So, I’ve been out of town for a week, attending the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. It was all work - no time to see anything - but I heard one little tidbit about a Philadelphia that I would like to share. My return-to-the-airport cab driver, a native Jordanian, relayed the little fact that the capital city of that country, Amaan, was once called Philadelphia. For hundreds of years, in fact! The Greeks named that city, and, of course, William Penn then chose the name (meaning “Brotherly Love,” as we all know) for our Philadelphia.

Another interesting fact: the Native American name for this Philadelphia was Coaquannok, meaning “grove of tall pine trees.” (www.sacklunch.net) Where are those pine trees?

By the by, there are or were other Philadelphia’s (some spelled differently) in the world: New York, Tennessee, Mississippi, England, Germany, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Paraguay, Italy, and Brazil (wikipedia.com).

I hope you enjoyed this history/geography lesson!

Related posts:

1. Because April is boring…
2. World Cup Watching…in Berlin
3. Critical Mass Philadelphia
4. The Morris Arboretum
5. Philadelphia: Not just concrete