Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Basra

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

Failaka

(Encyclopedia)Failaka or Feilaka fīläˈkä [key], island, 15 sq mi (39 sq km), Kuwait, in Persian Gulf 17 mi (27 km) E of Kuwait City. Inhabited since the Bronze Age, it was the site of an outpost established by ...

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...

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 ...

Umm al-Qaiwain

(Encyclopedia)Umm al-Qaiwain o͞om äl-kīwīnˈ [key], sheikhdom (1995 pop. 35,157), c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), part of the federation of seven United Arab Emirates, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. It is the least p...

Michel, Bob

(Encyclopedia)Michel, Bob (Robert Henry Michel) mīˈkəl [key], 1923–2017, U.S. congressman, b. Peoria, Ill. A decorated veteran, he served in the army during World War II before being elected to the U.S. House ...

Khark

(Encyclopedia)Khark khärg [key], island, c.4 mi (6 km) long and c.2 mi (3 km) wide, SW Iran, in the Persian Gulf. Site of one of the world's largest deepwater oil ports, it is linked to the mainland by a 25-mi (40...

Ramat Gan

(Encyclopedia)Ramat Gan räˈmät gän [key], city (1994 pop. 122,200), W central Israel, adjacent to Tel Aviv. Founded in 1921, Ramat Gan is an important industrial center. Food processing is the chief industry; c...

Halicarnassus

(Encyclopedia)Halicarnassus hălˌĭkärnăˈsəs [key], ancient city of Caria, SW Asia Minor, on the Ceramic Gulf (now the Gulf of Kos) and on the site of the modern city of Bodrum, Turkey. Halicarnassus was Greek...

Diego Garcia

(Encyclopedia)Diego Garcia, coral island, 11 sq mi (28 sq km). Indian Ocean, largest island of the Chagos Archipelago, SW of Sri Lanka. Part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the island was leased (1970) to th...

Browse by Subject