How to correctly describe natural sights, cities and historical facts in English

1. GEOGRAPHICAL
DESCRIPTIONS
Fifth year Tourism and Leisure Program

2. SAHARA

3. SAHARA
• Largest hot desert, third largest after Antarctica and the Arctic
• Surface of 9 400 000 km2
• Ahaggar, Tiberst, Air Mountains, Libyan and Tenere Desert
• Much of North Africa excluding Mediterranean regions, Nile Valley and the Atlas
Mountain Range
• South of Sahara – semi-arid tropical savanna called Sahel , west of Sahara – Atlantic
Ocean
• „desert“
• Sand dunes – 180 m high
• Emi Koussi – 3415 m

4. CAIRO

5. CAIRO
• Capital of Egypt, largest in ME, second largest in Africa
• Lower Egypt, along the Nile River
• 15th largest metropolitan area in the world (Greater Cairo) – 20.5 million inh.
• density: 10,400/km2
• Cairo Governorate (9.437 million), Giza Governorate (7.755 million), Qalyubeya
Governorate
• 528 km2, 23 m
• Umm al-Dunya, Masr
• 15th busiest metro in the world – 1 billion passenger rides/year

6. JERUSALEM

7. JERUSALEM
• Canaanite word URU-Shalim (City of God Salem)
• Arabic: Al-Quds
• 2400 BC – first written record mentioning the city („URUSALIM“) – Ebla tablets
• 1000 BC – city conquered by King David (previously city of Jebusites, called Jebus)
• Seat of the king of Israel and the Jerusalem Temple
• 586 BC destroyed by Babylonians
• 4th – 2nd century BC – part of Greek Empire
• Independent kingdom: 160-64 BC, then subdued by Romans
• 70 AD, 129 AD – Jewish revolts – destruction by Romans
• Emperor Hadrian – AELIA CAPITOLINA (roman pagan city)

8. JERUSALEM
• 4th century AD – visit by Empress Helena, start of Christian Pilgrimages
• 7th century – Arab invasion, advent of Islam (638 AD – Khalifa Umar)
• Haram ash-Sharif: Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock by Umayads
• Crusader conquest in 1099 – seat of Jerusalem Christian Kingdom till 1187
• Muslim rule (12th – 20th centuries) – Umayad, Ayubid, Mameluk, Otoman
dynasties
• 1948 1.Arab-Israeli war – division of the city between Israel (west) and Jordan (east)
• 1967 city united
• 3rd most holy place for Muslims, 1st holy place for Jews and Christians

9. LEBANON
• Lebanese republic, parlamentary democracy
• Israel, Syria, 10,452 km2 plus 23 km2 of disputet Sheba Farms
• Mediterranean basin x Arabian hinterland
• physiographic regions: Lebanon Mountain Range, Anti-Lebanon Mountains, Bekaa
Valey, coastal plain
• Mediterranean climate, large amount of rainfall, snow cover in the mountains
• Demographics: 4,125,247 inhabitants plus 1,600,000 refugees (Iraq, Palestine, Syria,
Sudan)
• 18 religious sects (Shiites 27%, Sunnites 27%, Maronites 21%, Greek Orthodox
Christians 8%, Druzes 5%, Melkites 5%, other Christian groups 6%)
• Languages spoken: Arabic, French, Armenian, Kurdish