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Philae

(Encyclopedia)Philae fīˈlē [key], former island, SE Egypt, NE Africa, in the Nile River N of the Aswan High Dam. Of its temples, all dating from late Egyptian and classical times (600 b.c.–a.d. 600), the most ...

Benjamin of Tudela

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin of Tudela to͞odāˈlä [key], d.1173, rabbi considered the first European to approach the borders of China, b. Tudela, Spain. He traveled (1159–73) through Italy, Greece, Palestine, Persia...

Camp David

(Encyclopedia)Camp David, U.S. presidential retreat, located in Catoctin Mountain Park (see National Parks and Monuments, tablenational parks and monuments, table), in NW Md. The Camp David accords, the terms of a ...

Delcassé, Théophile

(Encyclopedia)Delcassé, Théophile tāôfēlˈ dĕlkäsāˈ [key], 1852–1923, French foreign minister. He began his career as a political journalist and then turned to politics. First undersecretary and then min...

fakir

(Encyclopedia)fakir fäkērˈ, fāˈkər [key], [Arab.,=poverty], in Islam, usually an initiate in a Sufi order. The title fakir is borne with the understanding that poverty is the need to be in relation to God. Th...

May Day

(Encyclopedia)May Day, first day of May. Its celebration probably originated in the spring fertility festivals of India and Egypt. The festival of the Roman goddess of spring, Flora, was celebrated from Apr. 28 to ...

Mollet, Guy

(Encyclopedia)Mollet, Guy gē môlĕˈ [key], 1905–75, French politician. A former schoolteacher and a wartime resistance fighter, he rose to prominence in the Socialist party after World War II. He served as min...

Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre

(Encyclopedia)Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre âr ôˌkĭnlĕkˈ, ôˌkhĭn– [key], 1884–1981, British field marshal. In World War II he commanded briefly (1940) at Narvik, Norway, then in building defenses in...

Abu-Simbel

(Encyclopedia)Abu-Simbel ĭpˈsämbo͞olˈ [key], village, S Egypt, on the Nile River. Its two temples were hewn (c.1250 b.c.) out of rock cliffs during the reign of Ramses II. To avoid the rising waters caused by ...

Seaton, John Colborne, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Seaton, John Colborne, 1st Baron, 1778–1863, British soldier and colonial administrator. He served in Egypt (1801) and Sicily (1806), participated (1808–14) in the Peninsular War, and helped to de...