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Berenson, Bernard
(Encyclopedia)Berenson, Bernard bĕrˈənsən [key], 1865–1959, American art critic and connoisseur of Italian art, b. Lithuania, grad. Harvard, 1887. An expert and an arbiter of taste, he selected for art collec...mosque
(Encyclopedia)mosque mŏsk [key], building for worship used by members of the Islamic faith. Muhammad's house in Medina (a.d. 622), with its surrounding courtyard and hall with columns, became the prototype for the...Husayn ibn Ali
(Encyclopedia)Husayn ibn Ali ĭˈbən äˈlē [key], 1856–1931, Arab political and religious leader. In 1908 he succeeded as grand sherif of Mecca and thus became ruler of the Hejaz under the Ottoman Empire. In W...Fugard, Athol
(Encyclopedia)Fugard, Athol (Athol Harold Lanigan Fugard) ätōlˈ fyo͞oˈgard, fo͞o– [key], 1932–, South African playwright, actor, and director. In 1965 he became director of the Serpent Players in Port Eli...Kaaba
(Encyclopedia)Kaaba or Caaba both: käˈbə or käˈəbə [key] [Arab.,=cube], the central, cubic, stone structure, covered by a black cloth, within the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The sacred nature of the...Chichén Itzá
(Encyclopedia)Chichén Itzá chēchānˈ ētsäˈ [key], city of the ancient Maya, central Yucatán, Mexico. It was founded around two large cenotes, or natural wells. According to one system of dating, it was foun...Burton, Sir Richard Francis
(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...balm of Gilead
(Encyclopedia)balm of Gilead gĭlˈēəd [key], name for several plants belonging to different taxonomic families. The historic Old World balm of Gilead, or Mecca balsam, is a small evergreen tree (Commiphora gilea...era
(Encyclopedia)era, period of historic time. In geology, it is the name applied to large divisions of geological process, e.g., Paleozoic era (see geology). In chronology an era is a period reckoned from a fixed poi...Amman
(Encyclopedia)Amman ämänˈ [key], city (1997 est. pop. 1,415,000), capital of Jordan, N central Jordan, on the Jabbok (Wadi Zerka) River. Jordan's largest city and industrial and commercial heart, it is also a tr...Browse by Subject
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