On this date in 1571 Miguel Lopez de Lagazpi founded Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
Manila is located on the biggest island of the Philippines, Luzon. on the eastern shore of Manila Bay. The Pasig River runs through the city.
The name derives from the phrase may-nilà, meaning "where indigo is found", because of the indigo-yielding plants that grow in the area.
Manila is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with over 1.7 million people in just 16.56 square miles.
The city is home to the oldest university in Asia. The University of Santo Tomas in Manila was founded in 1611.
It also has the oldest Chinatown in the world, Binondo, established in 1521.
A way of getting around in Manila is the jeepney. These are colourful vehicles adapted from World War II US army jeeps.
The design for the city was based on the City Beautiful movement. American architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham was commissioned to design the new capital in 1905.
There’s a park in the centre of the city called Rizal Park, which is the largest urban park in Asia. It commemorates Jose Rizal, a Philippine national hero. The flagpole in the park serves as a Kilometer Zero marker, a starting reference for every Philippine highway, route, or location.
On January 9 each year the city hosts the procession of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
The largest banknote in the world was issued by the Central Bank of the Philippines in Manila in 1998. The 100,000 peso bill was released to celebrate the 100 years of Philippine independence from Spanish colonial rule, and measures 8.5”x 14”.
New!!!
The six richest people in Britain decide to hold a contest to settle the question of which of them is most successful. It will be a gladiator style contest with each entrant fielding a team of ten super-powered combatants. Entrepreneur Llew Powell sets out to put together his team, which includes his former lover, an employee of his company with a fascinating hobby, two refugees from another dimension (a lonely giant and a drunken sailor), two sisters bound together by a promise, a diminutive doctor, a former Tibetan monk initiate and two androids with a history. As the team train together, alliances form, friendships and more develop, while others find the past is not easy to leave behind.
Meanwhile, a ruthless race of aliens has its eyes on the Earth. Already abducting and enslaving humans, they work towards the final invasion which would destroy life on Earth as we know it. Powell’s group, Combat Team Alpha, stumble upon one of the wormholes the aliens use to travel to Earth and witness for themselves the horrors in store if the aliens aren’t stopped. Barely escaping with their lives, they realise there are more important things to worry about than a fighting competition.
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