Manila

From Wikinfo

Manila (Maynila in Filipino) is the capital city of the Philippines. The city stands on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon. It is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and its metropolitan area is the country's economic, cultural, educational, and industrial center. Manila is often called the Pearl of the Orient.

The city itself is the Philippines' second most populous city at more than 1.5 million inhabitants. Only Quezon City, a suburb and the country's former capital, is more populous. Manila is the hub of a thriving metropolitan area of more than 10 million people. This metropolis, called Metro Manila, but often simply called Manila by foreigners and non-residents, consists of 17 cities and municipalities. This articles discusses the city itself; see Metro Manila for the article on the metropolis.

Over the centuries, Manila grew from a small Muslim fishing village on the banks of the Pasig River into the seat of the colonial government of Spain when it controlled the Philippine Islands. Later on, the Americans controlled the Philippines and Manila became and internationally-known city in the Orient. During World War II, much of the city was destroyed, but was eventually rebuilt. In 1975, Manila and the surrounding towns and cities was incoporated into the independent entity of Metro Manila to better manage the affairs of the fast-growing region. Today, the city and the metropolis thrives as an important cultural and economic center. However, overpopulation, traffic congestion, pollution, and crime challenges the city.

The City

Manila lies at the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western side of Luzon. The Pasig River, flowing into the bay, bisects the city in the middle. Almost all of the city sits on top of centuries of prehistoric alluvial deposits built by the waters of the Pasig River.

The layout of the city was haphazardly planned during Spanish Era as a set of communities surrounding Intramuros. Intramuros is the original walled-city of Manila. During the American Period, some semblace of city planning was done on the portions of the city south of the Pasig River.

Manila is bordered by several municipalities and cities in Metro Manila: Navotas and Caloocan City to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong City to the east, Makati City to the southeast, and Pasay City to the south.

The city is divided into 16 districts. These districts correspond to the original 14 Spanish pueblos: Intramuros and the surrounding 13 towns. Two of these districts were later split in recent times to correspond to the city's six congressional districts. The eight districts north of the Pasig are Binondo, Quiapo, Sampaloc, San Miguel, San Nicolas, Santa Cruz, Santa Mesa, and Tondo. The other eight are Ermita, Intramuros, Malate, Paco, Pandacan, Port Area, San Andres, and Santa Ana. San Andres was previously part of Santa Ana, and Santa Mesa used to be in Sampaloc.

All of these districts have their own pamilihang bayan (public markets) and churches, and several of the them have achieved recognition in their own rights. The district of Binondo is the city's Chinatown. Tondo is the poorest, while the districts of Ermita and Malate are world-famous and popular with tourists, having many bars, restaurants, five-star hotels, and shopping malls.

The Pasig River is crossed by a number of bridges in Manila. Eastward they are Roxas Bridge, Jones Bridge, McArthur Bridge, Ayala Bridge, Nagtahan Bridge (also known as Mabini Bridge), Pandacan Bridge, and Lambingan Bridge.

Interesting Spots

• Rizal Park or Luneta
• Intramuros
• Fort Santiago
• Malaca�ang Palace
• Ermita and Malate Night Life
• National Museum
• National Library
• Cultural Center of the Philippines
• Folk Arts Theater
• University Belt
• Port Area
• Chinatown

• Malls and Shopping Centers
  • Harrison Plaza
  • Robinson's Place Manila
  • SM City Manila
  • Divisoria
  • Tutuban Center

• Churches
  • Redemptorist Church or Quiapo Church
  • San Agustin Church
  • Binondo Church
  • Malate Church or Our Lady of Miraculous Medal

• Sports
  • San Lazaro Hippodrome
  • Rizal Memorial Complex

• Cemeteries
  • North Cemetery
  • La Loma Cemetery
  • Chinese Cemetery

History

Manila began as the northernmost Muslim sultanate at the mouth of the Pasig River along the shores of Manila Bay. The name came from the term maynilad, literally "there is nilad." Nilad is a white-flowered mangrove plant that grew in abundance in the area.

During the time when Manila was ruled by Rajah Sulaiman, who held ties with the Brunei, Ternate and Sulu sultanates, a Spanish expedition led by Martin de Goiti arrived in Manila and conquered the settlement, eliminating the fledgeling sultanate. One year later, [[Miguel L�pez de Legaspi]] went to the town and proclaimed the Philippine Islands for Spain and establishing the city of Manila as its capital. The enclave of Intramuros, at the southern banks of Pasig River was built to protect the Spanish colonizers.

World War II

Manila was captured by Japanese forces on January 2, 1942 but on February 5, 1945 American General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise to return to Manila and on February 23 the city was liberated.

Manila and USAFFE

The headquarters for USAFFE were located here as were the 31st Infantry Regiment and the 808th Military Police Company. The headquarters and bulk of the Philippine Division was located just to the south, at Fort William McKinley. The headquarters for the USAFFE Air Force was on the outskirts of town, at Nielson Field. Nearby, at Nichols Field was the 20th Air Base Group. A battalion of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment was located in the port area and training was conducted there for quartermasters of the Philippine Army.

There were 6 airfields, for the Far East Air Force, within 130 km of Manila, notably Clark, Nichols, and Nielson Fields.

Manila and Terrorism

Manila has become a hotbed for terrorism. Targets in the city have been targeted several times by groups Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf. In addition, Al-Qaida allegedly used Manila as a recruiting base.

Project Bojinka, which was a large-scale terrorist attack being planned in late 1994 and early 1995, was being planned in Manila. The project was abandoned after the night of January 6, 1995 and the morning of January 6, when an apartment fire led investigators to a laptop computer containing the plans.

External Links

• Official Website of Manila

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Manila" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila January 1, 2004