Qumma - From Desert to Rose (June 3rd - The CocoWalk)

[nedalezz]

UPDATE SIX
FOR THE INFORMATION BUFFS

Its been 3 years since Berber Dawa began investing in Qumma and Fursan, and I thought I'd show you the progress made during that time.  Dawa has invested almost $15,000,000 in Qumma in those 3 years, with most of it going to basic infastructure such as housing for all the new residents. Here is an overview of Qumma back then and now, complete with some general information:

FURSAN: 3 Years Ago


POPULATION: 530
MALE/FEMALE RATIO: 48/52 %
GROWTH RATE: N/A
ETHNIC GROUPS: Qumman 100%
RELIGION: Muslim Shi'ite 100%
GDP-PER CAPITA: N/A
BUDGET: Revenue - N/A
                 Expenditure - N/A
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: Fish
INDUSTRY: N/A
SERVICES: N/A
IMPORT/IMPORT COMMODITIES: $55,000 - Food Products
EXPORT/EXPORT COMMODITIES: N/A
MAIN IMPORT PARTNERS: Morocco
MAIN EXPORT PARTNERS: N/A
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES: N/A
HEALTHCARE FACILITIES: N/A
AIRPORTS: N/A
SEAPORTS: N/A

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FURSAN: Present Day


POPULATION: 7,225
MALE/FEMALE RATIO: 45/55 %
GROWTH RATE: approx. 2400% per year
ETHNIC GROUPS: Qumman 92%, Mauritanian 4%, Moroccan 4%
RELIGION: Muslim Shi'ite 95%, Muslim Sunni 5%
GDP-PER CAPITA: $2,500 (estimated-no official report)
BUDGET: Revenue - $950,000 Annually ($10 per person every month + Profit from Fish Export)
                      Expenditure - $3,450,000 Annually (Operating expenses of all basic facilities + Fursan Power Plant)
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: Fish
INDUSTRY: Electricity (Produces more than required)
SERVICES: N/A
IMPORT/IMPORT COMMODITIES: $4,725,000 - Food Products, Steel, Cement
EXPORT/EXPORT COMMODITIES: $250,000 - Fish, Arts & Crafts
MAIN IMPORT PARTNERS: Morocco
MAIN EXPORT PARTNERS: Morocco
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES: 1 Elementary School (High School in the planning stages)
HEALTHCARE FACILITIES: 1 Medical Clinic
AIRPORTS: N/A
SEAPORTS: N/A

[bat]

Wonderful update 6! Looking forward to more...

[ThomasAH]

Wow, Fursan looks incredible! The only thing I'm missing is a mosque, for a muslim village like Fursan, a mosque will look great

[Jmouse]

Very nice and informative update. I like little villages but always end up with crowded conditions. Fursan holds much potential.
Have a safe and pleasant journey!

Until next time...
Joan

[nedalezz]

REPLIES

Jmouse: Thank you, I do believe I'm going tomorrow in the morning and coming back in the afternoon. As Fursan develops and gets more and more crowded, I'm sure little villages are going to start popping up elsewhere in Qumma

ThomasAH: I would love to add a mosque! Problem is, I cant find any to suit Fursan. If you had a link, I would most definitely put one in. Thank you for the compliment.

bat: Thanks, and I'm looking forward to presenting more!

Nisha: Hey Nisha, thanks! I was a bit worried that the MBEAR set wouldn't suit the sandy deserty terrain as much as it did the Painted Desert one, but it has worked out fine, in my eyes. I hope you all share the same opinion!

rooker1: Hopefully, I will have more to offer than just showing the same picture over and over again! I try to work out pictures with different affects, adding a bit more to a usual SC picture. It works for some, and it doesnt for others, but I definitely like how they turn out.

patfirefghtr: The powerlines were made available to me through a link rooker1 gave to me, so thanks goes out to him for making me aware of them. Unfortunately, I lost the link, but ask rooker, I'm sure he will be more than willing to help you as he did me.

Schulmanator: I wanted a pure desert look because I like the idea of developing an entire nation out of nothing. Thank you for the kind words.

S_imon: Hey S_imon, that's one heck of a compliment! Actually, I did not model after any real city, just going with my imagination, building as it comes to me. All credit due to MBEAR's fantastic work with the MED set.

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Ok, so some of you may be wondering where exactly Qumma is based, so I took the liberty of showing you. Note: my SC map is NOT to scale. This is just a rough location.

[Pat]

OK i will have to ask Robin then and thank you for pointing me in the right direction at least...
That map is good looking, very good at that - pat

[ThomasAH]

ThomasAH: I would love to add a mosque! Problem is, I cant find any to suit Fursan. If you had a link, I would most definitely put one in. Thank you for the compliment.

Mmmm, well, there is really a lack of them. There are dozens of churches, but I can only find one good looking mosque.
I know, it's a different building style, but it might look good.

I'm looking forward to more

[nedalezz]

UPDATE SEVEN
QAL'AT TURBIA

Yesterday, the QEC officially opened Qal'at Turbia (Turbia Fort) to the north of Fursan to the public.  The fort will feature a small museum and gift shop, and it is the first step into developing a tourism industry in the area, something which Berber Dawa longs to achieve. The fort was renovated and refurbished, a process which took approximately 1 year and $300,000 to complete, but the results have been well worth it.

Not much is officially known about the fort, but it is believed to have been constructed by the Portuguese, who set it up after stumbling across the tremendous fishing in the area. Qal'at Turbia in itself is quite a small building, but there is also an extension next to it which features a dungeon, believed to have been used during the slave trade days. The site is approximately 2 hours drive by car north of Fursan.

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Hello there...I see you've managed to get your hands on some pictures of the mysterious Qal'at Turbia, translated into English as the Turbia Fort. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Hussein Ja'afar, a native Qumman whose family has been nomads for thousands of years. We Ja'afars originate from the deserts of Algeria, although none of us have seen those parts in...well, a very long time.

I'm sure you've already been told that Qumma has no history of note, or that there are no records of any historical data and stories.  The latter could be true, but the former...couldn't be further from the truth.  You see, Qumma is a land of great mysticism and mystery, a land which has seen much in its long, secretive past. This is a land of barbarism and romance, a land of wars and love, a land which holds so much beneath its sandy surface...

I hear they have opened up the Qal'at Turbia to the public in hopes of cashing in on a new tourist destination.  I can't blame them, really, as one has to keep up with modern times.  I also heard of their claim that it was Portuguese traders who set up and built this fort in sometime in the 1600s.  Sit down, my friends, and I will tell you the true story of Qal'at Turbia...

Almost 800 years ago, in what west the called the 1200s, Qumma was at war and divided.  It was one of the darker ages in Qumman history, with nomadic tribes fighting for supremacy over the land and its few waterholes. At the time, the most powerful one was the Kabaliya tribe, who were led by the ruthless and merciless Jalibat Tadawer.  He was a man with no conscience, leaving destruction and death wherever he struck.  He had over 20 wives, all of which were treated as captives, and ruled his tribe with an iron fist.

Tadawer, however, had one weakness: his obsession for power and glory. Having heard of the wealth of a small fishing village called Turbia on the coast, he decided to make it his next target. There was one problem, though: no one knew how to get there. No one except for a young, beautiful captive called Jamila.

Jamila was from the Turbia tribe, one of the few non-nomadic tribes in Qumma at the time.  She was on trading route when she was caught and captured, with her 4 escorts killed in the process. When she heard of Tadawer's plans to attack her village, she was heartbroken. She decided she had to find a way to warn her people about the surprise attack that was to be inflicted upon them.

Visiting Tadawer's tent in the middle of the night, she proclaimed her undying love for the man, and stated she would do anything for him, even showing him the way to Turbia, if it meant earning back his love.  In his self-obsessed vanity, Tadawer believed she was truthful, figuring there was no way any woman could resist him. He promised her if she showed him the way to Turbia, she would have found the way to unlock his stoic heart. 

Jamila led them to the coast, and legend has it she escaped and ran non-stop for days before finally reaching Turbia, warning her loved ones of the massacre that was planned. The Turbians worked day and night constructing a building that would defend the people against Tadawer and the Kabaliyas, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they showed up to complete their sinister plan.

On the eve of the 3rd week after Jamila's escape, they finally located Turbia, and went ahead with their plan. However, they had no chance against the fortification of Qal'at Turbia, and the battle was over in a matter of hours as the Kabaliyas retreated and fled. Tadawer was injured in the battle and was left by his fleeing men to die. His captives, or his wives as he called them, were welcomed with open arms into the Turbia tribe, but Tadawer's fate was less kind. Taken in by the Turbian medics, he was given treatment and he physically healed within a matter of weeks.  Those same medics, however, cast upon him a spell of illusional karma, where all he could see and imagine for the rest of his days things done upon him that he had inflicted on other people. He was locked inside an extention to the Qal'at Turbia, in a dungeon as cold as the desert is hot, for the rest of his life, effectively bringing to an end the Kabaliya tribe, who dispersed and joined other tribes after their famous defeat.

Hundreds of years later, the Portuguese stumbled upon the deserted fort, perhaps a couple of centuries after the village of Turbia ceased to exist, but that is a story for another time, perhaps. I now must leave you with a famous Turbian saying which has lived through the years... "He who looks at the sun with his eyes will see its incredible beauty and splendor. But he who looks at the sun with his eyes will see nothing else after that."

Till the next time we meet, may the desert show you all of its magic and wonder. Al-Sallam Alaykum, my good friends.    

[bat]

Wonderful new update! Great work!

[dedgren]

nedalezz, congratulations!



...Who knew deserts could be so cool?


The Staff

[Jmouse]

Thank you for a very interesting update, and congratulations on your promotion. Your MD has always been of special interest to me! 

Until next time...
Joan

[Copperalis]

Have been lurking since the start, but with your well*-deserved promotion thought it was about time to say what a great MD this is. You are clearly taking time and effort to plan the region and its history, without rushing into building large cities. I like the way Fursan is developing and the way it conforms to the coastline. Qal'at Turbia also looks good - waiting to see a wider view of the fort. (This is the first use of this lot that I have seen.)

*I saw an oilwell joke coming (re reply 34) but thought better of it!!

[pickled_pig]

I've been lurking too - this journal really deserves the recognition of being on the Special Interest page.  Congratulations!

-aaron

[emilin]

Is it just me or did Fursan get sandier during that time frame.

Actually, the switch of terrain mod makes it look much more northafrican, so I think it is a great choice.

Congratulations on the reward, and looking forward to more updates.

[bat]

Congrats on this award, nedalezz! And also looking forward to more of Qumma.

[Manny]

What beautiful city and which beautiful landscapes! It is impressive! Congratulation for your promotion! 

[nedalezz]

REPLIES

First and foremost, let me just say its a huge honour to receive the award; I had no idea or inkling, nor was I even thinking about such a thing, which makes it even more rewarding for me. Thank you guys, and I hope to keep delivering the goods you want! On to the replies:

patfirefghtr: They look great, I'm really glad rooker1 let me know about them. Much better than the normal Maxis powerlines.

ThomasAH: I agree. I found a couple, but none really that fit into Fursan well. I might end up constructing a cathedral somewhere, though, will have to make a storyline that will work it in. Like you said, there are a few really nice ones that could fit great in Fursan, or even another smaller village.

bat: Thank you! I love how you are always there to comment after an update Thank you for reading Qumma.

dedgren: What's cool is that award, lol. Thanks!

Jmouse: Very kind words, thank you. I hope it remains special to you and you continue enjoying reading it!

Copperalis: Nice oilwell joke, lol. Yeah, I definitely don't feel the urge to rush into any development; I want to take my time and develop the nation. I've always viewed CJ/MDs as a way to bring a city/nation to life, and that is what I'm trying to do. I recently downloaded the fort; it can be found on STEX (sorry!) and it was made by PEG.

pickled_pig: Thank you! Lurkers are fine in my book, as I am/was one myself. Comments are definitely appreciated, though, so thanks!

emilin: Yeah, as I said before, the Painted Desert terrain is terrific and much more detailed in its own right, but it just wasnt the look I was going for. I feel this suits what I want much more. Thank you for the compliment!

Manny: Merci! I hope you enjoy the updates to come as well.

[Nisha]

Congratulations! 
I love the update. Such interesting and intriguing history. 

~Nisha

[urban]

Congratulations

your MD is one of my favorites

[thundercrack83]

Wow, I missed a lot of action here, nedalezz! Sorry that I'm so late to the party, but Qumma looks wonderful. You can bet that I'll be following along with future updates. And congratulations on making it to Special Interest status, too, my friend!