- published: 17 Sep 2011
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- 6th century BC
- Abbasid Caliphate
- Abha
- Abqaiq
- Adana
- Aden
- AFC Champions League
- Afif
- Africa
- Ahmed Al-Jazzar
- Al Bahah
- Al Baik
- Al Balad, Jeddah
- Al Ekhbariya
- Al Madina Press
- Al Majma'ah
- Al-Adid
- Al-Ahli (Jeddah)
- Al-Ahli Jeddah
- Al-Balad, Jeddah
- Al-Bilad
- Al-Ittihad (Jeddah)
- Al-Kharj
- Aleppo
- Alexander Calder
- Alexander The Great
- Alexandria
- Algeria
- Ali of Hejaz
- Allegiance Council
- Almaty
- Amir Husain Al-Kurdi
- Amman
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- Arab
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2009 Jeddah floods
The 2009 Saudi Arabian floods affected Jeddah, on the Red Sea (western) coast of Saudi Arabia, and other areas of Makkah Province. They have been described by civil defence officials as the worst in 27 years. As of January 3rd, 2010, some 122 people are reported to have been killed, and more than 350 were missing. Some roads were under a metre (three feet) of water on Thursday 26 November, and many of the victims were believed to have drowned in their cars. At least 3,000 vehicles were swept away or damaged. The death toll was expected to rise as flood waters receded, allowing rescuers to reach stranded vehicles.
More than 90 millimetres (3½ inches) of rain fell in Jeddah in just four hours on Wednesday 25 November This is nearly twice the average for an entire year and the heaviest rainfall in Saudi Arabia in a decade. The flooding came just two days before the expected date of the Eid al-Adha festival and during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to nearby Mecca. Business losses were estimated at a billion riyals (US$270 million). The poorer neighbourhoods in the south of Jeddah were particularly hard hit, as was the area around King Abdulaziz University. The university was closed for vacation at the time of the floods, preventing even higher casualties.
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Abha
Abha (Arabic: أبها Abhā) is the capital of Asir province in Saudi Arabia. It is situated at 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) above sea level in the fertile mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia near the National Park of Asir. Its mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Saudis. According to 2004 census figures it has a population of 201,912 with an estimate of 252,126 for 2009.
Abha is located in the Southern Region of Asir, it is highly elevated and it is home to the culminating point in Saudi Arabia, Jabal Al Sooda (the rock mountain) which stands at 3000 meters ((10,000 feet)) high
The area is subject to rain, sometimes heavy, some of its neighboring villages and rural areas are sometimes the witnesses of flash-floods during the winter. The cooler weather, comparatively to the rest of the peninsula, makes it an attraction point during the summer.
Abha is the administrative capital of the Asir region, therefore home to the governorate of Asir. All Government departments are located there. Also there are extensive medical and educational facilities. King Khalid University and Prince Sultan College for Hotel Management are located in Abha. There is a regional airport in Abha that has direct flights to Jeddah, Taif, Riyadh, Dammam, Medina, Tabuk and regular international flights to Dubai , Cairo and Sana'a. . Al Watan, which is one of the main Saudi daily newspapers, has its head office and main printing presses in Abha.
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Abqaiq
Abqaiq, or in Arabic Bqaiq (Arabic: بقيق bgayg), is a Saudi Aramco camp in the interior of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area. The camp was built in the 1940s by ARAMCO (now Saudi Aramco). The Abqaiq compound itself had a population of approximately 1,950 in 2005, though the inclusion of the population outside the compound, brings this number closer to 30,000.
After crude products (oil, natural gas, water, sand, etc.) are processed by the GOSPs (Gas Oil Separation Plants), the sour oil (containing H2S, hydrogen sulphide) is sent by pipeline to Abqaiq. The Abqaiq site stabilizes the oil, then pumps it to Ras Tanura (where it is exported), or further refined at a domestic refinery. Abqaiq also has NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) plants that extract natural gas liquids (butane, propane, hexane, etc.) from the oil. These NGL's are stabilized by Abqaiq, then sent to other sites for further separation and purification.
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Adana
Adana (pronounced [aˈda.na]) is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea, in south-central Anatolia. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province and has a population of 1.6 million, making it the fifth most populous city in Turkey. Adana-Mersin metropolitan area, with a population of 3 million, stretches over 100 km from east to west and 25 km from north to south; encompassing the cities of Mersin, Tarsus, Adana, and Ceyhan.
Adana lies in the heart of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, and Hatay. Home to approximately six million people, the region is mostly a large stretch of flat, fertile land regarded as one of the most agriculturally productive areas of the world.
According to numerous sources, the name Adana is derived from the Hittite URUAdaniya of Kizzuwatna, while others assert that it is related to the legendary character Danaus, or to the Danaoi, a mythological Greek tribe who came from Egypt[citation needed] and established themselves in the Greek city Argos.The earlier Egyptian texts for a country Danaja are inscriptions from Thutmosis II (1437 BC) and Amenophis III (1390-1352 BC). After the collapse of the Mycenean civilization (1200 BC) some refugeees from the Aegean area went to the coast of Cilicia. The inhabitants Dananayim or Danuna are identified as one group of the sea-peoples who attacked Egypt on 1191 BC during the reign of Ramesses III. Denyen are identified as inhabitants of the city Adana. It is also possible that the name is connected with the PIE da-nu (river) Da-na-vo (people living by the river), Scythian nomad people, water demons in Rigveda (Danavas).
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Aden
Aden (/ˈɑːdɛn/ AH-den; Arabic: عدن ʻAdan) is a seaport city in South Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately a million people. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay, was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 5th and 7th centuries BCE. The modern harbour is on the other side of the peninsula.
Aden consists of a number of distinct sub-centers: Crater, the original port city; Ma'alla, the modern port; Tawahi, known as "Steamer Point" in the colonial period; and the resorts of Gold Mohur. Khormaksar, located on the isthmus that connects Aden proper with the mainland, includes the city's diplomatic missions, the main offices of Aden University, and Aden International Airport (the former British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar), Yemen's second biggest airport. On the mainland are the sub-centres of Sheikh Othman, a former oasis area; Al-Mansura, a town planned by the British; and Madinat ash-Sha'b (formerly Madinat al-Itihad), the site designated as the capital of the South Arabian Federation and now home to a large power/desalinization facility and additional faculties of Aden University.
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Afif
Afif (Arabic: عفيف) is a city in central Saudi Arabia, in the Najd region. It is located at 23°54′36″N 42°55′13″E / 23.91°N 42.92028°E / 23.91; 42.92028Coordinates: 23°54′36″N 42°55′13″E / 23.91°N 42.92028°E / 23.91; 42.92028, and is situated approximately half-way between Riyadh and Mecca. The modern town was established in the 1910s as a hijra, or "settlement", for the nomadic tribes of the area, particularly the tribe of 'Utaybah (see Ikhwan). It has since then grown into a small city of some 90,000 people, not counting the surrounding towns and villages, which together with 'Afif form the 'Afif Governorate. The city once served as a gateway between the central and western regions of Saudi Arabia.The city is also known to be the first landing site of the first airplane owned by King Abdulaziz the first king of Saudi Arabia.It should also be noted that a majority of King Abdulaziz's army came from Afif including members from the tribe that founded the town 'Utaybah including Hnboj bin Hamad and Omar bin Rubaian
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Al Bahah
Al Bahah (Arabic: الباحة Al Bāḥa) is a city in the south west of Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Al Bahah Province nestled between the resorts of Taif and Abha, Al Baha is one of the Kingdom’s prime tourist attractions. It enjoys a pleasant climate and is surrounded by more than forty forests, including Raghdan, al Zaraeb and Baidan. Al Baha is the headquarters of the Governor, local councils and branches of governmental departments. Receiving the state's special attention, the city of Al Baha abounds in educational, tourist and health institutions.
The "Pearl of Resorts" is the name given to Al Baha by those acquainted with the city. The "Garden of Hejaz" (Arabic translation: حديقه الحجاز) was the name given to Al Baha by the sharif of Mecca.
Al Baha City (BC) lies in the south-west of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia between the holy Makkah and Aseer. It is the smallest of the Kingdom's provinces (11,000 square km). It is surrounded by a number of cites, including Taif on the north, Beesha on the east, Abha on the south and the Red Sea coast city of Al Qunfuda on the west. This tourist city is situated in an area characterized by natural tree cover and agricultural plateaus. It consists of six towns, the most important of which are Beljarshy, Almandaq, and Almekhwah, in addition to the Baha city, the center of the province. The province comprises 31 administrative centers and has a population of 533,001.
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Aleppo
Aleppo (Arabic: حلب Ḥalab [ˈħalæb], other names) is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant. For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppo is distinct in identity, architecture and culture, all shaped by a markedly different history and geography.
Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it has been inhabited since perhaps as early as the 6th millennium BC. Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC; and this is also when Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, in which it is noted for its commercial and military proficiency. Such a long history is probably due to its being a strategic trading point midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia.
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Alexandria
Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية Al Iskandariyya, Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟⲧⲉ Rakotə, Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Alexándria, Koine Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον IPA: [ɑlɛˈksɑndɾiɑ e kɑt ˈɛʝypton] "Alexandria in Egypt", Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه [eskendeˈrejːæ]) is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria). It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.
Alexandria was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its library (the largest library in the ancient world); and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
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Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeria
i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
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Almaty
Almaty (Kazakh: Алматы / Almatı / الماتى , i.e. "city of apples" or "city of apple trees", under the Russian Empire from 1867 to 1921 known by the Russian name of Верный, Vierny, i.e. "the Faithful," and under the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1993 known as Alma-Ata (Russian: Алма́-Ата́, from the Kazakh алма/alma, i.e. "apple", and ата/ata, i.e. "grandfather"), is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500 (at 1 September 2008). This represents approximately 9% of the country's population.
Almaty was the capital of the Kazakh SSR from 1929 to 1991 and of independent Kazakhstan from 1991 to 1997. Despite losing its status as the capital to Astana in 1997, Almaty remains the major commercial center of Kazakhstan. The city is located in a mountainous area of southern Kazakhstan, near the border with Kyrgyzstan.
From 1927 to 1936, Almaty was the capital of Kazakh ASSR. From 1936 to 1991, it was the capital of Kazakh SSR. From 1991 to 1997, it was the capital of Kazakhstan. Almaty remains the largest, most developed, and most ethnically and culturally diverse city in Kazakhstan. The city is located in the foothills of Trans-Ili Alatau (or Zailiysky Alatau) in the extreme south-east and has a peculiar, relatively mild climate regime with a difficult environmental situation. Since the city is located in a tectonically active area there is a constant possibility of the earthquakes, most of which do not represent any significant danger or cause damage. However, Almaty has a record of some large destructive earthquakes too.
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Amman
Amman (Arabic: عمان
/ɑːˈmɑːn/; ʿAmmān; Rabat Ammon) is the capital and largest city of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost 6.5 million by 2025 due to constant and rapid immigration. The recent economic growth experienced in Amman is unmatched by any other Arab city except those located in the Gulf. Amman is also the administrative seat of the homonymous governorate. Amman is also ranked a Gamma global city on the World city index.
Amman was named one of the MENA's best cities according to economic, labour, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. Amman is among the most popular locations for multinational corporations to set up their regional offices, alongside Doha and only behind Dubai. Furthermore, it is expected that in the next 10 years these three cities will capture the largest share of multinational corporation activity in the region. It is a major tourist destination in the region and the capital is especially popular among Gulf tourists. Amman is considered one of the richest and most Western-oriented cities in the Middle East.
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Arab League
The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية al-Jāmiʻa al-ʻArabiyya), officially called the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya), is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia (Middle East). It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. The Arab League currently has 22 members (including Syria, whose participation was suspended in November 2011). The main goal of the league is to "draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries."
Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes, and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter which sets out the principles for economic activities in the region.
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Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīrat al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب Ǧazīrat al 'Arab) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 mi2). The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56-23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
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Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (
i/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası) is the largest country in the Caucasus region located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.
Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. Aside from having been the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theater and plays, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim-majority countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war. Azerbaijan has come under repeated international criticism for its record on human rights.
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Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد, Baġdād, IPA: [bæɣˈdæːd]) is the capital of Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).
Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic World. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g. House of Wisdom) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 1,200,000 people. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1938, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arabic culture.
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Baku
Baku (Azerbaijani: Bakı, IPA: [bɑˈcɯ]), sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal parts: the downtown and the old Inner City (21.5 ha). Baku's urban population at the beginning of 2009 was estimated at just over two million people. Officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in the metropolitan city area of Baku.
Baku is divided into eleven administrative districts (raions) and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on islands in the Baku Bay and the town of Oil Rocks built on stilts in the Caspian Sea, 60 km (37 mi) away from Baku. The Inner City of Baku along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planet's ranking, Baku is also among the world's top ten destinations for urban nightlife.
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Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°N 90°E / 23°N 90°E / 23; 90
Bangladesh (i/ˈbɑːŋɡlədɛʃ/ or i/bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/ (Anglicized pronunciation); Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The capital (and largest city) is Dhaka, located in central Bangladesh. The official state language is Bengali. The name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" the in the Bengali language, from Bangla "Bengal" and desh holding a dual meaning of "land" and "country" as English "country," German land, French pays, etc.
The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal during the reign and demise of the British India. Its map was chartered by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. Due to political exclusion and economic exploitation by the politically dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation grew against West Pakistan and led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence on 26 March 1971. With the intervention of the Indian Army, the war came to an end on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistan Army at Ramna Race Course.
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Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
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Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties in 1955, its two Miami-based franchisees, David Edgerton and James McLamore, purchased the company and renamed it Burger King. Over the next half century the company would change hands four times, with its third set of owners, a partnership of TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, taking it public in 2002. In late 2010 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in BK in a deal valued at $3.26 billion (USD). The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes.
At the end of fiscal year 2011, Burger King reported it had more than 12,400 outlets in 73 countries; of these, 66 percent are in the United States and 90 percent are privately owned and operated. BK has historically used several variations of franchising to expand its operations. The manner in which the company licenses its franchisees varies depending on the region, with some regional franchises, known as master franchises, responsible for selling franchise sub-licenses on the company's behalf. Burger King's relationship with its franchises has not always been harmonious. Occasional spats between the two have caused numerous issues, and in several instances the company's and its licensees' relations have degenerated into precedent-setting court cases.
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Cairo
Cairo ( /ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
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Casablanca
Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء ad-Dār al-Bayḍāʼ, original name in Berber: ⴰⵏⴼⴰ Anfa) is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.
Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture of Casablanca and 3,631,061 in the region of Grand Casablanca. Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, while the political capital city of Morocco is Rabat.
Casablanca hosts headquarters and main industrial facilities for the leading Moroccan and international companies based in Morocco. Industrial statistics show Casablanca retains its historical position as the main industrial zone of the country. The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world, and the largest port of North Africa. It is also the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.
The Latinized name of the city is a Spanish word combination meaning "White House" (blanca "white", casa "house"). It is thought that the Spaniards adopted the name from Portuguese Casa Branca. The city is now nicknamed Casa by many locals.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Dammam
Dammam (Arabic: الدمام Ad Dammām) is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, the most oil-rich region in the world. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province and several government departments are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh and Jeddah. It is an important commercial hub and port.[citation needed]
Dammam, and the rest of the Eastern Province, is served by the King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), the largest airport in the world in terms of land area (approximately 780 km2), about 20 km to the northwest of the city.
Dammam's King Abdul Aziz Sea Port is the largest on the Persian Gulf. Its import-export traffic in the country is second only to Jeddah's port.
The origins of the name "Dammam" is disputed, some say that it is onomatopoeic and it was given to the area because of a drum positioned in a nearby keep, when sounded for the alarm it produced a melody called "damdamah", others say that the name was given according to the Arabic word "dawwama" (whirlpool) which indicated a nearby sea site that dhows usually had to avoid.
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Dhahran
Dhahran (Arabic الظهران aẓ-Ẓahrān) is a city located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Corporation) drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), now fully owned by the Saudi government as Saudi Aramco.
Dhahran is a short distance west of downtown Khobar. It is about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Dammam. Both are older Saudi port cities on coast of the Persian Gulf. Looking farther afield, Dhahran is northeast of Abqaiq, and southeast of Qatif and, further north, Ras Tanura, a major oil port. The island of Kingdom of Bahrain is also within easy driving distance to the east (about 20 miles (32 km)), across the King Fahd Causeway, from Khobar.
The patch of desert on which the city is built is hilly and rocky, and most of the earliest productive oil wells in Saudi Arabia were drilled in the area, such as Dammam Well #7: "Prosperity Well," the first commercially viable oil well in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. This well is still in production 70 years later. This later led to the selection of two barren nearby hills as the place for Aramco to construct its headquarters.[1]
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Diriyah
Al-Diriyah (Arabic: الدرعية; also spelled Ad-Dir'iyah, Ad-Dar'iyah or Dir'aiyah) is a town in Saudi Arabia located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served as the capital of the first Saudi dynasty from 1744 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of Uyayna, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others, and is part of Ar Riyad Province.
The Turaif district in Diriyah was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
The ruins of the old city of Diriyah lay on either side of the narrow valley known as Wadi Hanifa, which continues southwards through Riyadh and beyond. Consisting almost entirely of mud-brick structures, the ruins are divided into three districts, Ghussaibah, Al-Mulaybeed, and Turaif, set on top of hills overlooking the valley. Of the three, Turaif is the highest, and its bottom is easily accessible to tourists by foot. Part of the city wall, running along the edges of the wadi and also made of mud-bricks, are still extant along with some short observation towers.
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Duba
Duba (Arabic: ضبا) is a small city on the northern Red Sea coast, of Saudi Arabia. It is in Tabuk Province. Local citizens describe it as The Pearl of the Red Sea. Population: Population of Duba is about 65,000.
The first reference to Duba, under this name, is from 1203. However, the Valley of Salma and Valley of Kafafah were already known many centuries before.
The ancient Greek scholar Ptolemy mentioned a trade route leading from Kafafah to Lihyan (today's Al-`Ula). Sheikh Abdulghani Al Nabulsi wrote about Duba in 1790, in his account of going to Mecca for the Hajj.
Historically it is part of Madian; the city is mentioned in heavenly scriptures. According to Quran, Prophet Mosa settled in Madian (the region starts from Jordan river and extends to the town of Duba) where Prophet Shoaib hosted him. The town of Prophet Shoib as it is called is said to be located near Maqna where an ancient well can still be seen. The well is said to be the one where Prophet Mosa fed Prophet Shoaib's flock.
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Dubai
Dubai (/duːˈbaɪ/ doo-BY; Arabic: دبيّ Dubeii; IPA: [du'beii]) is an emirate within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A city within the emirate is also named Dubai. The emirate is located south east of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature. Dubai City is located on the emirate's northern coastline.
The earliest mention of Dubai is in 1095, and the earliest settlement known as Dubai town dates from 1799. Dubai was formally established in 1833 by Sheikh Maktoum bin Buti al Maktoum when he persuaded 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, living in what is now part of Saudi Arabia, to follow him to the Dubai Creek by the Al Abu Falasa clan of Bani Yas. It remained under clan control when the United Kingdom assumed the protection of Dubai in 1892. Its geographical location made it an important trading hub and by the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important port.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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Emirate of Diriyah
The Emirate of Diriyah was the first Saudi state. It was established in the year 1744 (1157 A.H.) when Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Prince Muhammad ibn Saud formed an alliance to establish a religious and political sovereignty determined to purge the Arabian Peninsula of heretical practices and deviations from orthodox Islam as they understood it. This joint effort is seen by Wahhabi as the restoration of the basic belief in Tawhid, and many Salafi maintain it marks the beginning of the broader Salafi revivalist movement.[citation needed] Practices such as offering prayers to saintly figures, making pilgrimages to tombs and special mosques, venerating trees, caves, and stones were abolished under this rule. Since the establishment of the First Saudi State none of these practices have ever been observed again in Saudi Arabia. In 1744, both Muhammed bin Abd Al Wahhab and Muhammad bin Saud took an oath to achieve their goal. Marriage between Saud's son, Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohammed Ibn Saud, and the daughter of the Imam helped to seal the pact between their families which has lasted through the centuries to present day.
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Emirate of Nejd
The Emirate of Nejd was the second Saudi state that existed during the early to late 19th century. Saudi rule was restored to central and eastern Arabia after having previously been brought down by an Ottoman-Egyptian invasion in 1818. Compared to the First Saudi State, the second Saudi period was marked by less territorial expansion and less religious zeal, although the Saudi leaders continued to go by the title of Imam and still employed Wahhabist religious scholars.
It was also marked by severe internal conflicts within the Saudi family, eventually leading to the dynasty's downfall. Turki ibn Abdallah's reconquest of Riyadh from Egyptian forces in 1824 is generally regarded as the beginning of the Second Saudi State, while the end was marked by the Battle of Mulayda in 1891, between the forces loyal to the last Saudi imam, Abdul Rahman ibn Faisal ibn Turki, and the Al Rashid dynasty of Ha'il.
The rulers of the second state:
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] (
listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
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Gujarat
Gujarat /ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt/ (Gujarati: ગુજરાત Gujǎrāt [ɡudʒ(ə)ɾat] ( listen)) is a state in western India. It has an area of 75,686 sq mi (196,030 km2) with a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east and the Arabian Sea as well as the Pakistani province of Sindh on the west. Its capital is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India.
The state encompasses major sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the world's first ports. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat, served as ports and trading centers in the Maurya and Gupta empires. Mahatma Gandhi, India's "father of the nation", who led the Indian Independence Movement against the British colonial rule was a Gujarati.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister was also from Gujarat.
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Hofuf
Al-Hofuf (also Hofuf , Hofof' or Hufuf) (Arabic: الهفوف) is the major urban center in the Al-Ahsa Oasis in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The city proper has a population of 1,200,000 (2009 census} and is part of a larger populated oasis area of towns and villages of around 600,000. It is located inland, southwest of Abqaiq and the Dhahran-Dammam-Al-Khobar metropolitan area on the road south to Haradh. It is the closest city to the famous Ghawar oil field, one of the world's largest conventional (land-based) fields.
Hofuf is one of the major cultural centers in Saudi Arabia. A lot of well known families live there. The faculties of agriculture, veterinary medicine and animal resources for King Faisal University are located in the city (the others being in Dammam). The Hofuf campus also has facilities where Saudi women can study medicine, dentistry and home economics.
Legend places this as the burial place of Laila and Majnoon, the star-crossed pair of the most popular love story in the Arab and Muslim world. The Queen of Sheba is also fabled to have visited this city from her kingdom in Yemen.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula (or, more generally, by southern and western Asia); on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, by Antarctica). The ocean is named after the geographic location of India.
As one component of the interconnected global ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the meridian of 146°55' east. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 square kilometres (28,350,000 sq mi), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Istanbul
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, forming the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of 13.4 million, the city is at the center of the second-largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, and among the world's largest cities by population within city limits. Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with Istanbul Province, of which the city is considered capital. Straddling the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, Istanbul is a transcontinental city, with one third of its population living in Asia but its commercial and historical center in Europe.
Founded around 660 BC as Byzantium on the Seraglio Point, the city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as the capital of four empires — the late classical Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold from which the last caliphate ruled. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital elsewhere, in Ankara, remnants of Istanbul's previous central role still remain highly visible across the city, with palaces and imperial mosques lining its hills.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Jakarta
Jakarta ( /dʒəˈkɑrtə/), officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabekjur, is the second largest in the world, yet the city's suburbs still continue beyond it. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. and has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi)
Based on Brooking Institute survey about growth, in 2011 Jakarta ranked 17th among the world's 200 largest cities, a significant jumps from 2007 when Jakarta ranked 171st. Jakarta has seen more rapid growth than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Jeddah
Jeddah (Arabic: جدّة Jidda), sometimes spelled Jiddah or Jedda, is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The population of the city currently stands at 3.2 million. It is an important commercial hub in Saudi Arabia.
Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, which able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lifetime. It is also a gateway to Medina, the second holiest place in Islam.
Jeddah is one of the most cosmopolitan, diverse, and tolerant of all Saudi Arabian cities, hosting expatriates from all over the world who have made Jeddah their home.[citation needed] Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East. Jeddah was independently ranked 4th in the Africa / Mid-East region in terms of innovation in 2009 in the Innovation Cities Index.
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Jeddah Seaport
King Saud International Seaport (also called Jeddah Islamic Seaport) has an excellent location in the middle of the international shipping route[which?] between east and west.
The port lies on the Red Sea coast at latitude 28° 21' north and longitude 39° 10' east. It is the Saudi's principal port serving the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The port serves the commercial centers through which 59% of the Saudi's imports by sea are being handled[citation needed]. The importance of Jeddah Port increased and reached its maximum limit when Saudi Arabia was developing into a modern country.
The Port established in September 1976[citation needed], whereupon it started developing its facilities. The port has expanded from a modest 10 operational berths in 1976[citation needed] to the 58 berths of international standard in service today[when?].
Jeddah Islamic Port is a congestion free harbor[according to whom?]. It occupies an area of 10.5 square kilometers and its deep water quays provide an overall berthing length of 11.2 kilometers with a maximum draft of 16 metres[citation needed].
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Jidda Island
Jidda Island (Arabic: جزيرة جدة) is an uninhabited islet in Bahrain. It lies to the west of Bahrain Island and just north of Umm an Nasan in Persian Gulf. It is connected to Umm an Nasan by a short causeway.
Jidda used to be the location of one of Bahrain's prisons. Majeed Marhoon, Abdulhadi Khalaf and several other political activists spent time in the prison in the sixties and seventies.
It later became the private property of Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and is currently closed from the public. The island has a palace, gardens, a helipad, a mosque and several other facilities made for the prime minister and his family, although the island is uninhabited and Sheikh Khalifa himself lives in Riffa, Bahrain Island.
The island is made of limestone cliffs. It is believed that blocks of rock cut from the island were used in the Barbar temple on Bahrain Island.
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Jizan
Jazan (Arabic: جازان jazān), also spelled Jizan, Gizan or Gazan, is the capital of Jizan Province, which lies in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia and directly north of the border with Yemen. Jazan City is situated on the coast of the Red Sea and serves a large agricultural heartland that has a population of 1.5 million, according to a 2010 census. The area is famous for its beautiful islands and high-quality production of tropical fruits like mango, figs, and papaya.
Jazan has an arid tropical climate with an average annual temperature of 86.2 °F (30.1 °C). January typically sees daytime highs of 88 °F (31 °C) and lows of 71 °F (22 °C), while July has average daytime highs of 104 °F (40 °C) and lows of 86 °F (30 °C). With an average annual temperature of 87 °F (31 °C).
The inhabitants of Jizan are Arab and almost entirely Sunnie Muslim.
Coordinates: 16°53′21″N 42°33′40″E / 16.88917°N 42.56111°E / 16.88917; 42.56111
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Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru (also spelled Johor Baharu, Johor Baru, or Johore Bahru; abbreviated as JB) is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland.Pasir Pelangi, the royal village, is located within Johor Bahru.
With a population of approximately 900,000 in the city, and nearly 2 million in the metropolitan area, Johor Bahru is the second largest urban area in Malaysia, after the national capital, Kuala Lumpur, and its associated Klang Valley region. The total population of the Singapore-Johor Bahru conurbation is 7 million; it is also part of the 8-million-person metropolitan area of the Sijori Growth Triangle, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Johor Bahru is easily reached from Singapore, and receives 49.9 percent of the country's annual 22.5 million foreign tourists via its bridges and road links to Singapore. The city is an important industrial, tourism and commercial hub for southern Malaysia and one of the biggest industrial centres of the country.
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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.
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Jubail
Jubail (Arabic: "الجبيل" Al Jubayl), is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It comprises the Old Town of Al Jubail, which was a small fishing village until 1975, and the new industrial area.
In 1975, the Saudi government designated Jubail as the site for a new industrial city. Rapid expansion and industrialization ensued. The new industrial and residential areas were named Madīnat al Jubayl aṣ Ṣinā`īyah (Jubail Industrial City). The Seventh Census Report for Jubail Industrial City, prepared in 2009, gives a resident population of 150,367.
It is the largest industrial complex of its kind in the world and comprises petrochemical plants,fertilizer plants, a steel works, an industrial port and myriad support industries. The Royal Saudi Naval Base, a separate commercial port, and a military air base are at Jubail. It holds the Middle East's largest and the world's fourth largest petrochemical company, SABIC. The world's largest seawater desalination plant, Saline Water Conversion Corporation, is at Jubail. It provides 50% of the country's drinking water through desalination of seawater from the Persian Gulf. A Japanese-South Korean consortium holds a $1892 million contract to build a new facility capable of producing a billion litres of fresh water per day by the end of 2013.
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Karachi
Karachi ( Karācī (help·info), Urdu: کراچی; Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the largest city, main seaport and financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 13 million. Results in April 2012 of Pakistan's latest census initial tabulations show that the district is home to over 21 million people, at a density of nearly 6,000 people per square kilometer (15,500 per square mile). Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Muslim world.
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan (i/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/) (Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqstɑ́n]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe. The ninth largest country in the world by land area, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of 2,727,300 square kilometres (1,053,000 sq mi) is larger than Western Europe. It is neighbored clockwise from the north by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea. Although Kazakhstan does not share a border with Mongolia, its most easterly point is only 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Mongolia's western tip. The terrain of Kazakhstan ranges from flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, and snow-capped mountains to deserts. With 16.6 million people (2011 estimate) Kazakhstan has the 62nd largest population in the world, though its population density is less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 per sq. mi.). The capital was moved in 1998 from Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, to Astana.
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Kazan
Kazan (Russian: Каза́нь; IPA: [kɐˈzanʲ]; Tatar Cyrillic: Казан, Latin: Qazan) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,161,308, it is the eighth most populous city in Russia, while the metropolitan area has a population of 1.57 million (2011).[citation needed] Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia.
The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site. In 2005, the Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan" was established by Russia to denote this landmark event. The multi-ethnic city is is honored by UNESCO and famous for Muslims and Christians living side-by-side in peace.
In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the "Sports capital of Russia" and it still is referred to as such. The city will host 2013 Summer Universiade, 2015 World Aquatics Championships, and 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The origin of the name Kazan is uncertain. The most accepted legends derive it from the Bulgar Turkic (and also modern Tatar) word qazan, which means 'boiler' or 'cauldron'.
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Khafji
Ras Al Khafji (رأس الخفجي) or Khafji (الخفجي) is a town on the border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It lies in what was before 1970 a neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Japanese-owned Arabian Oil Company Ltd signed a concession agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia in December 1957 and with the government of Kuwait in July 1958 for exploration and development of hydrocarbon reserves in the offshore Neutral Zone. The Arabian Oil Company discovered the Kafji oil field in 1960 and the Hout oil field in 1963.
It was only after the discovery of these oil deposits off-shore of Khafji that a permanent demarcation of the neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia was established, with Khafji formally located within Saudi Arabia.[citation needed] However, the agreement concluded that both states would still maintain joint rights to all natural resources within the designated neutral zone. With the termination of the Arabian Oil Company lease to explore and extract within the area, operations within the Khafji Fields reverted to a joint venture between shareholder companies representing both states, with production being split on a 50:50 agreement between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
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Khamis Mushait
Khamis Mushait (Arabic: خميس مشيط Khamis Mushait) is a city in south-west Saudi Arabia, located 35 minutes east of Abha, the provincial seat of the Asir province. It is the capital of the Shahran Tribe. Until the 1970s Khamis Mushait was a small town of less than 50,000 servicing the surrounding mild-climate agricultural region. Since then its population has grown eightfold to reach 446,467 (2004 census).
Khamis Mushait is the largest city in Asir province, nowadays one of the most populated regions in Saudi Arabia. The city's name comes from the weekly market that is held each Thursday; "Khamis" simply meaning Thursday in Arabic. Khamis Mushait is a popular tourist destination in the summer, due to its relatively mild summer weather, frequent rainfall, and famous well maintained parks. The city is served by the Abha regional airport, located approximately 18 km from the city centre.
Khamis Mushayit is well connected with a good quality road network. The city lacks a bus or rail network, so private vehicle hire plays a significant role in the transport system.
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Khobar
Khobar (also written al-Khobar or al-Khubar; Arabic: الخبر) is a large city located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the coast of the Persian Gulf. It has a population of over 410,000 and forms part of the greater Dammam metropolitan area along with Dhahran, which together have a combined population of over 2,500,000. All three urban centers are served by the King Fahd International Airport, the distance to the airport terminal from Khobar is about 50 km (30 Miles).
Many of Khobar's residents work for Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company. Traditionally, Khobar has also been a city of shopkeepers and merchants, and the city today has many modern malls and boulevards with shops run by international franchises, and restaurants. Together, Khobar, Dhahran and Dammam are often known as "The Triplet Cities". Khobar today is a bustling economic centre with many skyscrapers under construction. The nearby city of Dammam has the second-largest port in Saudi Arabia.
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Kuching
Kuching ( /ˈkuːtʃɪŋ/ KOO-ching; Chinese: 古晋）), officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. The city covers an area of 719 sq miles (1,863 km²) and and has an estimated population of 1 million of 2012.
Kuching is one of the two subsets of the Kuching Proper subdistrict, the other subset being part of the Padawan municipality. Kuching Proper is one of the three subdistricts in the Kuching District, which is one of the three districts in the Kuching Division.
More than 150 years ago, Sarawak was essentially Kuching. Kuching was known as Sarawak first, then the word Proper, was added to Sarawak, thus Sarawak Proper, so as to distinguish it from the larger Sarawak which, in 1841, consisted of only the area between Tanjung Datu, and the Samarahan River. On 12 August 1872, Sarawak Proper was given its present name, Kuching, under the rule of the second Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Brooke.
Kuching was named after a tidal stream called Kuching River (Sungai Kuching) that ran between the present-day Tua Pek Kong Temple, and Chinese History Museum. The stream originated from Cat's Eye Hill (Bukit Mata Kuching) where there was an abundance of a local fruit called Green Longan (Isau, Dimocarpus longan ssp malesianus), vernacularly known as Cat's Eye (Mata Kuching). In 1928, the stream was filled up to make way for the construction of Temple Street (Lebuh Temple), and thus the city's expansion eastwards.
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Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan ( /ˈkɜrɡɨstæn/ KUR-gi-stan;Kyrgyz & Russian: Кыргызстан, Kyrgyzstan, or Киргизия, Kirgiziya), officially the Kyrgyz Republic is a nation located in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.
Kyrgyzstan is officially a democratic parliamentary republic. A revolution in April 2010 overthrew the former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev and resulted in the adoption of a new constitution and the appointment of an interim government. Presidential elections were held in November 2011.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the active members of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community. The national language, Kyrgyz, is also closely related to the other Turkic languages, with which it shares strong cultural and historical ties.
Additionally, Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Non-aligned movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
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Makati
The City of Makati (/məˈkɑːtɪ/ mə-KAH-tee; Filipino: Makati), in the Philippines, is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines. As the host of various embassies, it is also an important center for international affairs.
With a population of 510,383, Makati is the 16th largest city in the country and ranked as the 44th most densely populated city in the world with 18,654 inhabitants per km2.
Makati was founded by Spaniard Miguel López de Legazpi, who dismissed Makati as a worthless swamp. According to folklore, Legazpi asked for the name of the place but, because of the language barrier, was misinterpreted by the natives. Pointing to the receding tide of Pasig River, the natives answered, “Makati, kumakati na,” literally meaning ebbing tide.
Makati became the financial center of the Philippines during the 1950s. Makati is home of the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Makati Business Club.
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Makkah Province
Coordinates: 21°30′N 41°0′E / 21.5°N 41°E / 21.5; 41
The Makkah Province or Mecca Province (Arabic: مكة المكرمة Makka al Mukarrama) is the most populous province of Saudi Arabia. It is located in the western Saudi Arabia and has an extended coastline. It has an area of 164,000 km² and a population of 5,797,971 (2004 census). Its capital is the sacred city of Mecca (also transliterated as Makkah) and its largest city is Jeddah, which is also Saudi Arabia's main port city.
Governors of the Makkah province since the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are as follows:
The province is divided into 12 governorates (with 2004 Census populations):
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Malaysia
Malaysia (i/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or i/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
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Marbella
Marbella is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the region of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the same; it is the head of the judicial district that bears its name.
Marbella is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, between Málaga and the Gibraltar Strait, in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca. The municipality covers an area of 117 km² crossed by highways on the coast, these are its main entrances.
In 2011 the population of the city was 138,662 inhabitants, making it the second most populous municipality in the province of Málaga and the eighth in Andalusia. It is one of the most important tourist cities of the Costa del Sol and throughout most of the year is an international tourist attraction, due mainly to its climate and tourist infrastructure. The city also has a significant archaeological heritage, many museums and performance spaces, and a cultural calendar with events ranging from reggae concerts to opera performances.
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Marib Dam
The Marib or Ma'rib or Ma'arib Dam (Arabic: سد مأرب) blocks the Wadi Adhanah (also Dhana or Adhana) in the valley of Dhana in the Balaq Hills, Yemen. The current dam is close to the ruins of the Great Dam of Marib, dating from around the eighth century BC. It was one of the engineering wonders of the ancient world and a central part of the south Arabian civilization around Marib.
The site of the great Dam of Marib (Sudd Marib) is upstream (south-west) of the ancient city of Marib, once the capital of the Kingdom of Saba'a, believed to be the kingdom of the legendary Queen of Sheba. The Kingdom of Saba'a was a prosperous trading nation, with control of the frankincense and spice routes in Arabia and Abyssinia. The Sabaens built the dam to capture the periodic monsoon rains which falls on the nearby mountains and so irrigate the land around the city.
Recent archaeological findings suggest that simple earth dams and a canal network were constructed as far back as 2000 BC. The building of the first Marib dam began somewhere between 1750 BC and 1700 BC.
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Mecca
Mecca ( /ˈmɛkə/; Arabic: مكة, Makkah, pronounced [ˈmækːɐ]) is a city in the Hejaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its resident population in 2012 was 2 million, although visitors more than triple this number every year during Hajj period held in the twelfth Muslim lunar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
As the birthplace of Muhammad and a site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory upon all able Muslims. The Hijaz was long ruled by Muhammad's descendants, the sharifs, either as independent rulers or as vassals to larger empires. It was absorbed into Saudi Arabia in 1925. In its modern period, Mecca has seen tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure. Because of this Mecca has lost many thousand years old buildings and archaeological sites. Today, more than 15 million Muslims visit Mecca annually, including several million during the few days of the Hajj. As a result, Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the Muslim world, although non-Muslims remain prohibited from entering the city.
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Medina
Medina (/mɛˈdiːnə/; Arabic: اَلْمَدِينَة اَلْمَنَوَّرَة, al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, “the radiant city” (officially), or اَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Medina is historically significant for being Muhammad's home after the Hijrah. Before the advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib, but was personally renamed by Muhammad.
Medina is home to the three oldest mosques in Islam, namely Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque), Quba Mosque (the first mosque in Islam's history), and Masjid al-Qiblatain (the mosque where the qibla was switched to Mecca).
Because of the Saudi government's religious policy and concern that historic sites could become the focus for idolatry, much of Medina's Islamic physical heritage has been destroyed since the beginning of Saudi rule.[citation needed]
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Najran
Najran (Arabic: نجران Naǧrān), formerly known as Aba as Sa'ud, is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated a New town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen from 47,500 in 1974 and 90,983 in 1992 to 246,880 in 2004 and to 1200000 in 2011. The population belongs mostly to the ancient tribe of Yam.
Due to its long history, the inhabitants of Najran are made up of many races, religions and backgrounds. Islam is the religion of all of the Najranis, with Ismaili Shia forming the plurality of the religious adherents. Hanbali, Shafii and Maliki Sunnis form the second largest ethno-religious group in the city, while Zaydi Shia froms the smallest ethno-religious group.
Najran in Arabic has at least two meanings. It is a term used to describe the wooden frame on which a door opens and is also a synonym for thirsty. Local tradition also has it that the land derived its name from the first man to settle in the area, Najran ibn Zaydan ibn Saba ibn Yahjub ibn Yarub ibn Qahtan.
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Odessa
Odessa (Russian: Одесса, pronounced [ɐˈdʲesːə]) or Odesa (Ukrainian: Одеса, pronounced [ɔˈdɛsɑ]) is the third largest city in Ukraine, with a population of 1,003,705. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast.
The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement, was founded by Hacı I Giray, the Khan of Crimea, in 1240 and originally named after him as "Hacıbey"[citation needed]. After a period of Lithuanian control, it passed into the domain of the Ottoman Sultan in 1529 and remained in Ottoman hands until the Ottoman Empire's defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1792. The city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Empress Catherine the Great in 1794. From 1819 to 1858 Odessa was a free port. During the Soviet period it was the most important port of trade in the Soviet Union and a Soviet naval base. On 1 January 2000 the Quarantine Pier of Odessa trade sea port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a term of 25 years.
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Oran
Oran (Arabic: وهران, Wahrān) is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.
It is the capital of the Oran Province (wilaya). The city has a population of 759,645 (2008), while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest city in Algeria. Oran is a major port, and since the 1960s has been the commercial, industrial, and educational centre of western Algeria.
Oran was founded in 903 by Moorish Andalusi traders but was captured by the Spanish under Cardinal Cisneros in 1509. Spanish sovereignty lasted until 1708, when the city was conquered by the Ottomans. Spain recaptured the city in 1732. However, its value as a trading post had decreased greatly, so King Charles IV sold the city to the Turks in 1792. Ottoman rule lasted until 1831, when it fell to the French.
During French rule over Algeria, Oran was the capital of a département of the same name (number 92). In July 1940, the British navy shelled French warships in the port after they refused a British ultimatum to surrender which was designed to ensure the fleet would not fall into German hands. The action increased the hatred of the Vichy regime for Britain but convinced the world that the British would fight on alone against Nazi Germany and its allies. The Vichy government held Oran during World War II until its capture by the Allies in late 1942, during Operation Torch.
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Osh
Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош) is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". The city is at least 3,000 years old, and has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939. The city has an ethnically mixed population of about 220,000 (in 2003), comprising Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Tajiks, and other smaller ethnic groups.
Osh is a lively place, with the largest and most crowded outdoor market in all of Central Asia. The city's industrial base, established during the Soviet period, largely collapsed after the break-up of the Soviet Union and has started to revive only gradually. The proximity of the Uzbek border, which cuts through historically linked territories and settlements, deprives Osh of much of its former hinterland and presents a serious obstacle to trade and economic development. Daily flights link Osh - and hence the southern part of Kyrgyzstan - to Bishkek and the north, and the recent upgrading of the long and arduous road through the mountains to Bishkek has greatly improved communications.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Plovdiv
Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants as of February, 2011. It is administrative center of Plovdiv Province and the municipalities of City of Plovdiv, Maritsa municipality and Rodopi municipality, which municipal body has a population of 403,153 inhabitants as of February, 2011. It is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center, as well as the second-largest city in the historical international region of Thrace after Istanbul. It is the tenth-largest city in the Balkans after Istanbul, Athens, Bucharest, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Zagreb, Skopje and Tirana.
Plovdiv's history spans 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC and some rank it as Europe's oldest city. Plovdiv is known in the West for most of its history by the Greek name Philippopolis, which was created in 340 BC. Plovdiv was originally a Thracian city before later becoming a Greek and a major Roman one. In the Middle Ages, it retained its strategic regional importance, changing hands between the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. It came under Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In 4 January, 1878, Plovdiv was liberated from Ottoman rule by the Russian army and was within the borders of Bulgaria until July, the same year, when it became the capital of an autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia. In 1885, it and Eastern Rumelia itself became part of Bulgaria.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Qatif
Qatif or Al-Qatif (Arabic: القطيف Al-Qaṭīf) is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west. This region has its own municipality and includes the Qatif downtown and many other smaller cities and towns.
Qatif is one of the oldest settlements in the eastern side of the Arabian peninsula, its history going back to 3500 BC. Qatifi people used to work as merchants, farmers, and fishers. However, in recent years,[when?] after the discovery of oil and establishment of Jubail Industrial City, most of Qatifi's people are working in oil, industry, public services, education and health care sectors.
The historic oasis area shows its first archeological evidence of settlement beginning about 3500 BC. It was known by other names, such as Al-Khatt (Arabic: الخَطّ), immortalized in the poetry of `Antara ibn Shaddad, Tarafa ibn Al-`Abd, Bashar ibn Burd (in his famous Ba'yya), and others. The word "Khatty" became the preferred "kenning" for "spear" in traditional poetic writing until the dawn of the modern era, supposedly because the region was famous for spear making, just as "muhannad" ("of India") was the preferred kenning for "sword". The older name also survives as the eponym of several well-known local families ("Al-Khatti", spelled variously in English).[citation needed]
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Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura (more accurately Ra's Tannūrah, Arabic: رأس تنورة meaning "cape oven, cape brazier" presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf. The name Ras Tanura applies both to a gated Saudi Aramco employee compound (also referred to as "Najmah") and to an industrial area further out on the peninsula that serves as a major oil port and oil operations center for Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. Today, the compound has about 3,200 residents, with a few Americans and British expats.
Geographically, the Ras Tanura complex is located a distance south of the modern industrial port city of Jubail (formerly a sleepy fishing village) and north across Tarut Bay from the old port city of (Al-)Dammam. Although Ras Tanura's port area is located on a small peninsula, due to modern oil tankers' need for deeper water, Saudi Aramco has built numerous artificial islands for easier docking. In addition, offshore oil rigs and production facilities have been constructed in the waters nearby, mostly by Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, and Halliburton.
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Riyadh
Riyadh (/rɨˈjɑːd/; Arabic: الرياض transliterated Ar Riyāḍ pronounced [ʔɑrːiˈjɑːdˤ], English: The Gardens) is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a region with a population of close to 7 million people. The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality headed by the mayor of Riyadh, and the Riyadh Development Authority, chaired by the Governor of Riyadh Province, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz. The current mayor of Riyadh is Abdul Aziz ibn Ayyaf Al-Miqrin, appointed in 1998. Riyadh has the largest female university in the world, the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University.. It has been designated as Beta World City.
During the Pre-Islamic era, the settlement at the site was called Hajr (Arabic: حجر), and was reportedly founded by the tribe of Banu Hanifa. Hajr served as the capital of the province of Al Yamamah, whose governors were responsible for most of central and eastern Arabia during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. Al-Yamamah broke away from the Abbasid Empire in 866 and the area fell under the rule of the Ukhaydhirites, who moved the capital from Hajr to nearby Al Kharj. The city then went into a long period of decline. In the 14th century North African traveller Ibn Battuta wrote of his visit to Hajr, describing it as "the main city of Al-Yamamah, and its name is Hajr". Ibn Battuta goes on to describe it as a city of canals and trees with most of its inhabitants belonging to Bani Hanifa, and reports that he continued on with their leader to Mecca to perform the Hajj.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург, tr. Sankt-Peterburg; IPA: [sankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk] ( listen)) is a city and a federal subject (a federal city) of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. In 1914 the name of the city was changed to Petrograd (Russian: Петроград; IPA: [pʲɪtrɐˈgrat]), in 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград; IPA: [lʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]) and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.
In Russian literature, informal documents, and discourse, the "Saint" (Санкт-) is usually omitted, leaving Petersburg (Петербург, Peterburg). In common parlance Russians may drop "-burg" (-бург) as well, leaving only Peter (Питер, Russian: [ˈpʲitʲɪr]).
Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 27 [O.S. 16] 1703. From 1713 to 1728 and from 1732 to 1918, Saint Petersburg was the Imperial capital of Russia. In 1918 the central government bodies moved from Saint Petersburg (then named Petrograd) to Moscow. It is Russia's second largest city after Moscow with almost 5 million inhabitants. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and also an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Sindh
Sindh (pronounced [sɪnd̪ʱ]; Sindhi: سنڌ; Urdu: سندھ Indica in Latin, Indus in Greek) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran" and has been given the title of Bab-ul-Islam (The gateway of Islam). The name of Sindh is derived from the Indus River that separates it from Balochistan and the greater Iranian Plateau. This river was known to the ancient Iranians in Avestan as Indus, in Sanskrit as Sindhu, to Assyrians (as early as the seventh century BC) as Sinda, to the Greeks as Indos, to the Romans as Indus, to the Persians as Ab-e-sind, to the Pashtuns as "Abasind", to the Arabs as Al-Sind, to the Chinese as Sintow, and to the Javanese as the Santri.
Sindh is bounded to the west by the Indus River and Balochistan, to the north by Punjab, the east by the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan and to the south by the Arabian Sea. The capital of the province is Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and financial hub. Most of the population in the province is Muslim, with sizeable Christian, Zoroastrian and Hindu minorities. The main language spoken is Sindhi by about 40 million people, while there exists a significant Urdu-speaking minority.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Surabaya
Surabaya (pronounced [surəˈbaja]) (formerly Soerabaja, Soerabaia or Surabaja) is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million (5.6 million in the metropolitan area), and the capital of the province of East Java. It is located on the northern shore of eastern Java at the mouth of the Mas River and along the edge of the Madura Strait.
To Indonesians, it is known as "the city of heroes" due to the importance of the Battle of Surabaya in galvanizing Indonesian and international support for Indonesian independence during the Indonesian National Revolution.
Surabaya is locally believed to derive its name from the words sura or suro (shark) and baya or boyo (crocodile), two creatures which, in a local myth, fought each other in order to gain the title of "the strongest and most powerful animal" in the area according to a Jayabaya prophecy. This prophecy tells of a fight between a giant white shark and a giant white crocodile, which sometimes interpreted as a conflict between Mongol forces and Raden Wijaya's Majapahit forces. Now the two animals are used as the city's logo, the two facing each other while circling, as depicted in a statue appropriately located near the entrance to the city zoo. This folk etymology, though embraced enthusiastically by city leaders, is unverifiable.
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Syria
Syria (/ˈsɪriə/ ( listen) SIRR-ee-ə; Arabic: سورية Sūriyya or سوريا Sūryā; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
In English, the name Syria was formerly synonymous with the Levant, known in Arabic as Sham, while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic era, its capital city, Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate, and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, and 3% Druze. Combined, 87% of the Syrian population is Muslim, while the other 10% is Christian, which includes mainly Arab Christians but also Assyrians and Armenians. Major ethnic minorities in Syria include Kurds (9%), Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens and Circassians. The majority of the population is Arab (90%).
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Tabriz
Tabriz (Persian/Azerbaijani:تبریز) ( pronunciation (help·info)) is the fifth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quru River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals, and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history. Tabriz is located in a valley to the north of the long ridge of the volcanic cone of Sahand, south of the Eynali mountain. The valley opens out into a plain that slopes gently down to the northern end of Lake Urmia, 60 km to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers the city is considered a summer resort.
The estimated population of the city is around 1,400,000 based on results of the Iranian census bureau. Tabriz is the fourth most populous city in Iran after Tehran, Mashhad, and Esfahan, and is also a major Iranian heavy industrial and manufacturing center. Some of these industries include automobile, machine tools, oil and petrochemical and cement production.
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Tahlia Street
Tahlia Street (Arabic: شارع التحلية) (Also called : Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz St.), is an important fashion and shopping street and saudi arabia in the mid-town of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It contains many upscale department shops, and boutiques, such as Prada, Gucci, Versace, Cartier, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren or Giorgio Armani. And Mark Jacobs also valantino As the Champs-Élysées St. for Paris, Tahlia St. believed to be the heart of Jeddah and Saudi Arabia's wealthiest district.
This commercial street is often the destination soccer-fans, who drive up and down waving club scarfs and sounding their car horns to celebrate victory.
An identically named street in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz St., has been nicknamed Tahlia Street by the residents as it coincidentally shares many similarities with the original Tahlia in Jeddah.
Soccer fans closing the street following a victory of the Saudi national team
Two Lamborghini Murcielago in a street competition in Tahlia
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Taipei
Taipei City (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/; [tʰǎipèi]; Chinese: 臺北市 or 台北市; pinyin: Táiběi Shì) is the capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Situated at the northern tip of the island of Taiwan, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River; it is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, a port city on the Pacific Ocean. It lies in the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung (基隆河) and Xindian (新店溪) rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border. The city proper (Taipei City) is home to an estimated 2,618,772 people. Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung together form the Taipei metropolitan area with a population of 6,900,273. However, they are administered under different local governing bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers to the whole metropolitan area, while "Taipei City" refers to the city proper. Taipei City proper is surrounded on all sides by New Taipei.
Taipei is the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan. The National Palace Museum which has one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts and artworks in the world is located in Taipei. Considered to be a global city, Taipei is part of a major industrial area. Railways, high speed rail, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Taipei Songshan and Taiwan Taoyuan.
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Taiwan
Taiwan (i/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
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The Qishla of Jeddah
The Qishla of Jeddah (Turkish: Cidde Redif Kışlası) is a historical edifice in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, built in 1525 to be a military castle of the Ottoman army. It is located in the Old city, and is a place to receive requests of youth guys to join the Saudi Army and the other military branches.
Qishla(modern Turkish: Kışla) is a Turkish word meaning "barracks".
Coordinates: 21°29′27″N 39°11′19″E / 21.49083°N 39.18861°E / 21.49083; 39.18861
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Tunis
Tunis (Arabic: تونس Tūnis) is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants.
Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Halq al Wadi), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At the centre of more modern development (from the colonial era and later) lies the old medina. Beyond this district lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.
The medina is found at the centre of the city: a dense agglomeration of alleys and covered passages, full of intense scents and colours, boisterous and active trade, and a surfeit of goods on offer ranging from leather to plastic, tin to the finest filigree, tourist souvenirs to the works of tiny crafts shops.
Just through the Sea Gate (also known as the Bab el Bahr and the Porte de France) begins the modern city, or Ville Nouvelle, transversed by the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba (often referred to by popular press and travel guides as "the Tunisian Champs-Élysées"), where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller, older structures. As the capital city of the country, Tunis is the focus of Tunisian political and administrative life; it is also the centre of the country's commercial activity. The expansion of the Tunisian economy in recent decades is reflected in the booming development of the outer city where one can see clearly the social challenges brought about by rapid modernization in Tunisia.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan (i/tɜrkˈmɛnɨstæn/ or i/tɜrkmɛnɨˈstɑːn/; Turkmen: Türkmenistan), formerly also known as Turkmenia (Russian: Туркмения), is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Turkmenistan's GDP growth rate of 11% in 2010[update] ranks 4th in the world, but these figures are subject to wide margins of error. It possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources. Although it is wealthy in natural resources in certain areas, most of the country is covered by the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert.
The Turkmen government operates as a single-party system. Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov (called "Türkmenbaşy" — "leader of the Turkmens") until his sudden death on 21 December 2006. Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov was elected the new president on 11 February 2007.
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Ukraine
Ukraine (i/juːˈkreɪn/ yew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]; Russian: Украина; Crimean Tatar: Ukraina) is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.
According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers—the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control. A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.
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Unaizah
Unaizah or officially The Governorate of Unaizah (also spelled Onaizah, Onizah, or Unayzah; Arabic: محافظة عنيزة) is a Saudi Arabian city in the Al Qassim Province. It lies south of the province capital Buraydah and north of Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is the second largest city in Al-Qassim Province with a population of 163,729 (2010 census).
Historically, Unaizah was an important stopping point for Muslim pilgrims coming from Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Persia (now Iran) on their way to Makkah. Many scientists and historians believe that Unaizah was inhabited hundreds of years before the spread of Islam, citing its reference in numerous poems from some of the most important poets of pre-Islamic Arabia such as Imru Al-Qais.
Unaizah is in the south of Al-Qassim Province and at the heart of the historical region of Najd. It is located roughly 30 kilometers from Buraydah (the capital of the province) and more than 300 kilometers north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Unaizah lies in the northern-central region of the Najd and to the south of the Wadi Al Rumma (Rumma Valley), which is the longest valley on the Arabian peninsula. It is surrounded by sand dunes to its north and west, which are known locally as the Al-Ghamis Sands. The Al-Ghadha Woods are located to the north of the city.Next to Unaizah is the Al-Aushaziyah salt lake (or Sabkha), which is considered an official part of the city.
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emiratesi/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Yanbu
Yanbu' al Bahr (Arabic: ينبع "spring by the sea"), also known simply as Yanbu, Yambo or Yenbo, is a major Red Sea port in the Al Madinah province of western Saudi Arabia. It is approximately 300 kilometers north of Jeddah (at 24°05′N 38°00′E / 24.083°N 38°E / 24.083; 38). The population is 188,430 (2004 census). A large number of the residents are foreign expatriates, mostly from Asia, but there are also large numbers from the Middle East and Europe.
Yanbu's history dates back at least 2500 years, when it was a staging point on the spice and incense route from Yemen to Egypt and the Mediterranean region. Yanbu served as a supply and operational base for Arab and British forces fighting the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. It remained a small port town until 1975, when the Saudi government designated it as one of the country's two new industrial centres (the other being Al Jubayl on the Persian Gulf)
The city is divided into three villages, about 15 minutes drive by car away from each other.
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Zanzibar
Zanzibar ( /ˈzænzɨbɑr/; from Arabic: زنجبار Zanjibār, from Persian: زنگبار Zangibār "Coast of Blacks"; zangi [black-skinned] + bār [coast]) is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros and Mayotte to the south, Mauritius and Réunion to the far southeast, and the Seychelles Islands about 1,500 km to the east. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times, and it was controlled by Omanis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain established a protectorate (1890) that became an independent sultanate in December 1963 and a republic after an uprising in January 1964. In April 1964 it joined Tanganyika to form a new republic that was renamed Tanzania in October 1964. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
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Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing abstract sculptures he called "mobiles". In addition to mobile and "stabile" sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.
Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, on July 22, 1898. His father, Alexander Stirling Calder, was a well-known sculptor who created many public installations, a majority of them in Philadelphia. Calder’s grandfather, sculptor Alexander Milne Calder, was born in Scotland and immigrated to Philadelphia in 1868. He is best known for the colossal statue of William Penn on top of Philadelphia's City Hall tower.
Calder’s mother, Nanette Lederer Calder, was a professional portrait painter who studied at the Académie Julian and the Sorbonne in Paris from around 1888 until 1893. She then moved to Philadelphia where she met Alexander Stirling Calder while studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Calder’s parents were married on February 22,1895.
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Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégas from the Greek αλέξω alexo "to defend, help" + ανήρ aner "man"), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.
Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.
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Ali of Hejaz
Ali bin Hussein, (Arabic: علي بن الحسين) GBE (1879–1935) was King of Hejaz and Grand Sharif of Mecca from October 1924 until December 1925. He was the eldest son of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the first modern King of Hejaz, and a scion of the Hashemite family. With the passing of the kingship from his father he also became the heir to the title of Caliph, but he did not adopt the khalifal office and style.
The eldest son of Hussein, Ali bin Hussein was born in Mecca and was educated at Ghalata Serai College (Galatasaray High School) in Istanbul (Constantinople). His father was appointed Grand Sharif of Mecca by the Ottoman Empire in 1908. However, his relationship with the Young Turks in control of the Empire increasingly became strained, and, in 1916, he became one of the leaders of the Arab Revolt against Turkish rule. Following the Revolt's success, Hussein made himself the first King of Hejaz with British support. While his sons Abdullah and Faisal were made kings of Jordan and Iraq, respectively, Ali remained the heir to his father's lands in Arabia.
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Amr Dabbagh
Amr Dabbagh was appointed Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), with a rank of Minister on 22 March 2004.
Amr Dabbagh, born in 1966, effectively served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Dabbagh Group from 1991 to 22 March 2002. Under his stewardship, Dabbagh Group was reorganized into a portfolio-driven enterprise which experienced phenomenal growth in each of its five core areas of concentration: TMT (telecommunication, media & technology), energy, food, real estate development and financial services. Governor Al Dabbagh and SAGIA host the Global Competitiveness Forum, an annual event that features hundreds of global CEOs and heads of state and other leaders. Past speakers have included Bill Gates, John Chambers and Lee Kuan Yew.
He obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from King Abdulaziz University. His international business career developed through executive programs in management at the Harvard Business School, the Wharton School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the London Business School, as well as through training programs with Merrill Lynch, Coutts & Co., and Banque Worms.
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Aref Rayess
Aref Rayess or Aref El Rayess (Aley, Lebanon, 1928 – 2005) was a Lebanese painter. Rayess was self-taught till he traveled to Africa, before moving to Paris where he practiced workshop studies at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Aref Rayess was a prolific artist, mainly known as a painter, he also practiced etching, sculpture and tapestry. One of his tapestries, The Signs of Cadmus, is part of the collection of the Unesco Palace in Paris.
His work is widely based on the human being and its relationship to nature and history, stating that “Man is a unity that embodies both the means and the goals...”.
In the 1960s his painting evolved around Man and the Third World and in the early 1970s, he unexpectedly presented an exhibition related to whorehouses off Martyrs' Square, Beirut.
With the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, Rayess was one of the artists who interpreted the tragic events in art. Staying in Algiers, he produced in 1976 a series of etchings entitled The Road to Peace. This work gave its name to an exhibition Saleh Barakat curated in 2009 at the Beirut Art Center, encompassing Lebanese visual arts between 1975 and 1991. Apart from the etching series, oil paintings depicting the horror of war were featured in the exhibition. In these troubled times, Rayess showed political involvement in creating a poster commemorating the assassination of the Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt.
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Berber people
Berbers (Berber: ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⴻⵏ Imazighen / Imaziɣen) are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic family. Today, varieties of Maghrebi colloquial Arabic are spoken by a large portion of Berbers besides the Berber language itself. Foreign languages like French are used by the educated in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Spanish is also known by some Berbers in Morocco and in the annexed Western Sahara and Italian in Libya. This presence of European languages was due to Europe's occupation and colonization of the Berber world. Today, most Berber-speaking people live in Morocco and Algeria, smaller Berber-speaking populations are scattered throughout Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, as well as various diasporas living in Europe.
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César Baldaccini
César Baldaccini (1 January 1921 in Marseille - 6 December 1998 in Paris), usually called César was a noted French sculptor.
César was at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement with his radical compressions (compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish), expansions (polyurethane foam sculptures), and fantastic representations of animals and insects.
He was a French sculptor, born in 1921 of Italian parents in the working class neighbourhood of la Belle-de-Mai in Marseilles. His father was a cooper and bar owner. His full name was César Baldaccini, but is usually known as César. After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Marseilles (1935-9) he went on to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1943-8). He began making sculptures by welding together pieces of scrap metal in 1952 and first made his reputation with solid welded sculptures of insects, various kinds of animals, nudes, etc.
His first one-man exhibition at the Galerie Lucien Durand, Paris, 1954.
His early work used soldered and welded metal as well as junk materials, and by 1960 César was considered one of France's leading sculptors. In that year on a visit to a scrap merchant in search of metal, he saw a hydraulic crushing machine in operation, and decided to experiment with it in his sculpture. He astonished his followers by showing three crushed cars at a Paris exhibition. It was for these 'Compressions' that César became renowned. César selected particular cars for crushing, mixing elements from differently coloured vehicles. In this way he could control the surface pattern and colour scheme of the piece.
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Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Arabic: فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود Fahd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) (16 March 1920 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005.
King Fahd is the eighth son of Ibn Saud and is the fifth king of Saudi Arabia. Fahd ascended to the throne on the death of his half-brother, King Khalid, on 13 June 1982. He was a member of Sudairi Seven. In fact, he was the eldest of Sudairi Brothers.
Fahd was appointed Crown Prince when Khalid succeeded their half-brother King Faisal, who was assassinated in 1975. Fahd was viewed as the de facto prime minister during King Khalid's reign in part due to the latter's ill health.
Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke on 29 November 1995, after which he was unable to continue performing his full official duties. His half-brother, Abdullah, then-Crown Prince, served as de facto regent of the kingdom and succeeded Fahd as monarch upon his death on 1 August 2005.
King Fahd is credited for having introduced the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992.
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Ghalib Efendi
Ghalib Efendi bin Musa'ed was a Sharif of Ottoman-controlled Hijaz from 1788–1803 and 1813–1827. After being deposed, he was re-installed following the Battle of Jeddah in the Ottoman-Saudi War.
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Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (pronounced [ˈdʒordʒo arˈmaːni]; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $7 billion as of 2012.
He was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with two other siblings,Mariana Armani and Penelope Armani(who also work along with him), along with his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani. Armani aspired to a career in medicine after reading A. J. Cronin's The Citadel, and enrolled at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. In 1953, after two years of studies, he was called to military service, which included working in a military hospital. The experience convinced him that he was not cut out to be a doctor.
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Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the Arabic: هاشمي, transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe. It also refers to an Arab dynasty whose original strength stemmed from the network of tribal alliances and blood loyalties in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea.
The Hashemites trace their ancestry from Hashim ibn Abd al-Manaf (died c. 510 AD), the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, although the definition today mainly refers to the descendants of the prophet's daughter, Fatimah. The early history of the Hashemites saw them in a continuous struggle against the Umayyads for control over who would be the caliph or successor to Muhammad. The Umayyads were of the same tribe as the Hashemites, but a different clan. After the overthrow of the Umayyads, the Abbasids would present themselves as representatives of the Hashemites, as they claimed descent from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of Muhammad. Muhammad's father had died before he was born, and his mother died while he was a child[citation needed], so Muhammad was raised by his uncle Abu Talib, chief of the Hashemites.
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Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art.
His forms are usually abstractions of the human figure, typically depicting mother-and-child or reclining figures. Moore's works are usually suggestive of the female body, apart from a phase in the 1950s when he sculpted family groups. His forms are generally pierced or contain hollow spaces. Many interpreters liken the undulating form of his reclining figures to the landscape and hills of his birthplace, Yorkshire.
Moore was born in Castleford, the son of a coal miner. He became well-known through his carved marble and larger-scale abstract cast bronze sculptures, and was instrumental in introducing a particular form of modernism to the United Kingdom. His ability in later life to fulfill large-scale commissions made him exceptionally wealthy. Yet he lived frugally and most of the money he earned went towards endowing the Henry Moore Foundation, which continues to support education and promotion of the arts.
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Ibn Battuta
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Lawātī al-Ţanjī ibn Baṭūṭah (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله اللواتي الطنجي بن بطوطة), or simply Ibn Battuta (ابن بطوطة), also known as Shams ad-Din (February 25, 1304–1368 or 1369), was a Berber Muslim Moroccan explorer, known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in the Rihla (lit. "Journey"). Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands; his journeys including trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance surpassing threefold his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. He journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.
All that is known about Ibn Battuta's life comes from the autobiographical information included in the account of his travels. Ibn Battuta was born into a Berber family of Islamic legal scholars in Tangier, Morocco, on 25 February 1304, during the reign of the Marinid dynasty. As a young man he would have studied at a Sunni Maliki madh'hab, (Islamic jurisprudence school), the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, a journey that would take sixteen months. He would not see Morocco again for twenty-four years.
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Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada (c. 1924 – 16 August 2003) was the military dictator and third President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military coup of January 1971, deposing Milton Obote. He later promoted himself to Field Marshal while he was the head of state. While serving in the British Regiment he toured Kenya.
Amin's rule was characterised by gross human rights abuse, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000. During his years in power, Amin shifted in allegiance from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable Israeli support to being backed by Libya's Muammar al-Gaddafi, the Soviet Union and East Germany.
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Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈam miˈɾo]) (April 20, 1893 – December 25, 1983) was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his birth city in 1975.
Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride. In numerous interviews dating from the 1930s onwards, Miró expressed contempt for conventional painting methods as a way of supporting bourgeois society, and famously declared an "assassination of painting" in favour of upsetting the visual elements of established painting.
Born to the families of a goldsmith and a cabinet-maker, he grew up in the Barri Gòtic neighborhood of Barcelona. His father was Miquel Miró Adzerias and his mother was Dolores Ferrà. He began drawing classes at the age of seven at a private school at Carrer del Regomir 13, a medieval mansion. In 1907 he enrolled at the fine art academy at La Llotja, to the dismay of his father. He studied at the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc and he had his first solo show in 1918 at the Dalmau Gallery, where his work was ridiculed and defaced. Inspired by Cubist and surrealist exhibitions from abroad, Miró was drawn towards the arts community that was gathering in Montparnasse and in 1920 moved to Paris, but continued to spend his summers in Catalonia.
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Khalid bin Mahfouz
Khalid bin Mahfouz (December 26, 1949 - August 16, 2009) was a wealthy Saudi Arabian businessman residing in Ireland. He was accused of supporting al-Qaeda.
As of 2002, he was believed to be confined in a hospital in Taif by Saudi authorities. He died on August 16, 2009 of a heart attack.
Khalid bin Mahfouz was the second eldest son of Salim Ahmed bin Mahfouz a Saudi who rose from being an illiterate moneychanger to the founder of the first bank in his country, the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia (NCB). Salim Ahmed then became the personal banker of the Saudi royal family. He handed management of NCB, the largest bank in the country, to Khalid sometime in the 1980s.
In the 1970s Khalid bin Mahfouz bought and lived in a $3.5 million chateaux-style house, later named "Versailles," in the River Oaks area of Houston. He also bought a four thousand acre (16 km²) ranch along the Trinity River in Liberty County, Texas, near the ranch of James Bath. Bath said that Khalid bin Mahfouz "was a banker first and always acted as a banker should. He was extremely intelligent and quick to assess things."
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Kingdom of Hejaz
The Kingdom of Hejaz was a state in the Hejaz region, ruled by the Hashemite family. It became independent from the collapsing Ottoman Empire as a result of World War I when the Sharif of Mecca made a deal with the British that the Arab population would be instigated to revolt against the Turks in exchange for a unified Arab country. In 1916, the Sharif of Mecca declared himself King of Hejaz as his Sharifian Army participated with other Arab forces and the British Empire in expelling the Turks from the Arabian peninsula.
The Hejaz region had some strategic infrastructure, particularly the Hejaz railway, which was put out of operation in the war as it was used to reinforce Turkish forces in the region.
The kingdom was annexed in 1925 by the neighbouring Sultanate of Nejd under a resurgent House of Saud, and merged into the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz, which would eventually be known as Saudi Arabia in 1932.
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Mahmud II
Mahmud II (Ottoman Turkish: محمود ثانى Mahmud-ı sānī) (20 July 1789 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Constantinople, the posthumously son of Sultan Abdulhamid I. His reign is notable mostly for the extensive administrative, military and fiscal reforms he instituted, which culminated into the Decree of Tanzimat (Reorganization) that was carried out by his sons Abdülmecid I and Abdülaziz I.
His mother was Valide Sultan Naksh-i-Dil Haseki (she was a cousin of Napoleon's wife Josephine. In 1808, Mahmud II's predecessor (and half-brother) Mustafa IV (1807–08) ordered his execution along with his cousin, the deposed Sultan Selim III (1789–1807), in order to defuse the rebellion. Selim III was killed, but Mahmud was safely kept hidden by his mother and was placed on the throne after the rebels deposed Mustafa IV. The leader of this rebellion, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, then became Mahmud II's vizier.
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Mamluk
A Mamluk (Arabic: مملوك mamluk (singular), مماليك mamālīk (plural)), "owned"; also transliterated mamlouk, Turkish: Memlük, also called Kölemen; , mamluq, mamluke, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke or marmeluke was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans or Kipchak and later Circassian and Georgian. The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior class, was of great political importance and was extraordinarily long-lived, lasting from the 9th to the 19th century AD. Over time, mamluks became a powerful military caste in various Muslim societies. Particularly in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Iraq, and India, mamluks held political and military power. In some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power as amirs or beys. Most notably, mamluk factions seized the sultanate for themselves in Egypt and Syria in a period known as the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517). The Mamluk Sultanate famously beat back the Mongols at the Battle of Ayn Jalut and fought the Crusaders effectively driving them out from the Levant by 1291 and officially in 1302 ending the era of the Crusades.
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Mishaal bin Majid
Mishaal bin Majid has been governor of Jeddah since 1998 and a member of House of Saud.
Mishaal bin Majid was born in Riyadh in 1957. His family moved to Jeddah in 1971. His father is late Majid bin Abdulaziz, a son of King Abdulaziz and a full-brother of Prince Sattam. Prince Majid's mother was from al Sudairis, Muhdi al Sudairi. Majid bin Abdulaziz was governor of Mecca from 1980 to 1999, before he resigned during a scandal involving one of his staff. Majid died in 2003.
Prince Mishaal's mother is Nuf bint Abdallah al Fahd al Muhanna. He is full brother of Prince Abdul Aziz and five sisters. One of his sisters, Jawaher bint Majed is the first Saudi woman to have been granted the title of the patron of arts in Saudi Arabia.
Mishaal bin Majid was educated entirely in Saudi Arabia. He is a graduate of King Saud University with a degree in Business and Public Administration.
Prior to becoming Jeddah Governor in 1998, Mishaal bin Majid is reported to have spent 16 years in the private sector.
The Jeddah Governor, a position less than the governor of a province but more than the governor of a typical town, works as a separate department under the Makkah Region Governor, Khalid Al Faisal, and in close association with the Ministry of Interior. Frequently seen publicly around Jeddah attending openings, ceremonies and weddings, Prince Mishaal appears approachable and engaged.
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Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist. Considered a cultural icon, Ali was both idolized and vilified.
Originally known as Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975, and more recently practicing Sufism.[clarification needed] In 1967, three years after Ali had won the World Heavyweight Championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali stated, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... No Viet Cong ever called me nigger" – one of the more telling remarks of the era.
Widespread protests against the Vietnam War had not yet begun, but with that one phrase, Ali articulated the reason to oppose the war for a generation of young Americans, and his words served as a touchstone for the racial and antiwar upheavals that would rock the 1960s. Ali's example inspired Martin Luther King Jr. – who had been reluctant to alienate the Johnson Administration and its support of the civil rights agenda – to voice his own opposition to the war for the first time.
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Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif (Punjabi, Urdu: نواز شریف; born December 5, 1949) is a Pakistani steel magnate and national conservative, serving as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 until October 12, 1999. He is the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the Centre-right-conservative political force in Pakistan.
Before becoming the Prime minister, Sharif served as the ninth Chief Minister of Punjab Province from 1985 to 1990 and embarked his political career under the military regime of President General Zia-ul-Haq. An advocate and businessman, he owns Ittefaq Group, a private steel mill enterprise and one of the largest producer of iron materials, noted as being as Pakistan's one of the wealthiest investor in the steel mill business. His political philosophy emphasized and reflected conservatism advocating for the free-market economy, capitalism as its economic base. His first term survived a serious constitutional crisis when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan attempted to dismissed Sharif by citing "corruption and nepotism", which Sharif strongly denied and turned to Supreme Court. The apex Supreme Court of Pakistan favored the Prime minister citing that Presidential ordnance as "unconstitutional and irrelevant", therefore the government was reconstituted. His first term was finally dismissed after the Pakistan Armed Forces persuaded him to resign to end the political standoff with President Ishaq Khan, which he too was forced to resigned.
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Rabab Fetieh
Dr. Rabab Mohammad Abdulqader Fetieh (Arabic: رباب محمد عبدالقادر مغيربى فتيح) is a Saudi academic, currently a Professor of Orthodontics at the Faculty of Dentistry in King Abdulaziz University (KAU). She was Vice-Dean of the same institution (1993–2003) and a member of the founding faculty. Dr. Fetieh was head of the Orthodontic division at KAU (1989–2004) and was the Assistant Dean for Research and Post-graduate Affairs.
She received her BDS from Alexandria University in Egypt and her DMSc from Harvard University. She is a pioneer in her field, as she is Saudi Arabia's first female orthodontist.[citation needed]
Her husband is the well known Saudi pediatrician Tarek Baghdady. She currently resides in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with her husband and 3 children.
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Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الراشدية al-khilāfat ar-Rāshidīyah), (c. 632-661) comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632 (Year 10 A.H. in the Islamic calendar). At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia in the east. At its greatest extent it was one of the largest empires in history. It is also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammad's household was busy with his burial. Umar (a Quraish) and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar and the Quraish soon following suit. Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalifa Rasul Allah (Successor of the Messenger of God), and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First, though, he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had gone back on their oaths of allegiance to Islam and the Islamic community. As a Khalifa or Caliph he was not a monarch and never claimed such a title nor did his three successors do so.
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Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (Arabic: صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب, Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, Kurdish: سهلاحهدین ئهیوبی, Selah'edînê Eyubî) (ca. 1138 – March 4, 1193), better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a KurdishMuslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and parts of North Africa.
Under his personal leadership, his forces defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, leading the way to his re-capture of Palestine, which had been seized from the Fatimid Egyptians by the Crusaders 88 years earlier. Though the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem would continue to exist for a period, its defeat at Hattin marked a turning point in its conflict with the Muslims and Arabs. As such, Saladin is a prominent figure in Kurdish, Arab, and Muslim culture. Saladin was a strict adherent of Sunni Islam. His noble and chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the Siege of Kerak, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders, he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart; rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry.
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Saleh Abdullah Kamel
Saleh Abdullah Kamel (Arabic: صالح عبد الله كامل) is a Saudi businessman, chairman and founder of the Dallah al Baraka Group (DBG). He is also the chairman of the General Council for Islamic Banks. He is estimated to be worth about $5.3 billion, ranking number 12 on Arabian Business list of richest Arabs 2008. Most of Kamel's business work focus on coded TV channels, trade and civil services.
Kamel is known as "the Father of Contemporary Islamic Finance", receiving Malaysia's Royal Award for Islamic Finance in November 2010.
Kamel is the owner of Durrat Al-Arus, a resort in Saudi Arabia.
He owns the ART TV network, the only sports channels that broadcasted the FIFA world cup in the Middle East. Recently, these sports channels have been bought by the Al Jazeera Group.
Kamel moderates many plans of the City Hall, such as garbage collecting and plans for traffic police, such as driving licenses tests, water desalination plant work and roads building, .
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Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain (Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina) (Ottoman Turkish: سليم اوّل, Modern Turkish: I.Selim), nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" (October 10, 1465/1466/1470 – September 22, 1520), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. His reign is notable for the enormous expansion of the Empire, particularly his conquest between 1516-1517 of the entire Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, which included all of Sham, Hejaz, and Egypt itself. With the heart of the Arab World now under their control, the Ottomans became the dominant power in the region, and in the Islamic world. Upon conquering Egypt, Selim took the title of Caliph of Islam, being the first Ottoman sultan to do so. He was also granted the title of "Khâdim ül Haramain ish Sharifain" (Servant of the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina), by the Sharif of Mecca in 1517.
Selim's reign represented a sudden change in the expansion policy of the empire, which was working mostly against the West and the Beyliks before his reign. On the eve of his death in 1520, the Ottoman Empire spanned almost 1 billion acres (trebling during Selim's reign).
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Selman Reis
Selman Reis was an Ottoman admiral and corsair who was active in the Mamluk Navy of Egypt and later in the Ottoman Navy against the Portuguese in the first half of the 16th century. Selman Reis was originally from the Aegean island of Lesbos.
Selman Reis entered the service of the Mamluks, and led a group of 2,000 armed Levantines, possibly against the own wishes of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I.
Following the disruption of the spice trade between India and Mamluk Egypt by the Portuguese, Selman Reis led a Mamluk fleet of 19 ships into the Indian Ocean in 1515. He left Suez leading the fleet on 30 September 1515. The fleet also included 3,000 men, 1,300 of whom were Turkish soldiers. The fleet built a fortress in Kamaran, but failed to take Yemen and Aden on 17 September 1516.
In 1517, he defended Jeddah against a Portuguese attack, soon before the fall of the Mamluk regime.
Selman Reis was sent to Istanbul and imprisoned for disloyalty until 1520.
Selman Reis came back in favour with the arrival of Ibrahim Pasha in Egypt in 1524. He was able to make a detailed report of the situation of the Indian Ocean at the time, suggesting the occupation of Ethiopia, Yemen and the Swahili Coast, and the eviction of the Portuguese from Hormuz, Goa and Malacca. In 1525, the Portuguese raided the Red Sea, further bringing the threat of their fleet closer to Egypt.
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Sharif
Sharīf (Arabic: شريف šarīf) or Chérif is a traditional Arab tribal title given to those who serve as the protector of the tribe and all tribal assets, such as property, wells, and land. In origin, the word is an adjective meaning "noble", "highborn". The feminine singular is sharifa(h) (Arabic: شريفة šarīfah). The masculine plural is Ashraf (Arabic: اشراف ʾašrāf).
Primarily Sunnis in the Arab world reserve the term sharif for descendants of Hasan ibn Ali, while sayyid is used for descendants of Husayn ibn Ali. Both Hasan and Husayn are grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad, through the marriage of his cousin Ali and his daughter Fatima. However ever since the post-Hashemite era began, the term sayyid has been used to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn. Arab Shiites use the terms sayyid and habib to denote descendants from both Hasan and Husayn; see also ashraf.
From 1201 until the Hejaz was conquered by Ibn Saud in 1925, this family held the office of the Sharīf of Mecca, often also carrying the title and office of King of Hejaz. Descendants now rule the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the name being taken from the Banu Hashim, the sub-tribe of Banu Quraish, to which Prophet Muhammad belonged.
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Thamud
The Thamūd (Arabic: ثمود) were a people of ancient Arabia who were known from the 1st millennium BC to near the time of Muhammad. Although they are thought to have originated in southern Arabia, Arabic tradition has them moving north to settle on the slopes of Mount Athlab near Mada'in Saleh. According to the Qur'an, the Thamud were punished and destroyed by a soundwave (rajfa).
Numerous Thamudic rock writings and pictures have been found on Mount Athlab and throughout central Arabia.
The oldest known reference to Thamud is a 715 BC inscription of the Assyrian king Sargon II which mentions them as being among the people of eastern and central Arabia subjugated by the Assyrians.
They are referred to as "Tamudaei" in the writings of Aristo of Chios, Ptolemy, and Pliny.
The Qur'an mentions Thamud in Sura Al-A'raf in the context of several prophets who warned their people of coming judgement. Verse 74 says of Thamud, "Ye build for yourselves palaces and castles in (open) plains, and carve out homes in the mountains". This could refer to the rock-cut tombs of Mada'in Saleh (the Cities of Saleh)
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Tomb of Eve
The Tomb of Eve, also known as Eve's Grave and Eve's Tomb, is an archeological site located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (21°29′31″N 39°11′24″E / 21.49194°N 39.19°E / 21.49194; 39.19). It is considered by some Muslims to be the burial place of the Biblical Eve of the Abrahamic faiths. Richard Francis Burton mentions seeing it in The Book Of One Thousand Nights And A Night. The site was sealed with concrete by the religious authorities in 1975 as a result of pilgrims praying at the tomb.
It is also mentioned in Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence in Chapter VIII.[3]
3. Lawrence, T.E. (1921). Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
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Uthman Ibn Affan
Uthman ibn Affan (Arabic: عثمان بن عفان, strict transliteration: ʻUthmān ibn ʻAffān) (c. 579 – 17 July 656) was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He played a major role in early Islamic history as the third of the Sunni Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliphs.
Uthman was born into the Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerful family of the Quraish tribe. He was a companion of Muhammad who assumed the role of leader (caliph) of the Muslim Empire at the age of 65 following Umar ibn al-Khattab. Under his leadership, the empire expanded into Fars in 650 (present-day Iran), some areas of Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan) in 651 and the conquest of Armenia was begun in the 640s. Some of Uthman's notable achievements were the economic reforms he introduced, and the compilation of the Qur'an into the unified, authoritative text that is known today.
Uthman was born in Ta’if, which is situated on a hill, and the presumption is that he was born during the summer months, since wealthy Meccans usually spent the hot summers in the cooler climate of Ta’if. He was born into the wealthy Umayyad (Banu Umayya) clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, seven years after Muhammad. Uthman's father, Affan, died young while travelling abroad but left a large inheritance to Uthman. Uthman followed the same profession as his father, and his business flourished, making him one of the richest men among the Qurayshi tribe.
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Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ]) (c. 1460 or 1469 – 24 December 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. For a short time in 1524 he was the Governor of Portuguese India, under the title of Viceroy.
Vasco da Gama was born in either 1460 or 1469 in Sines, on the southwest coast of Portugal, probably in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas. Sines, one of the few seaports on the Alentejo coast, consisted of little more than a cluster of whitewashed, red-tiled cottages, tenanted chiefly by fisherfolk.
Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama, who had served in the 1460s as a knight of the household of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and went on to rise in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago. Estêvão da Gama was appointed alcaide-mór (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478, and continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region.
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Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely; born Vásárhelyi Győző, 9 April 1906,Pécs - 15 March 1997, Paris) was a Hungarian French artist whose work is generally seen as aligned with Op-art. His work entitled Zebra, created by Vasarely in the 1930s, is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op-art. Vasarely died in Paris in 1997.
Vasarely was born in Pécs and grew up in [(then Pöstyén) and Budapest where in 1925 he took up medical studies at Budapest University. In 1927 he abandoned medicine to learn traditional academic painting at the private Podolini-Volkmann Academy. In 1928/1929, he enrolled at Sándor Bortnyik's műhely (lit. "workshop", in existence until 1938), then widely recognized as the center of Bauhaus studies in Budapest. Cash-strapped, the műhely could not offer all that the Bauhaus offered. Instead it concentrated on applied graphic art and typographical design.
In 1929 he painted his Blue Study and Green Study. In 1930 he married his fellow student Claire Spinner (1908–1990). Together they had two sons, Andre and Jean-Pierre. In Budapest, he worked for a ball-bearings company in accounting and designing advertising posters. Victor Vasarely became a graphics designer and a poster artist during the 1930s who combined patterns and organic images with each other.
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World War I
World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939 (World War II), and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centred around the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; but, as Austria–Hungary had taken the offensive against the agreement, Italy did not enter into the war). These alliances both reorganised (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, largely because of enormous increases in lethality of weapons, thanks to new technology, without corresponding improvements in protection or mobility. It was the sixth-deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.
wn.com/World_War_I
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Jeddah city Video guide (Saudi Arabia)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:10
- Updated: 21 Jan 2013
Jeddah airport, where hundreds of hours waiting for their mixed-biznesdzhetov ready to fly at the request of the owner anywhere in the world; Sea Port of Jeddah - one of the largest cargo port in the Middle East, a seaport museum and the great ships; old city buildings, surviving from a time when no oil was found night bazaar: a lot of shops, stunning in its diversity. You can buy spices and national clothes in places; medieval fortress, museum of history of Jeddah, the artifacts brought from the holy places long ago, but survived to this day; urban neighborhoods, wonderful embankments, street sculpture, the house of local residents, and more.
http://wn.com/Jeddah_city_Video_guide_Saudi_Arabia
Jeddah airport, where hundreds of hours waiting for their mixed-biznesdzhetov ready to fly at the request of the owner anywhere in the world; Sea Port of Jeddah - one of the largest cargo port in the Middle East, a seaport museum and the great ships; old city buildings, surviving from a time when no oil was found night bazaar: a lot of shops, stunning in its diversity. You can buy spices and national clothes in places; medieval fortress, museum of history of Jeddah, the artifacts brought from the holy places long ago, but survived to this day; urban neighborhoods, wonderful embankments, street sculpture, the house of local residents, and more.
Microlighting Over Jeddah
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:49
- Updated: 19 Jan 2013
First little microllight tour over Jeddah. Hopefully the first of many. It was certainly a fun experience.
http://wn.com/Microlighting_Over_Jeddah
First little microllight tour over Jeddah. Hopefully the first of many. It was certainly a fun experience.
- published: 09 Jun 2012
- views: 6932
- author: MisterMisterSir
My Hometown "Jeddah - Saudi Arabia"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:16
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
My first video for my lovely hometown "JEDDAH City". Song name: Jeddah Singer: Don Legend (Qusai) Like my page in the Facebook @ www.facebook.com Visit my personal website @ www.saryabunijem.com
http://wn.com/My_Hometown_Jeddah_Saudi_Arabia
My first video for my lovely hometown "JEDDAH City". Song name: Jeddah Singer: Don Legend (Qusai) Like my page in the Facebook @ www.facebook.com Visit my personal website @ www.saryabunijem.com
- published: 10 Jul 2007
- views: 182314
- author: sary911
From Jeddah To LA by Quasi (with Lyric)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:31
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Well it's Mister Pimptastic Gangstalizm in the pimpsness Approach the scene ... HANDS UP ... Like a witness كيف الحال ؟ قصي معاكم من جدة While my man Fredwreck in LA with the scripture MTV Arabia Collaboration Hip Hop Na hosts exposing the arab nation So who's qualified for this move but the two of us ? So get on the bus! Tha KSA was introduced to Hip Hop By the west Coast sound when Death RowsChronic album dropped It was all about the Gangsta Boogie From the Aqua Boogie, whether you pro or rookie My man 2pac was the icon here all eyes on me still the album of the year I love Hip Hop and she loves me too Jeddah city...that's how we do From Jeddah to LA HEY! I write the rhymes, he lace the beats, to hit the streets From Jeddah to LA HEY! The West Coast of the US and KSA From Jeddah to LA HEY! We taking over Hip Hop World Wide today From Jeddah to LA HEY! It's time for you to hear what we wanna say I remember listining to Ice T, NWA Easy E, Ice Cube, Mc Ren, Dr. Dre MC Hammer, Pharcyed, and X tp the Z Luniz, Nate Dogg, and Julio G Dogg Pound...that's kurupt and Daz Cypress Hill, The DOC and Everlast Spice 1, E-40, Mack 10, WC And of course Snoop DO double G It's all love...no crips or bloods We all C-walking while we rolling on dubs Hip Hop gear, got no fear وإلي مو عاجبه يروح يطير It's promiscuous So conspicuous عربي وغربي sounds so ridiculous من حي لحي والمزاج رايق لايق عليك لايق From Jeddah to LA HEY! I write the rhymes, he lace the beats, to hit the streets From Jeddah ...
http://wn.com/From_Jeddah_To_LA_by_Quasi_with_Lyric
Well it's Mister Pimptastic Gangstalizm in the pimpsness Approach the scene ... HANDS UP ... Like a witness كيف الحال ؟ قصي معاكم من جدة While my man Fredwreck in LA with the scripture MTV Arabia Collaboration Hip Hop Na hosts exposing the arab nation So who's qualified for this move but the two of us ? So get on the bus! Tha KSA was introduced to Hip Hop By the west Coast sound when Death RowsChronic album dropped It was all about the Gangsta Boogie From the Aqua Boogie, whether you pro or rookie My man 2pac was the icon here all eyes on me still the album of the year I love Hip Hop and she loves me too Jeddah city...that's how we do From Jeddah to LA HEY! I write the rhymes, he lace the beats, to hit the streets From Jeddah to LA HEY! The West Coast of the US and KSA From Jeddah to LA HEY! We taking over Hip Hop World Wide today From Jeddah to LA HEY! It's time for you to hear what we wanna say I remember listining to Ice T, NWA Easy E, Ice Cube, Mc Ren, Dr. Dre MC Hammer, Pharcyed, and X tp the Z Luniz, Nate Dogg, and Julio G Dogg Pound...that's kurupt and Daz Cypress Hill, The DOC and Everlast Spice 1, E-40, Mack 10, WC And of course Snoop DO double G It's all love...no crips or bloods We all C-walking while we rolling on dubs Hip Hop gear, got no fear وإلي مو عاجبه يروح يطير It's promiscuous So conspicuous عربي وغربي sounds so ridiculous من حي لحي والمزاج رايق لايق عليك لايق From Jeddah to LA HEY! I write the rhymes, he lace the beats, to hit the streets From Jeddah ...
- published: 15 Nov 2008
- views: 100823
- author: Nijat Aliyev
Accident On Jeddah Makkah Highway
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:29
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
Friday 6 July 2012 MAKKAH: Four people were killed and 11 others injured in an accident involving nine vehicles along the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway on Thursday. A highway police officer told Arab News that the pile-up occurred when a Jeddah-bound truck flipped over and collided with cars on its path and then blocking traffic on both sides of the road. "Four cars were completed destroyed following the crash," the officer said, adding that the truck had fallen over a Mercedes Benz car. At least four more cars were damaged in the collision. The truck ended up horizontal on the either side of the divider, blocking the busy road for more than two hours. Eyewitnesses said the accident stopped all traffic from Sitteen Street of Makkah to Shumaisi on the one side and from Bahrah to Shumaisi on the other side. Apart from Civil Defense and Red Crescent, an air ambulance plane took part in the rescue operation. The injured were taken to hospital on Red Crescent vans with difficulty because of overcrowded roads. Source: www.arabnews.com
http://wn.com/Accident_On_Jeddah_Makkah_Highway
Friday 6 July 2012 MAKKAH: Four people were killed and 11 others injured in an accident involving nine vehicles along the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway on Thursday. A highway police officer told Arab News that the pile-up occurred when a Jeddah-bound truck flipped over and collided with cars on its path and then blocking traffic on both sides of the road. "Four cars were completed destroyed following the crash," the officer said, adding that the truck had fallen over a Mercedes Benz car. At least four more cars were damaged in the collision. The truck ended up horizontal on the either side of the divider, blocking the busy road for more than two hours. Eyewitnesses said the accident stopped all traffic from Sitteen Street of Makkah to Shumaisi on the one side and from Bahrah to Shumaisi on the other side. Apart from Civil Defense and Red Crescent, an air ambulance plane took part in the rescue operation. The injured were taken to hospital on Red Crescent vans with difficulty because of overcrowded roads. Source: www.arabnews.com
- published: 06 Jul 2012
- views: 35340
- author: Attiq Ahmed
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Worlds Tallest Tower
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:00
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Directed, Produced and CGi by visualhouse - www.visualhouse.co.uk Further Project Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Tower smithgill.com/#/work/kingdom_tower
http://wn.com/Kingdom_Tower,_Jeddah,_Saudi_Arabia_Worlds_Tallest_Tower
Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Directed, Produced and CGi by visualhouse - www.visualhouse.co.uk Further Project Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Tower smithgill.com/#/work/kingdom_tower
- published: 19 Dec 2011
- views: 80452
- author: visualhouseco
New Jeddah city
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:44
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
Jeddah is the second largest city after Riyadh, it is the main port of the Kingdom on the Red Sea and main gate through which most of the pilgrims arrive by air and sea to perform Umrah, Haj or to visit the two holy mosques. Area inhabited is more than 1500 km, and population is more than one and half million. Jeddah is an industrial and active commercial center, with modern features, squares and courtyards. It is an important tourism center, with an eighty kilometer long beautiful corniche on the Red Sea coast. Jeddah also comprises the King Abdul Aziz University, King Abdul Aziz International Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port. King Fahd Fountain is located inside the Red Sea, near the coast, is an outstanding feature of the port of Jeddah particularly during the night when it sends beautiful colored water up to two hundred and sixty meters. The name Jeddah meaning the "Ancestor of Women" is attributable to the tomb in the city which is believed to belong to Eve. Today, it is not however possible to see that interesting place since the Saudi Arabian government had the tomb destroyed for the reason that it would instigate perversions in the religion. Jeddah which gained importance during the Ottoman rule, was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hejaz and later came under the British control. It joined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1927.
http://wn.com/New_Jeddah_city
Jeddah is the second largest city after Riyadh, it is the main port of the Kingdom on the Red Sea and main gate through which most of the pilgrims arrive by air and sea to perform Umrah, Haj or to visit the two holy mosques. Area inhabited is more than 1500 km, and population is more than one and half million. Jeddah is an industrial and active commercial center, with modern features, squares and courtyards. It is an important tourism center, with an eighty kilometer long beautiful corniche on the Red Sea coast. Jeddah also comprises the King Abdul Aziz University, King Abdul Aziz International Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port. King Fahd Fountain is located inside the Red Sea, near the coast, is an outstanding feature of the port of Jeddah particularly during the night when it sends beautiful colored water up to two hundred and sixty meters. The name Jeddah meaning the "Ancestor of Women" is attributable to the tomb in the city which is believed to belong to Eve. Today, it is not however possible to see that interesting place since the Saudi Arabian government had the tomb destroyed for the reason that it would instigate perversions in the religion. Jeddah which gained importance during the Ottoman rule, was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hejaz and later came under the British control. It joined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1927.
- published: 10 Oct 2011
- views: 28257
- author: mdasim99
Annual Mushaira - Jeddah - Imran Partapgarhi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:44
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
Rohail Khan (Promoter, Sponsor, Producer) was bronze sponsor of "Annual Urdu Mushaira" held on Thursday 6th Sept 2012 at IIS, Jeddah, organized by the Indian Pilgrimage Welfare Forum. The IIS auditorium, packed with 2000+ Urdu lovers from India & Pakistan, witnessed six hours of Urdu Ghazals and Poems rendered live by 14 Poets from India notably: Rahat Indori, Rais Ansari, Nawaz Deobandi, Manzar Bhopali, Aslam Farshori, Masroor Abedi, Rais Nizami, Sagar Tripathi, Mehsher Afridi, Sardar Asar, Jarrar Akberabadai, Imran Pertapgarhi, Nuzhat Anjum, Saba Balrampuri. Under the patronage of HE Faiz Kidwai, Consul General of India, the highly successful and well-organized event was presided by renowned international poet Rahat Indori and moderated by Rais Ansari. All 14 poets enriched the audience with their versatile and multi-faceted Urdu Poetry and were widely appreciated by the audience. Here Imran Partapgarhi is serving the audience with his magical Urdu Kalaam titled: Madressah. Young Imran clearly stood out as the most extra-ordinary and popular poet of the evening.
http://wn.com/Annual_Mushaira_Jeddah_Imran_Partapgarhi
Rohail Khan (Promoter, Sponsor, Producer) was bronze sponsor of "Annual Urdu Mushaira" held on Thursday 6th Sept 2012 at IIS, Jeddah, organized by the Indian Pilgrimage Welfare Forum. The IIS auditorium, packed with 2000+ Urdu lovers from India & Pakistan, witnessed six hours of Urdu Ghazals and Poems rendered live by 14 Poets from India notably: Rahat Indori, Rais Ansari, Nawaz Deobandi, Manzar Bhopali, Aslam Farshori, Masroor Abedi, Rais Nizami, Sagar Tripathi, Mehsher Afridi, Sardar Asar, Jarrar Akberabadai, Imran Pertapgarhi, Nuzhat Anjum, Saba Balrampuri. Under the patronage of HE Faiz Kidwai, Consul General of India, the highly successful and well-organized event was presided by renowned international poet Rahat Indori and moderated by Rais Ansari. All 14 poets enriched the audience with their versatile and multi-faceted Urdu Poetry and were widely appreciated by the audience. Here Imran Partapgarhi is serving the audience with his magical Urdu Kalaam titled: Madressah. Young Imran clearly stood out as the most extra-ordinary and popular poet of the evening.
- published: 07 Sep 2012
- views: 9316
- author: Rohail Khan
Flood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 25 November 2009 (2)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:54
- Updated: 31 Dec 2012
Jeddah Cars are damaged coz of a huge flood 25 November 2009
http://wn.com/Flood_in_Jeddah,_Saudi_Arabia_25_November_2009_2
Jeddah Cars are damaged coz of a huge flood 25 November 2009
- published: 16 Oct 2010
- views: 20065
- author: Mrfazzi87
Elaf Jeddah Hotel - Red Sea Mall.mov
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:19
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Elaf Jeddah Red Sea Mall where the warmth of hospitality is unmatched. This five-star hotel has an exceptional location. We invite you into a world of legendary and outstanding services. Spend the day shopping at the adjoining Red Sea Mall for an exquisite shopping experience. Elaf Jeddah, at Red Sea Mall has a total of 154 refined rooms and suites with a panoramic view of the Red Sea. Our hotel offers distinctive amenities including a separate lounge, fully equipped meeting rooms, restaurants, a dedicated concierge staff, outside catering and a health club & spa; escape the stresses of the city with our luxurious spa and leisure facilities. The stunning Danah Ballroom embraces traditional elegance; it's here where dreams come true. Elaf Jeddah...Indulge in elegant accommodations and superior personal service!
http://wn.com/Elaf_Jeddah_Hotel_Red_Sea_Mallmov
Elaf Jeddah Red Sea Mall where the warmth of hospitality is unmatched. This five-star hotel has an exceptional location. We invite you into a world of legendary and outstanding services. Spend the day shopping at the adjoining Red Sea Mall for an exquisite shopping experience. Elaf Jeddah, at Red Sea Mall has a total of 154 refined rooms and suites with a panoramic view of the Red Sea. Our hotel offers distinctive amenities including a separate lounge, fully equipped meeting rooms, restaurants, a dedicated concierge staff, outside catering and a health club & spa; escape the stresses of the city with our luxurious spa and leisure facilities. The stunning Danah Ballroom embraces traditional elegance; it's here where dreams come true. Elaf Jeddah...Indulge in elegant accommodations and superior personal service!
- published: 21 Jan 2013
- views: 216
- author: Mohamed Jouni
Gold's Gym Martial Arts Jeddah, Kung Fu Black Belts, By Abbas
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 16:30
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Gold's_Gym_Martial_Arts_Jeddah,_Kung_Fu_Black_Belts,_By_Abbas
Alfredo Salmos, an OFW in Jeddah needs help
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:06
- Updated: 12 Jan 2013
Alfredo Salmos, 52, an overseas Filipino worker in Jeddah Saudi Arabia is appealing for help after he was accidentally electrocuted about two years ago in his work. According to Salmos, he was sucked into a 14000 volts breaker that he was trying to shut down. Salmos has suffered burns and wounds which damaged his face, head and neck. Wounds formed into keloids and hardened scars which make him difficult to move. He is currently jobless due to his condition. Salmos is from Nueva Ecija who moved to Saudi Arabia 30 years ago to earn a living. Salmos said that he has lost communication with his family and that they have moved to another place. He will live with his mother in Nueva Ecija once granted a final exit visa by the Saudi government. On the other hand, Saudi government could not just issue him his exit clearance unless he settles a car that is allegedly under his name. It was learned that Salmos figured in a car accident a decade ago. Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia can help Salmos by providing him food, clothes and financial assistance. Salmos is now being assisted by some OFW friends and the Philippine consulate in Jeddah. You may call Philippine consulate in Jeddah on how to reach Alfredo Salmos at 0555-219-617 ( from the WEB)
http://wn.com/Alfredo_Salmos,_an_OFW_in_Jeddah_needs_help
Alfredo Salmos, 52, an overseas Filipino worker in Jeddah Saudi Arabia is appealing for help after he was accidentally electrocuted about two years ago in his work. According to Salmos, he was sucked into a 14000 volts breaker that he was trying to shut down. Salmos has suffered burns and wounds which damaged his face, head and neck. Wounds formed into keloids and hardened scars which make him difficult to move. He is currently jobless due to his condition. Salmos is from Nueva Ecija who moved to Saudi Arabia 30 years ago to earn a living. Salmos said that he has lost communication with his family and that they have moved to another place. He will live with his mother in Nueva Ecija once granted a final exit visa by the Saudi government. On the other hand, Saudi government could not just issue him his exit clearance unless he settles a car that is allegedly under his name. It was learned that Salmos figured in a car accident a decade ago. Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia can help Salmos by providing him food, clothes and financial assistance. Salmos is now being assisted by some OFW friends and the Philippine consulate in Jeddah. You may call Philippine consulate in Jeddah on how to reach Alfredo Salmos at 0555-219-617 ( from the WEB)
- published: 26 Apr 2012
- views: 58612
- author: ofwingers
Saudia 777 Takeoff from Jeddah - Full load
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:26
- Updated: 18 Jan 2013
Great 777 take off. from Jeddah (JED) to Riyadh (RUH) Full thrust and full load. I guess they should rename the GE engine GE90 to Lion Heart. Just listen to the roar of the engine as it airborne.
http://wn.com/Saudia_777_Takeoff_from_Jeddah_Full_load
Great 777 take off. from Jeddah (JED) to Riyadh (RUH) Full thrust and full load. I guess they should rename the GE engine GE90 to Lion Heart. Just listen to the roar of the engine as it airborne.
- published: 31 Dec 2011
- views: 15226
- author: Hisham Alsheikh
Pathans Got Talent - Brave Pathan Saved 14 Lives In Jeddah Flood
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:37
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Farman Ali Khan Shaheed of SWAT saved the life of 14 saudi nationals in the devastating flood on the ocassion of HAJJ . He sacrificed his own life and saved others. He did this only on humanitarian basis, not for any worldly reward. However the saudi govt. looking into his gallantry, awarded him with the highest civil award honoring all Pakistanis in the erra of terrorism that earn bad name for the entire pakistani nation. Long Live Pakistan, Long live Pukhtooons Salute To This Brave Brother. If You Have Talent Than Dont Shy Or Feel Shame . Just Show Your Talent To The World. You Also Can Share With Us We Will Upload To Our Page,Blog And Channel Page www.facebook.com Blog www.pathansgottalent.blogspot.com Channel http
http://wn.com/Pathans_Got_Talent_Brave_Pathan_Saved_14_Lives_In_Jeddah_Flood
Farman Ali Khan Shaheed of SWAT saved the life of 14 saudi nationals in the devastating flood on the ocassion of HAJJ . He sacrificed his own life and saved others. He did this only on humanitarian basis, not for any worldly reward. However the saudi govt. looking into his gallantry, awarded him with the highest civil award honoring all Pakistanis in the erra of terrorism that earn bad name for the entire pakistani nation. Long Live Pakistan, Long live Pukhtooons Salute To This Brave Brother. If You Have Talent Than Dont Shy Or Feel Shame . Just Show Your Talent To The World. You Also Can Share With Us We Will Upload To Our Page,Blog And Channel Page www.facebook.com Blog www.pathansgottalent.blogspot.com Channel http
- published: 22 Jan 2013
- views: 19
- author: PathansGotTalent
Al Balad in jeddah saudi arabia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:53
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
vidoe by khursheed khan model of camera Nokia C7 CLICK HERE TO SHOW ALL VIDEO www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/Al_Balad_in_jeddah_saudi_arabia
vidoe by khursheed khan model of camera Nokia C7 CLICK HERE TO SHOW ALL VIDEO www.youtube.com
- published: 13 Sep 2011
- views: 16326
- author: Khursheed Khan
CELEBRATION at JEDDAH
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:27
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
Distance is not a barrier of celebrating an important event in ones life especially the day of birth of our own daughter Enna.
http://wn.com/CELEBRATION_at_JEDDAH
Distance is not a barrier of celebrating an important event in ones life especially the day of birth of our own daughter Enna.
- published: 16 Jan 2013
- views: 20
- author: Adelaida Alcaraz
تجربة اللامبورجيني افنتادور قيادة حسن كتبي - جدة
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 31:20
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
هدية العيد الاولى على سرعة 310 و 340كم وكل عام وانتم بخير Hasan Kutbi test drive Lamborghini Aventador jeddah reached the speed of 310 & 340KMH
http://wn.com/تجربة_اللامبورجيني_افنتادور_قيادة_حسن_كتبي_جدة
هدية العيد الاولى على سرعة 310 و 340كم وكل عام وانتم بخير Hasan Kutbi test drive Lamborghini Aventador jeddah reached the speed of 310 & 340KMH
- published: 24 Oct 2012
- views: 41649
- author: Hasan Kutbi
Flying dream in Jeddah by Kareem Hizam
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:40
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
Fly like the real pilots do!! If you want to fly and enjoy your free time at home, I can help to build flight simulator at home. Email: kareem.hizam@gmail.com Mobile: 966.557033357
http://wn.com/Flying_dream_in_Jeddah_by_Kareem_Hizam
Fly like the real pilots do!! If you want to fly and enjoy your free time at home, I can help to build flight simulator at home. Email: kareem.hizam@gmail.com Mobile: 966.557033357
- published: 21 Mar 2009
- views: 16952
- author: Kareem Hizam
Gangnam Style STC SAWA Carnival Red Sea Mall Jeddah
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:17
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
Gangnam Style by contestants of SAWA CARNIVAL at Red Sea in Jeddah, KSA
http://wn.com/Gangnam_Style_STC_SAWA_Carnival_Red_Sea_Mall_Jeddah
Gangnam Style by contestants of SAWA CARNIVAL at Red Sea in Jeddah, KSA
- published: 24 Jan 2013
- views: 1
- author: mr8eXperience
TKI JEDDAH EDAN OYE
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:35
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/TKI_JEDDAH_EDAN_OYE
harun jeddah 0566609780
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:03
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
bangla song harun jeddah 0566609780
http://wn.com/harun_jeddah_0566609780
Loves from Jeddah family!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:32
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/Loves_from_Jeddah_family!
Jeddah Mali - 'Recognising Truth' - Interview by Renate McNay
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 53:24
- Updated: 15 Jan 2013
Jeddah Mali - 'Recognising Truth' - Interview by Renate McNay Jeddah is an International Teacher on Enlightenment who had, already at a very young age, a deep understanding of the Nature of Reality. She embarked on a 20 year long journey at the age of 20 with the world's highest ranking masters such as the Dalai Lama and spending hundreds of hours in practice, meditation, analysis and exploration. Throughout her life she had a series of awakenings, culminating now in a moment to moment awareness of the source of all existence.
http://wn.com/Jeddah_Mali_'Recognising_Truth'_Interview_by_Renate_McNay
Jeddah Mali - 'Recognising Truth' - Interview by Renate McNay Jeddah is an International Teacher on Enlightenment who had, already at a very young age, a deep understanding of the Nature of Reality. She embarked on a 20 year long journey at the age of 20 with the world's highest ranking masters such as the Dalai Lama and spending hundreds of hours in practice, meditation, analysis and exploration. Throughout her life she had a series of awakenings, culminating now in a moment to moment awareness of the source of all existence.
- published: 09 Jun 2010
- views: 17305
- author: conscioustv
photo: AP / Anis Belghoul
22 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When then-Vice President Dick Cheney stated. "If there's a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response. It's not about our analysis...it's about our response,"(1) it was clearly evident that the "war on terror" had been lost ... And when Zacarias Moussaoui shouted. "America you lost ... 11....(size: 9.1Kb)
photo: AP / Patric Schneider
23 Jan 2013
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Three people were wounded, one critically, on Tuesday when gunfire erupted during an altercation between two people on a community college campus near Houston, police said, the latest in a series of shootings on U.S. college and school campuses. Two people "of interest" in the Lone Star College shooting were detained for questioning, including one with a student identification, according to authorities....(size: 3.7Kb)
photo: AP / Lee Jin-man
24 Jan 2013
North Korea threatened to conduct a nuclear weapons test “targeted” at the U.S. after the Obama administration pushed through new United Nations sanctions against the totalitarian state for last month’s rocket launch. “In a new phase of the anti-U.S ... The UN Security Council imposed additional restrictions on North Korea on Jan ... The U.S ... ....(size: 2.2Kb)
photo: UN / JC McIlwaine
23 Jan 2013
United Nations - On Tuesday the UN Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's December rocket launch and expanded existing UN sanctions, eliciting a vow from Pyongyang to boost the North's military and nuclear capabilities. While the resolution approved by the 15-nation council does not impose new sanctions on Pyongyang, diplomats said Beijing's support for it was a significant diplomatic blow to Pyongyang ... Blacklisted ... >. > ... >....(size: 27.5Kb)
photo: AP / Burhan Ozbilici
21 Jan 2013
Germany has sent 240 soldiers to southern Turkey as part of a NATO mission using Patriot missiles to deter cross-border airstrikes from war-torn Syria. Units are also being provided by the Netherlands and the US. The main German contingent flew out of Berlin Sunday, headed for Kahramanmaras, 100 kilometers (62 miles) inside Turkey's border with Syria, where two German Patriot units are to be fully operational by early February ... DW.DE ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
IIFL
24 Jan 2013
Riyadh goes from 17 to 28 flights a week, Jeddah jumps from 18 to 21 flights and Dammam has received an extra six services, becoming 13 flights a week ... Emirates serves four gateways in Saudi Arabia; Al Medinah al Munawarah, Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, which is served by the airline’s Wi-Fi equipped, flagship aircraft, the A380 ... On 17th January, demand was such that a total of four Emirates’ A380s were sent to Jeddah in one day....(size: 6.5Kb)
Bloomberg
24 Jan 2013
“I have a little fear,” said Addis Mitiku, 23, before taking a job in Jeddah, in western Saudi Arabia ... Still, Ethiopians are “a good alternative,” said Hassan al-Maqbool, chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s recruitment committee ... For Negisti Ayalkibet, the $130-a-month she earned in Jeddah was enough to buy furniture and a Sony ......(size: 11.4Kb)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
24 Jan 2013
FUNDRAISERS. Robinson -- Holy Trinity Council 11279 of the Knights of Columbus will sponsor a Night at the Races at 7 p.m. Saturday in the social hall of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 5718 Steubenville Pike. The cost is $15, and child care is available ... Speaker will be Marcia Grant, founding dean, president and academic vice dean of Effat College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ... ....(size: 1.8Kb)
noodls
24 Jan 2013
(Source. US Department of State) Thank you very much, Mr ... In addition to those who have been killed, we know what happened in Tehran with hostages being taken in 1979, our Embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2004, the Khost attack in Afghanistan in 2009, and too many others ... In fact, Mr ... PRN....(size: 13.8Kb)
noodls
24 Jan 2013
(Source. US Department of State). Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, members of the committee, both older and new ... hostages taken in Tehran in 1979, our Embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah in 2004, the Khost attack in 2009, and too many others ... I have accepted every one of their recommendations....(size: 13.6Kb)
Scoop
24 Jan 2013
Thursday, 24 January 2013, 12.25 pm. Speech. US Department Of State. 01/23/2013 10.12 AM EST. Benghazi. The Attacks and the Lessons Learned. Testimony. Hillary Rodham Clinton ... hostages taken in Tehran in 1979, our Embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah in 2004, the Khost attack in 2009, and too many others ... PRN ... ENDS ... ....(size: 13.1Kb)
Springfield News-Sun
24 Jan 2013
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers around the world.. Jan. 18. The Arab News, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Syrian atrocities.. Time and again in the bloody Syrian conflict, as Bashar Assad seeks to crush his own people, it has seemed that the horrors could not increase. Yet recently there's news of further depravities, all too often visited upon civilians who have been caught in the firing line ... .. ... Online. ... ___. Jan. 23 ... .. ... __ ... 23....(size: 15.3Kb)
Foreign Policy
23 Jan 2013
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Sen ... Mr ... hostages taken in Tehran in 1979, our embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah in 2004, the Khost attack in 2009, and too many others ... . ....(size: 2.6Kb)
New York Daily News
23 Jan 2013
Thank you very much, Mr ... I appreciate this opportunity ... In addition to those who have been killed, we know what happened in Tehran with hostages being taken in 1979, our Embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2004, the Khost attack in Afghanistan in 2009, and too many others ... RELATED ... ....(size: 2.4Kb)
Business Insider
23 Jan 2013
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is giving long-awaited testimony this morning on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya ... Mr ... hostages taken in Tehran in 1979, our embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah in 2004, the Khost attack in 2009, and too many others ... Tags ... ....(size: 3.5Kb)
The Washington Post
23 Jan 2013
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s voice broke and she teared up as she spoke Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ... Mr ... Loading... Recommend ... hostages taken in Tehran in 1979, our embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah in 2004, the Khost attack in 2009, and too many others ... ....(size: 4.3Kb)
Reuters
23 Jan 2013
DUBAI Jan 23 (Reuters) - Dividend seekers lifted Qatar's bourse to a 10-day high on Wednesday, while UAE markets also rallied in a lacklustre session ahead of a long weekend for most markets ... 13 ... Sorouh climbed 4.2 percent ... "Everyone is watching the 7,000 level and wants the market to trade above that level this year," said Abdullah Alawi, assistant general manager and head of research at Aljazira Capital in Jeddah ... SAUDI ARABIA ... EGYPT ... ....(size: 5.3Kb)
Yahoo Daily News
23 Jan 2013
Testimony as prepared for delivery by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr ... hostages taken in Tehran in 1979, our embassy and Marine barracks bombed in Beirut in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, our embassies in East Africa in 1998, consulate staff murdered in Jeddah in 2004, the Khost attack in 2009, and too many others ... And it's what we are doing again now, with your help ... ....(size: 12.0Kb)
This article is about the Saudi Arabian city. For the Australian movie, see Jedda. For the Bahraini island, see Jidda Island. For the steamship, see SS Jeddah.
| City of Jeddah جدّة Jidda |
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| — City — | |||
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| Nickname(s): The Bride of the Red Sea | |||
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| Coordinates: 21°32′36″N 39°10′22″E / 21.54333°N 39.17278°E / 21.54333; 39.17278Coordinates: 21°32′36″N 39°10′22″E / 21.54333°N 39.17278°E / 21.54333; 39.17278 | |||
| Country |  Saudi Arabia |
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| Province | Makkah (Mecca) | ||
| Established | From the 6th century BC | ||
| Joined Saudi Arabia | 1925 | ||
| Government | |||
| • City Mayor | Hani Abu Ras[1] | ||
| • City Governor | Mish'al Al-Saud | ||
| • Provincial Governor | Khalid al Faisal | ||
| Area | |||
| • Urban | 1,500 km2 (600 sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 3,000 km2 (1,000 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 12 m (39 ft) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • City | 4,234,000 | ||
| • Density | 2,921/km2 (1,826/sq mi) | ||
| • Urban | 3,855,912 | ||
| • Metro | 5,500,000 | ||
| Jeddah City estimate | |||
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EAT (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal Code | (5 digits) | ||
| Area code(s) | +966-2 | ||
| Website | Jeddah Municipality | ||
Jeddah (Arabic: جدّة Jidda), sometimes spelled Jiddah or Jedda, is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The population of the city currently stands at 3.2 million. It is an important commercial hub in Saudi Arabia.
Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, which able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lifetime. It is also a gateway to Medina, the second holiest place in Islam.
Jeddah is one of the most cosmopolitan, diverse, and tolerant of all Saudi Arabian cities, hosting expatriates from all over the world who have made Jeddah their home.[citation needed] Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East.[2] Jeddah was independently ranked 4th in the Africa / Mid-East region in terms of innovation in 2009 in the Innovation Cities Index.[3]
Jeddah is one of Saudi Arabia's primary resort cities and was named a Gamma world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC).
Historically, Jeddah has been well known for its legendary money changers. The largest of said money changers at the time (the late Sheikh Salem Bin Mahfouz) eventually founded Saudi Arabia's first bank, the National Commercial Bank (NCB). Other notable trading families that have greatly impacted Saudi Arabia include the Ba-eshen, Bajubair, Bajammal, Bakhashab, Bakhashwain, Ali-Reda, Bin Zagr, Bin Mahfouz, Balubaid, and Kamel families, respectively.
Contents |
Etymology and spelling[link]
There are at least two explanations for the etymology of the name Jeddah, according to Jeddah Ibn Helwaan Al-Qudaa'iy, the chief of the Quda'a clan. The more common account has it that the name is derived from جده Jaddah, the Arabic word for "grandmother". According to eastern folk belief, the tomb of Eve (21°29′31″N 39°11′24″E / 21.49194°N 39.19°E / 21.49194; 39.19), considered the grandmother of humanity, is located in Jeddah.[4] The Tomb was sealed with concrete by the religious authorities in 1975 as a result of some Muslims praying at the site.
Ibn Battuta(1304–1368), the Berber traveller, visited Jeddah during his world trip. He wrote the name of the city into his diary as "Juddah".[5]
The British Foreign Office and other branches of the British government used to use the older spelling of "Jedda", contrary to other English-speaking usage, but in 2007 changed to the spelling "Jeddah".[6]
T. E. Lawrence felt that any transcription of Arabic names into English was arbitrary. In his book Revolt in the Desert, Jeddah is spelled three different ways on the first page alone.[7]
On official Saudi maps and documents, the city name is transcribed "Jeddah", which is now the prevailing usage.
History[link]
Pre-Islam[link]
Excavations in the old city suggest that Jeddah was founded as a fishing hamlet in 500 BC by the Yemeni Quda'a tribe (بني قضاعة), who left central Yemen to settle in Makkah[8] after the destruction of the Marib Dam in Yemen.[9]
Other archaeological studies have shown that the area was settled earlier by people in the Stone Age, as some Thamudi scripts were excavated in Wadi Briman (وادي بريمان), west of the city, and Wadi Boweb (وادي بويب), northwest of the city. It was visited by Alexander The Great (356 BC - 323 BC).[10]
Rashidun Caliphate[link]
Jeddah first achieved prominence in 647 AD, when the third Muslim Caliph, Uthman Ibn Affan (عثمان بن عفان), turned it into a port for Muslim pilgrims making the required Hajj to Mecca.
Since then, Jeddah has been established as the main city of the historic Hejaz province and a historic port for pilgrims arriving by sea to perform their Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. The city's strategic location as the gates of the Holy City and a port on the Red Sea has caused it to be conquered many times throughout its history.
Fatimid Caliphate[link]
In the 969 AD the Fatimids from Algeria took control in Egypt from the Ikhshidid dynasty and expanded their empire to the surrounding regions, including Hejaz and Jeddah. The Fatimids developed an extensive trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song Dynasty, which eventually determined the economic course of Hijaz during the High Middle Ages.
Ayyubid Empire[link]
After Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem, in 1171 he proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt, after dissolving the Fatimid Caliphate upon the death of al-Adid, thus establishing the Ayyubid dynasty, which set conquests throughout the region. Hejaz—including Jeddah—became a part of the Ayyubid Empire in 1177 during the leadership of Sharif Ibn Abul-Hashim Al-Thalab (1094–1201). During their relatively short-lived tenure, the Ayyubids ushered in an era of economic prosperity in the lands they ruled and the facilities and patronage provided by the Ayyubids led to a resurgence in intellectual activity in the Islamic world. This period was also marked by an Ayyubid process of vigorously strengthening Sunni Muslim dominance in the region by constructing numerous madrasas (Islamic schools) in their major cities. Jeddah attracted Muslim sailors and merchants from Sindh, Southeast Asia and East Africa, and other distant regions.
Mamluk Sultanate[link]
In 1254, following events in Cairo and the dissolution of the Ayyubid Empire, Hejaz became a part of the Mamluk Sultanate. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, having found his way around the Cape and obtained pilots from the coast of Zanzibar in 1497 CE, pushed his way across the Indian Ocean to the shores of Malabar and Calicut, attacked the fleets that carried freight and Muslim pilgrims from India to the Red Sea, and struck terror into the potentates all around. The Princes of Gujarat and Yemen turned for help to Egypt. Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri accordingly fitted out a fleet of 50 vessels under his Admiral, Hussein the Kurd. Jeddah was soon fortified with forced labor as a harbor of refuge from the Portuguese, allowing Arabia and the Red Sea to be protected, parts of the city wall still survives today in the old city. Even though the Portuguese were successfully repelled from the city, the fleets in the Indian Ocean were at the mercy of the enemy. This was part of the Battle of Diu between the Portuguese and the Arab Mumluks. The Portuguese soldier's grave is still found within the old city today, and it is referred to as the Christian Graves.[11]
Ottoman Empire[link]
In 1517, the Ottoman Turks conquered the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt and Syria, during the reign of Selim I.[12] As territories of the Mamluk Sultanate, the Hejaz, including the holy city of Mecca and Jeddah, passed into Ottoman possession. The Ottomans rebuilt the weak walls of Jeddah in 1525 following their victory over Lopo Soares de Albergaria's Armada in the Red Sea. The new Turkish wall included six watchtowers and six city gates. They were constructed to defend against the Portuguese attack. Of the six gates, the Gate of Mecca was the eastern gate and the Gate of Al-Magharibah, facing the port, the western one. The Gate of Sharif faced south. The other gates were the Gate of Al-Bunt, Gate of Al-Sham (also called Gate of Al-Sharaf) and Gate of Medina, facing north.[13] The Turks also built The Qishla of Jeddah, a small castle for the city soldiers. In the 19th century these seven gates were minimized into four giant gates with four towers. These giant gates were the Gate of Sham from the north, the Gate of Mecca from the east, the Gate of Sharif from the south, and the Gate of Al-Magharibah on the sea side.
Ahmed Al-Jazzar, the Ottoman military man mainly known for his role in the Siege of Acre, spent the earlier part of his career at Jeddah—where in 1750 he killed some seventy rioting nomads in retaliation for the killing of his commander, Abdullah Beg. It was this act which reportedly earned him the nickname "Jezzar" (butcher), which he carried for the rest of his life.
First Saudi State and Ottoman-Saudi War[link]
Main article: Ottoman-Saudi War
In 1802, Nejdi forces conquered both Mecca and Jeddah from the Ottomans. When Sharif Ghalib Efendi informed Sultan Mahmud II of this, the Sultan ordered his Egyptian viceroy Muhammad Ali Pasha to retake the city. Muhammad Ali successfully regained the city in the Battle of Jeddah in 1813.
World War I and The Kingdom of Hejaz[link]
Main articles: Arab Revolt and Kingdom of Hejaz
During World War I, Sharif Hussein bin Ali declared a revolt against the Ottoman Empire, seeking independence from the Ottoman Turks and the creation of a single unified Arab state spanning from Aleppo in Syria to Aden in Yemen.
King Hussein declared the Kingdom of Hejaz. Later, Hussein was involved in war with Ibn Saud, who was the Sultan of Nejd. Hussein resigned following the fall of Mecca, in December 1924, and his son Ali bin Hussein became the new king of the remaining soil of the Kingdom of Hejaz today.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia[link]
A few months later, Ibn Saud, whose clan originated in the central Nejd province, conquered Medina and Jeddah via an agreement with Jeddans following the Second Battle of Jeddah. He deposed the Sharif of Hejaz, Ali bin Hussein, who fled to Baghdad, eventually settling in Amman, Jordan, where his descendants became part of its Hashemite royalty.
As a result, Jeddah came under the sway of the Al-Saud dynasty in December 1925. In 1926, Ibn Saud added the title King of Hejaz to his position of Sultan of Nejd. Today, Jeddah has lost its historical role in peninsular politics, since the historic Hejaz province along the west coast has been subdivided into smaller provinces, and Jeddah falls within the new province of Makkah, whose provincial capital is the city of Mecca.
From 1928 to 1932, the new Khuzam Palace was built as the new residence of King Abdul Aziz in Jeddah. The palace lies south of the old walled city and was constructed under the supervision of the engineer Muhammad bin Laden. After 1963 the palace was used as a royal guest house; since 1995 it has housed the Regional Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography.[14]
What was left of the walls and gates of the old city was taken down in 1947. A fire in 1982 destroyed some ancient buildings in the old town center, called Al-Balad, but much is still preserved despite the commercial interest to tear down old houses (Naseef House, Gabil House) and build modern high-rise buildings. A house-by-house survey of the old districts was made in 1979, showing that some 1000 traditional buildings still existed, though the number of structures with great historic value was far less. In 1990 a Jeddah Historical Area Preservation Department was founded.[15][16]
The modern city has expanded wildly beyond its old boundaries. The built-up area expanded mainly to the north along the Red Sea coastline, reaching the new airport during the 1990s and since edging its way around it toward the Ob'hur Creek some 27 kilometers from the old city center.
Geography[link]
Most of Saudi Arabia is desert. The central region consists of an eroded plateau, mostly arid and hot in the summer and mild in the winter. The western region is mountainous except on the coastal plain bordering the Red Sea, which includes the Jeddah area.
Jeddah borders the Red Sea from the west and the Al-Sarawat Mountains from the east. It has no rivers or valleys but it includes Sharm Ob'hur, which connects the Red Sea to the other end of the city. The Sharm of Salman (also called the Gulf of Salman) and which is known for its sandy cost, borders the city from north.
Climate[link]
Jeddah features an arid climate under Koppen's climate classification. Unlike other Saudi Arabian cities, Jeddah retains its warm temperature in winter, which can range from 15 °C (59 °F) at midnight to 25 °C (77 °F) in the afternoon. Summer temperatures are very hot, often breaking the 40 °C (104 °F) mark in the afternoon and dropping to 30 °C (86 °F) in the evening. Rainfall in Jeddah is generally sparse, and usually occurs in small amounts in December. There have also been several notable incidents of hail. Heavy thunderstorms are common in winter. The thunderstorm of December 2008 was the largest in recent memory, with rain reaching around 3 inches (7.6 cm). The lowest temperature ever recorded in Jeddah was 3 °C (37 °F) in the winter of 1995.[citation needed]. The highest temperature ever recorded in Jeddah was 52.0 °C (125.6 °F) on June 22, 2010.
Dust storms happen in summer and sometimes in winter, coming from the Arabian Peninsula's deserts or from North Africa.
| Climate data for Jeddah | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33 (91) |
35 (95) |
38 (100) |
40 (104) |
42 (108) |
52 (126) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
41 (106) |
41 (106) |
34 (93) |
52 (126) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
29 (84) |
29 (84) |
33 (91) |
35 (95) |
36 (97) |
37 (99) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
30 (86) |
33 (91) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 19 (66) |
18 (64) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
26 (79) |
27 (81) |
25 (77) |
23 (73) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
22 (72) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 9 (48) |
11 (52) |
13 (55) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
19 (66) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
10 (50) |
9 (48) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 5 (0.2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
25 (0.98) |
31 (1.22) |
61 (2.4) |
| % humidity | 56 | 52 | 52 | 54 | 53 | 56 | 53 | 55 | 63 | 61 | 57 | 55 | 55 |
| Source: [17] | |||||||||||||
Pollution and environment[link]
Air pollution is an issue for Jeddah, particularly on hot summer days. The city has experienced bush fires, landfill fires, and pollution from the two industrial zones in the north and the south of Jeddah.
The water treatment factory and the seaport contribute to water pollution. However, the coast of the city can be considered safe and of relatively clean quality.
Economy[link]
Historically, and due to its proximity to the Red Sea, Jeddah functioned as a port city. Even before being designated port city for Mecca, the city of Jeddah had rooted itself in the local economy as an integral trading hub for the region. In the 19th century goods such as mother-of-pearl, tortoise shells, frankincense and various other spices and items were routinely exported from the city. Apart from this, many imports into the city were destined for further export to the Suez, Africa, or the European continent. As a result of this "re-export" of goods, many items exported from Jeddah were things that could not even be found in the city or even in Arabia.[18]
The city's geographical location places it at the heart of the region covered by the Middle East and North Africa, with all their capitals within two hours flying distance, defining Jeddah as the second commercial center of the Middle East after Dubai.[19]
Also, Jeddah's industrial district is the fourth largest industrial city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jubail and Yanbu.
King Abdullah Street[link]
King Abdullah Street is one of the most important streets in Jeddah that starts at King Fahd road by the waterfront in the west of Jeddah and ends all the way at the eastern end of the city. It is famous for hosting numerous corporate offices and commercial developments. Due to the economic boom in this region, there is a central business district planned, which would be one of the biggest CBDs in the Middle East.
Tahlia Street[link]
Main article: Tahlia Street
Tahlia Street is an important fashion and shopping street in the mid-town of Jeddah. It contains many upscale department shops and boutiques, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Burberry, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Versace, Massimo Dutti, Tod's, and many more. It has been renamed to " Prince Mohammad bin Abdul Aziz Road".
Major organizations headquartered in Jeddah[link]
The city serves as headquarters for several global and major organizations, including:
- Saudi Geological Survey
- Saudi Arabian Airlines
- Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
- Islamic Development Bank
- Jeddah Economic Forum
- Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Organization
- Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry
- Jeddah Marketing Board
- International Association of Islamic Banks
- International Islamic News Agency
- Islamic Shipowners Association
- Islamic States Broadcasting Organization
- The National Commercial Bank [2]
- State Bank of India, Jeddah operations Headquarters [3]
- Al Baik, Fast food chain, Sarafi Mall Jeddah [4]
- Four Winds, logistics company [5]
Demographics[link]
 |
This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Popular Saudi and foreign opinion regards Jeddah as the most liberal and cosmopolitan of Saudi cities due to its historic role as port and gateway to the holy city of Mecca. For over one thousand years, Jeddah has received millions of pilgrims of different ethnicities and backgrounds, from Africa, Central Asia, Russia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, some of whom remained and became residents of the city. As a result, Jeddah is much more ethnically diverse than most Saudi cities and its culture more eclectic in nature (in contrast with the more geographically isolated and religiously strict capital, Riyadh). The oil boom of the past 50 years has brought hundreds of thousands of working immigrants and foreign workers from non-Muslim countries, including a significant number from South Asia, adding to the city's ethnic diversity. Moreover, in contrast to other cities of Saudi Arabia, women have greater freedom of movement here, and religious police are less active.
Districts[link]
There are in total 135 districts comprising metropolitan Jeddah which, transliterated from Arabic, are listed below:
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Culture[link]
Religious significance[link]
Most citizens are Muslim, most of them being Sunni Muslims. The Government, Courts, Civil and Criminal law enforce a moral code established by Shari'ah. A minority of Saudi citizens are Shia Muslims, and there is also a large foreign workforce who must follow their non-Islamic religion in a private manner.
The city has over 1,300 mosques,[20] and the law does not allow for other religions to erect faith based buildings or to express their faith publicly. Religious books, icons and other materials not of the Islamic faith are also banned. However, private religious observance, which does not involve Muslims or offend public order or morality are sometimes tolerated.
Since the 7th century, Jeddah has hosted millions of Muslim pilgrims from all over the world on their way to Hajj. This merge with pilgrims has a major impact on the society, religion, and economy of Jeddah. It also brings an annual risk of illness, known by locals as the 'hajji disease', a general term for various viral maladies.
In keeping with traditional Sharia law, any involvement with alcohol, pork products or any illegal drugs, especially narcotics, is punished severely. Dating and public displays of affection are culturally taboo and all sexual activity outside of a lawful marriage, such as adultery, fornication, cross-dressing and homosexuality, are prohibited. Men and women must wear appropriate clothing that is not too risqué or revealing.
All business activities and markets are closed five times a day, during prayer time, which lasts for about 20 minutes. Seating in restaurants and other public buildings is segregated, with one area for single men and another section for single women and families.
Cultural projects and foundations with a branch in Jeddah[link]
- Encyclopaedia of Makkah and Madinah
- Saqifat al-Safa Trust
Cuisine[link]
Jeddah residents are a mix of several different ethnicities and nationalities. This mixture of races has had a major impact on Jeddah's traditional cuisine and Jeddah restaurants.
As in other Saudi cities, the Nejdi dish Kabsa is popular among the people of Jeddah, often made with chicken instead of lamb meat. The Yemeni dish Mandi is also popular as a lunch meal. Hijazi cuisine is popular as well and dishes like Mabshoor, Mitabbak, Foul, Areika, Hareisa, Kabab Meiroo, Shorabah Hareira (Hareira soup), Migalgal, Madhbi (chicken grilled on stone), Madfun (literally meaning "buried"), Magloobah, Kibdah, Manzalah (usually eaten at Eid ul-Fitr), Ma'asoob, Magliya (a Hijazi version of falafel), Saleeig (a Hijazi dish made of milk rice), hummus, Biryani, Ruz Kabli, Ruz Bukhari, and Saiyadyia can be acquired in many traditional restaurants around the city, such as Althamrat, Abo-Zaid, Al-Quarmooshi, Ayaz, and Hejaziyat.
Grilled meat dishes such as shawarma, kofta and kebab have a good market in Jeddah. During Ramadan, sambousak and ful are the most popular meals during dusk. These meals are found in Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish restaurants.
International food is popular in the city. American chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's Pizza and KFC are widely distributed in Jeddah, as are more upscale chains like Fuddruckers and Chili's. Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian foods are also popular. Italian, French, and other European restaurants are found throughout the city. India Gate is a popular Indian restaurant located in Al Sharafiyah district of Jeddah, which offers a wide variety of authentic Indian cuisine.
The local fast food chain Al Baik remains the pioneer though. It has served the population of Jeddah and the neighbouring cities of Makkah, Madinah and Yanbu for a couple of decades now and nobody in the market has been able to compete with it. Their main cuisine is fried chicken, commonly known by Jeddans as Brost, and a variety of seafood.[21] Another popular fast-food chain is Hot and Crispy, an Arabic franchise. They are most popular for their amazingly spiced curly fries.
Other local fast food restaurants have sprung up, like Al Tazaj, which serves seasoned grilled chicken (called Farooj) and a side of Tahina with onion and spices. Foultameez serves Foul and Tameez as fast food; Kudu and Herfy serve Western fast food; Halawani serves local variants of Shawerma; and Shawermatak has pioneered drive-through sales of Shawerma.
Open-air art[link]
During the oil boom in the late 1970s and 1980s, there was a focused civic effort to bring art to Jeddah's public areas. As a result, Jeddah contains a large number of modern open-air sculptures and works of art, typically situated in roundabouts, making the city one of the largest open-air art galleries in the world. Sculptures include works by a variety of artists, ranging from the obscure to international stars such as Jean/Hans Arp, César Baldaccini, Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, Joan Miró and Victor Vasarely. They often depict elements of traditional Saudi culture: coffee pots, incense burners, palm trees, etc. The fact that Islamic tradition prohibits the depiction of living creatures, notably the human form, has made for some very creative modern art, ranging from the tasteful to the bizarre and downright hideous. These include a mounted defunct propeller plane, a giant geometry set, a giant bicycle, and a huge block of concrete with several cars protruding from it at odd angles. A monumental sculpture by Aref Rayess is devoted to Allah (God).
Museums and collections[link]
There may be about a dozen museums or collections in Jeddah, with a wide variety of educational aim and professionalism.[22] Some of these are the Jeddah Regional Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography run by the Deputy Ministry of Antiquities and Museums, the Jeddah Municipal Museum, the Naseef House, the private Abdul Rauf Hasan Khalil Museum and the private Arts Heritage Museum.
Media[link]
Jeddah is served by four major Arabic-language newspapers, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Madina, Okaz, and Al Bilad, as well as two major English-language newspapers, the Saudi Gazette and Arab News. Okaz and Al-Madina are the primary newspapers of Jeddah and some other Saudi cities, with over a million readers; they focus mainly on issues that affect the city.
Destination Jeddah is a monthly magazine directed at locals, new residents, incoming visitors, religious tourists, and the developing tourism business sector. The magazine serves as a guide to the city's sights and attractions, restaurants, shopping and entertainment.
Jeddah represents the largest radio and television market in Saudi Arabia. Television stations serving the city area include Saudi TV1, Saudi TV2, Saudi TV Sports, Al Ekhbariya, the ART channels network and hundreds of cable, satellite and other specialty television providers.
The Jeddah TV Tower is a 250 m (820 ft) high television tower with an observation deck. The tower started construction in 2006 and was finished in 2007; it is a part of the Ministry of Information in Jeddah.
Sport[link]
Jeddah hosts the oldest sport clubs in Saudi Arabia. Football is the most popular sport in Jeddah. Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are well-known football clubs. They are major competitors in both the Saudi Premier League and the AFC Champions League. Al-Ittihad won the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
Al-Ittihad was the first club in the country, established in 1927. Fans endowed Al-Ittihad with the nickname of "Tigers," showing the team's strength. Al-Ahli was established in 1937, and used to be called Al-Thagor club. Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz would change the name to Al-Ahli. The club's nickname is "Alrage" which means "Upscale".
There are several public football stadiums in Jeddah:
- Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium
- Prince Sultan bin Fahd Stadium
- KAU Stadium
- Air-Defense Forces Stadium
- Schools League Stadium
- King Abdullah Stadium (under construction)
Jeddah Also is home to Saudi Arabia's leading Rugby club started and developed since 1979 mainly run by a group of expat mambers of the local community over the years. The club has taken part in both regional and international matches and incites players from Jeddah to come and play. The last five years has shown a heavier interest from Saudi nationals who have also begun to bring rise to some local talents that could one day be the champions of the middle East. Get more information from www.ksarugby.com is the official Saudi Arabian rugby website and home to the Saudi rugby Center who are a cornerstone the future of Saudi Arabian rugby.
Accent[link]
Main article: Hejazi Arabic
The Jeddah City area has a distinctive regional speech pattern called the Hejazi dialect, alternatively known as Meccan or Makkawi. It is often considered to be one of the most recognizable accents within the Arabic language.
Pronunciations in Hejazi differ from other Gulf dialects in some respects. The Classical Arabic qaaf (ق) is pronounced [ɡ] as in "get". Hijazi Arabic is also conservative with respect to the sound of the pronunciation of the letter ğim (ج), which is very close to the two sounds considered, by specialists, to be the best candidates for the way it was pronounced in Classical Arabic—namely, [ɟ] and [ɡʲ].[citation needed] This stands in contrast with many dialects in the region, which use [ɡ] or [ʒ] for ğim instead. Some speakers replace the [θ] with [t] or [s].
Life[link]
Life in Jeddah is different from many cities in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is a cosmopolitan city, more so than any other city in the country; it has many people coming from all over the world, who share their cultures. It also has many historical buildings with traditional designs, and it has numerous buildings near the beach. The city has very nice beaches and a corniche where people like to spend time and relax. Jeddah has the highest fountain in the world, named King Fahd's Fountain. During the annual Jeddah Festival, many games and activities are held in the city. There are shopping sprees, water skiing competitions, art exhibitions, and music festivals. Jeddah markets are known for their reasonable prices. One of the most famous shopping districts in Jeddah is Tahlia Street.
Cityscape[link]
Old Jeddah[link]
Main article: Al-Balad, Jeddah
The Old City with its traditional multistory buildings and merchant houses has lost ground to more modern developments. Nonetheless, the Old City continues to shape the identity of the Saudi culture, preserving such areas as the old heritage buildings
Resorts[link]
The city has many popular resorts, including Durrat Al-Arus, Al-Nawras Movenpick resort at the Red Sea Corniche, Crystal Resort, The Signature Al Murjan Beach Resort, Al Nakheel Village, Sands, and Sheraton Abhur. Many are renowned for their preserved Red Sea marine life and offshore coral reefs.
Hotels[link]
The increasing occupancy rates of hotels every year depends on the number of tourists and hajj pilgrims. In the last few years, Jeddah received more than 2.5 millions pilgrims per year.
Consulates[link]
One of three consulates of the United States of America in Saudi Arabia is located in Jeddah, along with consulates for 67 other countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Italy, Russia and People's Republic of China, as well as countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League states.
Landmarks[link]
King Fahd's Fountain
Main article: King Fahd's Fountain
File:King Fahd Fountain.jpg
King Fahd's Fountain in Jeddah.
Jeddah's King Fahd's Fountain is a major landmark built in the 1980s and listed by the Guinness World Records organization as the highest water jet in the world at 312 metres (1,024 ft).[23] It can be seen from a great distance. The fountain was donated to the City of Jeddah by the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, after whom it was named.
NCB Tower
Main article: National Commercial Bank
File:IAA2001.jpg
National Commercial Bank as seen in night.
Built in 1983 and believed to be the highest tower in Saudi Arabia during the 1980s, with a height of over 235 m (771 ft), the National Commercial Bank was Saudi Arabia's first bank.
IDB Tower
Main article: Islamic Development Bank
The Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral development financing institution. It was founded by the first conference of Finance Ministers of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), convened 18 December 1973. The bank officially began its activities on 20 October 1975.
Jeddah Municipality Tower
Main article: Jeddah Municipality
File:Jeddah Municipality Tower.jpg
Jeddah Municipality Tower
This is the headquarters of the metropolitan area of Jeddah. The new building of the Municipality is one of Jeddah's highest towers.
Kingdom Tower
Main article: Kingdom Tower
File:Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, render.jpg
Kingdom Tower is an under construction skyscraper in Jeddah which will be the tallest structure in the world upon it's completion.
A proposed tower to be built in Jeddah by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is the Mile-High Tower, or Kingdom Tower, that will stand 1-mile (1.6 km) into the air. Upon its completion, this would make this skyscraper the tallest in the world and yet another addition to Jeddah's many landmarks.
King Road Tower
King Road Tower is commercial and office building which is used to show commercials on it. On the Walls of the tower commercials of different products are displayed. It's one of the major landmarks of Jeddah. The building also have a Helipad on it's roof.
Education[link]
Schools, Colleges and Universities[link]
As of 2005[update], Jeddah had 849 public and private schools for male students and another 1,179 public and private schools for female students.[24] The medium of instruction in both public and private schools is typically Arabic, with emphasis on English as a second language. However, some private schools administered by foreign entities use the English language as the medium of instruction.
For higher education, the city has several universities and colleges, including the following:
- King Abdulaziz University
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
- Arab Open University
- Dar Al-Hekma College
- Effat University
- College of Business Administration (CBA)
- Teacher's College
- Jeddah College of Technology
- Jeddah Private College
- College of Health Care
- College of Telecom & Electronics
- College of Community
- Private College of Business
- Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies
- Batterjee Medical College
- Prince Sultan College of Tourism
- Prince Sultan Aviation Academy
- Islamic Fiqh Academy
- Jeddah Institute for Speech and Hearing
- Saudi German Institute for Nursing
- Health Manpower Training Institutes Group
- Saudi Japanese Automobile High Institute
Jeddah is also home to several primary, intermediate and secondary schools such as:
- Jeddah Prep and Grammar School (JPGS)
- British International School of Jeddah (Continental,BISJ)
- American International School of Jeddah (AISJ)
- Al Hamraa Girls' School
- Building Blocks (private school)
- Dar Jana International School (DJIS)
- International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ)
- Pakistan International School Jeddah (PISJ)
Libraries[link]
King Abdul Aziz Public Library is a philanthropic institution which was founded and supported by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of its Board of Directors. Established in 1985, the library was officially opened by the King on 27 February 1987. It emphasises Islamic and Arabic heritage and history of the Kingdom. The library is divided into three branches: Men, women and kids' libraries.[25]
Criticism[link]
The limited number of libraries is criticized by the public. As a result, King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has approved the King Abdullah Project for the Development of Public Libraries, and approximately SAR150 million is budgeted to be spent.[26]
Transport[link]
Airport[link]
Main article: King Abdulaziz International Airport
Jeddah is served by King Abdulaziz International Airport. The airport has four passenger terminals. One is the Hajj Terminal, a special outdoor terminal covered by large white tents, which was constructed to handle the more than two million pilgrims who pass through the airport during the Hajj season. The Southern Terminal is used for Saudi Airlines flights, while the Northern Terminal serves foreign and other national airlines. A plan for the extension of airport is being developed. The Royal Terminal is a special terminal reserved for VIPs, foreign kings and presidents, and the Saudi Royal Family. A portion of the airport, King Abdullah Air Base, was used by Coalition B-52 heavy bombers during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Seaport[link]
Main article: Jeddah Seaport
The Jeddah Seaport is the 32nd busiest seaport in the world as of 2008[update]. It handles the majority of Saudi Arabia's commercial movement.
Roads and rails[link]
Highway 40, which begins in Jeddah, connects the city to Mecca, Riyadh and Dammam on the east coast. Jeddah does not have any rapid transit system, but a rail system connecting the city to Riyadh is now under construction. The Haramain High Speed Rail Project will provide a high-speed rail connection to Mecca and Medina.[27]
Modern streets connect the different areas of the city to each other. Jeddah's main highways run parallel to each other.
Issues and challenges[link]
Today, the city faces many challenges and issues, such as weak sewage systems, heavy traffic, epidemics, water shortage, and pollution issues.
Traffic
While the congested traffic is cause for concern in Jeddah, the Saudi Gazette reports that there is a plan in the works to tackle the traffic issue. A reported 3 billion Saudi Riyals will be put into constructing flyovers and underpasses in an effort to reduce traffic. The plan is scheduled to take about five years from its start to finish.[28]
Sewage
Prior to the construction of a waste treatment plant, Jeddah's waste water was disposed of by either discharge into the sea or via absorption into deep underground pits. As the city grew, a proper waste management plant was created and the built up part of the city was connected with a sewer system by the 1970s. However, even with the ever increasing population, there has not been much development to this original sewer system. The original plant cannot cope with the amount of waste inundating it daily. As a result, some untreated sewage is discharged directly into the sea and the entire northern part of the city remains unconnected to the sewage system at all, instead relying on septic tanks. This has been responsible for the large number of sewage tankers.
In late 2011, a storm drainage system has been built in the south Jeddah area (similar to that of the Los Angelos storm drain) to reduce the risk of floods.[29]
2009 Jeddah floods[link]
Main article: 2009 Jeddah floods
On 25 November 2009, heavy floods affected the city and other areas of Makkah Province.[30][31] The floods were described by civil defence officials as the worst in 27 years.[32] As of 26 November 2009 (2009 -11-26)[update], 77 people were reported to have been killed,[33] and more than 350 were missing.[30] Some roads were under a metre (three feet) of water on 26 November, and many of the victims were believed to have drowned in their cars. At least 3,000 vehicles were swept away or damaged.[30][33][34] The death toll was expected to rise as flood waters receded, allowing rescuers to reach stranded vehicles.[35]
2011 Jeddah floods[link]
On 26 January 2011, heavy floods affected the city and other areas of Makkah Province. The cumulative rainfall exceeded the 90 mm recorded in four hours during the 25 November 2009 flash floods. Streets including Palestine Street, Madinah Road and Wali Al-Ahad Street were either flooded or jammed with traffic. Cars were seen floating in some places. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told local newspaper Arab News that East Jeddah was swamped and floodwater was rushing west towards the Red Sea, turning streets into rivers once again.
Sister cities[link]
Jeddah has 25 sister cities (aka "twin towns") which are selected based on economic, cultural and political criteria.
L.A., USA
Adana, Turkey
Tunis, Tunisia
Alexandria, Egypt
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Amman, Jordan
Tabriz, Iran
Baku, Azerbaijan- Cairo, Egypt
Casablanca, Morocco
Dubai, United Arab Emirates- Istanbul, Turkey[36]
Jakarta, Surabaya, Indonesia
Johor Bahru, Malaysia- Kuching, Malaysia
Karachi, Pakistan
Kazan, Russia
Marbella, Spain
Mary, Turkmenistan
Odessa, Ukraine
Osh, Kyrgyzstan
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Shimonoseki, Japan- Saint Petersburg, Russia
Stuttgart, Germany
Makati, Philippines
Taipei, Taiwan[37]
Xi'an, People's Republic of China
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ "Abu Ras promises new Jeddah". Saudigazette.com.sa. 2010-08-19. http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2010081981360. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ http://ae.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20100727050049/comment
- ^ "2thinknow Innovation Cities™ Emerging 11 Index 2009 - Middle East, Africa and Former USSR States | 2009". Innovation-cities.com. 2009-11-12. http://www.innovation-cities.com/emerging-middle-east-africa-city-index/. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ Jayussi, Salma; Manṣūr Ibrāhīm Ḥāzimī; ʻIzzat ibn ʻAbd al-Majīd Khaṭṭāb Beyond the Dunes I B Tauris & Co Ltd (28 April 2006), p. 295. ISBN 978-1-85043-972-1 [1]
- ^ Ibn Battota's Safari. Tuhfat Al-Nothaar Fe Gharaa'ib Al-Amsaar. Chapter: "From Cairo to Hejaz to Tunisia again". ISBN 9953-34-180-X
- ^ British Embassy website[dead link]
- ^ "Lost in translation." Brian Whitaker. Guardian (UK). 10 June 2002.
- ^ History of Jeddah. Ministry of Hajj.
- ^ "صحيفة عكاظ - جدة اليوم.. والعم وهيب". Okaz.com.sa. http://www.okaz.com.sa/okaz/osf/20060510/Con2006051016179.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ http://www.jeddahedu.gov.sa/jed.html[dead link]
- ^ http://www.okaz.com.sa/new/Issues/20110605/Con20110605424473.htm
- ^ "History of Arabia." Britannica.com.
- ^ Makkah Gate in Jeddah. AsiaRooms.com.
- ^ Leaflet for Khuzam Palace Jeddah, Deputy Ministry of Antiquities & Museums
- ^ "Preserving Jeddah's Historic Buildings." Saudi Arabia, Winter 1999, Volume 15, Number 4. Information Office, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
- ^ The Biet Nassif in Jeddah at www.asiarooms.com
- ^ "Jeddah, Saudi Arabia". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/105343. Retrieved 2011-12-23.
- ^ Al-Sha'afi, Muhammad (1990). Foreign Trade of Juddah: During the Ottoman Period 1840-1916. King Saud University.
- ^ Commerce of Jeddah. Saudi Arabian Water & Power Forum.
- ^ Report about number of mosques. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper.
- ^ "Al Baik fast food". Albaik.com. http://albaik.com/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ Museums in Jeddah at www.asiarooms.com
- ^ Photograph of King Fahd Fountain at treklens.com
- ^ Statistical summary of education in Saudi Arabia. Statistical Information Department of the Ministry of Education.
- ^ http://www.kapl.org.sa/epart.php?partid=17
- ^ http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20110729106277
- ^ "Al Rajhi wins Makkah - Madinah civils contract". Railway Gazette International. 2009-02-09. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//al-rajhi-wins-makkah-madinah-civils-contract.html.
- ^ Al-Siqqiqui, Saoud. "SR3b to tackle Jeddah traffic over five years". Saudi Gazette. http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2010072078614. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ Vincent, Peter. Jeddah's Environmental Problems. The Geographical Review. DOI:10.1111/j.1931-0846.2003.tb00039.x.
- ^ a b c "Saudi Arabian floods kill 77, leave scores missing". Agence France Presse. 26 November 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXnnwi-QAtxEShlY_jrXNHDQdIsQ. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia floods leave 48 dead". BBC News. 26 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8380501.stm. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ "Flooding kills 77 in Jeddah, Thousands of pilgrims stranded on highway", Saudi Gazette, 26 November 2009, http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009112655554, retrieved 2009-11-26
- ^ a b Alawi, Ibrahim; Al-Harthi, Eid (27 November 2009), "King orders aid for victims, Death toll in Jeddah flooding hits 77", Saudi Gazette, http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009112755615, retrieved 2009-11-27
- ^ Al-Zahrani, Saleh (26 November 2009), "Damage may top SR1 billion", Saudi Gazette, http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009112755625, retrieved 2009-11-27
- ^ Humaidan, Muhammad (27 November 2009), "Jeddah flood death toll reaches 77", Arab News, http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=128861&d=27&m=11&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom, retrieved 2009-11-27
- ^ Burak Sansal (2006-11-20). "Sister cities of Istanbul". Greatistanbul.com. http://www.greatistanbul.com/sister_cities.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ "Sister cities of Taipei". Protocol.taipei.gov.tw. http://www.protocol.taipei.gov.tw/sister/esister.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
References[link]
- Farsi, Hani M.S. (Mohamed Said). Jeddah: city of art: the sculptures and monuments. London: Stacey International, 1991. ISBN 0-905743-66-0
- Facey, William & Grant, Gillian. Saudi Arabia by the First Photographers. ISBN 0-905743-74-1
- Tarabulsi, Mohammed Yosuf. Jeddah: A Story of a City. Riyadh: King Fahd National Library, 2006. ISBN 9960-52-413-2
- John F. Keane. Six months in the Hijaz : journeys to Makkah and Madinah 1877-1989. Manchester: Barzan Publishing, 2006. ISBN 0-9549701-1-X
- Al-Khaldi, Ibrahim. The Bedouin Photographer - Al-Mosawwir Al-Badawi. Kuwait, 2004.
- Badr El-Hage. Saudi Arabia : caught in time 1861-1939. Published by Garnet, Reading, 1997. ISBN 1-85964-090-7
- Captain G. S. Froster. A trip Across the Peninsula - Rehla Abr Al-Jazeera. Mombai, India, 1866.
- From Bullard to Mr Chamberlain. Jeddah, 1925 Feb. (No.# secrets) - Archived Post.
- Al-Rehani. Nejd and Its Followers.
- Al-Turki, Thuraya. Jeddah: Um Al-Rakha wal Sheddah. Published by Dar Al-Shrooq.
- Al-Harbi, Dalal. King Abdulaziz and his Strategies to deal with events : Events of Jeddah. King Abdulaziz National Library, 2003. ISBN 9960-624-88-9
- Didier, Charles. Séjour Chez Le Grand-Cherif De La Mekke. Librairie De L. Hachette et, Rue Pierre.
- Didier, Charles. Rehla Ela Al-Hejaz: A trip to Hejaz. Translated from "Séjour Chez Le Grand-Cherif De La Mekke" into Arabic. Paris, 1854. ISBN 9960-677-14-1
External links[link]
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- Municipality of Jeddah Official municipality website (in Arabic)
- Principality of Jeddah Official Jeddah principality website (in Arabic)
- City of Jeddah Official website (in English)
- Interactive Jeddah Map from Jeddah Municipality (Official)
- Jeddah Strategic Plan Elements
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