Countries you didn't know existed....

[JWH]

rock bottom - surely the Honorary Consul rather than the Consul (who would be a FT diplomat)?

 

[Rock Bottom]

rock bottom - surely the Honorary Consul rather than the Consul (who would be a FT diplomat)?

Yes, I meant the Honorary Consul.

 

[George & Bill]

Thank you. I'm not quite sure how to tell them that they have people working in a country that doesn't actually exist. Bunch of fuckwits.

the term 'former yugoslavia' is often used, partly because some borders are still provisional afaik.

 

[JWH]

I don't think you're right there - the borders (lines) are all settled apart from a few slivers (slovenia and croatia solved maritime yet?), only Kosova's status is unresolved. Yugoslavia is a historic term, it should be retired. Referring to Croatia or Bosnia as ex-Yugoslavia is a bit like referring to Dublin as being in ex-Britain!

 

[George & Bill]

I thought that the serbia/bosnia/montenegro were in a bit of a tis about borders but I don't really know, I just remember reading something about it in the lonely planet a while back. May be old info!

 

[Poi E]

I think JWH is right, just the dispute over the waters off Piran and a peninsula there which I think it almost/hes been settled. Pretty pathetic dispute if you see the tiny areas they are talking about. Mind you, the Croatian government has a bitch about Neum every now and again (the sliver of Bosnia to the Adriatic which you can pass over freely anyway)

 

[Barking_Mad]

Nauru - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1134221.stm

The BBC's country profiles page is always worth a look

 

[JWH]

Mind you, the Croatian government has a bitch about Neum every now and again (the sliver of Bosnia to the Adriatic which you can pass over freely anyway)

I was there a couple of weeks ago, as it happens - I noticed that Croatian police cars were driving up and down the street without a care in the world...

 

[chilango]

Just been there a c week or so ago.

U R Gay

or U R a gay

kept us amused for days.

good wine though.

 

[phildwyer]

Just been there a c week or so ago.

U R Gay

or U R a gay

kept us amused for days.

good wine though.

Yeah, I was in Uruguay very briefly in March, I liked the mate (its a drink.)

 

[axon]

At last, finally remembered the little town in Italy that is sort of independent. Now I can sleep at nights. Place called Seborga which was never actually officially incorporated into Italy.

http://principato-di-seborga.com/HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPALITY.htm

 

[Bob]

Good work your mate is doing, hopefully it will have the side effect of helping to focus attention on the desperate plight of pygmies in the Ituri province.

Good article & pictures by her husband's former colleague
here



Also new bits of lopped off countries - there are tiny enclaves of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in southern Kyrgyzstan...

 

[Poi E]

Good article & pictures by her husband's former colleague
here

Interesting-thank you.

 

[BassJunkie]

Pickmans, I don't quite understand why you incorrectly corrected the OP as to the name of the country. Kurgistan???

I believe that was to indicate how it's pronounced.

 

[JWH]

But it's a short "ee" sound like the "y" in "meaty", not an "uh" sound (like Kurdistan) or "oooo" sound. (and it's definitely written Kyrgyzstan in Latin: http://www.us.mfa.kg/ ).