Archive:Sialia

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The Federal Republic of Sialia
Njanêj Sjálâde Falâjýfe
The National Flag The National Seal
Flag Seal
Motto: "Egality, Nationality, Individuality"
Anthem: For Sialia
The Locaton of Sialia on Sahar
The Location of Sialia on Sahar
Capital
and largest city
Orefelia (Sial. Ôrëfelijá)
Official languages Sialan
Demonym Sialan
Government Federal semi-presidential republic
 -  Federal Councillors
 -  President
 -  Premier
Legislature Federal Assembly
 -  Upper house Federal Council
 -  Lower house National Assembly
Establishment
 -  Sialia becomes a part of the Laefevian Empire 270 
 -  Sialia gains semi-autonomy from Laefevia 1515 
 -  Federal Statehood 21 March 1896 
Area
 -  177.185 km2Land & water
68 sq mi
Population
 -  2016 estimate 3,143,218
 -  2015 census 3,138,287
 -  Density 177.185/km2
458.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2017 estimate
 -  Total 51246
GDP (nominal) 2017 estimate
 -  Total 32600
 -  Per capita 47630
Gini (2017)36.4
medium
HDI (2017)0.945
very high
Currency Sialan Sênam (SLS)
Time zone WŠT (SCT-1)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (SCT{{{utc_offset_DST}}})
Antipodes Marine, Asura Ocean
Date format yyyy-mm-dd
Drives on the left
Calling code +290
Internet TLD .si

Sialia (/siʲɑ:liʲə/, Sialan: Sálnech [sɑlnɛx]), officially the Federal Republic of Sialia, is an island sovereign state in Western Soltenna, located between Edievia and Itla. A member state of the Soltennan Council, Sialia is home to around () million people (according to 2017 estimates) with Avt as the nation's capital and largest city.

Etymology

The native name, Sjálâ is a contraction of the noun sjál (meaning garden), and the country suffix -iljâ. Thus, in ancient times, the country would have been known as Sjáliljâ (lit. country of gardens). Sialia is an anglicisation of the native name.

History

Geography

Geology

Sialia is dominated by its volcanology. Formed by a series of shield volcanoes, it is composed of mainly basaltic rocks which give its cliffs a distinctive black colour. Some areas are still volcanically active, leading to the use of geothermal power in the magmatic fissures (see Energy section, below). Much of the coastline is composed of harsh cliffs, with caves carving into the sides. In areas eroded by the sea, however, bays are formed with shallow beaches, protected from the ocean.

Climate

Sialia’s climate varies with wind direction. It has an average temperature range of 10-35 °C, with 725-974 mm per annum of rain. If the wind blows from the north or south, the climate is noticeably wetter due to winds over the sea. From the East and West, Sialia is sheltered from the worst of the weather, creating a drier climate during the summer. It is comparable to the Mediterranean climate (on Earth), particularly areas around Sicily or southern Italy.

Biodiversity

Phytogeographically speaking, Sialia is in the Boreal kingdom. Dominated by open plains, and populated with olive trees and other hardwoods in the flatter areas, Sialia has a rich phytodiversity. Higher up on the volcano slopes, however, the land turns more to scrub, with short bushes dotting the rocky landscape.

In terms of animals, cattle ranching is often practised inland, leading to large pastures of the hardy grass which is found on these islands. Another notable feature of the Sialan biodiversity is the Sialian Turkey Crab.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Sialia

Government

Sialia is a federal semi-presidential constitutional oligarchy. The Sialan Government is split into 3 branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary.

The nominal head of state is the President, who is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term. The duties of the President are largely ceremonial - it is he/she who is responsible for formally electing the Premier. The President also appoints Board Leaders, on the advice of the Premier. The Premier is the head of Government, and exercises executive power along with the National Assembly and the Board of Islands.

The legislative powers are carried out by the 50-delegate elective unicameral National Assembly. This is the form of representative democracy present in the country. Elections for National Assembly Delegates (NADs) are held biennially, and approximately each 2 prefectures nominates 1 delegate.

Judicial matters are dealt with by the three Courts of the Islands, which range in importance. It is very frequent for Primary Judges to also observe (and correct) the debate in the National Assembly.

Administrative divisions

Sialia is split up into 5 major provinces. Each of these are partially autonomous, and is ruled by a Secretary. The sixth division is the Capital City District (Avtian Province), which follows federal laws, and, in matters lacking clarity, those of the surrounding province.

Each province is further divided into prefrectures, but these are purely for administration in local governments, and make up electoral constituencies electing National Assembly Delegates.

Foreign relations

Military

Economy

Imports

Exports

Aside from fishing and tourism (the several volcanoes which make up the islands are incredibly popular with holidaymakers), Sialia has a healthy farming industry specialising in olive and grape products.

A notable and intriguing specialty of Sialia’s is the Sialian Turkey Crab. The crab is natively only found in one bay of the island and so is incredibly rare, making it a highly sought-after global delicacy. It was almost fished to extinction in the 1800s, however highly strict rules have since been put in place to protect it and numbers have bounced back.

Transport

Energy

Sialia has pledged completely carbon-neutral in its energy production by 2080, thus creating all of its power from geothermal, solar, wind, and wave energy.

Science and technology

Tourism

Tourism is instrumental to the Sialan economy: the picturesque views and intriguing volcanic slopes prove to be very popular with international tourists.

Several of the island bays are heavily pedestrianised, and have expansive holiday resorts, usually with private beaches. Also, the Sialan government limits their air passenger duty during peak seasons - further boosting tourism. Several resorts also offer ways to explore the rich marine life that Sialia hosts, like glass-bottomed boat journeys, scuba-diving courses, and elementary lessons in marine biology.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Urbanisation

Language

The language spoken in Sialia is Sialan (natively: Sálne). It is related to Edievian, the language of their neighbours - both are daughter languages of Colian.

Education

Healthcare

Religion

Culture

Heritage

Architecture

Much of the traditional architecture on Sialia is white plaster walls with shallow terracotta roofs, although domes or flat roofs are not uncommon.

The very traditional form of a house is that of a half-sunken basement forming the ground floor, to shelter from the sun. The windows themselves are heavily shuttered to protect against the midday sun and the storms which occasionally blow in from the south. Balconies are prevalent on top of an extended section of basement, creating a decking raised just above the ground. Entrances are half lowered into the ground, level with the basement, with thin slit windows placed horizontally across this basement to look out across the ground.

Often the houses will have a small tower to catch the wind which blows across the islands in the Earthly Middle-Eastern style of a wind tower, to cool the houses and sometimes create extra living space, although the main body of the house is usually a two-storey dwelling. These are known as Windcatchers (Sialan: lôjsëlerikán).

Literature

Art

Music

Theatre

Film

Cuisine

Religion

Sport

Mythology

The most popular mythological creature, rumoured to have existed on Sialian soil long ago is the Sorcerer's Snake. This is a rainbow coloured snake, and is now seen as a symbol of equality throughout Sialian society. This snake is now rumoured to be Atheris squamigera.

A "Sorcerer's Snake", or A. squamigera.

Symbols

The main national symbol in Sialia is the floral emblem that features on the National Flag. This is used heavily by patriotic citizens and on all official documents.

Each Emirate also has a symbol, this time faunal, which is borne on their flags also. These are used only by local governments.

Another national symbol is the Sialian Turkey Crab, which is an indigenous (and endemic) delicacy - highly priced, and highly sought after by foreign culinary experts.

See Also

Politics of Sialia