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arabesque

(Encyclopedia)arabesque ărəbĕskˈ [key] [Fr.,=Arabian], in art, term applied to any complex, linear decoration based on flowing lines. In Islamic art it was often exploited to cover entire surfaces. The arabesqu...

Persian Gulf

(Encyclopedia)Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, 90,000 sq mi (233,100 sq km), between the Arabian peninsula and Iran, extending c.600 mi (970 km) from the Shatt al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which link...

Himyaritic

(Encyclopedia)Himyaritic hĭmˌyərĭtˈĭk [key], another name for Old South Arabian. See Arabic languages; Afroasiatic languages. ...

Bent, James Theodore

(Encyclopedia)Bent, James Theodore, 1853–97, English explorer and archaeologist. He engaged in archaeological research on the coast of Asia Minor (1888–89) and in Bahrain (1889), Cilicia Trachia (1890), Mashona...

Tihamah

(Encyclopedia)Tihamah, Tihama, or Tehama all: tĭhäˈmə [key], narrow, extremely arid lowland region along the west coast of the Arabian peninsula, extending c.1,300 mi (2,090 km) from the Gulf of Aqaba S to the...

Alappuzha

(Encyclopedia)Alappuzha ălˈəpē [key], city, Kerala state, SW India. It is a district administrative center and port on the Arabian Sea. Coconuts are the mainstay of the economy; spi...

Jamnagar

(Encyclopedia)Jamnagar jämˈnəgər [key], city (1991 pop. 381,646), Gujarat state, W central India. A port on the Gulf of Kachchh, which is an arm of the Arabian Sea, Jamnagar has naval and aeronautical schools. ...

Bab el Mandeb

(Encyclopedia)Bab el Mandeb băb ĕl mănˈdĕb [key] [Arab.,= gate of tears], strait, 17 mi (27 km) wide, linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and separating the Arabian peninsula from E Africa. It is an impo...

Syrian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Syrian Desert, Arabic Badiyat Ash Sham, arid wasteland, SW Asia, between the cultivated lands along the E Mediterranean coast and the fertile Euphrates River valley. It extends N from the Nafud Desert...