Kulpania

Kulpania (/kul'pæ'ni:'æ/, /kul'pei'ni:'æ/) is a fictional country created by me (Dylan). It is comprised of a main island, along with the smaller islands of Micajer, Towtalt, Memmes Bay Isle, and the Isle of Blak.

Origins

The Republic of Kulpania was formed on 26th November 1811, following the events of "New November" (November 1811). The Republic was the successor to the Kingdom of Kulpania (1224-1811), with the first President of the State being Æntes Gelnós (gelnOs Xntes). The Kulpanian Independence Day holiday is celebrated on 26 November every year to commemorate the country's founding.

Language

The name Kulpania is the English equivalent of the Kulpan word cUlbanot, translating as 'our home land'. The official, and most spoken language in the country of Kulpania is Kulpan. However, the Isle of Blak does not speak Kulpan, instead speaking their own language, Blakian. The Kulpan language has several dialects: the one adopted by the government is Standard Kulpan.

Division

Kulpania is divided into 23 counties (also known as provinces). Each county has its own county council, and a settlement in which they are based. For example, the county of Micajer has its county council based in its most populous settlement, Port of Micajer. The country's capital, Dalow, sits in its own region, known as the Independent Province of Dalow (dalUlotdionbeSirdicadicata). In regions of the country other than the IPD, land allocation is handled by the Land Division Committee (Ysirotdicoradia), and electricity grids are managed by the National Electric Group (YsirbUrmatIotbeSirela). Water supplies, however, are managed on a county level, but many counties have water-sharing agreements: for instance, the Telvon Water Board manages water in Telvon, Minletor, and Greater Potor.

At the 2016 census, the Independent Province of Dalow had the highest population density of any county with approximately 4800 residents per square kilometer, while the West Highlands had the lowest population density, with around 30 people per square kilometer. The densest region of the country, however, is central Oloton, which has a population density of around 12 500 residents per square kilometer, marginally more than central Dalow's 12 000 residents per square kilometer density.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Kulpania

Kulpania has a varied selection of transport available. It has a well-developed road network, with a number of Cross-Province routes built to highway standards; and other major roads, several built to expressway or high standard. There is an extensive national railway network to allow for long-distance public transport journeys. Regular rail lines are operated by five separate franchises: Dutell Trains, Westex, Great Soutrian Railways, CapitalConnect, and Southeasternly Rail. Furthermore, there is a network of high-speed rail, operated by Kulpan highspeed, serving the country's major cities. These six franchises together form the KulpanRail group, which manages all of the rail transport on the mainland, excluding light rail or commuter rail systems. However, the KulpanRail group only operates one heavy rail line on each of Towtalt and Micajer, with other lines being run by volunteers. All of the Isle of Blak's rail transport is operated by volunteers, but the ferry service to the mainland is run by CapitalConnect.

Several of the country's large cities have light rail or metro systems, such as the Oloton Metro or Dalow Metro. Other cities have an on-road tram system, such as Nintón, but this city is considerably smaller than Oloton or Dalow. Since 2012, the city of Lowtah has been constructing its own metro system to tackle the city's infamously awful traffic problems. This metro system was set to open in early 2019, after an initial delay from late 2017 due to a machine failure. Phase one of the system did indeed open in early 2019, with three lines now operational in the city. The subsequent phase, which consisted of extensions to two of the three existing metro lines, opened on time on 23 November 2020.

Sport

Football is the most popular sport in Kulpania. The highest-level league in the country is the Kulpan Premier League.

Media

Radio

Kulpanian radio is mostly dominated by the country's three largest radio networks. Each of these radio networks only directly owns fewer than four radio broadcasting stations, however many other radio stations act as franchises of one of the big three radio networks. The largest, and oldest, radio network in Kulpania is Sotair Rádio (Daily Radio, rAdio sotair), which is comprised of eighteen franchises and two stations directly owned by the network. Sotair Rádio is the only one of the big three radio networks which broadcasts on the Isle of Blak. The other two of the big three radio networks are Rádiojóśob (Star Radio, rAdiojOSob) and Salrá (Your Radio, salrA). Each of these networks broadcasts to the entirety of the Kulpanian mainland and Towtalt, but only Sotair and Salrá broadcast on Micajer.

Since 2021, Sotair Rádio has broadcasted the KP Singles Chart weekly on Saturdays, and the chart is then published on the KP Charts website after airing. KP Charts is an independent music company, however it is funded partially by Sotair Northeast, as the company is headquartered in Oloton. The radio company has also expressed interest in broadcasting an albums chart, however the KP Charts company does not currently compile this.

Television

Television in Kulpania is heavily regulated by the government's Internal Communications Division (YsirdIsdIsabir), and as such there are few channels allowed to broadcast on television frequencies. There are officially only twenty-three companies allowed to broadcast television signals, however illegal television broadcasts are common throughout the country as the regulated channels must adhere to strict guidelines when broadcasting. The most-watched television channel in Kulpania is Saltele 1, operated by Saltele, a subsidiary of the Salrá radio company. Saltele has been commonly accused of bias in their news coverage, with many claiming the network is strongly aligned with the Jóráta political party.

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