Kadayawan

The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living. It is held every third week of August.

It was said that, long time ago, Davao's ethnic tribes residing at the foot of Mount Apo would converge during a bountiful harvest. This ritual serves as their thanksgiving to the gods particularly to the "Manama" (the Supreme Being).

Various farming implements, fruits, flowers, vegetables, rice and corn grains were displayed on mats as villagers give their respect and thanks for the year's abundance. Singing, dancing and offerings to their divine protectors are the highlights of this ritual.

Although times have changed, this practice of thanksgiving or "pahinungod" is still very much practiced by modern day Davaoeños. This tradition flourished and evolved into an annual festival of thanksgiving

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadayawan_Festival

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Durian

Southern Mindanao specifically Davao is known for an odorous but tasty fruit, the durian. It has become an expensive fruit that is sold by the kilo. Better qualities like “Mon thong” and “Channe” varieties are even sold at higher price.  Good varieties are sold at durian price from 60 to 120 pesos per kilo.

Durian is a very large fruit with a strong odor and an impressive husk consisting of multiple thorns. The fruit is native to Southeast Asia but is also known to the Western countries for about 600 years. The oblong to round shaped fruit, which belongs to the family Malvaceae and genus Durio, can grow to as large as 12 inches or 30 centimeters in length and 6 inches or 15 centimeters in diameter. The weight of a durian fruit can vary from one to three kilograms and its color vary from husk green to brownish as well as flesh pale yellow to red.

A durian tree is large, about 80 to 164 ft in height depending on the species. It bears fruits one or two times in a year. The tree branches can support the fruits at a hanging state regardless of the fruit size. The durian fruit matures about three months after pollination. Nine of the thirty species of Durio are known to produce edible durian fruits. The durian fruit is similar to the outer appearance of the jackfruit which is unrelated to durian.

http://www.philippinetraveldestinations.com/durian.html

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Jack's Ridge

Jack's Ridge: Making History in Davao City

The land on which Jack’s Ridge now stand once formed part of the headquarter of the retreating Japanese forces towards the end of the World War II. The Americans had landed in Davao on May 1, 1945, forcing the Japanese to beat a path to Matina Hills where they had a commanding view of the Davao Gulf where the American ships were anchored. Fierce fighting soon erupted between the two forces, and as history shown us, the Japanese lost.

Today, more than half a century later, Jack’s Ridge is filled with reminders of its historic past. Caves dug by the Japanese pockmark the area, and once in a while people still find bullets and other war materials in the rocky soil.

There is also talk that hidden somewhere in the caved are gold bullions and other treasure that the Japanese had taken from other countries and brought to Davao.

Whatever the truth is about the treasure, Jack’s Ridge maintains the feature that made it an important outpost for the retreating Japanese forces, a commanding view of Davao City and the Gulf, the same view within the premises is also refreshing, since the owner has made its mission to preserve the natural beauty of the place.

Jack’s Ridge was built to offer a completely new experience to dinners, and its not over yet, more development are under way to make it the premier dining resort in Davao City.

Indeed, Jack’s Ridge is making it’s own mark in Davao City’s History.

http://davaocitybybattad.blogspot.com/2011/07/jacks-ridge.html

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Davao City

Davao City (Cebuano: Dakbayan sa Dabaw, Filipino: Lungsod ng Dabaw) is a city on Mindanao, Philippines. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,449,296 people, making it the fourth-most-populous city in the Philippines and the most populous in Mindanao.[4] It is the center of Metro Davao, the third most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines (as of 2010 Census with a population of 2.26 million, after Metro Manila's 11.86 million and Metro Cebu's 2.55 million). With a total land area of 2,444 square kilometers,[2] the city is the largest in the country in terms of land area. The city serves as the main trade, commerce, and industry hub of Mindanao and the regional center of Davao Region. Davao is home to Mount Apo, the highest mountain in the Philippines. Davao is also known as the "Durian Capital" of the Philippines.

For geographical and statistical purposes, Davao City is grouped with the province of Davao del Sur but is governed independently from it. The city is divided into three congressional districts, which are subdivided into 11 administrative districts with a total of 182 barangays.

The 2013 GRDP estimates are a confirmation that Davao Region is truly resilient and that Dabawenyos have the capacity to recovery quickly from calamities and to rise above difficult challenges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davao_City

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