Spokane Transit Authority

# Spokane Transit Authority

## Abstract

Spokane Transit Authority, more commonly Spokane Transit or STA, is the public transport authority of central Spokane County, Washington, United States, serving Spokane, Washington, and its surrounding urban areas. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 9,215,700, or about 36,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

Originally conceived in 1980, and authorized by voters on March 10, 1981, STA provides public transportation within the Spokane County Public Transportation Benefit Area (PBTA). As of 2023, STA's service area has a population of approximately 471,000 across 248 square miles (640 km) including the cities of Spokane, Spokane Valley, Cheney, Liberty Lake, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, the Town of Millwood, and unincorporated areas between and around those cities.

It began operating service in 1981 after acquiring the assets of the city-operated Spokane Transit System. The agency can trace its roots to a number of private transit operators extending back to 1888. While the 98th largest metropolitan area in the United States, Spokane ranks 20th in transit ridership per capita using 2019 ridership data.

## Services

Spokane Transit provides multiple services:

- Fixed Route Bus Service. Spokane Transit operates 51 bus routes throughout its service area on published schedules. Most routes run 365 days a year. Additionally, STA operates routes during major community events such as the Lilac Bloomsday Run, Hoopfest, and the Spokane County Fair & Expo.

- Paratransit. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Spokane Transit provides accessible transportation to persons with disabilities within 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1 km) of every fixed route.

- Rideshare. Previously Vanpool. A service which matches people traveling to or from similar locations and provides a publicly owned car or van at a fixed price per month.

### Fixed routes

Spokane Transit has 51 fixed routes operating year-round on published schedules. Routes are numbered to reflect service class by the number of digits as described in the table below. Key geography is reflected in the first digit of regular service, while numbering of target service with triple reflects key markets and underlying geography through the combination of digits. Routes have distinct weekday, Saturday and Sunday schedule patterns. Most national holidays operate on a Saturday schedule with New Year's day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas day operating on a Sunday schedule.

### Bus rapid transit

As of 2023, Spokane Transit has one bus rapid transit line within the region as part of its planned High Performance Transit network, with a second in development.

The first line, the City Line, began service in July 2023 and traverses from east–west through Downtown Spokane and the University District, running between the Browne's Addition neighborhood and the Spokane Community College Transit Center.

A second line, with a working project name of Division BRT, is currently in design and planned to run north–south through Spokane along Division Street, with a goal of starting construction in 2026 and commencing service between 2027 and 2029 dependent on the opening of the North Spokane Corridor.

## Passenger facilities and amenities

### Transit centers

Spokane Transit operates four transit centers as of June 2023:

- STA Plaza, in downtown Spokane

- Pence-Cole Valley Transit Center (VTC), in Spokane Valley

- Spokane Community College Transit Center, in Chief Garry Park in East Spokane

- West Plains Transit Center, near Four Lakes

### Park-and-ride lots

Spokane Transit operates a total of 14 park-and-ride facilities throughout its service area, several of which are operated through cooperative agreements with other property owners to allow parking access to transit services.

### Bus stops

At the end of 2022, Spokane Transit served 1,778 bus stops throughout its service area.

### Bicycle accommodation

All fixed routes have buses with racks that can fit three bikes on the exterior of the bus. Most park and ride lots feature bike lockers that can be rented on a monthly basis. The New Flyer Xcelsior 60' articulating electric buses implemented on the City Line accommodate bikes on board the bus via the rear doors.

## Fares and passes

### Fare structure

Fare structure as of May 2023:

As of October 2022, the standard fare costs $2.00 and permits the rider to board any route for a period of two hours from initial purchase or validation on the bus. On October 1, 2022, Spokane Transit inaugurated a new accounted-based fare collection system, known as the Connect fare system. The fare system includes online account management, a smart card known as the Connect card, and a mobile app, STA Connect. The new system caps fares collected on a daily and monthly basis and includes several discount programs. A "Rider's License" allows youth ages 6–18 to ride with zero fare. Traditional fareboxes remain on all fixed route coaches, allowing riders to pay with cash or older media as described below.

### Fare media

As of 2021, fares on Spokane Transit can be paid in cash, or with pre-paid passes and transfers programmed to magnetic stripe cards or RFID smart cards. The fare payment platform went live on December 4, 2006, after a three-day transition period with no fares collection while new fare boxes were installed. STA's prior system, while also accepting cash, utilized paper transfers and metal coin tokens.

STA launched the Connect Card with a companion eConnect app on October 1, 2022. The fare collection system, developed by INIT, can accept the Connect Card via NFC and the mobile eConnect app. The Connect Card and mobile eConnect app are linked to an online account-based fare management system. Users can reload balances via the app, at the STA Plaza, or partnered retail locations. The pass allows for fare-capping and allows users to lock the cards if a card is lost or stolen.

In July 2023, the system began accepting contactless payments including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and digital wallets (Apple Pay and Google Pay) with onboard fare collection boxes as well as off-board fare validators and fare vending machines.

### Pass programs

Spokane Transit provides multiple fare instruments, including employee, youth, and college passes. Additionally, organizations may participate in the Universal Transit Access Pass (UTAP) program with a "utility charge" for each ride taken by eligible participants. Spokane Transit currently maintains UTAP contracts with Eastern Washington University, Washington State University Spokane, Community Colleges of Spokane, Whitworth University, Gonzaga University and the University of Washington School of Medicine in Spokane (via Gonzaga University); City of Spokane for employees and elected officials; and, Spokane County for employees and elected officials.

## Governance

Spokane Transit is governed by a board of directors which includes nine positions filled by elected officials who must be appointed by the municipal jurisdictions that form the agency, and one position appointed by the Board upon recommendation by the labor organizations representing the public transportation employees within the local public transportation system pursuant to state law.

Originally, the board consisted of 2 members from the City of Spokane, 2 members from the Spokane County Commission, 1 member from each of the Cities of Airway Heights, Cheney, Medical Lake, and the Town of Millwood, and one additional member alternately held by an official from the City of Spokane and Spokane County. The City of Liberty Lake was incorporated in August 2001, and the City of Spokane Valley was incorporated in March 2003, necessitating a change in board membership.

Currently the board consists of:

- City of Spokane, 3 members

- Spokane County, 2 members

- City of Spokane Valley, 2 members

- The small cities, 2 members (combined)

- Labor representative, 1 member (non-voting)

The board of directors is also advised by the following committees:

- Board Operations Committee

- Planning & Development Committee

- Performance Monitoring & External Relations Committee Citizens Advisory Board

- Citizens Advisory Board

The executive team for Spokane Transit Authority consists of the following positions:

- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

- Chief Operations Officer (COO)

- Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

- Chief Planning and Development Officer

- Chief Human Resources Officer

- Chief Communication and Customer Service Officer

## Fixed route fleet

As of December 2022, Spokane Transit has 177 buses in its fleet. Included in the fleet are:

## History

### 1880s–1970s: Predecessors

Transit history in the Spokane area dates back more than 130 years beginning with the inaugural trip of a horse-drawn streetcar running between downtown Spokane and the Browne's Addition neighborhood to the west in 1888. The first electrically powered streetcar began operations November 1889 and traveled between downtown Spokane through what is now the University District. Over the next several decades, multiple private interests constructed and operated streetcars and cable cars typically as an integral part of a real estate development plan.

By 1896, the leading streetcar system was the Spokane Street Railway Company, with 23 miles of railway. Its network of lines was described as a "cartwheel" that emanated from a "hub" at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Howard Street in downtown Spokane.

By 1910, streetcar lines were owned and operated by two competing companies: Washington Water Power and Spokane Traction Company. In addition to urban street railways, each company had interests in electric Interurban lines that stretched as far away as Moscow, Idaho. In that year, streetcar and interurban ridership peaked at 37.98 million rides.

The decade following 1910 was a time of intense competition for the streetcars, with growing automobile ownership and private jitneys that threatened the viability of a divided transit system. By the end of the decade, Spokane Traction Company fell into receivership and underwent reorganizations that were unsuccessful in returning the system to profitability. In 1922, Spokane citizens overwhelmingly voted to amend the city charter to reduce taxes and other special assessments imposed on streetcar operations and infrastructure, enabling the formation of a unified streetcar system featuring "universal transfers" between lines and empowering the company to convert some lines to trolleybuses on its own discretion. Following the successful measure, the Spokane United Railway Company was formed as a subsidiary to Washington Water Power (later, Avista Corporation), creating a unified electric streetcar system.

The street railway system was gradually phased out through the 1930s to make way for motorized coaches. Bus ridership reached a peak in the Spokane area in 1946 with 26 million passengers. The system was purchased by Spokane City Lines Company (part of National City Lines) in 1945, and later turned over to the City of Spokane in 1968. Upon acquisition by the city, funding for the system was derived from a $1 household tax.

### 1980s: Reorganization into regional system

In 1980, a municipal corporation was created to administer mass transit services for a new public transportation benefit area (PTBA). The new PTBA represented a shift in funding and operational model of Spokane Transit System from a city model to a regional model. Due to rapid inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the flat $1 city tax on households that had funded Spokane Transit System was no longer keeping up with the rising costs of its era. The household tax model had another major disadvantage; because the tax depended on the quantity of households within the tax boundaries, its revenues would only increase with the construction of new households. Meanwhile, most residential growth was occurring outside Spokane city limits. Furthermore, the flat tax on households had been viewed by some as a very regressive tax.

An election was held on March 10, 1981, to determine the future of public transportation in the Spokane region. The election measure, which passed and was subsequently implemented the following month of April 1981, replaced the $1 tax on households within Spokane city limits with a 0.3% sales tax to be applied throughout the public transportation benefit area. The shift in the transit agency's funding and administrative model was not isolated to Spokane. Many other cities and regions in Washington state including the cities of Vancouver and Tacoma, as well as King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, and Clark County had already shifted from a city household tax model to a county-wide transit system funded by sales tax.

In addition to adapting its funding model to reflect the current economic times, the shift to a regional model allowed the transit agency to heavily increase bus service to areas beyond Spokane city limits. Prior to the election, service outside city limits was limited, since no tax subsidies were collected outside the city limits.

The restructured system operated under three branches; Spokane Transit Authority for Regional Transportation (START) was the administrative body, the Spokane Transit System (STS) name remained for the fixed route bus operation, and Spokane Area Special Transportation Agency (SASTA) operated the paratransit services. The three names were unified about one and half years later in September 1982 under the Spokane Transit Authority name and brand. The name change officially took effect on September 23, 1982, after the START Board passed a resolution renaming the municipal corporation to Spokane Transit Authority.

In September 1989, Spokane Transit opened the Valley Transit Center, an off-street passenger facility located on 4th Avenue at University Road in Spokane Valley, featuring a large passenger island with covered seating. The facility included a park and ride lot among other amenities.

### 1990s

At the urging of the downtown business community, Spokane Transit built a transit center in 1995 to replace the historic Howard and Riverside hub which required that buses park along many downtown streets for passengers to make transfers. Not only was this uncomfortable for passengers, who were forced to wait for buses in the weather, but it also made the streetside businesses less accessible to customers. The bus center, known as "The Plaza" was constructed as an indoor urban park at a cost of approximately $20 million including property acquisition costs. With its high, daylight ceiling, imported Italian tile, and cougar statues leaping over a waterfall between the up- and down- escalators, it generated great controversy.

In September 1998, Spokane Transit implemented a major revision of the bus network, the largest change to the bus network in 17 years. Routes were consolidated to provide more frequency on busy corridors and all route numbers were revised, primarily according to geography.

In addition to the local sales tax, a major revenue source was Washington State's motor vehicle excise tax which provided matching funds. After statewide Initiative I-695 was passed in 1999, the legislature eliminated the matching funds even though the initiative was later found unconstitutional.

### 2000s

The period after the elimination of the motor vehicle excise tax was a time of unprecedented change for Spokane Transit. As its undesignated cash reserves balance fell, Spokane Transit attempted to increase its tax authority from 0.3% to 0.6% in September 2002, but it was rejected by voters 48% to 52%. Research following the failed ballot measure pointed to limited understanding of the agency's organizational structure, performance and financial conditions.

Spokane Transit created task force to study changes that could be made to regain the support of the community, while simultaneously preparing for a potential 40% service decrease. After increased public participation, and 69% voter approval, Spokane Transit increased the sales tax from 0.3% to 0.6% in October 2004, subject to a sunset of the tax in 2009. In May 2008, voters reauthorized the additional 0.3% sales tax with no sunset clause, with nearly 69% in favor.

SRTC and STA jointly created the Light Rail Steering Committee (LRSC) in early 2000 which was responsible for studying the creation of a light rail corridor from Downtown Spokane to Liberty Lake. This effort was preceded by significant study by the SRTC. In 2006 the committee published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which evaluated several rail and bus alternatives for the corridor. The committee stated preference for a single-track rail corridor using diesel multiple units (DMU) that would cost less than half the conventional light rail system. The travel demand modeling performed as part of the DEIS forecast less than 3,500 daily boardings on the 15.5-mile system in 2025. An advisory vote in 2006 elicited a negative response to continued planning and investment in the light rail project.

In 2008, transit consultants Nelson-Nygaard Associates recommended changes to transit operations downtown while retaining the use of the Plaza transfer facility.

### 2010s

Spokane Transit adopted a new comprehensive plan, Connect Spokane, in June 2010, to guide system planning and growth. The plan calls for a network of high performance transit with frequent service connecting key neighborhoods and activity centers throughout the region.

In response to a significant decline in sales tax revenue resulting from the Great Recession, Spokane Transit undertook service reductions in 2010 and 2011. Despite the cuts, ridership increased, reaching an all-time high for Spokane Transit Authority in 2014, with 11.3 million passengers on its fixed route system.

In 2016, voters approved an increase in the sale tax dedicated to public transit to implement the STA Moving Forward plan. The plan called for more and better service, new connection facilities, include new transit centers and stations, and investments in six high performance transit lines.

In 2018, Spokane Transit opened the West Plains Transit Center, an investment of the STA Moving Forward plan. The addition of the transit center allows passengers between the cities of Cheney, Medical Lake and Airway Heights to travel between those cities without transferring in Spokane at the STA Plaza. As part of the 2018 changes, STA also increased frequency on service to the West Central neighborhood, introduced larger buses on North Division Street and introduced a new express route to the Valley Transit Center.

### 2020s

Like public transport agencies across the globe, STA was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Fixed route ridership dropped from 9.97 million passenger boardings in 2019 to 5.24 million passenger boardings in 2021. STA's ridership began to recover in 2022, with May 2022 experiencing a year-over-year increase of 29.6% on fixed route, 38.7% on Paratransit and 37.0% increase on Vanpool. In October 2022, STA launched a new fare collection system which allows for mobile payments in addition to previous payment methods, as well as introduced fare capping.

In July 2023, STA launched City Line, the organization's first bus rapid transit line.

## Planned developments

Spokane Transit participates in regional transportation and land use planning activities. It is a member jurisdiction of the Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC), and sends a member of its board to serve on SRTC's board.

### High Performance Transit Network

In 2010, STA developed a preliminary proposal for what it calls a "High Performance Transit Network" (HPTN) comprising 14 corridors of premium all-day frequent transit service. The preliminary proposal does not specify the operating modes for each corridor but suggests that the corridors will operate at a speed appropriate to the access provided and urban characteristics of the operating environment. The HPTN vision is an element of the agency's proposed comprehensive plan, referred to as "Connect Spokane".

Also in 2010, STA and the City of Spokane initiated an alternatives analysis to study transit improvements in and around the downtown core. This "central city transit alternatives analysis" considered "High Performance Transit" improvements that can be made to increase mobility and stimulate in-fill development. The locally preferred alternative was adopted in July 2011, calling for an east–west alignment for an electric, rubber-tired vehicle, and was dubbed the Central City Line.

In 2016, the central city transit plan took the form as the Central City Line project, later named the City Line, a bus rapid transit line that began service in 2023. It is the first phase of a number of high performance transit lines in Spokane and is the region's first bus rapid transit corridor.

The future Division Street BRT, running from downtown Spokane to unincorporated Mead, WA, would be the second BRT corridor in the region. In March 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed a 16-year transportation program, programming funding for various projects and initiatives, with an emphasis on moving people in cleaner, more efficient ways. The program included $50 million to Division Street bus rapid transit.


2024–25 FC Porto season

# 2024–25 FC Porto season

## Abstract

The 2024–25 season is the 132nd season in the history of FC Porto, and the club's 90th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. In addition to the domestic league, the club is participating in the Taça de Portugal, the Taça da Liga, the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, the UEFA Europa League, and the newly-expanded FIFA Club World Cup.

This is Porto's first full season since 2017–18 without veteran defender Pepe, who departed the club after his contract expired.

## Players

### Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

## Technical staff

## Transfers

## Competitions

### Overall record

Last updated: 15 September 2024 Source: Soccerway

### Primeira Liga

#### League table

#### Results summary

Source: Liga Portugal

#### Results by round

#### Matches

### Taça da Liga

### Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

### UEFA Europa League

#### League phase

##### League table

##### Results by round

## Statistics


Survivor Greece season 12

# Survivor Greece season 12

## Abstract

The twelfth season of the popular reality show Survivor Greece, will premiere on September, 2024 on Skai TV in Greece and (via simulcast) on Sigma TV in Cyprus. Giorgos Lianos will return as host for his seventh consecutive season. In August 2024 the official trailer was released announcing the return of the show the autumn of 2024. it's the first time that the show will premiere earlier than January.

The format of the game will experience a huge change from the previous seasons, as the producers have decided to follow the American - Australian version of the show after 20 years when it was first aired in Greece.

## Contestants

The game is expected to begin with eighteen contestants divided into two teams Tigreis and Aetoi.

## Ratings

Official ratings are taken from AGB Hellas.

|}


The Crossing (1990 film)

# The Crossing (1990 film)

## Abstract

The Crossing is a 1990 Australian romantic drama film directed by George Ogilvie, produced by Sue Seeary and written by Ranald Allan. The film stars Russell Crowe, Robert Mammone and Danielle Spencer. The film was shot in the towns of Junee and Condobolin in New South Wales, Australia. The film was released in Australia on 18 October 1990. Russell Crowe was nominated for the Australian Film Institute Award for best actor while Jeff Darling was awarded for the best cinematography.

## Plot

The film is set in a small country town in the 1960s. Sam returns home from being away for 18 months to discover his former girlfriend, Meg, has moved on with their common friend, Johnny.

## Cast

- Russell Crowe as Johnny

- Robert Mammone as Sam

- Danielle Spencer as Meg

- Emily Lumbers as Jenny

- Rodney Bell as Shortly

- Ben Oxenbould as Heavyfoot

- Myles Collins as Stretch

- Marc Gray as Nort

- Megan Connolly as Kathleen

- John Blair as Billy

- Rani Lockland as Gail

- Lea-Ann Towler as Mandy

- Paul Robertson as Birdie

- George Whaley as Sid

- Jacquy Phillips as Marion

- Patrick Ward

## Music

- Martin Armiger – soundtrack composer

- Derek Williams – orchestrator, conductor

### Soundtrack

An album produced by Martin Armiger was released in 1990 in Australia and Europe. King of the Road was released as the first single, and made the top ten in UK and Germany. A video for Nature Boy performed by Kate Ceberano was also created to promote the album.

{{ citation }}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

- "Main Titles" by Martin Armiger

- " King of the Road " by The Proclaimers

- " Nature Boy " by Kate Ceberano

- " She's Not There " by Crowded House

- " For Your Love " by Peter Blakeley

- "Betty Wrong" by Tin Machine

- "The Chase" by Martin Armiger

- " Here Comes That Feeling " by The Cockroaches

- "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Chantoozies

- "Love Letters" by Stephen Cummings

- "Nowhere To Run" by Jenn Forbes

- "Let's Dance" by The Cockroaches

- "Love Theme" by Martin Armiger

## Production

Ranald Allan's script had been around for a number of years before being picked up by producer Sue Seeary, who managed to get the film up at Beyond International Group. It was their first feature film. Beyond's head of production, Al Clark did commission some re-writing. Production took place in and around Junee in November and December 1989.

## Box office

The Crossing grossed A$ 87,392 at the box office in Australia.


Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson

# Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson

## Abstract

Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson or Jónsi (born 1 June 1977) is an Icelandic singer and a former member of the band Í svörtum fötum ("In black clothing"). He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 and finished 19th. Jónsi once again represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan in a duet with singer Greta Salóme, qualifying for the Eurovision final and finishing in 20th place. Jón Jósep also performed the opening theme song to the Icelandic children's television show LazyTown.

## Biography

Jónsi is the nickname of Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson, one of the most popular Icelandic male singers according to 2004 public vote. He was born on 1 June 1977 in Akureyri in the northern part of Iceland. Having been singing ever since he can remember, Jónsi moved to Reykjavík in 1997 and decided to try for a career in music. He soon got several opportunities as a singer and in 1998 he joined a group of friends who had formed a band and were looking for a singer. The band was named Í Svörtum Fötum (Dressed in Black) and they debuted on 1 January 1999, dressed in black suits, white shirts, wearing black ties. After releasing the single "Nakinn" ("Naked") in spring 2001 they earned national recognition when the song reached number two on the Icelandic Chart.

The band landed a four album agreement with Skifan Records in September 2001 and started preparations for their second album. The band has been known for their active live performances and for busy tour schedules. During summer 2002 they worked on finishing their second album Í svörtum fötum, a gold selling album that got good reviews. They kept on strengthening their popularity and working on their songwriting in 2003, having even greater success with the third album Tengsl. Jónsi was nominated Vocalist of the Year at the Icelandic Music Awards 2003 for his powerful performance. He has repeatedly been awarded Male Vocalist of the Year and Best Live Performer by popular listeners' polls on radio stations.

Jónsi has also performed and recorded with many of Iceland's biggest names and in 2003 he was featured in the starring role of Danny Zuko in the musical Grease, with Birgitta playing Sandy, making Grease one of Iceland's biggest theater block busters.

## Eurovision

2004

In 2004, represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with a song called " Heaven ", which finishing 19th in the final.

2007

Jónsi competed in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007 with his song "Segðu Mér" but failed to qualify for a place in Eurovision.

2012

Again, Jónsi represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan in a duet with singer Greta Salóme with the song " Never Forget ", finishing 8th in the first semi-final to qualify for the Eurovision final where it finished 20th.

## Discography

### Albums

- 2002: Í svörtum fötum

### Singles

- 2001: "Nakinn" (as part of the band Í Svörtum Fötum)

- 2004: " Heaven "

- 2007: "Segðu Mér"

- 2012: " Never Forget " (with Greta Salóme)

## Theatre

- Grease musical as Danny Zuko


Sacred mountains

# Sacred mountains

## Abstract

Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many religions have traditions centered on sacred mountains, which either are or were considered holy (such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology) or are related to famous events (like Mount Sinai in Judaism and descendant religions or Mount Kailash, Mount Meru in Hinduism). In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of the deities Shiva and Parvati, and is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered sacred, Mount Etna being believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge.

## Themes of sacrality

Edwin Bernbaum, a preeminent scholar of sacred mountains around the world, suggests that although no single, universal theme underlies all sacred mountains across the globe, it is possible to identify certain patterns that help to clarify the principal roles that sacred peaks play in different cultures. Bernbaum identifies the following ten themes expressed through sacred mountains that are particularly widespread in cultures around the world, summarized below. A particular sacred mountain may have one or more of these themes represented in it; some may have nearly all of them.

- Height: When we look at a mountain the first thing to impress us is usually not its central location, but its height, which evokes an immediate response of wonder and awe. Poised above the surrounding landscape, set in a fluid realm of drifting clouds and flowing sky, its summit appears to float in another world, higher and more perfect than the one in which we dwell.

- Center: The view of the mountain as the center appears in its most comprehensive form as a central axis linking together the three levels of the cosmos – heaven, earth, and hell or underworld. As the link between heaven earth, and hell, it acts as a conduit of power, the place where sacred energies, both divine and demonic, spew into the world of human existence.

- Power: Many sacred mountains are revered as places of awesome power manifested in various ways – natural, supernatural, and even political.

- Deity or abode of deity: As places of power and heavens on high, mountains serve as abodes of gods and goddesses, often situated at the center of the cosmos, world, or region.

- Temple or place of worship: Mountains often appear in the form of temples housing the deities who reside on or within them. As centers and high places open to the sky, mountains provide altars for making offerings to gods and spirits. Also, mountains may take the form of places of worship, viewed or imagined as shrines, churches, and cathedrals.

- Paradise or garden: Modern societies share with traditional cultures the widespread view of mountains as sacred gardens and earthly paradises.

- Ancestors and the dead: Whether revered as heavens or feared as hells, mountains have a widespread and important role as hallowed places of the dead. In many cases, the resemblance of mountains to tombs, which often mimic the shape of hills, make them natural places of burial. In seeing mountains as abodes of the dead, people often regard them as the places from which their ancestors came – or as those ancestors themselves.

- Identity: As divine ancestors, mountains provide many societies with their identity and cohesiveness.

- Source: People throughout the world look up to mountains as sources of innumerable blessings, sometimes attributed to the ancestral spirits dwelling within them. For many cultures the most important of these blessings is water. Other blessings that flow from sacred mountains include fertility, health, and well-being, as well as treasures of various kinds.

- Revelation, transformation, inspiration, and renewal: As places of power, close to heaven, mountains serve as dramatic sites of revelation, transformation, inspiration and renewal. The revelation or vision on a mountain often transforms the person who receives it. Hermits of traditions around the world seek out mountains as places to transform themselves through practices of physical austerity and spiritual contemplation. Poets and mystics have visualized the ascent of the sacred mountain as a symbol of the ultimate pilgrimage, leading to the heights of heaven and the final goal of spiritual realization. For lay people who do not aspire to the supreme heights of spiritual transcendence or enlightenment, mountains serve as places where they can find inspiration and renewal.

## Purpose and use

### Community identity

History shows that mountains were commonly part of a complex system of mountain and ancestor worship. Having immortalized fallen brethren in the edifice, the people share a common allegiance with all the other people of a community. The meanings that were etched into the mountain and mound terrain connected the villagers. They were all subject to the same landscape and village history, which were bound together by their cultural significance. The history of ancestors could be told by simply pointing at specific mountains and remembering the stories that were passed down throughout the generations. The worship of ancestors and the mountains were largely inseparable. An interconnected web between history, landscape, and culture was thus formed. One example is the Hindu belief that Mount Kailash is the final resting place for the souls of the dead, as well as the large cemetery placed on Mount Kōya-san.

Sacred mountains can also provide an important piece of a culture's identity. For example, Bruno Messerli and Jack Ives write, "The Armenian people regard Mount Ararat, a volcano in eastern Turkey believed to be the site of Noah's Ark in the Bible, to be a symbol of their natural and cultural identity ". As a result of the mountain's role as a part of a cultural identity, even people who do not live close to the mountain feel that events occurring to the mountain are relevant to their own personal lives. This results in communities banning certain activities near the mountain, especially if those activities are seen as potentially destructive to the sacred mountain itself.

### Pilgrimages

To date, Kailash has never been climbed, largely due to the fact that the idea of climbing the mountain is seen as a major sacrilege. Instead, the worshipful embark on a pilgrimage known as the kora. The kora consists of a 32-mile path that circles the mountain, which typically takes five days with little food and water. Various icons, prayer flags, and other symbols of the four religions that believe Kailash is sacred mark the way. To Buddhists and Hindus, the pilgrimage is considered a major moment in a person's spiritual life. One circuit is believed to erase a lifetime of sin, while 108 circuits is believed to ensure enlightenment.

Sacred Mountains are often seen as a site of revelation and inspiration. Mount Sinai is an example, as this is the site where the covenant is revealed to Moses. Mount Tabor is where it is supposed Jesus was revealed to be the Son of God. Prophet Muhammed is said to have received his first revelation on Mount Noor. The mountains' roles as places of revelation and transformation often serve to attract tourists as much as they do religious pilgrims. However, in some cases, the financial revenue is overlooked and sacred mountains are conserved first due to their role in the community.

Members of the Aetherius Society conduct pilgrimages to 19 mountains around the world that they describe as being "holy mountains".

Mount Tomorr, a holy mountain for Albanians, is one of the most frequented sacred places in Albania. Remarkable annual pilgrimages to this mountain take place during the second half of August.

## By country and region

Various cultures around the world maintain the importance of mountain worship and sacredness. One example is the Taranaki peoples of New Zealand. The Taranaki tribe view Mount Taranaki as sacred. The tribe was historically sustained by this mountain's waterways. As in other instances in Māori mythology, the mountain is anthropomorphized in various stories. For the tribespeople, Mount Taranaki has a deep spiritual significance and is seen as a life force. It is viewed as the place where life is given and to where people are returned after death.

### America

Native American people hold numerous mountains as sacred, including the Black Hills in South Dakota, Devils Tower, and Mount Shasta. Pueblo Peak in Taos, New Mexico is also regarded as sacred and is an example of Native Americans regaining their land by utilizing the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

#### Navajo

The Navajo possess a strong belief system in regards to the natural-supernatural world and have a belief that objects can have supernatural qualities. For example, the Navajo consider mountains to be sacred. There are four peaks, which are believed to have supernatural aspects. The mountains each represent a borderline of the original Navajo tribal land. The mountain ranges include Mount Taylor, the San Francisco Peaks, Blanca Peak, and Hesperus Peak located in the La Plata Mountains.

Each mountain/peak is representative of a color, direction, and correlates with a cultural light phenomenon dealing with the cosmic scheme of the rising and of the setting sun. Directionally, the mountains are described in a clockwise motion following the movement of the Sun beginning with the eastern mountain of Blanca Peak. Blanca Peak is associated with the color white and the "Dawn Man" referring to the rising of the sun. Next in the south is Mount Taylor, which is associated with the color blue and the "Horizontal Blue Man" referring to the daytime. In the west is the San Francisco Peaks, which is representative of the color yellow and the "Horizontal Yellow Woman" and is associated with the setting of the sun. And finally in the north is the Hesperus Peak of the La Plata Mountains which is given the color black and belongs to the light phenomenon of the "Darkness Woman" representing night-time.

#### Inca

The ancient Inca displayed a connection with death and their mountains. It is well known by scholars that the Inca sensed a deep reservoir of spirituality along the mountain range. Situating their villages in the mountains, they felt these places acted as portal to the gods. Ritual child sacrifices called Capacochas were conducted annually, where the most precious gift that could be given (innocent, blemishless, perfect human life) would be sacrificed to the gods. Tremendous effort would be taken as the sacrificial victims would be paraded alive throughout the cities, with multiple festivals and feasts taking place. The final destination would be the tops of some of the highest mountains near their villages, leaving these sacrifices to freeze in the snow. These would take place during great times of distress, during times of famine, violent periods of war, and even during times of political shift. This connection with the mountain as a sacred space is paramount. There would be no other place that would be sufficient or acceptable enough for the gods to accept these gifts. It is neither a surprise nor a coincidence that their honored dead were placed on the highest peaks of the mountains to express the shared connection between the sacred mountain, the gods, and the dead.

### China

In China, many different sets of sacred mountains exist, each associated with a different religious tradition: Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. The sacred mountains have all been important destinations for pilgrimage by laymen, monks and emperors for centuries, with the Chinese expression for pilgrimage (朝圣; 朝聖; cháoshèng) being a shortened version of an expression which means "paying respect to a holy mountain" (朝拜圣山; 朝拜聖山; cháobài shèng shān).

#### Buddhism

Chinese Buddhism recognizes four sacred mountains, which are each associated with a specific bodhisattva. They consist of Mount Putuo, Mount Wutai, Mount Jiuhua and Mount Emei. Mount Putuo is associated with the bodhisattva Guanyin and is identified by Chinese Buddhists as the Mount Potalaka mentioned in Buddhist scriptures as being the bodhisattva's bodhimaṇḍa (with the word "Putuo" being a contraction of "Pǔtuóluòjiā", the Mandarin pronunciation of "Potalaka"). Since the Tang dynasty (618–907), the mountain has been the center of Guanyin veneration in China. It is home to more than 30 temples, the most prominent of which are Fayu Temple, Puji Temple and Huiji Temple. Mount Wutai is associated with the bodhisattva Manjusri, who is believed to frequently appear on the mountain, taking the form of ordinary pilgrims, monks, or most often unusual five-colored clouds. It is home to over 360 temples which date back to the Tang dynasty, such as Puhua Temple and Longhua Temple. It is also home to some of the oldest wooden buildings in China that have survived since the era of the Tang dynasty, including the main hall of Nanchan Temple and the East Hall of Foguang Temple, built in 782 and 857, respectively. Mount Jiuhua is associated with the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. It was identified as the bodhisattva's bodhimaṇḍa after Kim Qiaoque, a prince from the Silla Kingdom on the Korean Peninsula, came there in 719 and cultivated himself for 75 years. After dying, his corporeal body stayed intact. Because he was very similar in appearance to iconography of Ksitigarbha, the monks there believed he was the reincarnation of the bodhisattva. As a result, the mountain came to be associated with Ksitigarbha. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were over 360 temples located at the mountain. In contemporary times, the temple is home to over 93 temples, with more than 10,000 Buddha statues. Mount Emei is associated with the bodhisattva Samantabhadra and is the location of the first Buddhist temple built in China in the 1st century CE. It is home to over 76 Buddhist monasteries, most of which were constructed during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

#### Taoism

Taoism recognizes numerous sacred mountains. Of these, a grouping of five mountains, which are arranged according to the five cardinal directions of Chinese geomancy (which includes the center as a direction), have been regarded as the most important. The grouping of the five mountains appeared during the Warring States period (475 BC – 221 BC), and the term Wuyue ("Five Summits") was made popular during the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Western Han dynasty (140 – 87 BC). In Chinese traditional religion they have cosmological and theological significance as the representation, on the physical plane of earth, of the ordered world emanating from the God of Heaven (Tian – Shangdi), inscribing the Chinese territory as a tán (壇; 'altar'), the Chinese concept equivalent of the Indian mandala. Since the early periods in Chinese history, they have been the ritual sites of imperial worship and sacrifice by various emperors. Mount Tai, which is regarded as the foremost of the five mountains, is believed to be the abode of the Great Deity of Mount Tai (Chinese: 东岳大帝; pinyin: Dōngyuè Dàdì) and is associated with the east, sunrise, birth, and renewal. Religious worship of Mount Tai has a tradition dating back 3,000 years, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC). By the time of the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 – 256 BC) sacrifices at Mount Tai had become highly ritualized ceremonies in which a local feudal lord would travel there to make sacrifices of food and jade ritual items. Later, numerous Emperors from various ruling dynasties would continue to hold Taoist ceremonies at the mountain, such as Emperor Gaozong of Tang, whose ceremony was attended by representative from Japan, India, the Persian court in exile, Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, the Turks, Khotan, the Khmer, and the Umayyad Caliphate. This site is now home to over 22 temples, 97 ruins, 819 stone tablets, and 1,018 cliff-side and stone inscriptions. The other four sacred mountains are: Mount Hua in Shaanxi (associated with the west), Mount Heng in Hunan (associated with the South), Mount Heng in Shanxi (associated with the north), and Mount Song in Henan (associated with the centre). Another famous grouping of sacred Taoist mountains consist of: Mount Longhu, Mount Qiyun, Mount Qingcheng and the Wudang Mountains. In addition, numerous other mountains which are not part of any particular groupings have also been recognized as sacred in Taoism, such as the Kunlun Mountains, which is nicknamed the "Forefather of Mountains" in China and is believed to be the abode of Xiwangmu (Chinese: 西王母; pinyin: Xīwángmǔ), a goddess who is associated with death, warfare, pestilence, shamanism as well as life and immortality.

### Greece

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain peak in Greece. It was once regarded as the "home of the Greek Gods/The Twelve Olympians of the Hellenistic World". It was also considered the site of the War of the Titans (Titanomachy) where Zeus and his siblings defeated the Titans. Mount Othrys is a mountain in Central Greece, which is believed to be the home of the Titans during that war.

Mount Ida, also known as Mountain of the Goddess, refers to two specific mountains: one in the Greek island of Crete and the other in Turkey (formerly known as Asia Minor).

Mount Ida is the highest mountain on the island of Crete is the sacred mountain of the Titaness Rhea, also known as the mother of the Greek Gods. It is also believed to be the cave where Greek God Zeus was born and raised.

The other Mount Ida is located in Northwestern Anatolia alongside the ruins of Troy (in reference to the Hellenistic Period). The mountain was dedicated to Cybele, the Phrygian (modern-day Turkey) version of Earth Mother. Cybele was the goddess of caverns and mountains. Some refer to her as the "Great Mother" or "Mother of the Mountain". The mythic Trojan War is said to have taken place at Mount Ida and that the Gods gathered upon the mountaintop to observe the epic fight. Mount Ida in Turkey is also represented in many of the stories of Greek author Homer such as Iliad and Odyssey.

Mount Athos, located in Greece, is also referred to as the Holy Mountain. It has great historical connections with religion and classical mythology. In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox forms of Christianity, it is believed that after the Ascension of the Lord, the Virgin Mary landed on the island and came upon a pagan temple. It was there that the pagan practitioners converted from paganism to Christianity. The Virgin Mary then blessed the land and claimed it her own.

In classical mythology, Mount Athos is named after the Thracian giant who battled Poseidon, God of the Sea, during the clash of the titans and Gods. It is also said that Greek historian was given the task of creating a canal through the mountain after the failed journey of Persian leader, Xerxes. Over time, Alexander the Great has become associated with the mountain for his worldly powers. The myth states that Greek architect Dinocrates had wanted to carve Alexander the Great's figure onto the top of the mountain in tribute to him.

### Japan

In Japan, Mount Kōya is the home to one of the holiest Buddhist monastery complexes in the country. It was founded by a saint, Kukai, who is also known as Kōbō Daishi and is regarded as a famous wandering mystic; his teachings are famous throughout Japan and he is credited with being an important figure in shaping early Japanese culture. Buddhists believe that Kobo Dashi is not dead, but will instead awake and assist in bringing enlightenment to all people, alongside the Buddha and other bodhisattvas. It is believed that he was shown the sacred place to build the monastery by a forest god; this site is now the location of a large cemetery that is flanked by 120 esoteric Buddhist temples. Approximately a million pilgrims visit Mount Kōya a year; these pilgrims have included both royals and commoners who wish to pay their respects to Kobo Dashi. Mount Fuji is another sacred mountain in Japan. Several Shinto temples flank its base, which all pay homage to the mountain. A common belief is that Mount Fuji is the incarnation of the earth spirit itself. The Fuji-kō sect maintains that the mountain is a holy being, and the home to the goddess Sengen-sama. Annual fire festivals are held there in her honor. It is also the site of pilgrimages; reportedly, 40,000 people climb up to its summit every year.

### India

In India, especially in Indian-origin religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), nature worship is a part of core beliefs, and many mountains and forests are considered sacred. Most sacred among those are Mount Kailash (in Tibet), Nanda Devi, Pamir Mountains as Mount Meru, Mount Mandara, Kanchenjunga, Gangotri Mountain, Yamunotri Mountain, Sarasvotri mountain (origin of Sarasvati River), Dhosi Hill, Tirumala Hills and Simhachalam Hill in Andhra Pradesh, Sabarimala, Arunachala, Garbhagiri mountain, Sapthagiri, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruttani, Mount Abu, Govardhan Hill, Girnar, Shatrunjaya in Palitana, Osam Jain Hill Patanvav, Taranga_Jain_temple Hills, Ambaji (Gabbar Hill), Chamundi Hills, Trikuta, Trikut Hill (Trikut Parvat), Mansa Devi Hill Haridwar, Pavagadh Hill, Tosham Hills, Adi Badri in Haryana, etc.

### Korea

In Korea, people have maintained ancient ways of worshiping mountain spirits. While they are not in fact worshiping the land itself, the gods associated with this worship are united to the land. These spirits are female entities to whom people pay tribute while passing by the mountains, asking for good luck and protection. People also travel to these mountains to ask for fertility. While people generally hold to these female deities for protection or to perpetuate life, one of their most important functions is to protect the dead. The ponhyangsansin is a guardian spirit that is protecting an important clan grave site in the village. Each mountain goddess has an equally interesting story that is tied to their accounts of war against Japan, and the historical legacy of their emperors. Each spirit learned difficult lessons and experienced some sort of hardship. These legacies in the mountains serve as a kind of monument to the history of Korea. While many of the accounts may be true, their details and accuracy are shrouded by time and ritual. While the inaugurations of new ponhyang san sin are not being conducted, fallen important clansmen and leaders are strategically placed in the mountains in order for these strong, heroine-like spirits may fiercely guard their graves. The history of Korea is in turn protecting its own future.

### Middle East

According to the Torah, and consequently the Old Testament of the Bible, Mount Sinai is the location that Moses received the Ten Commandments directly from God. The tablets form the covenant, which is a central cornerstone of Jewish faith. Saint Catherine's Monastery is located at the foot of Sinai. It was founded by empress Helena, who was the mother of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine. It was completed under the rule of Justinian two centuries later. The monastery was visited by the prophet Muhammed, who blessed it and promised "that it would be cherished by Muslims for all time". Today, the monastery is home to a group of Greek Orthodox monks, as well as a large collection of Byzantine art, illuminated manuscripts, icons, and books; the collection of icons in particular has been proclaimed one of the oldest in the world.

### Tibet

Tibet's Mount Kailash is a sacred place to five religions: Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Bon Po (a native Tibetan religion prior to Buddhism), and Sikhism. According to Hinduism, Mount Kailash is the home of the deity Shiva. In the Hindu religion, Mount Kailash also plays an important role in Rama's journey in the ancient Sanskrit epic, Ramayana. Buddhists hold that Mount Kailash is the home of Samvara, a guardian deity. Buddhists believe that Mount Kailash has supernatural powers that are able to clean the sins of a lifetime of any person. Followers of Jainism believe that Kailash is the site where the founder of Jainism reached enlightenment. Bon Po teaches that Mount Kailash is the home of a wind goddess. Followers of Sikhism believe the 1st Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak arrived at Mount Kailash during the 3rd Uddasi (divine journey) and debated with the Siddhas.

Mount Meru is a cosmic mountain which is described to be one of the highest points on Earth and is the centre of all creation in Indian religions. In the Hindu religion, it is believed that Meru is home to the deities Shiva and Parvati. In Indian classical mythology, it is believed that the sun, moon, and stars all revolve around Mount Meru. Folklore suggests the mountain rose up from the ground piercing the heavens, giving it the moniker "the navel of the universe".

### Vietnam

In Vietnam, the Ba Vì mountain range is called "the lord of mountains" (núi chúa) in the Vietnamese spirit though it is not the highest mountain range in Vietnam. In addition, there is the Bảy Núi mountain range - a sacred mountain range in Southern Vietnam, considered the place where Maitreya Buddha opened the Hội Long Hoa, the final judgment, ending the hạ ngươn period (the end of the Dharma) and opened a thượng ngươn new life of happiness and peace. An indicator sign is that by that time, from the treasure mountain (Bửu Sơn) will emit a wonderful fragrance (Kỳ Hương).

### Albania

The cult of the mountain and mountain tops is widespread among Albanians. Pilgrimages to sacred mountains take place regularly during the year. This ancient practice is still preserved today, notably in Tomorr, Pashtrik, Lybeten, Gjallicë, Rumia, Koritnik, Shkëlzen, Mount Krujë, Shelbuem, Këndrevicë, Maja e Hekurave, Shëndelli and many others. In Albanian folk beliefs the mountain worship is strictly related to the cult of Nature in general, and the cult of the Sun, the earth and water in particular. Every mountain is said to have its own nymph (Zana e malit), who get their specific name according to the top of the mountain where the nymphs stay. For instance Mount Pashtrik is the dwelling of Zana e Pashtrikut.

## List of sacred mountains

A non-exhaustive alphabetical list of sacred mountains is as follows:

- Aconcagua – Argentina

- Adam's peak (Sri Pada) – Sri Lanka. The second highest mountain in the country and is regarded as sacred by four religions of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and native Chinese faith

- Áhkká – Sweden. Regarded by the Sámi people as a holy mountain

- Arunachala – Tamil Nadu, India

- Ba Vì mountain range – Vietnam

- Bảy Núi – Vietnam

- Bear Butte – South Dakota, United States

- Black Hills – South Dakota, United States

- Burkhan Khaldun – Mongolia

- Ceahlău Massif – Romania. The most important peak is Toaca (1904 m altitude)

- Chandranath Hill – Bangladesh. Sacred for Hindus because of the Chandranath Temple

- Croagh Patrick – Ireland

- Dakpa Sheri – Tibet, China

- Devils Tower - Wyoming, United States

- Emei Shan – Yunnan, China. One of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China

- Gangkhar Puensum - Bhutan

- Girnar Parvat - Gujarat, India. A holy mountain for Hindus and Jains

- Gyeryongsan – South Korea

- Hua Shan – China. The "Western Mountain" of the Five Great Mountains of China

- Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain(s)) – China

- Jabal al-Nour – Saudi Arabia

- Jabal Thawr – Saudi Arabia. The mountain cave where Muhammad and his companion Abu Bakr hid from Quraish during migration to Medina

- Jirisan – South Korea

- Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu, and other mountains were sacred to the Inca locals

- Mauna Loa / Mauna Kea – Hawaii, United States. Volcanic eruptions were thought to be a result from the Hawaiian Goddess of fire Pele (deity) when in argument with her siblings

- Montserrat – Spain

- Monte Cavo (Monte Albano) – Italy. Considered sacred by the Ancient Romans

- Mount Akhun – Sochi, Russia. The sacred mountain of Ubykhia

- Mount Aqraa (Zaphon) – Turkey-Syria border

- Mount Ararat – Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey. Highly sacred to Armenians and is alleged to be the site of Noah's ark. Holy to the Armenian Apostolic Church

- Mount Arayat – Philippines

- Mount Athos – also known as the Holy Mountain, Greece

- Mount Banahaw – Philippines

- Mount Carmel – Israel

- Mount Damavand – Iran

- Mount Diwata – Philippines

- Mount Ecclesia – Oceanside, California, United States. A high mesa with a holy solar temple, spiritual healing ceremonies, and a record of spiritual visions

- Mount Etna – Italy

- Mount Everest – China-Nepal border

- Mount Fuji – Japan

- Mount Gerizim – West Bank, Palestine. As claimed taught to be the location of the Holy of Holies by God to the Samaritans

- Mount Graham – Arizona, United States. Considered by the Apache to be sacred. Believed to be Stargate by some. Site of court battle between the Vatican Observatory, and Apache

- Mount Jerai - Malaysia

- Mount Kailash – Tibet, China. Sacred to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bön

- Mount Kenya – Kenya, traditionally sacred to the Kikuyu people in Kenya

- Mount Kilimanjaro – Tanzania. Sacred to the Chaga people who believe god Ruwa resides on the top

- Mount Kinabalu (Aki Nabalu) – Malaysia sacred to Kadazan-Dusun people of Sabah

- Mount Lantoy – Philippines

- Mount Lao – China. Culturally significant due to its long affiliation with Taoism and is often regarded as one of the "cradles of Taoism"

- Mount Makiling – Philippines

- Mount Murud – Malaysia. Highest mountain in Sarawak. Sacred to Lun Bawang people in their Christian faith

- Mount of Olives – Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine

- Mount Tacoma /Mount Rainier – Washington state, United States. Decade volcano sacred to indigenous tribes to it being a "mother's breast" that nourishes the land with fresh water

- Mount Roraima – Brazil-Guyana-Venzuala border

- Mount San Cristobal – The Philippines

- Mount Shasta – California, United States

- Mount Sinai – Egypt

- Mount Tabor – Israel

- Mount Taranaki – New Zealand

- Mount Tomorr – Albania

- Mount Vesuvius – Italy

- Mount Zion – Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine

- Nanda Devi – India

- Nevado Ojos del Salado – Chile-Argentina border. Highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile

- Odaesan – South Korea

- Mount Paektu – North Korea-China border. Sacred to all Koreans, also a subject of the North Korean cult of personality

- Parasnath Shikharji - one of the holiest Jain pilgrim sites in India

- Phnom Kulen – Cambodia

- Mount Sahand – Iran

- Mount Sinjar – Iraq, sacred to the Yazidis

- Sulayman Mountain – Kyrgyzstan

- Taebaeksan – South Korea

- Tai Shan – China. The eastern mountain of the Sacred Mountains of China

- Teide – Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Sacred to the aboriginal Guanches

- Temple Mount – Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine

- Uluru (Ayers Rock) – Northern Territory, Australia

- Velliangiri - India

- Villarrica - Chile

- Wudang Shan – China. One of the “Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism” in China

- Seshachalam hills- India world's richest temple located here and holy place for Hindus. Refered as kaliyug vaikuntam

## Conservation

Sacred mountains often have restricted access. Climbing has been banned from Mount Kailash, the source of four major rivers in India, which are also protected from pollution.

A large forest has been preserved due to its proximity to Mount Kōya -san.

In the Sacramento Valley in the United States, Shasta Mountain was first revered by the Native American tribe, the Wintu. The Wintu tribe has voiced concerns and asked for support from the government to regulate the activities practiced on the mountain, saying that "they are disturbed by the lack of respect" shown for the piece of land. There is an ongoing debate on whether the more vulnerable and "spiritually desirable" places of the mountain should be closed and maintained only by the Wintu tribe, who see this land as a sacred graveyard of their ancestors, or open to all who seek spiritual fulfillment such as the modern-day group of the I AM.


Running of the bulls

# Running of the bulls

## Abstract

A running of the bulls (Spanish: encierro, from the verb encerrar, 'to corral, to enclose'; Occitan: abrivado, literally 'haste, momentum'; Catalan: bous al carrer 'bulls in the street', or correbous 'bull-runner') is an event that involves running in front of a small group of bulls, typically six but sometimes ten or more, that have been let loose on sectioned-off streets in a town, usually as part of a summertime festival. Particular breeds of cattle may be favored, such as the toro bravo in Spain, also often used in post-run bullfighting, and Camargue cattle in Occitan France, which are not fought. Bulls (non-castrated male cattle) are typically used in such events.

The most famous bull-run is the encierro held in Pamplona during the nine-day festival of Sanfermines in honor of Saint Fermin. It has become a major global tourism event, today very different from the traditional, local festival. More traditional summer bull-runs are held in other places such as towns and villages across Spain and Portugal, in some cities in Mexico, and in the Occitan (Camargue) region of southern France. Bull-running was formerly also practiced in rural England, most famously at Stamford until 1837.

## History

The event has its origins in the old practice of transporting bulls from the fields outside the city, where they were bred, to the bullring, where they would be fought and killed in the evening. During this "run", local youths would jump among them in a display of bravado. In Pamplona and other places, the six bulls that run are also in that afternoon's bullfight.

Spanish tradition holds that bull-running began in northeastern Spain in the early 14th century. Cattle herders who wanted to transport their animals from barges or from the countryside into city centers for sale or bullfights needed an easy way to move their precious animals. While transporting cattle in order to sell them at the market, men would try to speed the process by hurrying their cattle using tactics of fear and excitement. After years of this practice, the transportation and hurrying began to turn into a competition, as young adults would attempt to race in front of the bulls and make it safely to their pens without being overtaken. When the popularity of this practice increased and was noticed more and more by the expanding population of Spanish cities, a tradition was created and stands to this day.

The Running was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, but resumed 7–14 July 2022.

## Pamplona bull run

The Pamplona encierro is the most popular in Spain and has been broadcast live by Televisión Española, the public Spanish national television service, for over 30 years. It is the highest-profile event of the San Fermín festival, which is held every year from 6–14 July. The first bull running is on 7 July, followed by one on each of the following mornings of the festival, beginning every day at 8 am. The rules require participants to be at least 18 years old, run in the same direction as the bulls, not incite the bulls, and not be under the influence of alcohol.

### Fence

In Pamplona, a set of wooden fences is erected to direct the bulls along the route and to block off side streets. A double wooden fence is used in those areas where there is enough space, while in other parts the buildings of the street act as barriers. The gaps in the barricades are wide enough for a human to slip through but narrow enough to block a bull. The fence is composed of approximately three thousand separate pieces of wood. Some parts of the fence remain in place for the duration of the fiesta, while others are placed and removed each morning. Spectators can only stand behind the second fence, whereas the space between the two fences is reserved for security and medical personnel and also for participants who need cover during the event.

### Preliminaries

The encierro begins with runners singing a benediction. It is sung three times, each time being sung both in Spanish and Basque. The benediction is a prayer given at a statue of Saint Fermin, patron of the festival and the city, to ask the saint's protection and can be translated into English as "We ask Saint Fermin, as our Patron, to guide us through the encierro and give us his blessing". The singers finish by shouting " ¡Viva San Fermín! and Gora San Fermin! ('Long live Saint Fermin', in Spanish and Basque, respectively). Most runners dress in the traditional clothing of the festival which consists of a white shirt and trousers with a red waistband (faja) and neckerchief (pañuelo). Also some of them hold the day's newspaper rolled to draw the bulls' attention from them if necessary.

### The running

A first rocket is set off at 8 a.m. to alert the runners that the corral gate is open. A second rocket signals that all six bulls have been released. The third and fourth rockets are signals that all of the herd has entered the bullring and its corral respectively, marking the end of the event. The average duration between the first rocket and the end of the encierro is two minutes, 30 seconds.

The encierro is usually composed of the six bulls to be fought in the afternoon, six steers that run in herd with the bulls, and three more steers that follow the herd to encourage any reluctant bulls to continue along the route. The function of the steers, who run the route daily, is to guide the bulls to the bullring. The average speed of the herd is 24 km/h (15 mph).

The length of the run is 875 meters (957 yards). It goes through four streets of the old part of the city (Santo Domingo, Ayuntamiento, Mercaderes and Estafeta) via the Town Hall Square and the short section "Telefónica" (named for the location of the old telephone office at end of Calle Estafeta) just before entering into the bullring through its callejón (tunnel). The fastest part of the route is up Santo Domingo and across the Town Hall Square, but the bulls often became separated at the entrance to Estafeta Street as they slow down. One or more would slip going into the turn at Estafeta ("la curva"), resulting in the installation of anti-slip surfacing, and now most of the bulls negotiate the turn onto Estafeta and are often ahead of the steers. This has resulted in a quicker run. Runners are not permitted in the first 50 meters of the encierro, which is an uphill grade where the bulls are much faster.

### Injuries, fatalities, and medical attention

Every year, between 50 and 100 risk-taking people are injured during the run, usually due to an ignorance of safeguards. Not all of the injuries require taking the patients to hospital: in 2013, 50 people were taken by ambulance to Pamplona's hospital, with this number nearly doubling that of 2012.

Goring is much less common but potentially life threatening. In 2013, for example, six participants were gored along the festival, in 2012, only four runners were injured by the horns of the bulls with exactly the same number of gored people in 2011, nine in 2010 and 10 in 2009; with one of these last killed.. The reason for this is also most likely due to an ignorance of safeguards. As most of the runners are male, only 5 women have been gored since 1974. Before that date, running was prohibited for women.

Another major risk is runners falling and piling up (a "montón") at the entrance of the bullring, which acts as a funnel as it is much narrower than the previous street, resulting in a crowd crush. In such cases, injuries come both from asphyxia and contusions to those in the pile and from goring if the bulls crush into the pile. This kind of blocking of the entrance has occurred at least ten times in the history of the run, the last occurring in 2013 and the first dating back to 1878. A runner died of suffocation in one such pile up in 1977.

Overall, since record-keeping began in 1910, 15 people have been killed in the bull running of Pamplona, most of them due to being gored. To minimize the impact of injuries every day 200 people collaborate in the medical attention. They are deployed in 16 sanitary posts (every 50 metres on average), each one with at least a physician and a nurse among their personnel. Most of these 200 people are volunteers, mainly from the Red Cross. In addition to the medical posts, there are around 20 ambulances. This organization makes it possible to have a gored person stabilized and taken to a hospital in less than 10 minutes.

### Dress code

Though there is no formal dress code, the very common and traditional attire is white trousers, a white shirt with a red cummerbund around the waist, and a red neckerchief around the neck. Some have large logos on their shirts; in the Internet age this is thought to be a way to highlight someone in a photo. This dress is to honor San Fermin, the center of the celebration, because of his martyr's death; the white outfits represent the purity and holiness of a saint, and the red kerchiefs (pañuelos), represent his death by decapitation. A common alternate color to red is blue.

### Media

The encierro of Pamplona has been depicted many times in literature, television or advertising, but became known worldwide partly because of the descriptions of Ernest Hemingway in books The Sun Also Rises and Death in the Afternoon.

The cinema pioneer Louis Lumière filmed the run in 1899.

The event is the basis for a chapter in James Michener 's 1971 novel The Drifters.

The run is depicted in the 1991 Billy Crystal film City Slickers, where the character "Mitch" (Crystal) is gored (non-fatally) from behind by a bull during a vacation with the other main characters. Filmmakers traveled to Spain to shoot the actual running of the bulls with second unit director, Heston Fraser. City Slickers director, Ron Underwood, recreated the Pamplona location on the Universal Studios backlot to stage the running of the bulls with the actors.

The run appears in the 2011 Bollywood movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, directed by Zoya Akhtar, as the final dare in the bucket list of the three bachelors who have to overcome their ultimate fear; death. At first, the trio run part of the route. They stop at the square, but then recover their nerve, and continue to the end. The completion of the run depicts their freedom as they learn that surviving a mortal danger can bring joy.

Running with Bulls, a 2012 documentary of the festival filmed by Construct Creatives and presented by Jason Farrel, depicts the pros and cons of the controversial tradition.

From 2014 until 2016, the Esquire Network broadcast the running of the bulls live in the United States, with both live commentary and then a recorded 'round up' later in the day by NBCSN commentators the Men in Blazers, including interviews with noted participants such as Madrid-born runner David Ubeda, former US Army soldier turned filmmaker Dennis Clancey, and former British bullfighter and author Alexander Fiske-Harrison.

In 2014, a guidebook authored by Alexander Fiske-Harrison, Ernest Hemingway 's grandson John, Orson Welles ' daughter Beatrice, and with a foreword by the Mayor of Pamplona, caused headlines around the world when one of the contributors, Bill Hillmann, was gored by a bull soon after its publication. It was republished in 2017 under the title The Bulls Of Pamplona with a replacement chapter by Dennis Clancey.

The award-winning 2015 feature documentary Chasing Red directed by Dennis Clancey, follows four runners during the 2012 fiesta in Pamplona, including Bill Hillmann and David Ubeda.

## Other examples

Although the most famous running of the bulls is that of San Fermín, they are held in towns and villages across Spain, Portugal, and in some cities in southern France during the summer. Examples are the bull run of San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid, at the end of August which is the most popular of Spain after Pamplona, the bull run of Cuéllar, considered as the oldest of Spain since there are documents of its existence dating back to 1215, the Highland Capeias of the Raia in Sabugal, Portugal, with horses leading the herd crossing old border passes out of Spain and using the medieval 'Forcåo', or the bull run of Navalcarnero held at night.

Other encierros have also caused fatalities.

### Correbous or bous al carrer

Bous al carrer, correbou or correbous (meaning in Catalan, 'bulls in the street', 'street-bulls' or 'bull-running') is a typical festivity in many villages in the Valencian region, Terres de l'Ebre, Catalonia, and Fornalutx, Mallorca. Another similar tradition is soltes de vaques, where cows are used instead of bulls. Even though they can take place all along the year, they are most usual during local festivals (normally in August). Compared to encierros, animals are not directed to any bullring.

These festivities are normally organized by the youngsters of the village, as a way for showing their courage and ability with the bull. Some sources consider this tradition a masculine initiation rite to adulthood.

### Occitan area of France

Numerous bull-running events happen in France in the region around Sommières, in accordance with the Camargues tradition, in which no bulls are intentionally injured or killed. For instance, in Calvisson, the annual event takes place around 20 July over a period of five days. There are four events: the abrivado, in which at least ten bulls are run together through the street guided by a group of twelve gardians mounted on white Camargue horses; the encierro, in which one bull is released outside the foyer and finds his own way back to the pen; the bandido, in which one bull is run, accompanied through the streets; and the bandido de nuit, which is the same thing but after dark. Boys and men run with the bulls and try and separate them from the horses, stop them, and physically turn them away from the horses.

### Stamford bull run

The English town of Stamford, Lincolnshire was host to the Stamford bull run for almost 700 years until it was abandoned in 1837. According to local tradition, the custom dated from the time of King John when William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, saw two bulls fighting in the meadow beneath. Some butchers came to part the combatants and one of the bulls ran into the town, causing a great uproar. The earl mounted his horse and rode after the animal, and enjoyed the sport so much that he gave the meadow in which the fight began to the butchers of Stamford, on condition that they should provide a bull to be run in the town every 13 November, for ever after. As of 2013 the bull run had been revived as a ceremonial, festival-style community event.

### Mock bull runs

A variation is the nightly " fire bull " where balls of flammable material are placed on the horns. In modern times, the bull is often replaced by a runner carrying a frame on which fireworks are placed, and dodgers, usually children, run to avoid the sparks.

The Encierro de la Villavesa ("running of the town bus") started in Pamplona on 15 July 1984 when, after the end of the festival, youths would run before the earliest urban bus entering the traditional encierro course. Starting in 1990, the Pamplona City Transport detoured the early bus to reduce the risk. Currently, the youths run before a cyclist in a yellow jersey as an homage to the Navarrese cycling champion Miguel Induráin.

In 2008, Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard and Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais performed a version of a 'bull running' event in Pamplona, Spain, with the Formula One cars chasing 500 runners through the actual Pamplona route.

The Big Easy Rollergirls roller derby team has performed an annual mock bull run in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2007. The team, dressed as bulls, skates after runners through the French Quarter. In 2012, there were 14,000 runners and over 400 "bulls" from all over the country, with huge before- and after-parties.

In Ballyjamesduff, Ireland, an annual event called the Pig Run is held, functioning as a mini- encierro but with small pigs in place of bulls.

In Dewey Beach, Delaware, a bar named The Starboard sponsors an annual Running of the Bull, in which hundreds of red- and white-clad beachgoers are chased down the shore by a single "bull" (two people in a pantomime horse -style costume).

In Rangiora, New Zealand, an annual Running of the Sheep is held, in which 1000–2000 sheep are released down the main street of the small farming town.

The Running of the Bulls UK is a pub crawl event that takes place on London's Hampstead Heath and uses fast human runners in place of bulls.

In 2014, Pamplona inaugurated a series of running events in June, the San Fermín Marathon, of a full marathon (42.195 km), half-marathon (21.097 km), or 10 km road race that concludes with the final 900m of each race using the encierro route, runners crossing the finish line inside the bullring.

Since 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska during the Fur Rendezvous Festival, the Running of the Reindeer has participants run down a four-block downtown street with a group of reindeer released behind them.

## Opposition

Many opponents state that bulls are mentally stressed by the harassment and voicing of both participants and spectators, and some of animals may also die because of the stress, especially if they are roped or bring flares in their horns (bou embolat version). Despite all this, the festivities seem to have wide popular support in their villages.

The city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, cancelled its Sanmiguelada running of the bulls after 2006, citing public disorder associated with the event. After the event was cancelled in San Miguel, the city of Salvatierra, also in the state of Guanajuato, picked up the event. It is now called La Marquesada and the three-day event is held during the last weekend of the month of September or first weekend of October.

As of 2002, a Running of the Nudes occurs two days before the running of the bulls. The event is supported by animal welfare groups, including PETA, who object to the running of the bulls, claiming that it is cruel and glorifies bullfighting, which the groups oppose.


Hinesville, Georgia

# Hinesville, Georgia

## Abstract

Hinesville is a city in and the county seat of Liberty County, Georgia, United States, located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 33,437 at the 2010 census and an estimated 33,273 in 2019. By 2020, its population was 34,891. It is the principal city of the Hinesville metropolitan area, which comprises all of Liberty County, including the Fort Stewart army installation, plus neighboring Long County.

## History

Hinesville was founded in 1837. That same year, the seat of Liberty County was transferred to Hinesville from Riceboro. It was incorporated as a city in 1916. The city is named for Charleton Hines, a state senator.

A 2017 report by Business Insider listed Hinesville as the most boring city in Georgia, noting that there were only 25 full-service restaurants, four bars, 13 hotels, and no museums in the Hinesville metropolitan area.

## Geography

Hinesville is located west of the center of Liberty County, on the south side of Fort Stewart, the largest U.S. Army installation by area in the eastern United States. The city is bordered to the east by Flemington and to the south by Allenhurst and Walthourville. To the southwest the city limits extend to the Long County line.

U.S. Route 84 passes through the city, leading east 15 miles (24 km) to Interstate 95 near Midway and southwest 14 miles (23 km) to U.S. Route 301 at Ludowici. Hinesville is the second largest city on US 84 in Georgia after Valdosta. Savannah is 39 miles (63 km) northeast of Hinesville, and Brunswick is 55 miles (89 km) to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 18.2 square miles (47.2 km), of which 0.1 square miles (0.2 km), or 0.40%, are water. Most of Hinesville drains east via Peacock Creek to the tidal North Newport River, while the west side of the city drains north via Mill Creek, part of the Canoochee River watershed flowing east to the tidal Ogeechee River.

## Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,891 people, 13,332 households, and 9,354 families residing in the city.

## Government and infrastructure

The U.S. Postal Service operates the Hinesville Post Office. The Liberty County Courthouse is in Hinesville and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

## Education

The Liberty County School District, based in Hinesville, holds pre-school to 12th grade, and consists of seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools. As of 2010 the district has 674 full-time teachers and over 11,274 students. As of 2014 the superintendent is Dr. Valya S. Lee. Liberty County High School and Bradwell Institute are the comprehensive high schools serving the community.

Georgia Southern University 's Liberty campus is in the community.

Live Oak Public Libraries operates the Hinesville Library.

## Media

### Newspaper

- Coastal Courier

## Sister cities

Hinesville is paired with the following cities:

- Yichun, China

- Marsabit, Kenya


Haris Radetinac

# Haris Radetinac

## Abstract

Haris Radetinac (born 28 October 1985) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Allsvenskan club Djurgårdens IF.

## Career

Radetinac was born in Serbia but moved to Linköping, Sweden as an 18-year-old. There he joined local side Linköpings FF and eventually started playing with their first team in the fourth and fifth tier of Swedish football. In 2007, he was picked up by nearby Superettan team Åtvidabergs FF where he became an immediate starter and only missed five league games during his five years with the club. In 2009 Åtvidaberg was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time since 1982, but was immediately relegated again the following year. Even though the club won promotion again in the 2011 Superettan he still made the move to another Allsvenskan side, Mjällby AIF, at the end of that year.

During the summer of 2013 he was offered a contract by Stockholm based club AIK but instead chose to sign a 3.5 year deal with their archrivals Djurgårdens IF. In the beginning he struggled for his new club, but after the new manager Per Olsson arrived Radetinac regained his form and was considered one of the best players in the league when he suffered an ACL injury which made him miss the second half of the 2015 Allsvenskan season. On 10 May 2018 he played as Djurgården beat Malmö FF 3-0 in the Swedish Cup Final.

## International career

The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team showed interest in Radetinac while he was playing for Mjällby and he was included in a preliminary squad of theirs but never picked for the final squad of an international game.

## Personal

One of the career goals for Radetinac has been to play football in Italy, preferably for A.S. Roma.

## Honours

- Allsvenskan: 2019

- Svenska Cupen: 2017–18

### Individual

- Årets Järnkamin: 2020


The Crunch Bird

# The Crunch Bird

## Abstract

The Crunch Bird (El pájaro crujiente) is an animated short by Joe Petrovich, Len Maxwell, and Ted Petok. It won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Joe Petrovich animated the cartoon. Len Maxwell provided the voices for the husband, wife, and pet shop owner. It was followed by the sequel Crunch Bird II in 1975.

## Plot

A Narrator tells of a woman searching for a birthday gift for her husband Murray, who has few interests and is largely occupied by his job. At a pet store, the proprietor offers a "Crunch Bird." The Crunch Bird devours anything to which its master directs it. To demonstrate, the proprietor commands, "Crunch Bird! The chair!" and the bird reduces a wooden straight chair to sawdust within seconds. The woman is impressed by the bird's talent, buys it, and takes it home.

Murray, exhausted from a hard day at his job, comes home. His wife shows him his birthday present, the Crunch Bird. Crabbily, the husband replies, "Crunch Bird, my ass!" The bird swoops toward Murray, and the credits roll.

## Legacy

With a running time of only two minutes and thirty two seconds, it is the shortest animated short film ever to receive an Academy Award.

It was also one of the first animation outside New York or California (Michigan) to win an Oscar (Oregon's Closed Mondays from 1974 and Louisiana's The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from 2010).

The Crunch Bird appeared on the 1982 TV series Jokebook. The short was censored in it as one line was changed from "Crunch Bird, my ass!" to "Crunch Bird, my butt!"


Agha Ibrahim Akram

# Agha Ibrahim Akram

## Abstract

Lieutenant General Agha Ali Ibrahim Akram HI(M) SI(M) SK (Urdu: آغا علی ابراہیم اکرم; 22 September 1923 — 4 March 1989), better known as A. I. Akram, was a Pakistani three-star general, military strategist, historian, diplomat, and one of Pakistan's most influential military historians. In the 1980s, Akram was a well-known defence expert and defence analyst. His most popular work was his biography of Khalid ibn al-Walid, The Sword of Allah, which he published while serving in the Pakistan Army. For several years, it was compulsory reading in the Pakistan Army for admission into the Command and Staff College Quetta and has been on the leadership syllabus in the Malaysian Army. Akram was once seen as a close confidant and conceptual adviser of President Zia-ul-Haq.

He served in several key positions including as Pakistan's Permanent Military Representative to CENTO in Ankara, Colonel Commandant of the Frontier Force Regiment, Deputy Martial Law Administrator of Zone F (NWFP) under President Yahya Khan and President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, G.O.C of 7th Inf Division, Military Secretary GHQ, and Colonel Staff HQ 15th Division.

Akram dedicated his books, The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa to his son Hassan, The Muslim Conquest of Spain to his son Masood, The Falcon of The Quraish: Abdur Rahman The Immigrant of Spain to his brother Mahmud, and The Rise of Cordoba to his late wife Loge. He was fluent in Urdu, English, Farsi, Arabic, and Spanish, learning the latter two for research.

Throughout the 1980s, Akram was vocal about his opposition to nuclear weapons, suggesting that Pakistan and other developing countries should use their resources towards generating nuclear energy. He expected that by the end of the 20th century, only about 10 countries would have nuclear weapons.

## Early life

Akram was born in Ludhiana on 22 September 1923, his father was an Indian Police Officer. Akram graduated from Government College, Lahore in 1942 and joined the British Indian Army.

## Personal life

He was married to Loge, who died a few years before him. They have three children, daughter Yasmin, and sons Hassan and Masood.

In his memoirs, Inamul Haque Khan recalled that Akram was a well-read person who used to discuss philosophy and Allama Iqbal 's poetry.

## British Indian Army career

Akram was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 13th Frontier Force Rifles of the British Indian Army on 26 November 1942, receiving a promotion on 26 August 1943 as a War substantive Lieutenant.

During World War II, Akram saw action in Burma and was promoted to Acting Captain on 31 December 1944. Later, he received a promotion on 1 January 1945 as Temporary Captain and was appointed as the Quartermaster of the 14th Battalion of the 55th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force).

## Pakistan army career

After the Partition of British India in 1947, Akram opted to join the Pakistan Army and commanded a company of the Tochi Scouts of the Frontier Corps during the First Kashmir War. He was later transferred to the Piffers.

In September 1949, Pakistan among several countries received an invitation to attend the Harbnen Medal presentation by the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene of the United Kingdom. The Government of Pakistan accepted the invitation and sent Major A. I. Akram as a representative.

Akram was the Assistant Army Liaison officer of Pakistan at the High Commission of Pakistan, London in 1951.

Colonel Akram taught military history as Chief Instructor at Staff College, Quetta from 17 September 1960 to 11 September 1965, during which he felt that there was a lack of detailed, clear and objective literature on Muslim military history. It was at this time when he decided to fill the void himself and began working on the biography of Khalid bin Walid, The Sword of Allah.

Colonel Akram was appointed as Colonel Staff HQ 15 Division on 20 September during the 1965 war.

Brigadier Akram was the Parade commander of the Pakistan Day Parade of 1967 and held the position of Administrator for Sub-Sector No. 1, overseeing the civil districts of Bannu and D.I. Khan, as well as the tribal territories governed by these districts in 1969.

His first book, The Sword of Allah is about the life and campaigns of Khalid ibn al-Walid which was published during his army service in 1970 after a five year effort, including visiting battle-fields in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for research. It has two English editions and has been translated into Urdu, Arabic, German, French and Bahasa.

On 6 July 1971, President Yahya Khan appointed Akram as the Deputy Administrator of Martial Law - Zone F and kept in the role until 6 July 1972 during President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 's government.

During a parade in Multan, on 2 May 1974, both the 7 FF and 10 FF received their regimental colors together. Major General A.I. Akram, the Colonel Commandant of the FF Regiment, made the presentation.

While Akram was Pakistan's Permanent Military Deputy to CENTO, he published his second book The Muslim Conquest of Persia in 1975 after a four year research effort including visiting battlefields in Iran and discussing with Iranian scholars.

The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa was his third book, published in 1977, which also took four years of preparations and visits to Egypt and Tunisia.

### Hamoodur Rehman Commission report

Major General Akram was not involved in the Bangladesh genocide as he was posted at the Western Front to defend Pakistan 's borders against the Indian Army. However, he later appeared as Witness Number 139 in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report.

### Consideration for the role of Chief of Army Staff

In March 1976, several generals were in consideration for the role of Chief of Army Staff to succeed Tikka Khan.

In order of seniority, these officers were Muhammad Shariff, Muhammed Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmad Khan, Azmat Baksh Awan, Agha Ibrahim Akram, Majeed Malik, and Ghulam Jilani Khan. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had a personal rapport with all these generals but superseded them for the most junior Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who would later be responsible for hanging Bhutto.

Akram retired from the Pakistan Army on 8 April 1978.

## Military research papers

## Diplomatic career

On 9 April 1978, Akram assumed charge as Officer on Special Duty Grade 20 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed as the Ambassador of Pakistan to Madrid on 12 May 1978 by President Zia-ul-Haq.

Here, Akram learned Spanish and wrote his book The Muslim Conquest of Spain, his final book published during his lifetime, in 1980. To research for writing all these books he learned Arabic, Persian and Spanish and collected an impressive library of historical works. His tenure ended on 30 September 1980.

## Later life

On 24 March 1981, Akram was elected as Chairman Rawalpindi Club. He founded the Institute of Regional Studies in November 1981 or March 1982 and remained its president till his death.

On 27 February 1984, Akram disclosed that President Zia-ul-Haq had offered India to send its military team to Pakistan to evaluate the latter's defence requirements and suggest how much of armed strength Pakistan should possess.

## Death

He died on 4 March 1989 in Islamabad, Pakistan at the age of 65.

### Posthumous book releases

His final books, The Falcon of The Quraish: Abdur Rahman The Immigrant of Spain and The Rise of Cordoba, were published after his death.

## Books

## Awards and decorations