|
Deserts
Arab countries straddle three of the world's
largest deserts:
Sand
dunes
Wikipedia Types
of dunes
(US Geological Survey)
The First Crossing of the
Empty Quarter
by Wilfred Thesiger (from the book, "Arabian Sands") The Physics of Blown Sand
by William Langewiesche (from the book, "Sahara Unveiled")
The Fertile Crescent The
Fertile Crescent is a comparatively well-watered and fertile
area of the Middle East which stretches eastwards in a
semi-circle from the Mediterranean to the Gulf, broadly
following the line of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It
includes parts of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran
and Iraq. The
Fertile Crescent
Wikipedia The
Fertile Crescent
Historical background Maps
and images
of the Fertile Crescent
The Iraqi marshes The
Marsh Arabs
Wikipedia Iraq's
Marsh Arabs in the Garden of Eden
A photographic tour Marsh
Arabs, water diversion, and cultural survival
ICE case study, 2001 Ancient fertile crescent almost gone, satellite images show
National Geographic, 18 May 2001
Iraq's
'devastated' Marsh Arabs
BBC, 3 March 2003
Plants and flowers
Argan: the tree of life
(al-bab.com)
The
Argan tree
This remarkable tree grows in Morocco, surviving drought, preventing soil
erosion and providing food for people and goats alike. (In French)
The Wonder Land of Socotra, Yemen
Alan Burdick, New York Times, 25 March, 2007
Friends
of Soqotra
Website includes information about the island's flora and fauna
Soqotra's Misty Future
Socotra
Wikipedia
Birds Ornithological Society of
the Middle East (OSME)
Information for bird-watchers in the Arab world Falconry
The ancient sport of the Bedouin
The sea
Pearl
hunting
Wikipedia Pearl Diving
For hundreds of years, the finest pearls in the world were found in the waters of the Arabian Gulf
Fisheries Development in the Arab World
By Izzat H Feidi. UN Food and Agriculture Organisation
Pollution
The
black desert
Oil lakes, and other environmental consequences of the 1990
invasion. The Guardian, 16 August, 2000
Environmental and Economic Repercussions of the Persian Gulf War on Kuwait
By Melissa Krupa. ICE Case Studies, May, 1997
The 1991 Gulf War: Environmental Assessments
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources,1994
Jiyeh power station oil spill
Lebanon, 2006. (Wikipedia)
Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment
Lebanon, 2006. (United Nations Environment Program)
Environmental 'crisis' in Lebanon
BBC, 31 July 2006
Lebanon oil slick 'hits seabed'
BBC, 23 August 2006
Lifting the Black Cloud
Cairo’s air pollution crisis has had a major impact on the health of its inhabitants and the environment.
Oil weapons
As used in the siege of Constantinople (680 CE)
Air pollution and traffic plague Damascus
(
Tharwa Foundation)
Camels The
Arabian camel (dromedary)
Wikipedia
Camelus
dromedarius
Its height, weight, habitat, diet, etc.
Camels
and their cousins
The camel is related to the llama, the alpaca, the vicuna and the guanaco.
|
