasty that ruled the Abbasid province of Khorasan from 821 to 873.  It also ruled the city of Baghdad from 820 until 891. The capital in Khorasan was first located at Merv. Later it moved to Nishapur.

## References
Jennifer Lawrence

**Jennifer Shrader Lawrence** (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. She appeared in *Time*'s list of most influential people in the world in 2013, and has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, among other accolades.

Lawrence first became known for appearing on *The Bill Engvall Show* (2007–2009), and had her breakthrough with ''Winter's Bone* (2010). She went on to starring roles in the *X-Men* film series (2011–2019) and *The Hunger Games* film series (2012–2015), and is the highest-grossing action heroine. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work in *Silver Linings Playbook* (2012), and earned an additional two Golden Globe Awards for starring in *American Hustle* (2013) and *Joy* (2015). She subsequently played roles in *Passengers* (2016), *mother!* (2017) and *Red Sparrow* (2018).

## Career
In 2010, Lawrence played Ree Dolly in *Winter's Bone*. In 2012, she played Katniss Everdeen in *The Hunger Games* franchise. In 2013, she won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. That year, she also won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.

## Personal life
Lawrence is of English, Scottish, Irish and German descent. As of August 2013, Lawrence was hanging out with *X-Men: First Class* and *X-Men: Days of Future Past* co-star Nicholas Hoult. The started two started hanging out in 2011 after filming *X-Men: First Class*, but ended their relationship in January 2013, after 2 years of hanging out together. They reconnected 6 months later in July 2013, after filming *X-Men: Days of Future Past'' together.

## Filmography
### Film
### Television
## Awards and nominations
Lawrence has been the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Award, four Critic's Choice Movie Awards, a Independent Spirit Award, a Venice Film Festival Award, a Palm Springs International Film Festival Award, a Saturn Award, a Satellite Award and several other awards. She was named the Associated Press' Entertainer of the Year for 2013.

## References
## Other websites
*
* 
* Jennifer Lawrence Foundation 
* 
* Jennifer Lawrence at Biography.com
* Jennifer Lawrence at The New York Times
* Jennifer Lawrence at Rotten Tomatoes
   https://bollywoodlifee.com/jennifer-lawrence-biography/
Marilyn Chambers

**Marilyn Ann Chambers** (April 22, 1952 – April 12, 2009) was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer and fashion model. She was born Marilyn Ann Briggs in Providence, Rhode Island. She was raised in Westport, Connecticut. She was notable for performing in many pornographic movies, including *Behind the Green Door* and mainstream movies, including *Rabid*. Chambers died in Santa Clarita, California due to cerebral hemorrhage and aneurysm cause by heart disease. 

## Other websites
*
Sistan

**Sīstān** () is a border region in eastern Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and southern Afghanistan (Nimroz, Kandahar and Zabul provinces).

Sistan was once the homeland of Sakas, a Scythian tribe of Iranic origin. The Saffarids, one of the early Iranian dynasties of the Islamic era, were first from Sistan.

## References
* Britannica
Saffarid dynasty

The **Saffarids** or the **Saffarid dynasty** () was one of the first Post - Islamic -Afghan - led Empires   The Saffarid dynasty was born in Zaranj, Today's Afghanistan. They ruled in Sistan from 861–1002.  Sistan was a historical region in southeastern Iran, southwestern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. The Saffarid empire was led by an Afghan called Yaqub ibn layth saffar who has worked as a coppersmith (Arabic: ṣaffār, hence the dynasty's name).

Using his ties and relations to the various Afghan Tribes, he became a warlord and formed a disciplined army of volunteers and mercenaries.

He Captured Sistan and expanded rapidly, taking Khorasan, Kerman, Fars, Sindh, Makran, and parts of Baluchistan.

The Saffarid Set the stage for later Afghan and Persian dynasties like:

Ghaznavids (Afghanistan - based empire)

Samanids ( Uzbekistan - based empire 

Buyids  ( Iran - Iraq - based empire 

## References
Buddhas of Bamiyan

The **Buddhas of Bamiyan** ( – *but hay-e bamiyan*) were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff. They are in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan.

They were dynamited and destroyed in March 2001 by the Taliban.  Japan and Switzerland, among others, have said they would help rebuild the statues.

The Buddhas are located 130 kilometers (81 miles) northwest of Kabul and stand at 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level. Scientists used carbon dating to find out when they were built. The smaller Buddha, which is 38 meters (125 feet) tall, was made around the year 570 CE. The bigger Buddha, which is 55 meters (180 feet) tall, was made around the year 618 CE. This means they were built during the time when the Hephthalites controlled the area.

The statues were an advanced form of Greco-Buddhist art in Gandhara. The larger statue, called "Salsal" ("the light shines through the universe"), was seen as male. The smaller statue, "Shah Mama" ("Queen Mother"), might have been female, but it’s uncertain. The smaller one was built first, then the bigger one. Both statues were reliefs, meaning their backs were connected to the cliff. The main structures were carved from sandstone, while details were shaped using mud mixed with straw and covered in stucco. Most of this coating has worn away over time. The faces, hands, and robes were painted to make them more expressive—the bigger one was painted red, while the smaller one had many colors. The statues’ lower arms were made from the same mud-straw mix, supported with wood, and their upper faces may have had large wooden masks.

## References
Lashkar Gah

**Lashkar Gah** () (), also called **Bost**, is a city in southern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkar Gah district, and is between the Helmand and Arghandab rivers. The city has a population of 201,546 as of 2006.

Lashkar Gah is linked by major roads with Kandahar to the east, Zaranj to the west, and Herat to the north-west.

## Sports
Football is the popular sport in Lashkar Gah. The Lashkar Gah Football Stadium was rebuilt in 2006.  It can hold around 10,000 spectators. Currently, 13 registered cricket teams play at the new Karzai Stadium in Lashkar Gah.

## References
Bukhara

**Bukhara** (;  ; ) is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. It is the nation's fifth-largest city. It had about 263,400 people at the 2009 census. People have lived in the area for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time.  The city is on the Silk Road. That made it a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. The historic center of Bukhara, which has many mosques and madrassas, is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. There are many Uzbeks and Tajiks. The city has Jews and other ethnic minorities.

## Names
Bukhara was called *Bokhara* in 19th and early 20th century English publications and as *Buhe/Puhe* () in Tang Chinese.

## Transportation
*Bukhara Airport
The M37 highway connects the city to most of the major cities in Turkmenistan including Ashgabat.

## Notable people
Many important people lived in Bukhara in the past. Most famous of them are:

* Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari (810-870) - Islamic scholar and compiler of hadiths
* Avicenna (Abu Ali ibn Sina) (980-1037) - physician and person of encyclopedic knowledge
* Bal'ami: Abolfazl Muhammad and his son Abu-Ali Mohammad, two famous viziers of Samanid kings, historians and patrons of art and literature
* Abubakr Narshakhi (10th century) - historian who wrote History of Bukhara
* Hazrat Syed Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari(c. 595-690 AH, 1199-1291 CE)
* Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari (1318–1389)
* Amir Kulal (died in 1370)
* Kiromi Bukhoroi
* An Lushan
* Sadriddin Ayni (1878–1954)
* Abdurauf Fitrat
* Oksana Chusovitina

## References
Greater Khorasan

in 750 CE. Khorasan was part of Persia (in yellow).]]
**Greater Khorasan** or **Ancient Khorasan** () (also written *Khurasan*) is a historical region of Greater Iran.  It also included parts of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikstan

## References
Al-Farabi

**Al-Farabi** (persian: ابو نصر محمد بن محمد فارابي,  / ;)  known in the West as **Alpharabius** (c. 872 in Fārāb – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951 in Damascus), was a Persian scientist and philosopher of the Islamic world. He was also a cosmologist, logician, and musician.

## References
Al-Biruni

*Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī** (born 5 September 973 in Kath, Khwarezm, died in the year 13 December 1052 in Ghazni), known as **Alberonius** in Latin and **Al-Biruni*' in English, was a Persian-Chorasmian Muslim scholar and polymath of the 11th century.

Al-Biruni was one of the greatest scholars of the medieval Islamic era and was well versed in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences.  He did a lot of work as a historian, chronologist and linguist. According to historian Walter J. Fischel, Al-Biruni was "the greatest Muslim Hebraist".

## Notes
## References
Timurid dynasty

The **Timurid dynasty** () or the **Timurids**, who called themselves *Gurkānī*  (), were a Central Asian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage that rose to power in the late 14th century. Founded by Timur (Tamerlane), the dynasty ruled a vast empire across Iran, Transoxiana, Afghanistan, and parts of the Middle East.

Although of Turco-Mongol origin, the Timurids became heavily Persianized. The Persian language was the official and administrative language of the state, and Persian culture shaped the dynasty’s court, literature, architecture, and identity. Cities like Samarkand and Herat became major centers of Islamic art and learning, attracting poets, scientists, and architects. The dynasty’s rulers, especially Shahrukh Mirza and Sultan Husayn Bayqara, were known for their patronage of Persianate culture and for fostering a synthesis of nomadic and sedentary traditions.

The Timurids established two major imperial legacies. The first was the Timurid Empire in Iran and Central Asia, which flourished in the 15th century. The second was the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent, founded by Babur, a direct descendant of Timur. The Mughal dynasty continued many Timurid cultural and political traditions, making the Timurids one of the most influential dynasties in the Islamic world.

## References
Hotaki dynasty

The **Hotaki dynasty** was a dynasty founded by Pashtun Ghiji tribe. It is believed to have been founded in 1709 by Mirwais Hotak at Kandahar, Afghanistan. They revolted and made their land independent from foreign ruler, but later they invaded Persia and defeated the great Iranian Empire of the Shi'a Safavids.

Mahmud Hotak, son of Mirwais, ruled Persia until he died in 1725 and then his cousin Ashraf ruled until 1729 when Nader Shah Afshar defeated him. The last king was Hussain Hotaki in Kandahar until he was defeated by Nader Shah in 1738.

## References
**Notes**
Himni i Flamurit

"**Himni i Flamurit**" (, meaning "Hymn to the Flag") is the national anthem of Albania. The words of the song were written by Alex Drenova, and the music of the song is derived from another song that was supposed to be the Romanian national anthem.

## History
The Albanian national anthem was first published as a poem in an Albanian newspaper in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 21 April 1912. It was later printed in a volume of poems by Drenova, which was published in Bucharest, Romania. The music of the anthem was composed by the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu, as he wanted to compose an anthem for socialist Romania, but was rejected.

## Lyrics
## References
Zayyanid dynasty

**Zayyanids** (, *Ziyānyūn*) or **Abd al-Wadids** (), or Banu Zayan, is the name of an Islamic Berber Zenata dynasty in North Africa. The Zayyanids, whose capital was Tlemcen (in modern-day Algeria) existed from 1235 to 1556. They were also known as Abdelwadid.

## References
Catholic University of the North

The **Catholic University of the North** () is a Catholic university in Antofagasta, Chile. It is one of the universities in the north of Chile.

## Faculties 
* Civil engineering & Construction
* Sciences
* Sea sciences
* Economy & Management
* Engineering & Geologic sciences
* Humanities
* Medicine

## Other websites 
* Catholic University of the North
Gennady Zyuganov

**Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov** (born 1944 in Mymrino) is a Russian politician.  He has led the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) since 1993. He has campaigned for the Russian presidency four times. He has finished second each time.

## References
Telephone numbers in Albania

The country calling code for Albania is +355
 
For domestic calls (within Albania), 0 must be dialed before the area code. The prefix for international calls from Albania is 00 (for example for an United States number 00 1 ... should be dialed). Below is an explanation when dialing a Tirana number:

*Dial        2xxx xxx    (from within Tirana)
*Dial     04 2xxx xxx    (from within Albania)
*Dial +355 4 2xxx xxx    (from outside Albania)

## History
Albania has the lowest rate of telephone use in Europe.  In 2008 there were about 10 lines per 100 people. Cellular phone use is very common throughout the country. 

## Numbering plan by Municipality (effective 15 September 2008)
This is a list of area codes in Albania.
Isfana

**Razzakov** is a small town in Kyrgyzstan. It is the administrative center of Leilek District. Over 27 thousand people live in Razzakov.

## References
List of heads of state of Albania

This is a list of heads of state of Albania.  The head of state is named President.

## Heads of State of Albania (1912–Present)
### Provisional Government of Albania (1912–1914)
### Principality of Albania (1914–1925)
### Albanian Republic (1925–1928)
### Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939)
### Italian Occupation (1939–1943)
### German Occupation (1943–1944)
### People's Socialist Republic of Albania (1944–1991)
### Republic of Albania (1991–Present)
## First Secretaries of the Albanian Communist/Labour Party (1941–1991)
## Living former presidents
## References
Blue Islands

**Blue Islands Limited** was an airline of the Channel Islands. Its main office was in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, and its registered office was in Saint Anne, Alderney. It ran timetabled services from and within the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Its main base was Jersey Airport.

Blue Islands suspended trading and cancelled all flights on 14 November 2025.

## References
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

**Amsterdam Airport Schiphol** ()  is the Netherlands' main international airport. It is 20&nbsp;minutes southwest of Amsterdam. The airport's English name is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The airport had an IATA name of SPL, but is now AMS. Schiphol started in 1916 as a military airport. Civilian use started in 1919 and in 1923 the military planes officially left. 

The airport is the main airport for KLM, Martinair (cargo only), Transavia, TUI fly and Corendon Dutch Airlines. The airport is also the main European airport for Delta Air Lines. It is the 4th busiest airport in Europe and the 12th busiest in the world. Schiphol has six runways, in order to deal with any wind direction.

## Airlines & Destinations
## Railway station
Trains run by Nederlandse Spoorwegen connect Amsterdam Schiphol railway station to places around the Netherlands.

## References
Bmibaby

.]]
**Bmibaby Limited** known as **bmibaby.com** was a British low-cost airline. It flew to places in the UK and Europe from its bases at Belfast City, Birmingham and East Midlands airports. It was owned by British Midland International, which itself is owned was Lufthansa. In April 2012, BMI was bought by the International Airlines Group and the airline, along with bmibaby, stopped flying. 

Bmibaby had a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence. It was allowed to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

## References
Flybe

**Flybe Group PLC** (Known as **flybe**) was a low-cost regional airline group in Exeter, Devon, England. It had over 180 routes to 65 European airports and was Europe's biggest regional airline. Over 6.7 million passengers travelled with them during 2010. The airline was on the London Stock Exchange (), and payed around 2,800 people.

In February 2019, Flybe airline was sold to the Connect Airways consortium, backed by Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Aviation. They planned to rebrand Flybe as Virgin Connect while keeping its certifications. On 5 March 2020, Flybe filed for administration and ceased operations due to financial struggles worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2020, the Flybe brand was purchased by Thyme Opco, linked to former shareholder Cyrus Capital. They aimed to relaunch the airline in 2021, pending regulatory approvals. The new company was named Flybe Limited and started operating in April 2022. However, the relaunched airline stopped trading on 28 January 2023.

## References
BMI Regional

**British Midland Regional Limited** known as **bmi regional** was a British regional airline that runs timetabled passenger services mostly within the UK. Its head office is in Aberdeen Airport East in Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland. Its main base is Aberdeen Airport.  BMI Regional was owned by British Midland International until 2012. Sector Aviation Holdings Limited bought BMI Regional in May 2012. 

## References
Belfast City Airport

**George Best Belfast City Airport**  is a single-runway airport in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland next to the Port of Belfast it is  from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Short Brothers/Bombardier aircraft making area. The airport began commercial operations in 1983.

The airport was known as "Belfast City Airport" until it was renamed in 2006 in memory of George Best, the professional footballer from Belfast, best known for his time with Manchester United.

The airport gets over 2.7 million passengers in 2010, a record total for the airport, though the total fell by 12.5% to 2.4 million in 2011.

The airport is a major base for Flybe, which began services at the airport in 1993 and is now the largest operator at Belfast City.

Belfast City has a CAA public use aerodrome licence (number P862) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

## References
Amānullāh Khān

**Ghazi Amanullah Khan** (Pashto, Dari: ) (1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the Sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929. He was first an Emir and after 1926 the King. He led Afghanistan to freedom from the United Kingdom. He was the first Afghan ruler to make the country more modern. Habibullah Kalakani and his followers fought against Khan. On 14 January 1929, Amanullah went to then neighboring British India. Afghanistan fell into a civil war (1928–1929). From British India he went to Europe where he died in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1960.

## References
Tōkaidō

In Japanese,  may mean:
*Tōkaidō (region), a geographic area of ancient Japan
*Tōkaidō (road), one of the five main roads in Japan during the Edo period
** List of the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō
** The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, a series of woodblock prints by Hiroshige
**Route 1 (Japan), a major national highway in Japan that traces old Tōkaidō except Tōkyō-Yokohama section
**Route 15 (Japan), a major national highway in Japan that traces old Tōkaidō between Tōkyō and Yokohama 
*Tōkaidō Main Line, a trunk line of Japan Railways that  the route of the old Tōkaidō road
*Tōkaidō Shinkansen, a high-speed railway line of Central Japan Railway Company
Aurigny Air Services

**Aurigny Air Services Limited**, known as **aurigny.com**  is an airline with its head office at Guernsey Airport in the Channel Islands, and is owned by the States of Guernsey. It operates passenger and freight services between the Channel Islands, northern France and the United Kingdom. Its main base is Guernsey Airport, with other aircraft and crew based at Jersey Airport and Alderney Airport. Aurigny is one of the longest operating regional airlines in the world, and is one of the oldest airlines in Britain except for Loganair and Monarch Airlines. The name means Alderney.

## Destinations
### Current destinations
Aurigny Air Services runs to the following destinations (at February 2010):

*British Crown Dependencies
**Alderney (Alderney Airport) **Base**
**Guernsey (Guernsey Airport) **Hub**
**Jersey (Jersey Airport) **Base**
*France
**Dinard/Saint-Malo (Pleurtuit Airport)
**Grenoble Airport (seasonal)
*United Kingdom
**Bristol (Bristol International Airport)
**London
***(Gatwick Airport)
***(London Stansted Airport)
**Manchester (Manchester Airport)
**Nottingham (East Midlands Airport)
**Southampton (Southampton Airport)

### Former destinations
The airline used to run to the following destinations:
*France
**Cherbourg (Cherbourg - Maupertus Airport)
**Caen (Caen - Carpiquet Airport)
**Granville, Manche (Granville - Mont Saint Michel Aerodrome)
*Netherlands
**Amsterdam (Amsterdam Schiphol Airport)
*United Kingdom
**Brighton (Shoreham Airport)
**Bournemouth (Bournemouth Airport)
***Charter**:
**Cambridge (Cambridge Airport)
**Gloucester (Gloucestershire Airport)
**Ramsgate (Manston Airport)

## References
Erythraean Sea

The **Erythraean Sea** was the old name for all  Indian ocean in 15-17 century  it was a name only for north part of the Indian ocean and Arabian Sea. it was used throughout Europe until the 18-19th century. 
## Name
The Greeks themselves derived the name from an eponymous persian King Erythras, knowing that the waters so described were deep blue. Modern scholars sometimes attribute the name to the seasonal blooms of the red-hued *Trichodesmium erythraeum* in the Red Sea. Documents on the Persian Gulf's name describes a story from the  Agatharchides, author of On the Erythraean Sea page 113 saying the Erythrae was son of Myozai a Persian lord which forced  to go to an island because of the attack  by the lions to his cattle ,then  he invited other people to settle in this island, most probably today Qeshm Island or Hormuz Island then  it became lucky island and the name of the Erythraean Sea is related to him.

## Use
The name "Erythraean Sea" has been or is still used for the following places: 
*In the opening sentences of Herodotus' history, written in the 5th century BC, he refers to the Phoenicians having come originally from the Erythraean Sea. 
*In the *Periplus of the Erythraean Sea*, written in the 1st century AD, as well as in some ancient maps, the name of the sea refers to the whole area of the northwestern Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea.
*In centuries past, the name "Erythraean Sea" was applied by cartographers to the NW part of the Indian Ocean, mainly the area around Socotra, between Cape Guardafui and the coast of Hadhramaut. 
*The name "Erythraean Sea" was used as well to refer to some gulfs attached to the Indian Ocean, specifically, the Persian Gulf. 
*As a name for the Red Sea, especially after the 19th century. The modern country of Eritrea was named after this ancient Greek name. 
*Since 1895, the name has also been applied to a large dusky region on the surface of planet Mars, known as Mare Erythraeum.

## Related pages
* Persian Gulf
* Socotra

## References
## Other websites
**The Periplus of the Erythrean sea, containing an account of the navigation of the ancients, from the sea of Suez to the coast of Zanguebar*, William Vincent (ed.), 2 voll., London, 1800, vol. 1, vol. 2.
* William H. Schoff, *The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century* (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1912), with additional commentary including alternate spellings or translations from Lionel Casson's more recent edition.
Badghis Province

**Bādghīs** (Persian/Pashto: **بادغیس**) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in northwestern Afghanistan, between the Murghab and Hari rivers.  It goes as far northward as the edge of the desert of Sarakhs. 

## History
The province was one of the last captured by the Taliban in their military offensive before the American invasion in 2001. TheTajik people of the province never welcomed the Pashtun Taliban. The province was quickly retaken by Northern Alliance forces.

## Geography
Badghis Province is in the isolated hills of northwestern Afghanistan.  Its borders are Herat, Ghor, and Faryab provinces as well as Turkmenistan. 

## Politics
The current Governor of the province is Delbar Jan Arman.

## Economy
Agriculture is the main source of people's income. The Murghab and Hari rivers makes the land suitable for farming. The province had a bad drought in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This has gotten better. Badghis is the biggest in pistachio production in Afghanistan. It is also one of the carpet-making capitals of the country.

### Transportation
Badghis Province has little transportation. Qala i Naw Airport (QAQN) is the only airport.

## References
* Afghanistan Information Management Service
Tōkaidō (region)

The  is a Japanese term for both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through the region.  

## History
*Tōkaidō* was one of the main circuits of the *Gokishichidō* system.  It was first established during the Asuka period. Over centuries, the government functions of the *Gokishichido* became less important. However, the traditional eight regions, including *Tōkaidō*, remained cultural markers.

The ancient Tōkaidō road was improved and widened in 1604.

It is a geographic region which has 15 ancient provinces, including 

*Awa Province 
*Hitachi Province
*Iga Province
*Ise Province
*Izu Province
*Kai Province
*Kazusa Province
*Mikawa Province
*Musashi Province
*Owari Province
*Sagami Province
*Shima Province
*Shimōsa Province
*Suruga Province
*Tōtōmi Province

The lands of five prefectures are in the region of *Tōkaidō*: Chiba, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama and Tokyo.

Today, Route 1 is a major national highway that  the  of the old Tōkaidō except in the Tōkyō-Yokohama section.

Route 15 follows the route of the old Tōkaidō between Tōkyō and Yokohama

## Related pages
* Kantō region
* Comparison of regions of Japan
* *Yotsuya kaidan*

## References
UTC+04:30

**UTC+04:30** is the time zone used for:

;As standard time (all year round)
*Afghanistan

This time is used only in Afghanistan, so it is also called Afghanistan Standard Time.

## References
Qala e Naw

**Qala i Naw** (قلعه نو) is a town in Qala i Naw District and the capital of Badghis Province, of north-west Afghanistan. Its population is estimated 9,000 in 2006. 

It has a small airport, Qala i Naw Airport.

## References
Puli Khumri

**Puli Khumri** (or  **Pul-i-Kumri**) () is a city in northern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Baghlan Province. Puli Khumri has an estimated population of about 221,274 as of 2015, making it about the 9th-largest city of Afghanistan, and the second-largest city in northeastern Afghanistan after Kunduz. It is a major industrial city.

## Geography
Puli Khumri, located about  south of Kunduz,  southeast of Mazar-i-Sharif, and  north of Kabul, is a trading and transit hub in the region.

## Related pages
*Baghlan Province

## References
*
Baghlan Province

**Baghlan** (Persian/Pashto: بغلان *Baġlān*) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is Puli Khumri.  The name comes from a major town in the province, Baghlan.

## Demographics
Hazaras, Pashtuns, Tajiks and Uzbeks are living in this Province.

## Economy
### Agriculture
Baghlan's primary crops (as of 1974) were cotton and sugar beets.  The area also produced grapes, pistachios, and pommegranates.  The primary livestock are Karakul sheep.

### Other products
The province also produces silk. Coal is mined in the Karkar Valley.

## Districts
The districts of Baghlan are:

## Politics 
### Governors 
The current Governor of Baghlan is Mohammad Akbar Barakzai, appointed 2009.

## Related pages 
* Baghlan

## References
British Midland Airways Limited

**British Midland Airways Limited,** known as BMI, was an airline based at Donington Hall in Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport.  The airline flew to places in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia from its base at London Heathrow Airport, where it held 11% of all take off and landing slots and ran over 2,000 flights a week. 

BMI was owned by Lufthansa, who announced an agreement in December 2011 to sell the airline to the owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group. The deal did not include Bmibaby and BMI Regional.. BMI Regional was sold to Sector Aviation Holdings for £8 million in May 2012. In April 2012, it was announced that bmi (excluding bmibaby) was to be fully merged into British Airways by the end of October 2012.

British Midland Airways Limited had a Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, which allowed it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats, and was a 3-star airline by Skytrax.

## References
Antonietta Di Martino

**Antonietta Di Martino** (born 1 June 1978) is an Italian high jumper. She was born in Cava de' Tirreni.

Piuza won the silver medal at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

## Other websites
* 
*
Hakucho

is the name of a Japanese artificial satellite which was put into orbit. 

The launch was a project of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of the University of Tokyo.

*Hakucho* was sent into orbit on February 21, 1979.  It reentered the atmosphere and melted on April 15, 1985.   

This was Japan's first x-ray astronomy satellite.

## References
## Other websites 
* Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Hakucho (CORSA-b) mission profile 
* NASA, Hakucho (CORSA-b) satellite
Bamyan

**Bamyan** (), also spelled **Bamiyan** and **Bamian**, is the capital city of Bamyan Province, Afghanistan. It has about 61,863 people. It is the largest town in the Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan.  It is 240&nbsp;kilometres north-west of Kabul, the national capital.

## Education
Bamyan has the region's only university, Bamiyan University.

## References
Daykundi Province

**Daykundi** (; also spelled *Daikondi*, *Dāykondī*, *Daikundi* or *Daykundi*) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan.  Day Kundi's capital is Nili.  It is about 310 kilometres from Kabul.  It is in the Hazarajat region.

## Economy
Daykundi province grows almonds.

## Governance
On 15 April 2011, Mr. Qurban Ali Oruzgani became Governor of Daikundi province.

## Districts
## References
Lauren Ambrose

**Lauren Ambrose** (born February 20 1978) is an American motion picture and stage actress. She is best known for acting in the series *Six Feet Under*. She also acted in many motion pictures and other television programs.

## References
Nili, Afghanistan

**Nili** () is the capital city of Daykundi Province, Afghanistan.  It is in Nili District.  The town is at  altitude.

## Other websites
Tōkaidō (road)

, 1865.]]
The ''''*  was a major road in ancient Japan.  It was one of five main roads during the Edo period.  The  connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Kyoto along the sea coast of eastern Honshū.

## Traveling the Tōkaidō
There were fifty-three shogunate-maintained waystations (*shuku-eki*) along the road which connected Edo and Kyoto.

The  method of travel was by foot.

## Related pages
* *The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō*
*Tōkaidō Shinkansen
*Tōkaidō (region)

## References
## Further reading
 was the 25th station on the Tōkaidō -- woodblock print by Hiroshige, 1834]]
* Traganeou, Jilly. 2004. *The Tokaido Road: Traveling and Representation in Edo and Meiji Japan.* London: RoutledgeCurzon. 

## Other websites
*Walk the Tōkaidō
* PBS, Travel Tōkaidō
* Hiroshige, *The Fifty Three Stations of the Tokaido Road*
* Kuniyoshi, *The Fifty Three Stations of the Tokaido Represented as Cats''
Farah Province

**Farah** (Pashto/Persian: **فراه**) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Farah. Farah is large with few people living in it.  It is the fourth largest province in Afghanistan.  It is on the Iranian border. Most of the people are Pashtun.

## Districts
## References
Farah, Afghanistan

**Farah** (Pashto/Persian: فراه) is a city in western Afghanistan.  It is the capital of Farah Province.  There are about 109,409 people living here.  It is at 650 m altitude.  It is on the Farah River.

## Economy and transportation
The city is a major trading and farming center in the area.  There is an airport with a paved runway.
Bamyan Province

**Bamyan Province** () is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the centre of the country. Its capital city is also called Bamyan. Most of the people are Hazaras, with fewer Tajiks, and Pashtuns. Bamyan is the largest province in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. It has 522,205 living in the Province which were destroyed under Taliban rule, in 2001. In the past, the province was strategically important because of the Silk Road which passes through it. The Silk Road linked Asian countries such as India and China, with Persia,  the Mediterranean and Europe. Buddhism used to be common, and there were many Buddha statues, and monasteries. 

## Politics
### Governors
The former governor of the province is Habiba Sarabi.  She is Afghanistan's first and, so far, only female governor.

## Districts
## Economy
### Agriculture
Bamiyan is famous for its potatoes.

## Education
Bamyan Province has the only university, Bamiyan University in the area.

## References
Alain Lefebvre

**Alain Lefebvre** (born 1 April 1947) is a French journalist. Graduate from the ''École nationale de l'aviation civile* (French civil aviation university), he founded the ephemeral *Magazine hebdo* while managing the *groupe Media* and *L'Histoire magazine*.

Lefebvre is also interested in advertising in collaboration with journalist Christian Blachas, also host of the show *Culture-Pub*.

## Works 
* Alain Lefebvre, Dominique Méda, *Faut-il brûler le modèle français ?'', Éditions du Seuil, 2006, 156 p. ()

## References
Sakigake

is the name of a Japanese space probe which was sent on an interplanetary mission.

The launch was a project of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of the University of Tokyo.

The satellite was launched on January 7, 1985.

## References 
## Other websites 
* Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Sakigake (MS-T5) mission profile 
* NASA, Sakigake
Maymana

**Maymana**, **Meymaneh** or **Maimana** (Persian: میمنه) is the capital of Faryab Province, northern Afghanistan.  It is near the Turkmenistan border. It is about 400&nbsp;km northwest of the Afghan capital Kabul.
Ghor Province

**Ghōr** (, (), also spelled **Ghowr** or **Ghur**, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The capital of Ghor is Chaghcharan.

About 635,302 people live in Ghor Province.

## Districts
## Politics
### Governors
The current governor of Ghor is Sayyed Mohammad Eqbal Munib.

## References
Chaghcharan

**Chaghcharan** () also known as **Firouzkoh** () is a town and the capital of Ghor Province in central Afghanistan. It is located on the southern side of the Hari River.

There are about 15,000 people, mostly Persian speaking. Chaghcharan Airport is about 1 mile to the northeast of the town.

## Related pages 
* Chaghcharan District
* Ghor Province

## References
Southern

**Southern** is the adjective form of **south**. It may refer to:

## Education
* Southern University, a university in the U.S. state of Louisiana
* Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, Tennessee, United States
* Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
* Southern High School, various schools

## Organisations
* Southern Railway (disambiguation), various railways
* Southern Airways, a defunct airline
* Southern Air, an airline based in Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.
* Southern Company, a U.S. electricity corporation
* Southern Records, an independent record label
* Southern Television, a now defunct UK television company
* Southern (train operating company), current train operator for some services in Southern England.

## Surname
* Caleb Southern, American music producer
* Edwin Southern, molecular biologist
* Eileen Southern, American musicologist
* Jeri Southern, American jazz pianist and singer
* Keith Southern, English association football player for Blackpool F.C.
* Richard Southern (1903–1989), British theatre designer 
* R. W. Southern (1912–2001), British medieval historian 
* Sarah Southern, British businesswoman and former Conservative Party official
* Steve Southern, Australian professional rugby player
* Terry Southern, American writer

## Sports
* Southern 500, a NASCAR car race
* Southern 500 (1950-2004), a former NASCAR race
* Southern Conference, a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
* Southern Jaguars, the athletic program of the main campus of Southern University
* Southern League, various sports leagues

## Geographic locations 
* Southern Hemisphere
* Southern Ocean, the waters surrounding Antarctica
* Southern United States
* Southern (country subdivision)
Fred Flintstone

**Fred Flintstone** is the main protagonist of *The Flintstones* franchise. He is an everyday caveman and caring father. He was invented by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera of Hanna-Barbera.

## Catchphrase
His famous catchphrase is "Yabba-dabba-doo". Alan Reed came up with it.

## Portrayals
Alan Reed, Henry Corden, James Arnold Taylor and Jeff Bergman have voiced him in various media. John Goodman played him in the 1994 movie.
Herat Province

**Herat** (Persian/Pashto: هرات) is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan.  It is in the south-western region of the country. The main city and capital is named Herat. 

The region of Herat used to be part of Greater Khorasan.  It was ruled by the Tahirids followed by the Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Ilkhanates, Timurids, and Saffavids.  In the early-18th century it became part of the Afghan Hotaki dynasty followed by the Durrani Empire.

## Demographics
There are about 1,762,157 people living in Herat Province.

### Population by districts
There are 16 districts within the province. These are listed in the table below.

## Sport
Football (soccer) is the popular sport in Herat Province.  Cricket is also getting popular.

## References
Modest Tchaikovsky

**Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky** (13 May 1850 – 15 January 1916) was a Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Like his famous composer brother Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, he was a homosexual. In 1876, Modest tutored a deaf-mute boy and eventually helped him to talk, write, and read. Modest wrote three plays and the libretti for several operas, including his brother's *The Queen of Spades* and *Iolanta*. He translated Shakespeare's Sonnets, and wrote his brother's biography. He died in Moscow in 1916.

## References
Faryab Province

**Fāryāb** () is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. The capital is Maymana. Most of the people are Uzbek.

## Politics
The governor of the province is Abdul Haq Shafaq.

## Districts
## References
Jowzjan Province

**Jowzjān** or **Jōzjān** or **Jawzjan** (, ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan.  It is in the northern area of the country.  The capital is Sheberghan.

## Demographics 
There are around 485,300 people in the province.  Most of them are ethnic Turkmens.

## Politics
Jowzjan's current governor is Mohammed Aleem Sayee.

## Districts 
## References
Sheberghan

**Sheberghān** or **Shaburghān** (), also spelled *Shebirghan* and *Shibarghan*, is the capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.

Sheberghan is on the Safid River banks, about  west of Mazari Sharif.

## References