Where can you go to see Cetorhinus maximus shark species, which usually swims to the surface? The best thing would be to choose the Irish Sea, namely the coast of the Isle of Man, situated at approximately an equal distances from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Tourists come here to see the giant sharks of 5 tons, which is feed on plankton and seems to be harmless. It is the perfect setting for ecological tourism, says Bill Dale, a local specialist in natural sciences. Anything else that can be said about the Isle of Man is that it occupies an area of 570 square km, and is full of green valleys, peat bogs, rivers, lakes, picturesque bays, rocky shores and high cliffs. The island has about 70,000 inhabitants but let's take a closer look at some of the treasures of this historic land of the British Isles.
Tourists who come to the island will be able to see the Manx cat. This unusual animal has a normal cat's head, but because the hind legs are longer than the front, it brings a bit like a rabbit. In addition the Manx cat has no tail. Although it is unknown how it appeared on the island, but it is said that hundreds of years ago, some sailors brought some kittens of this breed from Asia, from a place where there are cats without tails. Another attraction is the Tourist Trophy motorcycle races that are held here each spring. The route has a length of 60 km and the race unfolds on the main roads of the island. The first race was organized in 1907 and the average speed was less than 65 kmh. Currently the winner's average speed is over 190 kmh. Motorcycling is a dangerous sport and many participants in the race have lost their lives over the years.
When out on the promenade you can speak to residents of the capital to tell you the times long gone. Also a vestige of those times is the narrow gauge railway, which has steam train locomotives. The first railroad crossed the entire island, not far from her only remaining portion of 24 km. Manx Railways were opened after more than a century, and today some trams ascend to 600 m to the Snaefell which is the highest peak on the island.
Great Laxey Wheel
An important role in progress on the island is the lead, silver and zinc, extracted mainly from the Laxey Mines. The Great Laxey Wheel is a testimonial ingenuity to its designer, Robert Casement, the son of a local wheelwright, and the mastery of Victorian engineers who built it in 1854. The wheel has a diameter of 20 m and was powered by water falling from a pool built upstream. At two and a half revolutions per minute, she drove 950 liters of water from a depth of 360 m, and thus not even a drop of water remained in the wells of the mine. Supported by a crank lever of about 180 m long it operates a pumping mechanism from mine. Huge wheel shaft weighs 10 tons.
At the southern end of the house you can see the Three Legs wheel of Man, an iron casting with a diameter of 2 m. But what is the origin and significance of this image which is currently used as a symbol of the Isle of Man? Since 1246, the Three Legs of Man can be seen on sealed documents as the official symbol of the island. The design appears on a Greek vessel dating from the late sixth century BC and resembles a Greek cross with three equal arms. It is believed that the image is sunlight is associated with sun worships. But how did it get the Isle of Man? It seems to have been brought as a result of a trade in Sicily. Later, the kings of the island have adopted this symbol as it is known now which is three feet dressed in armor.
A troubled history
The Romans conquered Britannia in the year 43 and remained in this region for almost 400 years. But it seems that they showed no interest in Isle of Man, which Julius Caesar had put the name of Mona. Vikings invaded in the early ninth century and were in control of it until the middle of the thirteenth century. For these brave explorers who came from Scandinavia, the island was a place for trade, but also a base for incursions into neighboring lands. In this period was established the Tynwaldul Manx Parliament. Believed to be the oldest national parliament in the world, it has continued to function without interruption until today.
Over time, the island was under the domination of Scottish Man, the Gals, the Irish, the British and Norwegians. But in 1765, the British Parliament bought the island. Currently, a Lieutenant Governor is the direct representative of the Queen. Although belonging to the Crown, the island is an autonomous territory and enjoys some independence as a financial center located abroad. Moreover, they printed their own stamps and its own coins and banknotes, and the exchange rate is the same as the British currency.
Manx language, a language of Celtic origin
On the isle of Man the Manx language was spoken, a language that belongs to the great ancient Indo-European language family, namely the group of Celtic languages. Manx Gaelic language is derived from Irish and Scottish Gaelic which is closely related to. With more than 100 years ago, the Manx language was said to be a language sentenced to death and so it was. The last speaker of Manx died locally in 1974 at the age of 97 years. But as part of the cultural heritage of the island, the Manx language began to be taught again in schools.
Unlike Irish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic, the Manx language was a spoken language until 1610. The first book printed in Manx was The Principles and Duties of Christianity in 1707 and then followed other works. By 1763 there was a need of a translation of the Bible in Manx, as it was then the only language spoken by two-thirds of the islanders. After 1748 there actually came a few translations of biblical books, but there were not enough people trained to do this work and not enough resources. In 1775, were printed 40 copies of a complete translation of the Bible to be used by priests. Only in 1819, over 5000 copies were released to the public. What were the reactions? When a boy first read for the first time the scriptures her mother that so far now they have lived in darkness
The Bible was translated from the English version by King James Version in 1611 and by 25 men, some of whom were able to consult and Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, namely the Septuagint. The divine name remained as in English: Jehovah. As he wrote in 1895 WT Radcliffe, said that the Bible is a tribute to the desire to know, being appreciated by all the educated people of the Isle of Man.