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Hasa, Al

(Encyclopedia)Hasa, Al äl häˈsä, hăˈsə [key], region, E Saudi Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. Administrated as the Eastern Province, Hofuf is the chief town. Dates, wheat, and rice are produced. It was taken fr...

Fars

(Encyclopedia)Fars färsĭstänˈ [key], province, c.51,500 sq mi (133,400 sq km), SW Iran. Shiraz is the capital and chief city, ...

Rice, Condoleezza

(Encyclopedia)Rice, Condoleezza, 1954–, U.S. government official and educator, b. Birmingham, Ala. A political scientist who has specialized in Russian and E European studies, Rice has been a professor at Stanfor...

Iran-Iraq War

(Encyclopedia)Iran-Iraq War, 1980–88, protracted military conflict between Iran and Iraq. It officially began on Sept. 22, 1980, with an Iraqi land and air invasion of western Iran, although Iraqi spokespersons m...

Gerlache, Adrien de

(Encyclopedia)Gerlache, Adrien de ädrē-ăN də gĕrläshˈ [key], 1866–1934, Belgian naval officer and explorer. Sailing with Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who would later be the first to reach the South Po...

Dimona

(Encyclopedia)Dimona dīmōˈnə [key] [Heb.,=wasting], town, S Israel, in the Negev Desert. It is the seat...

Basra

(Encyclopedia)Basra bŭsˈrə [key], Arabic al Basrah, city (2020 est. pop. 1,352,000), SE Iraq, on the Sha...

Simonides of Ceos

(Encyclopedia)Simonides of Ceos sīmŏnˈĭdēz, sēˈŏs [key], c.556–468? b.c., Greek lyric poet, b. Ceos. At Athens for a time under the patronage of Hipparchus, he seems then to have gone to Thessaly, returni...

Niebuhr, Karsten

(Encyclopedia)Niebuhr, Karsten nēˈbo͝or [key], 1733–1815, German traveler in Arabia. He was sole survivor of a party of five (of whom the best known was Peter Forskal, a Swedish naturalist) sent by Frederick ...

Muscat

(Encyclopedia)Muscat, Maskat, or Masqat all: mŭsˈkăt, mŭsˈkət [key], city (1993 pop. 533,774), capital of Oman, SE Arabia, on the Gulf of Oman. It is flanked by rugged mountains. Muscat, which has a fine har...