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Leper Colonies
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Africa through the Middle East, Europe, and Asia by the 5th century before reaching the rest of the world more recently. Historically, leprosy was believed to be extremely contagious and divinely ordained, leading to enormous stigma against its sufferers. Other severe skin diseases were frequently conflated with leprosy and all such sufferers were kept away from the general public, although some religious orders provided medical care and treatment. Recent research has shown ''M. leprae'' has maintained a similarly virulent genome over at least the last thousand years, leaving it unclear which precise factors led to leprosy's near elimination in Europe by 1700. A growing number of cases following the first wave of European colonization, how ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinalonga
Spinalonga ( el, Σπιναλόγκα) is an island located in the Gulf of Elounda in north-eastern Crete, in Lasithi, next to the town of Plaka. The island is further assigned to the area of Kalydon. It is near the Spinalonga peninsula ("large Spinalonga") – which often causes confusion as the same name is used for both. During Venetian rule, salt was harvested from salt pans around the island. The island has also been used as a leper colony. Spinalonga has appeared in novels, television series, and a short film. Origin of the name According to Venetian documents, the name of the island originated in the Greek expression στην Ελούντα ''stin Elounda'' (meaning "to Elounda"). The Venetians could not understand the expression, so they familiarized it using their own language, and called it ''spina'' "thorn" ''longa'' "long", an expression that was also maintained by the locals. The Venetians were inspired for this expression by the name of an island near Venice c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
