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Capital Pyongyang Essay

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Yes, the British sport has managed to invade arguably the most covert and hostile nation in the world — North Korea. For decades foreigners were denied access in this secretive country — until in the 21st century when the government has finally started to issue tourist visas for a few selective parts of the nation. Capital Pyongyang is one of those places, where outsiders are allowed to visit and back on April 25, 2008, on the outskirts of the city, at Taesongsan Park, the locals heard the sound of a ball hitting the bat for the first time. It was a six-a-side triangular tournament, named Pyongyang Friendship Cup. The idea of taking the game to an isolated country like North Korea was a brainchild of Jon Newton, the then President of …show more content…

The Syrian connection Once famous for its rich history and tradition the ancient city of Aleppo, has now been reduced to ruins in the ongoing Syrian civil war. But, centuries before this massacre, this city had witnessed one of the most significant incidents in the history of cricket. According to the written documents, in 1676, it was in Aleppo where the game of cricket was first played outside the British territories. Back in the 17th century, the city used to be a trading hub and it attracted a lot of British traders and sailors. By that time back in England, Cricket had already been evolved and it was quite popular amongst the travelling Englishmen, who carried the game outside the isles. Henry Teonge of Wolverton, Worcestershire, was one such traveller, who came to Aleppo during that time and documented in his diary about the game of “Krickett”, which used to be played amongst the Britishers as a pastime. One entry in his diary on May 6, 1676, read, “This morning early at least 40 of the English, with his worship the Consull, rod out of the cytty about 4 miles to the Greene Platt, a fine vally by a river syde, to recreate them selves. Where a princely tent was pitched; and wee had severall pastimes and sports, as duck-hunting, fishing, shooting, hand-ball, krickett, scrofilo; and then a noble dinner brought thither, with greate plenty of all sorts of wines, punchs, and lemonads; and

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