Hairy & Anthropology

[Svanhild]

In particular the ones with arbitrary lines separating Europe at own wish.

See one below:

Svanhild's surrealist map.

It's no surrealist map. It's the border between Southern and Northern/Central Europe according to common sense. And pardon my french, but Southern Europe isn't synonymous to Mediterranean Europe. Not every Southern European country is mediterranean but every mediterranean country is southern European.

The Alpes are the main border in Europe. It's a cultural, lingusistic and climate barrier. Almost all Romanic countries, all Romanic-languaged countries are southern of the Alpes, except France which is divided between Central and Southern European climate and culture. The Alpes are the weather divide between moderate and northern climate in the North and warm or mediterranean climate in the South.

Here's the northern branch of the Alpes: Moderate climate with typical flora and fauna for the moderate climate zone. Central European culture and buildings.




In contrast the Southern branch of the Alpes: Mediterranean climate with typical Southern European flora and fauna. Southern European culture and buildings.




A typical Northern Spanish city is Santander. You say it's not Southern European. Excuse me, but even Northern Spain looks entirely Southern European to me.







Therefore you have to cope with the fact that almost all Europeans consider Spain as a Southern or South-West European country. If you like it or not plays no role. Being considered as Southern European isn't a negative attribute. Or do you think like that?

[Tabiti]

Southern Europe for me = Mediterranean - Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

[Aramis]

Southern Europe for me = Mediterranean - Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Albania too.

[Tabiti]

Albania too.

Geographically could be, however not culturally. Like the rest of the Balkans.

[Aramis]

Geographically could be, however not culturally. Like the rest of the Balkans.

It was meant to be geographically, yes.

I don't think the Albanian culture is uniform, so I'd still place it (or certain regions at least) in the Med area.

Also, if you used a cultural criteria for your devision, no clear cut (with geopolitical boundaries) can be made, as shown by the example of Albania, but Croatia too. The Dalmatia region is fully Mediterranean in culture. No significant continetal influence there. Same goes for parts of Montenegro. On the other side, I am sure there are regions in all countries you've listed where the major influence isn't made by the Mediterranean culture.

[Amapola]

Sometimes the bull wins. It's a cruel tradition, truth be told.

Being myself probably the least enthusiastic person over bullfighting in the kingdom, his permanence in the Spanish culture is one of very few aspects by these lately modern goverments of us that I feel truly proud of. There IS certainly something traditional that s respected. It will be banned sooner or later anyway.

Appart from that, the more the irrelevant foreign opinion (like hollywood stars) voices itself against it, the more a non-bullfighting lover person like me really hopes that bullfighting keeps alive. Not just for the sake of antagonizing but for expressing myself against their nasty double standards.

[Agrippa]

Sometimes the bull wins. It's a cruel tradition, truth be told.

Thats a proud tradition actually, but obviously it is part of the Mediterranean culture if we are about it, because the cult of the bull being very old and common among many cultures of herder-farmer-warriors, North and South, but best documented and widest spread in a similar form in the classic Old Mediterranean culture.

Minoan culture being a clear proof:


As is the old tale about King Minos and the Minotaurus.

[Tabiti]

Nowadays the bull is almost unconsciousness and blind, because as I've heard they keep the animals in darkness for few days before the bullfight.

[Amapola]

Polaciones, Cantabria.

A typical Northern Spanish city is Santander. You say it's not Southern European. Excuse me, but even Northern Spain looks entirely Southern European to me.

Don't let the palms fool you... they are not typical from there, they were made to be, to say the least. What else is MEditerranean to you by the way? Do you know about Mediterranean florA?


Cantabria, the area where Santander is located















Mediterranean, in the extreme south of Spain now

[jerney]

It's pretty simple, people with darker hair typically have more of it, so the logical conclusion would be that wogs are hairier. The choice of which southern european nation is the hairiest is yours however.