World of faces

The motto of this British noblewoman was the words of Hafez: “everything on earth is not forever, except for acts for the benefit of people”. Traveler, archaeologist, scout, she played an important role in the formation of two states – Iraq and Jordan.
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell was born in June 1868 in England, in county of Durham. Her grandfather Lowthian Bell owned steel mills and held the title of Baronet. And her father Hugh Bell continued the family business. Gertrude was only three years old when her mother died.
The girl received a good home education and at the age of 15 she entered Oxford College, where she was one of the best students. At the same time, she found time for entertainment, loved to dance, play tennis and perform on the stage of an amateur theater.
One day, Uncle Frank Lascelles, British Ambassador to Romania, invited her to stay in Bucharest. That winter, she plunged into social life, not without irony, remarking in a letter to her father about the Romanian aristocrats: “They have fun as if every day is the last in their life.”
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The inhabitants of Peru are very proud of their ancient history, dating back to the Incas, and in every possible way cultivate nationalism.
Juan Velasco Alvarado has long been remembered by the inhabitants of Peru. And not only with his radical reforms he had a chance to go down in history forever, but he, unfortunately, missed it.
In his childhood Velasco knew deprivation in all its diversity. He had no bread, no shoes, he almost did not know maternal love. The 11th son of a medical professional and a housewife, Juan was born on June 16, 1910 in the suburbs of Piura, on the northern coast of Peru. The boy began to work early. The family was large, but a strict father tirelessly ensured that everyone made his own contribution. Juan was barely 9 years old when he began to clean shoes on the streets of Piura.
Cleaning shoes Juan dreamily peered at people, especially in a military uniform. They always had good boots, an arrogant look, and they could give a coin or two to a helpful little boy.
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Great Vanga was a woman with amazing abilities. She knew the past, predicted the future, could heal physical and mental pain. Invisible worlds were opened for her, there she received information and generously shared her knowledge with people.
Vanga was born on January 31, 1911 in Macedonia in the town of Strumica. The girl was born 2 months earlier and was very weak, with fused fingers and toes. Nobody knew whether the newborn would survive. In March, the baby cried loudly for the first time in her life, and local grandmothers explained to the alarmed mother that, in fact, the girl was born just then. The girl was named Vangeliya, which means “the bearer of the good news” in Greek.
Vanga was only three years old when, after the second birth, her mother died suddenly. And a year later, in 1915, her father, a small landowner, was drafted into the Bulgarian army. The girl was left with neighbor Asanitsa, a good and compassionate Turkish woman. Three years later, the father returned and soon married the most beautiful girl of Strumica – Tank Georgieva. He needed a mistress, and the children needed a mother.
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The very existence of the mysterious queen of Arabia remains to this day one of the fascinating mysteries of world.
There are many legends about the ancient Kingdom of Saba in southwestern Arabia. Herodotus, the father of history, described this country and claimed that it was inhabited by “winged snakes.” In the Quran, Sabeans are mentioned as sun worshipers. The Bible describes Arabia as a very rich country. The Gospel of Matthew reports on the Magi from the East, who came to worship the baby Christ and brought him their gifts – gold and incense. And by the way, it was Ancient Arabia that was famous for its gold, spices and incense.
The Egyptians were the first who attempted to enter the Sabaean possessions. In 1470 BC the Queen of Egypt Hatshepsut sent her warriors there, but they could not reach the goal.
The Bible tells how the Queen of Sheba with a large retinue, camels loaded with gold and precious stones, visited Israel. She heard rumors about the wisdom of the head of the kingdom of Judah, and she decided to find out how wise Solomon was. The king passed the test – he solved all the puzzles and she put gold gifts at his feet.
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In 1963 a Swedish diplomat was posthumously awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations. Raoul Gustav Wallenberg saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust and died under unclear circumstances in a Soviet prison. He deserves that as many people as possible know about his feat, which is an example of true humanism.
The future diplomat was born in 1912 in the Swedish city near Stockholm. The boy had never seen his father, since Navy officer Raoul Oscar Wallenberg died of cancer 3 months before the birth of the heir. Raoul Gustav’s paternal family was known in Sweden, and many Swedish financiers and diplomats came from it. In particular, at the time of the birth of the boy, his grandfather – Gustav Wallenberg – was the ambassador of his country in Japan. At the same time, on the maternal side, Raoul was a descendant of a jeweler named Bendix, who is considered one of the founders of the Jewish community of Sweden. In 1918, his mother married the Swedish Ministry of Health official Fredrik von Dardel. In this marriage, daughter Nina and son Guy von Dardel were born, who later became a nuclear physicist. Raoul was lucky with his stepfather, since he treated him in the same way as his children.
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On that unfortunate December day in 1984, the life of 17-year-old Frenchwoman Pascale Berkovich hung in the balance. Trying to jump on the departing train, the girl fell under the wheels. Eyewitnesses called an ambulance, and after half an hour Pascale was on the surgical table. Skilled doctors saved her life, but they had to amputate her legs.
The girl had time to think about the terrible tragedy that turned her into a human stump. She thought that if she survived, she could never do her favorite gymnastics. Moreover, she couldn’t go to college anymore. Suddenly the girl realized: everything that she knew so far, what she enjoyed, what she lived for – all that had gone. Merciless steel wheels grinded her legs, turned a healthy flowering girl into a weak invalid. She was horrified to realize that she would spend the rest of her days in a wheelchair. But time passed, and she said to herself: “You must not give up! You must fight for every day, hour, minute. Live with hope and faith!”
The recovery was incredibly difficult for Pascale, but she was strong and brave. In many ways, the move from France to Israel in 1985 helped her. Doctors gave hope. They told her: “You will return to normal life. You will be happy!”
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Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern is a famous Russian navigator, admiral. He became the leader of the first Russian round-the-world expedition. For the first time he mapped most of the coast of Sakhalin Island, became one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society. Today, the strait in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, the passage between Tsushima Island and the islands of Iki and Okinoshima in the Korean Strait, a mountain on Novaya Zemlya, islands in the Bering Strait and the Tuamotu archipelago are named in his honor.
Without a doubt, Ivan Fedorovich was a unique historical figure, one of the founders of Russian oceanology. He had a significant impact on the history of Russian naval expeditions, and in general on navigation. His brief biography is found in all textbooks today.
Adam Johann von Krusenstern was born on November 19, 1770. He is a descendant of the Russified noble family of the Krusenstern, the son of Judge Johann Friedrich von Krusenstern (1724-1791) and Christina Frederica (1730-1804). Adam was the seventh child in the family. At the age of 15 he continued his studies at the Naval Cadet Corps in Kronstadt. In 1787, he was promoted to midshipman. It should be noted that since childhood, the future navigator and admiral dreamed of circumnavigating the entire globe. This is the rare case when a childhood dream really came true.
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