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Saudi Arabia
The Red Islands
Jaqui White lived for years in Abha, Saudi Arabia, where her husband,
Paul, taught in the medical school. She writes: "I am thrilled that Saudi
Arabia is now allowing tourists to at least the Farasan Islands. We left the
Kingdom in 1990, so there have been many changes in 14 years, I am sure.
We lived in Abha in the Asir region, and would drive over to the Red Sea to the area about forty miles north of Al Birk. This is about four hundred miles north of the Farasans. As I mentioned, the only thing there was sand, water and camels. We would launch our Zodiaks and go to a deserted island forty miles out into the sea. There were Ospreys on the island who built gigantic nests on the ground (there were no trees) about twenty feet across and eight feet high. The babies are taught to play dead if there is any danger, and then when the parents return from hunting they jump up as alive as can be...Everything we ate was from the sea. The reefs, colors, sea life are indescribably enchanting - this was truly the high point of my life as far as sheer beauty is concerned.
At one time we decided to drive down to Yemen along the coast, stayed in San'a,
and continued down to Mocha. We were on the coast opposite the Farasans, but
did not go out to them. I wish we had, but there was no time. This is truly
an intriguing part of the world. Oddly, about a year ago I gave my nephew Paul's
camera, a Minolta with all the lenses and equipment. He was looking at it, and
realized there was film in it. He rolled it up, and I had it developed, and
there was a photo of Paul and me in Yemen - the only one we have. I did not
know it existed. It was waiting sixteen years to be discovered.."
Randy Black reports: "Saudi Arabia does have scuba, per Jaqui. White's
wish. I haven't been diving there (yet) but have heard from several fellow divers
that the Farasan Islands (within the country) offers terrific diving. Here's
a link: http://www.saudidiving.com/farasan1.htm. RH: The Farasan Islands in
the Red Sea are close to the southern limit of Saudi Arabia, not far from Yemen.
I wonder if Jaqui has been there.
John Heelan writes: " The reefs a couple of hundred yards off Jeddah's
beaches are also well worth exploring. There used to be a few schools teaching
PADI qualifications to ex-pats in that city. PADI stands for Professional Association
of Diving Instructors and teaches the qualifications needed for safe scuba-diving
around the world. I worked from time to time in Jeddah and Riyadh and snorkelled
over the coral reefs off the beach just north of the city, (near "The Creek"
for those who know Jeddah.) ". RH: An editor has a miserable job, The National
Geographic Atlas spells Jiddah-Mecca in the title, but Makkah on the map. I
suppose Jiddah, Makkah are the approved transliterations, but we will stick
with food old Mecca. I suppose the reefs to which John refers are Ra's Hatibah.
Arabs
Before Randy Black joined WAIS, we had quite a discussion about Arabs. Jacqui
White, who has lived in Saudi Arabia, said that the people there do not regard
the "Arabs" of North Africa as real Arabs. This is rather like an
old New Englander saying that the real Americans live in New England. We concluded
that the people of the member states of the Arab League should be regarded as
Arabs. Now Randy Black has revived the issue.
"Egypt is not, to my knowledge comprised of a majority of Arabs. Further,
I surmise that, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Egypt may not consider itself
"Arab."Further, the last time I looked, the place was Eastern Hamitic
stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other
European (primarily Italian and French) 1% (source: CIA World Factbook). Population
of Egypt is approximately 74.7 million.
The Sudan? Black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% (same source). Sudan's population is approximately. 38 million. Using 39% as Arabs, thus about 14.8 million are Arabs, but is it an "Arab Nation?" Perhaps.
Iraq: 24 million, breaks down to Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%.
Thus, with at least 18 million Arabs, Iraq is definitely the largest Arab country in terms of Arabs within its borders.
RH: Could Randy produce similar figures for Algeria and Morocco? As for Egypt,
it considers itself an Arab country and is the seat of the Arab League, although
there are some Egyptians, proud of Egypt's antiquity, who regard the Arab element
as an overlay. Probably the Copts feel that way too. Does Ed Jajko have any
words of wisdom on this subject?
Martin Lewis says: "Randy Black (and, by extension, the CIA) is using outdated
and inconsistent means of ethnic classification. The term "Hamitic"
(referring to descent from Ham, son of Noah) was once used to refer to the languages
of the Berbers, ancient Egyptians, and a few other, but it is no longer current.
If one is going to exclude the Egyptian from the "Arab" category because
their ancestors did not speak Arabic, then one would have to do the same for
the Iraqis, Syrians, and Lebanese.
The description of Sudan is entirely confused. "Black" is a pseudo-racial category, 'Beja" is straightforward ethno-lingusitic, whereas "Arab" is linguistic but in a much more complex manner. How does one classify, for example, Sudan's Shuwa Arabs? -- they speak Arabic, but generally look like, and have many of the customs associated with, local Nilo-Saharans (groups such as the Dinka and Nuer). In the Kordofan and Nuba Hills areas of the Sudan, one finds tremendous linguistic and ethnic diversity. Darfur in the west (site of recent atrocities) is yet another case.
If one wants a complex depiction of linguistic and ethnic diversity, visit
the ethnologue web-site (associated with the Summer Institute of Linguistics,
but never mind that) rather than that of the CIA".
Randy Black adds more data on "Arab" countries; "Algeria is 99%
Arab-Berber, less than 1% European. 32.8 million population; Morocco, 31.7 million
is 99.1% Arab-Berber, the balance Jewish and "Other·"."
Is Egypt an Arab country? Randy says: "I once asked an Egyptian neighbor
if he was Arab. He replied "I am Egyptian, nothing more, nothing less."
I once asked a Russian friend (in Siberia) if he considered himself Russian
or Siberian? He replied, "I am a Jew first, a Siberian second and a Russian
last." I had not realized that he was Jewish. This was in the days before
I learned that you can generally tell is a Russian is Jewish by his family name.
In the USA, we refer to those who practice the Jewish faith, "Jewish."
In Russia, it seems, they are "Jews" period. It's said, by many Russians
who are not Jewish, almost as an insult. To Americans, it's a faith; to Russians,
it's an ethnic group". RH: This is a tricky question. It has been said
that an Indian is someone who thinks he's an Indian. What did the Egyptian mean?
Was he implying that the Arab world was alien to him? As for the Jews in Russia,
they were commonly dismissed as "cosmopolitan" and not Russian.
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