IN FOCUS

Win a valuable book

from Books.lk:

“Reading maketh a full man,” it is said and the importance of reading need not be reiterated. And it is with the objective of promoting the habit of reading among children that the Junior Observer in collaboration with Bookazone (Pvt.) Ltd; the innovators of the country’s first web portal (www.books.lk), launches a competition starting this week to coincide with the literary month - September.

We give a lucky reader an opportunity to win a valuable book priced at Rs 1000 from Books.lk. All you have to do is answer question and mail it to the address given, on or before Friday of that week. The name of the winner will be published later.

Here is how Bookazone will help you enter the magical world of books, to not only entertain yourself but also enhance your knowledge.

It allows you to purchase any title of book regardless of the author, publisher, or the country of origin. Although Bookazone web portal was limited to English users since 2009, the latest additions of Sinhala and Tamil are also accessible on www.poth.lk and www.puththagama.lk listing a wide range of books written and published in local languages in addition to what is offered in English apart from magazines, CDs and DVDs. It is easy to access, as these sites are incorporated into their main site.

They also have more to offer with the adding of varied and popular categories on a regular basis. Once you place an order at Bookazone and make your payment,the deliveries are made free of charge using the best secured mode to any part of the island. In case you don’t see the title listed in the Bookazone web portal a simple email can be sent to inquire the availability, price, and the number of days that it will take to source the book.

So, keep improving your general knowledge to answer the question posed every week. And what better way to do so than by READING!

Early explorers

1. The Phoenicians were people from Lebanon on the east of the Mediterranean Sea. They established many colony. Name one such famous colonies established by them in North Africa.

2. The Egyptians dragged all the material they needed to build ships overland, from the River Nile to the Red Sea coast. True/false?

3. During whose reign did the Egyptians travel to a place called Punt where they loaded their ships with myrrh trees,incense, ivory, ebony, gold, leopard skins and other luxuries?

4. When did the Egyptians first make contact with Punt?

5. A Phoenician trader named Hano led a fleet of 60 ships out of Carthage to search for new places to establish colonies.When did he undertake this mission?

6. What was referred to as the Pillars of Hercules by the ancient explorers?

7. The Phoenicians were famous for the colour purple they used, especially in cloth. What did they obtain it from?

8. The Phoenician trader Hano was not the first to sail down the coast of Africa. An Egyptian Pharaoh is said to have hired a Phoenician crew to sail down the Red Sea around Africa and then back to the Mediterranean. Name the Pharaoh who hired the Phoenician crew to do so.

9. The Greeks were traders and explorers. Name the Greek merchant who made one of the most remarkable voyages of the ancient world.

10. Who first described the spectacular glowing green skies called the northern lights or aurora borealis?

11. When was the famous Silk route opened?

12. Norsemen found the way across the oceans using the sun and stars. True/false?

13. Where was the first Norse settlement established?

14. Around AD 1000, the Norse leader Leif Erikson reached as far as Newfoundland in Canada. True/false?

15. Who is the Norsemen who founded settlements in Greenland?

ANSWERS

1. Carthage

2. True.

3. During the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut (1473-1458BC), the Egyptians travelled to Punt,which the historians believe may have been situated in northern Somalia.

4. In c.2500BC.

5. Around 475BC. Hano and the fleet of ships are believed to have sailed out of the Mediterranean and down the coast of Africa.

6. The Rock of Gibraltar on the European coast and Mt Hacho on the African coast was referred to as the Pillars of Hercules by the ancient explorers. The pillars are thought to have marked the end of the known world to early explorers.

7.They extracted a liquid from snails to produce it. About 30,000 snails were needed to produce a kilogram of purple dye. So, clothes made of purple cloth was rare and expensive. It was mostly worn by the rich.

8.The Pharaoh who hired the Phoenician crew to sail down the coast of Africa was Necho II in 600 BC. The voyage had taken three years as the crew stopped each year to plant and reap a harvest for food.

9. Pytheas' voyage in 380 BC to Massila, a Greek colony in southern France now known as Marseilles .

10. Pytheas observed the light at a place called Thule which historians believe may have been Iceland.

11. The famous Silk route was opened after c.100 BC . It remained the main trade route between China and Europe for a long time.

12. True. By lining up a wooden bearing dial with the sun at noon, they could determine which direction the south was.

13. In Ireland, Isles of Scotland and the Faeroe Islands.

14. True.

15. Eric the Red around AD. 986.