#78: Cuba
- Cigars
- Fidel Castro
- The Cuba Libre
#79: Tunisia
Tunisia
- Former French protectorate
- Former possession of the Ottoman Empire
- Revolution 2011.
#80 Haiti
#80 Haiti
Devastated by earthquake in 2010
Struggles with serious deforestation due to residents cutting wood for fuel
Shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic
Next up
#81 Greece
Greece
- Created the Olympics
- Country is bankrupt
- Aristotle Onassis
#82 Somalia
Somalia
Easternmost country in mainland Africa
Capital = Mogadishu
Black Hawk Down set there during its civil war
83: Guinea
Guinea
Country down there which doesn’t speak Spanish or Portugese
Conceivably something to do with English crrency etymology
Is not New Guinea, which has many languages and cannibals
#82: Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Until the 1990s, was united with neighbouring Slovakia, as the nation of Czechoslovakia
Part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until end of World War I
Capital, Prague [Praha] – beautiful historic city centre, fortunately little damaged in the World Wars
Next per Wiki, seemingly Dominican Republic, which we’ve already had: next after that, Portugal
#86 Portugal
- It is the Westernmost country of mainland Europe
- Lost Brazil in 1822
- Home of Vasco da Gama
#87 Benin
#86: Portugal
- Kick-started the Age of Exploration.
- On the Atlantic Coast bordered solely by Spain.
- Exported lots of field workers to Hawaii, giving it a large Portuguese community that lasts to this day.
#87: Benin.
Former bit of French West Africa
Used to be called Dahomey from independence to revolution in the early 70s
Named after an old empire that was actually in Nigeria
#88: Hungary
Hungary
- Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, one of the most prolific female serial killers lived here from 1560-1614.
- Capital is Budapest
- Paprika
#89 Burundi
oops
#89 Burundi
Next door to Rwanda: “all is not well there”, but so far, no truly hideous massacres.
Together with Rwanda, German colony until post-World War I; then Belgian, till independence in 1960.
Capital (without looking up): either Bujumbura or Kigali – whichever of these it isn’t, is the capital of Rwanda.
#90 Sweden
#90 Sweden
Neutral during WW II
Used to own Norway
Separated from Denmark by the Kattegat
#91 Azerbaijan
#91 Azerbaijan
The capital is Baku
It has engaged in a long-running dispute with Armenia about control of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh (sp?)
The reason that Hilter was so keen to take Stalingrad was that the oil reserves of Azerbaijan were on the other side
#92 Belarus
#92 Belarus
Capital, Minsk
Not the nicest of places to live: reportedly, the only European country at present autocratically ruled by a 1930s-style dictator
Shares with Poland, the Bialowieza Forest nature reserve: effectively the only place where the European bison is found in the wild
#93 United Arab Emirates
Some 36 hours with no action – so I’ll go again.
#93 United Arab Emirates
An assemblage of small states on the Arabian shore of the Persian Gulf – some very oil-rich, others relatively poor and obscure. Include Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Relatively-liberal Moslem countries, at any rate from the point of view of expat inhabitants / visitors.
Dubai features some highly-lavish and ambitious constructions, basically in the hospitality / pleasure field.
#94 Honduras
#94: Honduras
- Capital is Tegucigalpa.
- Is in Central America on former Mayan territory.
- The term “banana republic” was coined specifically to describe Honduras.
#95: Austria
Austria
1.Sigmund Freud was Austrian
2. Only country in the European Union who is not a NATO member.
3. Capital is Vienna
#96 Israel
#96 Israel
Capital, Jerusalem
Principal language is Hebrew – rare instance of an ancient / ceremonial language having been brought back as an “everyday” one
Popular venue for bird-watchers: various impressive resident species, and on a big migration route
#97 Tajikistan