five things to know about iceland
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Five things to know about Iceland

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Five things to know about Iceland

Iceland's Althingi or parliament has 63 seats.
Reykjavik - Arab Today

From its unique history to its passion for chess, books and football, here are five things to know about Iceland, which votes in legislative elections on Saturday:

- Crime -

Contrary to the dark goings-on in Nordic noir literature, Iceland is a tranquil North Atlantic island of 335,000 people, where police patrol unarmed and homicides are extremely rare.

The country has on average only 1.8 homicides a year.

As a result, the brutal January 2017 murder of 20-year-old Birna Brjansdottir shook Iceland.

A Greenlandic sailor was convicted of strangling the young woman and throwing her body into the sea, and sentenced to 19 years in prison.

The sailor was also convicted of smuggling cannabis, of which Icelanders are major growers and the biggest consumers in the world (18.3 percent of population), according to UN figures from 2015.

- Chess passion -

The Icelanders' passion for chess dates back to 1964 when legendary Soviet champion Mikhail Tal won the first big tournament organised in Reykjavik.

The 1972 chess world championship, held in the northernmost capital of the world, saw Bobby Fischer become the first American to win the title, defeating Russia's Boris Spassky in what was dubbed "the match of the century".

Fischer died in Iceland on January 17, 2008, at the age of 64.

Chess is now deeply rooted in Iceland's culture. At schools, cafes, at home and in offices, families, friends and colleagues play the game all year round.

- Wrestling vs. football -

"Glima" ("struggle" in Icelandic), a form of wrestling imported by the Vikings from Norway, is Iceland's national sport.

Portrayed in the Icelandic sagas as a display of masculinity, the purpose of the sport is to make an opponent fall by unbalancing him with his belt.

A little out of fashion now, there are just 300 or so practitioners of "glima", compared to 23,000 licenced footballers, a sport that has taken the country by storm.

In the Euro 2016 championships, football minnows Iceland became a phenomenon by making it to the quarter-finals and pleasing crowds with their hand-clapping, Viking-inspired chant.

And in October, the country became the smallest ever nation to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.

- 'City of Literature' -

Halldor Laxness is the only Icelander to be honoured with the Nobel Literature Prize, in 1955, but in Iceland it is said that every inhabitant of this nation will publish at least one book in their life.

Their passion for books dates back to the Icelandic sagas, which recount tales of ancient family history.

The statistics are inspiring: Iceland publishes more than 1,600 books every year, an astonishingly high number per capita that would be the equivalent of 300,000 new books in France.

Iceland offers a great network of public libraries and Reykjavik has been the designated "City of Literature" by UNESCO.

- Killing Basques -

In 2015, Iceland repealed a 400-year-old law that allowed the killing of Spaniards from the Basque region as soon as they set foot in the country.

The law dated back to 1615 when 32 Basques on a whaling mission were massacred due to tensions with the people in the northern Icelandic peninsula of Westfjords.

According to local testimonies, the Basque whalers had been unprepared for the rough Nordic winter and stole food, which triggered a conflict with the locals.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

five things to know about iceland five things to know about iceland

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

five things to know about iceland five things to know about iceland

 



GMT 10:10 2017 Thursday ,09 February

3 Important Elements You Have to Consider

GMT 04:03 2017 Monday ,24 April

Bella Hadid ‘dying’ to visit Palestine

GMT 19:25 2016 Wednesday ,25 May

The Brooklyn Desk by Oeuf NYC

GMT 07:49 2018 Friday ,05 January

2 Russian servicemen killed

GMT 07:58 2018 Monday ,01 January

Italy orders N. Korea's envoy to leave

GMT 08:45 2017 Wednesday ,20 December

US military imagines war without GPS

GMT 17:26 2017 Sunday ,17 December

Putin thanks Trump for help in foiling attack plot

GMT 22:19 2017 Monday ,16 October

Cairo-hosted Fatwa conf. new contribution

GMT 02:27 2016 Friday ,10 June

Video hints Japan abetting illegal ivory trade

GMT 07:04 2017 Wednesday ,19 April

1,883 Bahrainis found jobs in March

GMT 14:24 2016 Tuesday ,22 November

Citi and JPMorgan top list of ‘globally banks’

GMT 21:43 2017 Friday ,01 September

People question Nazaruddin`s repatriation expenses

GMT 09:41 2017 Wednesday ,19 April

OIC concerned over violence in Mali

GMT 01:30 2017 Friday ,27 October

May22/Jun21

GMT 05:38 2016 Friday ,30 December

Dubai Airports divert 13 flights due to heavy fog

GMT 11:38 2017 Saturday ,14 January

Mexico names new ambassador to US

GMT 12:03 2017 Wednesday ,22 March

Kuwait to mark World Water Day

GMT 15:00 2017 Wednesday ,27 September

HM King receives invitation from Egyptian President

GMT 02:45 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

President Bashir arrives in Chad

GMT 02:45 2017 Wednesday ,16 August

Turkmen President Visits Pakistan
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday