Nov. 2015 / ÂŁ3.00
N omad The
Discover The Granite City
learn Things that you may find weird if you are a foreigner
Eat
Breaded whitefish Spinach and tuna salad
Did you know Interesting things about Aberdeen
C o n t e n t s 4 Aberdeen - The Granite City 6 Old Aberdeen and the King’s College 10 Marischal College 11 Things you may find weird if you have never been to the UK 12 Did you know? 13 Easy recipies from our readers
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Aberdeen
The Silver City with the Golden Sands Situated in Scotland’s North
Sea coast Aberdeen is the third most populous city in the country and the administrative center of Aberdeenshire. Located between the rivers Don and Dee, the city was founded in 893. (The name Aberdeen means ‘between two rivers’). The city begun as two separate burghs, Old Aberdeen, near the river Don, and New Aberdeen, a trading settlement, around the mouth of the river Dee. The modern city has developed
in the area next to the harbour, especially after the establishment of the oil industry, in the 1970s. Because of its strategic location, Aberdeen Heliport is one of the busiest commercial heliports in world and the seaport is the largest in the north-east of the country. Aberdeen’s two Universities, University of Aberdeen, founded in 1495, and the Robert Gordon University, which was awarded University status in 1992, make Aberdeen the edu-
cational centre of the northeast. Aberdeen has a lot of nicknames , the most popular one being “The Granite City, since most buildings in Aberdeen are made from granite, “The Gray city” and “the Silver City with the Golden sands”. It is also called “The Flower of Scotland”. The name is not accidental and probably comes from the fact that for years the city has been famous with its impressive parks and magnificent floral displays. Not surprisingly one of the top
attractions in Aberdeen is the Winter gardens in Duthie park, which is also home to the Rose Mountain. Apart from its flowers, Aberdeen boasts with its museums and galleries, which tell about the city, its population and its proud history. Marischal College and the Maritime Museum are places that should be definitely visited. The Art Gallery in Schoolhill offers wonderful collections of Scottish and Impressionist works as well as contemprorary exhibitions. The attractions on Aberdeen beach also add to its magnetism. The modern attractions on the beach are the Codona’s Amusement park, cafés, restaurants, a golf complex in King’s Links, Beach Leisure Centre and the Linx Ice Arena .
The discovery of the oil deposits in the North Sea made Aberdeen the centre of Europe’s petroleum industry. Now Aberdeen is often called ‘Oil capital of Europe’. Although operating costs are relatively high, the quality of oil, political stability of the region and proximity to major markets in West-
ern Europe make North Sea one of the most important regions for oil production in the world. Aberdeen is a global hub for energy companies and energy innovation. There are over 3000 energy companies in Aberdeen.
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Old Aberdeen and King’s College
Old Aberdeen has its own magnetic power with its peacefulness and the surrounding feeling as if it has frozen in time, in contrast to the hustle and traffic in the main city areas. There are a lot of things to see in Old Aberdeen – The Old Town House, St Machar’s Cathedral, The Powis Gate, Seaton Park and the Cruickshank Botanic Garden. It should be noted that parts of the street plan date from the medieval period. But Old Aberdeen is primarily associated with University of Aberdeen and King’s college with its distinctive Crown tower. It was founded in 1495 by Bishop Elphinstone, making it the third oldest University in Scotland and the fourth in the UK. The Crown topping up the Chalpel is an Imprerial one, instead
of royal, which is important as it shows support for the Scottish Crown’s claim to have imperial authority within Scotland. The Crown seen today is a copy of the original one, which was destroyed in a storm in 1633 Cromwell tower was built during the 1650s. The University has expanded dramatically since then – now it includes Elpinstone Hall, the New King’s buildings and more. The most recent addition is the Sir Duncan Rice Library completed in 2011. The chapel is daily open to visitors and can be used by the alumni for wedding celebrations. It is one of the bestloved and iconic buildings in Aberdeen
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Bishop Elphistone’s tomb - the the tomb itself is empty, Bishop’s body is burried in the chalpel.
The Second largest Granite Building in The World Standing 72 meters tall in the heart of the Granite City is the second-largest granite building in the world-Marischal College, after the he Escorial in Spain. It used to be seat of Marischal College .It was founded in 1593 and became the second university in Aberdeen. In 1835 King’s College and University of Aberdeen merged creating the University of Aberdeen. The building that exists today was constructed between 1837 and 1844 by Aberdeen architect Archibald Simpson, after the demolition of older buildings. The building was extended between 1893 and 1905 by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, who
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created the front part, enclosing a U-shaped quadrangle created by A. Simpson. In the 20th century King’s College became the main University site. Marischal College building is leased to Aberdeen City Council, and is used as Aberdeen Council’s headquarters. Until 2008 Marischal Museum in the College was open to public, it closed for Marischal College’s renovation, but did not open after it was over. In April 2011 King’s museum was opened to displays exhibits from Marischal Museum. Since May 2011 Robert the Bruce statue sits proudly in
front of the Marischal college. The statuewas sculpted by Alan Beattie. It shows the Scottish king on horseback, holding a charter which he granted in 1319 to give Aberdeen feudal rights over the Forest of Stocket.
Things you may find strange if you have never been to the UK
There are two seperate taps for water, instead of one - one is scalding, the other one is freezing.
Sometimes people greet you with ‘Hey, what’s uo? They don’t wait for you to answer, but just walk away.
British queuing etiquette - People here can queue anywhere without a physical object guiding them.
You cannot buy alchohol from the supermarkets after ten pm and before ten am.
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Did You Know?
Mercat Cross is a structure that used to mark a place, where historically right to hold a regular market was given by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. The cross in Aberdeen was used when new monarchs were problaime. This is why this spot was important to the Jacobites and on the 20th of September 1715, the Old Pretender was declared king at the Mercat Cross.
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Aberdeen is one of the few UK cities to have a beach just a short walk from the city centre. And it won envitonmental award in 2012
The Kirk of St. Nicholas in Union Street has 48 Carillon bells, which makes it the largest carillion in the United kingdom. It found place in Guniness Records as such.
The self-seal envelope was developed in Aberdeen. And Aberdeen used to be the British centre for envelope production in 19th century.
The oldest daily newspaper in Scotland is the local newspaper Press and Journal
Easy recipies from our readers Spinach with tuna salad Ingredients: • • • • • •
150 Baby Spinach Himalayan salt 3tbsp Extra Virgin Oil 1 medium carrot 250g tuna fish 5 Cherry tomatoes
Method: Sprinkle the Spinach with the salt, olive oild and lemon juice. Stir them. Cut the cherry tomatoes and grate the carrot. put them in the salad and mix. Then add the tuna on the top.
Breaded whitefish fillets Ingredients: • 1kg Whitefish fillets • 2 Eggs • Extra Virgin oil • 1 tea cup flour • 50g grated Cheddar • 1 lemon • himalayan salt • black paper
Method:
Whisk the eggs and the grated Cheddar chease, flour, black papper and the himalayan salt. Mix them all together until well combined. Working with one piece at a time, dip in the egg mixture. Then fry in a pan until a golden coloured coat is formed. Now your fish is ready to be served.
See our iPad version for more recipies.
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