- Dagestan (Wikipedia)
Dagestan (/ˌdæɡɪˈstæn, -ˈstɑːn/ DAG-ə-STA(H)N; Russian: Дагестан; IPA: [dəɡʲɪˈstan]), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Federal District. The republic is the southernmost tip of Russia, sharing land borders with the countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia to the south and southwest, the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia to the west and north, and with Stavropol Krai to the northwest. Makhachkala is the republic’s capital and largest city; other major cities are Derbent, Kizlyar, Izberbash, Kaspiysk, and Buynaksk.
- Coupeville — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Coupeville is one of Washington’s oldest towns and the seat of Island County. Situated on Whidbey Island, at Penn Cove on Saratoga Passage, the town was once the site of three permanent Lower Skagit tribal villages. Named for pioneer Thomas Coupe, it was settled by sea captains and farmers in the 1850s. Whidbey Island narrows near Coupeville; nearby Ebey’s Landing and Ebey’s Prairie share a common history. The activation of Fort Casey in 1901 spurred efforts for Coupeville incorporation in April 1910. During the Great Depression, Whidbey Island utilized government funds for building projects such as Deception Pass Bridge (1935). Many of Coupeville’s older structures survived into the 1970s and Whidbey Island support for the arts and tourism gave impetus to formation of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, the first of its kind recognized in the U.S. Continued support of tourism has preserved four blockhouses, historic buildings, and homes, and most significant, the prairie itself. Gift shops, restaurants, businesses, and boutiques in heritage buildings now line Coupeville’s Front Street and the Island County Historical Museum on Main Street interprets Whidbey Island’s past.