Kalistani Major History

[Doc]

Spotlight on Sulari
World turns to Sulari as FOMAT Approaches
Sulari, Suldanor
July 31, 4899


Shopping and Entertainment Districts overlap in Kalistan's "City of the Sun"

Sulari, Suldanor has long been considered Kalistan's second most Important City. The City has been the center of heavy manufacturing in the Republic for centuries, serving as Headquarters Site for the National Oil Refinery that has refined KALNAPECO oil for a thousand years, as well as site of the major commercial and industrial Port Elga, which transformed the District from a sleepy backwater and largely forgotten district into the industrial engine that powers the Dual Economy. In the last 1000 years since the building of Port Elga, Sulari has also served as a major site of technological development in Kalistan, where the headquarters of KalMD, the major consumer electronics corporation in Kalistan, and their various subsidiary enterprises, is located, among other major Kalistani corporations.

Most recently, Kalistan's center of culture generation has also shifted closer to Sulari, as several movie studios, including Republican Pictures and ARC and LTD record companies both have their headquarters in here. The world looks at Kalistan as one of the leading culture producing states, even further elevating Sulari's status as not only the cultural heart of the Republic, but a major player in the entire world. It makes sense therefore that Sulari has a special place in the list of Kalistani Cities.

With a population of 6.9 million people, the capital of Suldanor District is only slightly smaller than Kaliburg itself, and is the largest City on the North East Coast of Seleya from Lodamun to Gaduridos. It sits at the southern terminus of the Ananto Strait, and is a major hub for air travel and rail transportation across this part of the continent. The attention paid to Sulari is mirrored in the affluence of its citizens: given the concentration of industry in the region, one would think that there would be heavy wealth stratification, complete with clearly delineated working and leisure classes. But due to centuries of Socialist Policy, as well as National Service and Dual Economy, the people on the whole are far wealthier than even those in major cities in other Districts. And due to zero growth policies aggressively pushed by the Socialist Party, the people of the District are encouraged to live well and fully.

The excellent weather in the Sulari Plain is created by a weak cool onshore flow from the North East that prevents storms from forming at Sea, while providing regular precipitation to the city, especially in the winter time. Temperatures near the Ocean remain comfortably in 70s during the Winter though they will reach the 90s during the summer months, especially if strong currents come from the South, but the norm is that temps remain in the mid 80s, with thermal thunderstorm development at least three afternoons on average every week. This permanent summer has earned the City the moniker "The City of the Sun" and it is true that Sulari has more than 200 days of sun, with more than 165 of those days, on average being skies with zero cloud cover.

The sun and the precipitation patterns have generated a culture oriented around being outside at all hours of the day. This pairs well with shopping in Downtown Sulari, where people interested in spending money, and really having more than enough of it to spend, tend to be trend leaders, setting fashions and informing the Republic of their buying habits. The purchasing profiles of the people in Sulari tend to be significantly different than those of Kaliburg: In Sulari, bright and colorful clothing, perfumes with exotic and enticing aromas, and jewelry tend to prevail, while in Kaliburg, people tend to be more classic and traditional in their fashion and consumer purchases, preferring solid colors, slimmer and more utilitarian lines, and functional clothing.

And people of Sulari tend to wear less clothing than their Northern Cousins. At any time of day, you can expect to see more nudity in Sulari than probably any city in Seleya. People treat all clothing that is not specifically "fashionable" as a swim suit, and will not hesitate to strip off some clothes and take a swim in the ocean directly adjacent to the city. With its long, gently sloping and sandy continental shelf, swimmers can walk some distance out into the clear waters of the Odufarat Sea before even getting their knees wet, at low tide. Those same long flat shelves then provide for excellent surfing and swimming opportunities at high tide, though the water, which is usually around 65 degrees is generally considered a little too cool to swim without a wetsuit except during the warm summer months.


A Lone Surfer catches a wave before heading to work

The City itself is surrounded by a ring of low hills which lead just off the shore and provide excellent natural areas for residents to hike, or explore nature. An excellent Observatory, the Sulari Observatory and Planetarium sits atop one of these hills: Telescopic Hill that rises to nearly 1000 feet, and allows observers to get above the light pollution of the metropolis below to get relatively unhindered views of the stars, without travelling too far out into the country. There is still a lot of wildlife in and around the parklands adjacent to Sulari, and hikers can run into raccoons, iguanas, and armadillos with some degree of regularity.

Sulari is located about an hour down the coast from the current Kalistani Music hotspot in Dana, which is the center of the Ska punk scene currently dominating the Kalistani Music Scene and home base to FOMAT XIII Winners Red Tone, and about 4 hours north of the center of KME music in Yoshimi, the steamy Southern city which has single handedly produced half of Kalistan's FOMAT winners. Sulari itself has a long history of hosting and building bands from multiple genres like pop, Punk, Hardcore, Alternative and Reggae. As a result, there is never a night in Sulari where music lovers cannot find a show to attend, or see a major concert from multiple bands. Sulari also features venues for travelling operas and plays, to give people a lot of variety to choose from when seeking cultural experiences. In addition, most movies in Kalistan are still in some way associated with the City, which means that most of the major actors and actresses in the Republic make their home in Sulari.

All in all, there is something for every pleasure seeker in the City of the Sun. The people there, though many of them work hard in Kalistan's National Industries, still take pride in their hometown and regularly contribute to improvement of the city, for the purpose of making the City the Utopia they all think it is. The character of the people of the city is that of people who do not need or want for anything: they are generous with everything, and represent one aspect of the socialist ideal for society, which is to provide an equal contribution to the well being of the society and enjoy an equal share of the fruits of that common effort. The people there are welcoming to all people from around the world, knowing that newcomers mean the burden on each person individually becomes lighter. The people are highly literate and integrated with technology, are politically and economically savvy, and have an easy going way that allows them to put small things behind them to tackle more serious matters with clear and level heads.

This is Sulari, the City of the Sun.