Mountains, rivers, other features Essay

Mountains in Belgium are Baraque de Fraiture,Baraque Michel,Botrange. There are many rivers in Belgium such as The Lys (Leie) in the cities of Bruges and fellow, The Escaut River (Schelde) in Tournai, Bossuit and Ghent . The Meuse (Maas) and Sambre in the south let you visit Namur also Liege and the Willebroek-Charleroi Canals (The Belgian Tourist say-so (BTO) in the US). In northwest of Belgium, there are the coastal lowland, a continuation of the continental shelf lying under the shallow waters of the North Sea. The shore is lined with low sand dunes.Fringing them is a specify belt of polders, land reclaimed from peat bogs and shallow lakes (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2007). Economy How do most earn a living The Britannica Student Encyclopedia (2007) mentioned that Daily commuting among homes on the farm and jobs in the city is a common practice in Belgium. Many industrial starters are part-time farmers who have strong family ties in the country. A large number of Belgian workers, called frontaliers, travel each day to jobs in France. This shows that Belgian works in both cities and country. Natural resources.Belgium produces many internal products, such as coal, natural gas, construction materials, silica sand, carbonates (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Main agricultural products Sugar beets, fresh vegetables, fruits, grain, tobacco beef, veal, pork, take out (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Manufactured Goods engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed food and beverages, chemicals, basic metals, textiles, glass, petroleum(The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). ExportsBelgium import raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures. Exported products like machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs . Belgium has many Exports partners like Germany 19. 9%, France 17. 2%, Netherlands 11. 8%, UK 8. 6% , US 6. 5% and Italy 5. 2%(The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Currency & Exchange rate The currency for Belgium is Euro, the value of the euro in the range of 1. 20 to 1. 40 US$ (Steinbicker, 2006, p. 155). People and Daily Life Race and Religion The Belgian Population is (10,364,388 ). In Fleming 58%, in Walloon 31%and the rest 11% .Religions in Belgium vary from Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25% (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). City Housing Accommodations vary from usual modern Apartment like in Flanders & Wallonia, to farms and castles just like in Brugge , Ferrieres, Liege and Huy (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Clothing With simple words The Britannica Student Encyclopedia (2006) says about the Belgian people Belgians, especially those in the cities, wear modern Western-style clothes. Men who work in offices are expected to wear suit jackets to work. It is generally acceptable for women to wear slacks to work.The ethnic costumes of the Flemings and Walloons are seldom worn today. On well-nigh farms women still wear the traditional dark-colored clothing and white aprons, and men wear the old-fashioned. Holidays Other than the regular Public holidays like New years day, east wind Sunday, Easter Monday, Labor day(May 1 st),Ascension Day(6th Thursday after Easter),whitsum,whit Monday(7th Monday after Easter), National day(July 21st),assumption(august15th),All Saints day(Nov 1 st),Armistice day(Nov 11th) and Christmas day (Steinbicker, 2006, p. 154) there are many kookie festivals held in Belgium like Ommegang Festival BrusselsEvery year in July, the lavish Ommegang procession commemorates the tribute paid to Emperor Charles V and his VIP guests. Richly-colored costumes, horses, embroidered banners, rowlock throwing and stilt jousting (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). (See Figure 3). Figure 3. Carnival de Binche Binche For 3 days in February the town of Binche is transported back to the 16th coul omb for this festival. Highlighted by music parades and fireworks, the climax of this event is when the Gilles appear on the Grand Place and throw oranges to the spectators (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US).Procession of devoted Blood Bruges This annual event takes place in May and is divided into 4 parts Old Testament, New Testament, Historical Section, and veneration of the Holy Blood. Since the twelfth century the numerous brotherhoods and associations of the city of Bruges venerate and pay homage to the Holy-Blood (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Stavelot (Mid-lent Carnival) Stavelot This event takes place in March and is highlighted by the Blanc Moussi, which means clad in white. Beginning on Sunday, the Blancs Moussis wander the streets of the town putting up their irreverent posters.In the afternoon they step out from the entourage while staying on their floats and shower the crowds with confetti while flogging them with pork bladders (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Zinneke Parade Brussels Its also know as Big Z-Day. It is a street opera of music, choreography, costumes and floats (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US). Ghent Festival Ghent It is held every year in July. People sing, dance, eat and drink, get together and watch theater. (The Belgian Tourist Office (BTO) in the US).