Tarana

From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Revision as of 17:27, 8 November 2005 by The Resurgent Dream (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search
Tarana
Nation: The Resurgent Dream
Capital: Tarana
Leader: Grand Duke Owain ap Cunedda

Tarana, a grand duchy in its own right, is the capital and the largest city of of the Resurgent Dream. While Tarana is a city of millions and a large commercial city, the skyline of the commerical district is distinctly low in height compared to the financial cities of other nations or even to other large cities in the Resurgent Dream. This is because of a cultural taboo on any building standing taller than the central tower of the Royal Palace. Because great skyscrapers are not common, Tarana takes up a much larger land area than comparable cities. The length of time required for commuting into and out of Tarana or for moving from one part of the city to the other is a subject of common complaint. This probably is mitigated somewhat by the city's excellent subway and bus system.

Tarana is a city built in concentric circles. The outer area of the city is a low-income residential area. Moving inward, the city sports residential housing for wealthier and wealthier residents until a point roughly a mile from the beginning of serious commercial development.Most Taranans consider this the ideal spot, close enough to the downtown area to easily travel there but far enough away for peace and quiet. After this point, the cost and quality of housing declines towards the center of town, ending in the lower-middle-income housing that stands on the interior border of the residential zone. Scattered throughout this area are the institutions of local government: schools, police stations, fire stations, and other institutions which operate on the neighborhood level. Commercial pockets are in spread throughout the area, ranging from upscale shops to unsightly strip malls. Restaurants of all price ranges, churches, and the offices of private medical practicioners are all in this area.

The commercial area of the city consists largely of officer buildings and most of the largest corporations based in the Resurgent Dream have their headquarters here. Most Taranans work in this area and all large-scale commercial enterprise is located here. This area includes a downtown aerospace port, a large central park, and the Tarana Stock Exchange. A cultural district houses some of the best restaurants in the country, an opera, numerous musuems of history, art, and science alike, and most of the hotels in the area. A red light district contains the seedier sort of bars and strip clubs. While drug-dealing and prostitution are against Danaan law, the police have all but given up on fighting non-violent crimes in the red light district. More respectable clubs and bars, ranging from college taverns to extremely exclusive clubs for gentlemen and nobles, are also smattered throughout the commercial district. Elessembosse Avenue is known to house the most fashionable shops anywhere in the islands. Embassy Row is in an isolated corner of this district, near the Old City.

The Old City of Tarana or the Marble City is truly a wonder to behold. It consists of a truly gigantic, single piece of marble, likely of supernatural origin. Out of this one piece, over five centuries, has been carved a shining white city in intricate detail. Here is the great Royal Palace and the towering seats of the government ministries. Here is the National Chapel and the residences of many ranking nobles. The Old City stands as a monument to magic and wonder, to architecture both grand in scale and fine in detail, and to the Majesty of the Crown seated here.

History

The ancient city of Tarana was carved from a truly gigantic single outcropping of marble, possibly the oldest in the world. High Queen Corrina ni Gwydion initiated this project at the very beginning of her reign. However, the work took three centuries to complete. Three hundred years into her reign, Corrina took up residence in the Marble City of Tarana. She was soon followed by the Great Temple of Dana (now the National Chapel), the Parliament, the Government Ministry, the Military High Command, the Royal Treasury (now the Royal Musuem), the Royal Library, the Uasal Court, and by many of her nobles and courtiers.

Because it was the seat of government, people were drawn to Tarana, setting up their permanent residences and businesses. A larger city grew up outside the Old City and, in time, modernized. Because Tarana was populated by a diverse group of people drawn from all over the High Kingdom, it has no definable majority religion or ethnicity and correspondingly no established church. The people of Tarana conduct nearly all public affairs in English.

Tarana was declared a separate grand duchy on 8 November 1990, by High Queen Agwene ni Gwydion.

Geography and climate

Geography

Tarana, formerly considered a part of the Grand Duchy of Shieldcrest, is bordered by Shieldcrest to the south, Holista to the northwest, and Bilbtoria to the northeast. Tarana is considered to lie within the Yelverton Mountain Range, which runs along the northern border of Shieldcrest and separates that grand duchy from Holista and Bilbtoria. However, Tarana exists in a wide pass and the city itself is not built on significantly mountainous terrain.

The physical geography of Tarana itself is very similar to the physical geography of Shieldcrest. Tarana has three water falls coming down from the west, all along the Cadafael River: Cynan Falls, Dafydd Falls, and Einion Falls. The city also contains three artificial lakes serving as part of the water system: Lake Charles, Lake Cooper, and Lake Cox.

The highest point in Tarana is 426 feet above sea level in the Marble City. The lowest point is one foot, starting at the bottom of Einion Falls.

Geographical features of Tarana include the Marble City, Empress Aiwyn's Hill, and Queen Corrina's Point.

Climate

Tarana's weather is generally temperate with mild variations between summer and winter. Snow is relatively rare in the winter. On average, Tarana gets only two or three inches a year. The highest recorded temperature was 37.9°C on 24 December 1998 and the lowest was -26.9°C on 17 July 1993.

Landmarks and musuems

Tarana is the home of many national landmarks and musuems. The most obvious of these is the Marble City, both as a landmark in and of itself and for the landmark stature of nearly all of its individual buildings. It is from the Marble City that the duties of state and government are largely performed by the nation's highest officials.

The Danaan Musuem is also located in Tarana. The musuem is not a single building but a collection of smaller musuems, including the Danaan Musuem of Art, the Danaan Natural History Musuem, the Danaan Cybernetic Musuem, and the Vincenzo Lacau Aerospace Musuem.

Other art musuems in Tarana include the Women's Musuem of the Fine Arts, the Aboriginal Art Musuem, and the Royal Gallery.

The Royal Library also houses millions of books and documents covering every period of Danaan history, as well as extensive information on foreign powers. This collection includes, among other things, the original manuscripts of all ten of the Agwenian Edicts.

Other points of interest include St. Monica's Cathedral, St. Irene's Cathedral, Agwene ni Gwydion Royal Park, the Llewelyn Hotel, and the National Civilization Park.

Media

Newspaper

The Tarana Times is the oldest and most read daily newspaper in Tarana and is widely considered the newspaper of record in the Resurgent Dream. The daily Tarana Post and the weekly Tarana Weekly also have large readerships in the grand duchy. Tarana is also served by many special interest newspapers. The gay community is served by the Tarana Review. The ethnically Welsh population is served by Un Cymdeithas while German-speakers tend to prefer Wöchentlich Standard. The Elven community tends to read Foroma. Tarana also has a number of neighborhood papers, such as the North Tarana Weekly and the Central City Standard. Among these is also included the Parliamentary Times, the premier government insiders paper in the city.

Television

Tarana is served by a number of local stations. However, as all Danaan national stations are cable-based, none of them are affiliates of networks as one would be likely to find in many other nations. Public Access is provided by the Public Television Corporation of Tarana. At least one local channel is devoted to religion, especially, but not exclusively, Methodism.

Several cable networks have their headquarters in Tarana including the National Cable Network which covers public affairs. Among the other Tarana-based networks, the most prominent are the Diversity Entertainment Network and the Science Channel. All major Danaan news networks maintain a strong presence in Tarana, as though a fair number of foreign or international networks.

Radio

There are also several major radio stations serving the Grand Duchy of Tarana, including a wide variety of music, news, and other programming. Rock stations include TWYN 94.4 FM (classical rock), TARS 95.1 FM (soft rock), TINT 96.7 FM (heavy metal), and TROD 97.4 FM (alternative rock). The city is home to one hip-hop station, TUCT 98.1 FM, and one rhythm and blues station, TION 99.0 FM. Gospel music is played on TTOC 104.0 FM and folk music finds a home on TATA 105.4 FM.

Public News and Commentary(PNC) also has an affiliate station in Tarana, TLOG 85.2 FM. PNC is also headquartered in the city, as is Dana's Voice, the government's international radio broadcasting service.

A few language specialty stations exist, operating entirely in Welsh, German, Quenya or some other tongue. These include TGIN 86.2 FM (Welsh). TGAN 87.6 FM (German), and TDCL 88.4 FM (Quenya).