The day was as clear as glass. The sky was blue, and the fields were pure green. I picked weeds and plants quickly, so I could go to the village. I wanted to shop for clothing and jewelry, but for now I was in the fields. Then, it struck me. Sounding like thunder, thousands of men raced down hill towards the village. I didn't know much, but I knew enough to tell that the men were Mongols. I raced home to warn my parents, for they were the closest to Mongols at this point. My family quickly packed provisions and told me to warn t he village, but to meet them by the outskirts of town. I had to have courage, but I obeyed them. I raced to the village and started crying out, "The Mongols are coming! The Mongols are coming!" People's heads peaked out of shops and houses. I repeated my cries.
A nearby army man started closing down shops and running in and out of them, warning villagers about the attacks! I ran thought out the village until I knew the majority of the people were out of the village. I met my parent outside of the village and watched silently (like the rest of the crowd) watch the city fall t the ground, burned. A new chapter would be beginning. Very very soon.
Sometimes it is good to take a look at the world around you and look and see everything that has been invented. I know you are probably thinking of the T.V. in you r room or your new iPod touch or the iPhone 5 but there were actually things that helped us get farther, even though they are rarely or hardly ever used today.
China helped make many of these things, from gunpowder to the earliest calculators, China was popping out all new sorts of inventions! China made the first piece of paper! You know, the stuff we write with (or used to write with anyway)... China invented it! All, of course, with the help of a few trees. China also invented gunpowder. They won many battles this way and helped the rest of the world get through hard times. We don't really use gunpowder anymore thanks to the help of other inventions.
All the things around you, all the things you use, are all things that were invented in some way or another. They were all made for the first time, experimented on, or actually... accidents! So next time you mom suggests you save your money for an iPhone, think about the inventions that have lead us to the newest iPhone. Even though paper might not have been a part of the iPhone, it must have been used to plan how it would look. So just remember where all these inventions have got us... and of course... get the phone!
Today, we have written records to tell us about our past. We have them on the internet, in books, musuems, and many other places but hundreds of years ago, there was sno such thing. Griots were storyellers who lived in Africa. They were like living books that told stories about just about anything important. Griots traveled to many differnt place most of the time traveling with kings or sultans on important journies where keeping track of important information was needed. Once they arrived back home, they would pass these stories onto their childeren. One down side about these stories is the fact that people could've died after being told and never passed the story of tale on. One other down side is that these stories could have been miscommunicated or could have been told wrong. Today, we should be proud to have musuems, books, journals, and special documents protected by goverment officials. Thankfully, we are always able to see them, and not just hear them. Whatever the case though, we should always have fun with the funny tales and stories our grandparents are telling us. Wes hould never forge
As we all (should) know, fall this year has been a very wonderful season to have this year. I really enjoyed this season and am disapointed it went by so fast as we move into winter. Fall, this year, has been hot, quick, and very colorful. The leaves changing is such a beautiful sight every year!
One part of fall this year I really enjoyed was the weather. If you live where I live you are probably thinking I'm crazy, and in some ways... I am. Recently I have moved into a new home. This new house has so many new features I have never owned before. For instance, a pool. Now that I have a pool, I have so many oppurtinities to swim. Thankfully, the weather has just been nice enough to swim. Now that winter is approching us, it is sad to watch the diving board not bouncing and the pool not rippling. Thankfully there is always another fall... and another summer.
Iron, I bet, was a really big advancement to the Africans. Especially with trading, iron must have been a huge help to the Africans We use iron today a lot. Like for building tall structures. Iron is really strong, but can be melted too. In many places of the world, iron was useful. It still is today, but iron was rarely found, so this was a big advancement to many other civilizations too!
With Africa being in the place that it is... getting iron must have been tricky. Luckily, Africans went with caravans and would meet up with others halfway into the desert. So many people needed iron and other useful trading items Africa "carried" that either little villages or towns were settled. Many people would trade in these towns, probably because of shelter. Africa really helped us out by making iron!
As everyone knows, Africa is a hot, large, and mostly a dessert area. One place in Africa everyone knows about, is the desserts of Africa. Africa has many desserts which are all hot, humid, and large. With sandstorms, no water, and lots of dangerous animals, I think Africa's desserts would be the hardest to live in.
When living in the dessert, there really is no way to know what's coming. Sand is everywhere so no directions are useful. Plus, the hot sun is pounding on you all day, and there aren't a lot of trees or plants that provide shade in the dessert. Hazards include sandstorms, no water, and and lots of heat.
Many people in the early times, would travel along or even across desserts. Back then water bottles, cars, and air conditioning, weren't availible. How did they do that?! Out of all the places in the world, one of the hardest places to live in, in my opinion, would probably be Africas desserts.
Trading must have been a big part in Islam's growth. After a few years, many people were converted to Islam. When people started trading, the religion must have spread around. Trading was very important to countries and cities and settlements, but to the Muslims so was the religion of Islam. Many Muslims must have either told their partners in trading about their religion and/or slowly spread to many differnt countries to share Islamic beliefs with others. Today we can see Muslims all around the world. It's funny how, Islamic beliefs spread from trading.
Do you ever feel trapped because of things you follow or agree with. Like religous rules, or even standards. Well if you do...don't! Just go look at what the Muslim's believe in. Muslim's believe in the "Five Pillars of Islam." These pillars are standars and rules all Muslim's are told to follow. One of the pillars is to pray five times a day. Another pillar states that all Muslims should make yearly donations to the needy or charities. You might think these standards are tricky to follow but those aren't really the ones that Muslim's struggle with. One of the five pillars Muslims struggle with would probably be a trip to the Hajj in Mecca. All Muslims, at least once in thier lives are asked to visit the Hajj in Mecca. The Hajj is a place of worshhip and is actually considered the most sacred place of worship to the Muslims. So if you ever feel discouraged about what you follow, don't because sometimes, things are trickier for others and not you.
Muhammad was a Arabian man who, in the begining, lived a very hard life. Both of his parents died while he was at a very young age. He lived with his grandmother until his until his uncle took him. Muhammad traveled a lot with his uncle's caravans. Later, Mahummad got married and moved to a place called Mecca and later moved to a place called Medina. One day, when Muhammad went to a cave to meditate and pray and angel appeared to him! The angel told him to "Recite! Recite! Recite!" The angel told Muhammad to teach the people that there is one god and many other things. muhammad started a relgion called Islam. The people who followed Muhmmad were called Muslims. Many people at first diliked Muhammad and after a while started to listen to him. Muhammad started to teach many things about what the angel had told him. People listened from all around, and that is how the Muslim religion started.
My uncle slowly rode over the hills to my village, he was traveling on camel with many men. Everyone stopped and stared as he slowly rode by. He stopped at my pottery stand and hopped of his camel. I put down a pot and stood, "Hello uncle." I knew he had been a traveler, but what I really wanted to know is why he came to my village. After all, nothing important really happened here. He motioned me to get onto his camel. I sighed, "What would you like?" I tried to say it politely, for my uncle who had always been a very posturized man, replied, "I need to meet with your mother."
I guided him and his camel to my home. My mother was so happy her brother had come to visit. I was dragged along inside my home with my uncle and my mother; but was then seperated from the two when my uncle insisted he talked "alone" with my mother.
My mother came out with my uncle moments later. My uncle gave me a proposal, he wanted me to join his caravan! I stood motionless, should I go? I sighed, "I'm afraid I cannot go with you. I am sorry." I felt terrible, but my family needed the money I earned at my pottery stand. My uncle did a small cough, "I understand, good day." My mother hugged me in the doorway as we both watched my uncle's caravan drift off into the sunset. I felt good about my decision.
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