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Superimposed on Iceland's rugged terrain is a resilient and independent culture, fashioned over the years by the descendants of the farmers and warriors who fled the tyranny of medieval Scandinavia. Their flight to a new and empty country resulted in the building of sturdy settlements and farms, and the beginning of a rich literary tradition dominated by the sagas - fact-based accounts of struggles, battles, heroics, religion and occupations - which are considered the finest of all Western medieval works. The country has also thrown up some significant contributors to modern literature, with Halldór Laxness, Iceland's best known writer, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955. Traditional music - usually cowboy songs and tear-jerking lullabies - remains popular, while giddy international success has greeted the Sugarcubes and that band's impish former lead singer, Björk.

Although Iceland is officially Christian, the ancient Norse religion known as Ásatrú is gaining popularity, not only as a novelty but as an officially recognised sect. A sheep farmer revived Ásatrú in the 1970s; it focuses on the natural forces and the harmony of nature represented by the ancient gods.

Traditional Icelandic food is not as bad as it sounds: in fact several dishes are actually edible. The one glaring exception is hákarl, putrefied shark meat that has been buried for up to six months to ensure sufficient decomposition. Slightly more palatable is hrútspungur, ram's testicles pickled in whey and pressed into a cake, and svie, singed sheep head (complete with eyes) sawn in two, boiled and eaten either fresh or pickled. You could also try slátur, a mish-mash of sheep leftovers tied up in the stomach and cooked. Less bizarre foods include: harðfiskur, (haddock); bleikja, (char); lundi (puffin); and, if you haven't any objections to eating them, whale blubber, whale steaks and seal meat. The unique Icelandic treat is skyr, a yoghurt-like concoction made of pasteurised skim milk and bacteria culture. Coffee is a national institution, while beer, wine and spirits are available, though expensive. The traditional Icelandic brew is brennivín, a sort of schnapps made from potatoes and flavoured with caraway.