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harem

(Encyclopedia)harem hârˈəm [key] [Arabic], term applied to women's apartments in a Muslim household. In the ancient Arab world women enjoyed a certain amount of freedom. However, with the advent of Islam, the ve...

Gezira, Al

(Encyclopedia)Gezira, Al äl jäzēˈrä [key], region, SE Sudan, occupying the tract between the White and Blue Niles south of their convergence at Khartoum. The Arabic word Gezira means “island” or “peninsu...

Ghor, the

(Encyclopedia)Ghor, the, Arabic Al Ghawr, region of the Jordan Valley, c.70 mi (110 km) long, between the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and the Dead Sea, on the border of Jordan and Israel and the West Bank. Entir...

Fomalhaut

(Encyclopedia)Fomalhaut fōˈməlhôtˌ [key], brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (southern fish); Bayer designation Alpha Piscis Austrini; 1992 position R.A. 22h57.3m, Dec. −29°39′. A white,...

Volney, Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Volney, Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de kôNstäNtăNˈ fräNswäˈ də shäsböfˈ kôNt də vôlnāˈ [key], 1757–1820, French scholar. He traveled in Egypt and Syria in the 1780s an...

Syriac

(Encyclopedia)Syriac sērˈēăkˌ [key], late dialect of Aramaic, which is a West Semitic language (see Afroasiatic languages). The early Christians of Mesopotamia and Syria gave the Greek name Syriac to the Arama...

Taormina

(Encyclopedia)Taormina täōrmēˈnä [key], town (1991 pop. 10,120), E Sicily, Italy, overlooking the Ionian Sea and at the foot of Mt. Etna. It commands a magificent view and is a world-famous winter resort celeb...

Sadi

(Encyclopedia)Sadi or Saadi both: säˈdē [key], Persian poet, 1184–1291. b. Shiraz. Orphaned at an early age, Sadi studied in Baghdad, where he met Suhrawardi, a major Sufi figure. Having to flee Baghdad becaus...

Paris, Paulin

(Encyclopedia)Paris, Paulin (Alexis Paulin Paris) pôlăNˈ pärēsˈ [key], 1800–1881, French scholar. He was noted for his research in medieval French literature and for initiating the systematic study of Roman...

Heidenstam, Verner von

(Encyclopedia)Heidenstam, Verner von vĕrˈnər fən hāˈdənstäm [key], 1859–1940, Swedish lyric poet, novelist, and essayist. His first volume of poetry, Pilgrimage and Wanderyears (1888), challenged the cont...