Search

Search results

Displaying 381 - 390

World's Tallest Skyscrapers: A Brief History

The Empire State Building, built in 1931, was the world's tallest skyscraper for 41 years until it was surpassed in 1972 by the World Trade Center (1,368 ft, 110 stories). Two years later, the Sears…

Ghitani, Gamal al-

(Encyclopedia) Ghitani, Gamal al-, 1945–2015, Egyptian novelist and journalist. He studied Oriental carpet design and apprenticed as a carpet maker before turning to journalism. A strong supporter of…

Marshall, Kerry James

(Encyclopedia) Marshall, Kerry James, 1955–, American painter, b. Birmingham, Ala., B.F.A. Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art and Design), Los Angeles, 1978. A figurative and narrative…

Allah

(Encyclopedia) AllahAllahălˈə, äˈlə [key], [Arab.,=the God]. Derived from an old Semitic root refering to the Divine and used in the Canaanite El, the Mesopotamian ilu, and the biblical Elohim, the…

Tanta

(Encyclopedia) TantaTantatänˈtä [key], city (1986 pop. 336,517), capital of Gharbiyah governorate, N Egypt, in the Nile River delta. It is a cotton-ginning center and the main railroad hub of the…

hadith

(Encyclopedia) hadithhadithhädēthˈ [key], a tradition or the collection of the traditions of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, including his sayings and deeds, and his tacit approval of what was said…

Assad, Bashar al-

(Encyclopedia) Assad, Bashar al- Assad, Bashar al- bäshärˈ äl-äsˈsäd [key], 1965–, Syrian political leader, son of Hafez al-Assad. A medical doctor, he left Syria (1992) for an…

Al Aswany, Alaa

(Encyclopedia) Al Aswany, Alaa, 1957–, Egyptian author, b. Cairo. The son of a novelist-lawyer, he was trained as a dentist at Cairo Univ. (grad. 1980) and the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago (M.S.,…

Abd al-Aziz

(Encyclopedia) Abd al-AzizAbd al-Azizäbˌdäl-äzēzˈ [key] or AbdülazizAbdülazizTurk. äbdülˈäzēzˈ [key], 1830–76, Ottoman sultan (1861–76), brother and successor of Abd al-Majid. The economic and…

Barmakids

(Encyclopedia) BarmakidsBarmakidsbärˈməkĭdzˌ [key] or BarmecidesBarmecidesbärˈməsīdzˌ [key], Persian-descended religious family from Khorasan. They served as viziers to the Abbasid caliphs in the 8th…