acute, self-limited, systemic disease caused by the rickettsia Coxiella burnetii. Q fever spreads rapidly in cows, sheep, and goats, and in humans it tends to occur in localized outbreaks. The clinical symptoms are those of fever, chills, ...
ancient Babylonian liquid measure equal to the volume of a cube whose dimensions are each one handbreadth (3.9 to 4 inches, or 9.9 to 10.2 cm) in length. The cube held one great mina (about 2 pounds, or 1 kg) ...
Syrian diplomat and poet whose subject matter, at first strictly erotic and romantic, grew to embrace political issues as well. Written in simple but eloquent language, his verses, some of which were set to music, won the hearts of countless ...
town, southeastern Tunisia. The town is located at the mouth of the Qabis River, which has its source 6 miles (10 km) upstream at the Ras al-Oued (springs), the town's main water source. Situated on a Mediterranean oasis along the ...
town, east-central Sudan. It is situated about 120 miles (200 km) southwest of Kassala town. Located at an elevation of 1,975 feet (608 metres), it is a commercial centre for the cotton, cereals, sesame seeds, and fodder produced in the ...
in Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will (from qadar, "power"). The name was also applied to the Mu'tazilah, the Muslim theological school that believed that man, through his free will, can choose between good and evil. But as ...
a Muslim judge who renders decisions according to the Shari'ah, the canon law of Islam. The qadi hears only religious cases such as those involving inheritance, pious bequests (waqf), marriage, and divorce, though theoretically his jurisdiction extends to both civil ...
probably the oldest of the Muslim mystic (Sufi) orders, founded by the Hanbali theologian 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1078-1166) in Baghdad. Al-Jilani may have intended the few rituals he prescribed to extend only to his small circle of followers, but his ...
town, west-central Tunisia. The ancient name of the locality is applied to the Mesolithic Capsian industry (here dated about 6250 BC) of the earliest inhabitants. The original Numidian town was destroyed (106 BC) by the Romans; it was rebuilt later ...
paleoanthropological site south of Nazareth, Israel, where some of the oldest remains of modern humans in Asia have been found. More than 25 fossil skeletons dating to about 90,000 years ago have been recovered. The site is a rock shelter ...
building complex, including a mausoleum, a madrasah, and a hospital, built in 1283-85 on the site of present-day Cairo by the fifth Mamluk sultan, Qala'un. The hospital, now in ruins, was one of the most remarkable buildings of the Mamluk ...
ancient reed pen still used in Arabic calligraphy and formerly used for all writing. The qalam was cut from between two nodes of the stem of a reed chosen for its straight fibres. As thick as a finger and 8 ...
painted textile of a type produced during the 17th century at various centres in India, notably at Golconda. The material was called qalamkari ("brushwork") because of the technique employed in executing it and was chiefly made into prayer carpets, hangings, ...
loosely organized group of wandering Muslim dervishes who form an "irregular" (bi-shar') or antinomian Sufi mystical order. The Qalandariyah seem to have arisen from the earlier Malamatiyah in Central Asia and exhibited Buddhist and perhaps Hindu influences. The adherents of ...
town at the apex of the Nile River delta, in Al-Qalyubiyah muhafazah (governorate), Lower Egypt. It lies just north of Cairo, near the right bank of the Nile and Barrage Al-Khayriyah, which controls the division of the Nile's waters into ...
small muhafazah (governorate), just north of Cairo at the apex of the Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. It is bounded on the northeast by Ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah and on the northwest by the Damietta Branch of the Nile. With a total ...
town in northeastern Syria. It lies along the Turkish border. The border divides the Syrian town of Al-Qamishli from the Turkish town of Nusaybin. The town was founded in 1926 as a station on the Taurus railway. Its mixed population ...
ancient type of water-supply system developed and still used in arid regions of the world. A qanat taps underground mountain water sources trapped in and beneath the upper reaches of alluvial fans and channels the water downhill through a series ...
Australian airline, the oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd. (from which the name Qantas was derived). Its first operations were taxi services and joy flights. By the late 20th century, ...
a member of the Shi'ite Muslim sect known as the Isma'ilites. The Qarmatians flourished in Iraq, Yemen, and especially Bahrain during the 9th to 11th centuries, taking their name from Hamdan Qarmat, who led the sect in southern Iraq in ...
floor covering handwoven by the Qashqa'i people, who have the reputation of making the best rugs from the Shiraz district of Iran. They are the brightest in colouring, with rich blues and reds and some use of golden yellow. Usually ...
poetic form developed in pre-Islamic Arabia and perpetuated throughout Islamic literary history into the present. It is a laudatory, elegiac, or satiric poem that is found in Arabic, Persian, and many related Asian literatures. The classic qasida is an elaborately ...
palace in Jordan, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Amman. Built about AD 712-715, it served as both a hunting lodge and a fortress, and it is one of the best-preserved monuments of Islamic architecture from the Umayyad period. ...
town, west-central Tunisia. The town is an important market, road, and rail junction and is the centre of an irrigated agricultural area. Its economic activities include the cultivation of olives and esparto grass and the manufacture of paper pulp. Kasserine ...
independent emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. It occupies a small desert peninsula that extends from the larger Arabian Peninsula north of eastern Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It has an area of 4,416 square ...
town and oasis, Al-Sharqiyah (Eastern) region, northeastern Saudi Arabia. It lies along the Persian Gulf, over Al-Qatif petroleum field. Since the development of the oil fields in the late 1940s, Al-Qatif has lost its status as an important port to ...
arid Libyan Desert (Eastern Saharan) basin in northwestern Egypt. Covering about 7,000 square miles (18,100 square km) and containing salt lakes and marshes, it descends to 435 feet (133 m) below sea level. During World War II, because it was ...
town, northeastern Iran. Qayen is a place of great antiquity and complex history. The present town, which lies in a broad valley, was founded in the 15th century to replace an older town. Later, the Uzbeks (a Turkic people) took ...
town, north-central Tunisia. The town, one of the holy cities of Islam, lies on the Low Steppes, a semiarid alluvial plain southeast of the Central Tell. Founded in 670 on the site of the Byzantine fortress of Kamouinia, it served ...
one of a class of sacred prostitutes found throughout the ancient Middle East, especially in the worship of the fertility goddess Astarte (Ashtoreth). Prostitutes, who often played an important part in official temple worship, could be either male or female. ...
island in Davis Strait off western Greenland, northwest of Qeqertarsuup (Disko) Bay and southwest of Vaigat Strait. It is 80 miles (130 km) long, 20-75 miles (32-120 km) wide, and has a maximum elevation of 6,296 feet (1,919 metres). There ...
largest island in the Persian Gulf, belonging to Iran. The Arabic name means "long island." It lies parallel to the Iranian coast, from which it is separated by Clarence Strait. With an area of 460 square miles (1,200 square km), ...
island in the Persian Gulf, lying about 10 miles (16 km) off mainland Iran. It rises 120 feet (37 m) above sea level to a plateau and is almost without vegetation except for a few date groves and stunted herbage. ...
the direction of the sacred shrine of the Ka'bah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, toward which Muslims turn five times each day when performing the salat (daily ritual prayer). Soon after Muhammad's emigration (Hijrah, or Hegira) to Medina ...
agricultural town, Qina muhafazah (governorate), Upper Egypt. It is situated at the large bend of the Nile below Luxor (al-Uqsur) and lies along the east bank of the river. Known to the ancient Egyptians as Qebtu, the town was of ...
muhafazah (governorate) in Upper Egypt, extending 3-4 miles (5-6 km) on each side of the Nile River between the Arabian and Libyan deserts. Occupying the great bend in the Nile Valley, it has an area of 715 square miles (1,851 ...
town and capital of Qina muhafazah (governorate), Upper Egypt, on a canal 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the Nile River at its great bend, opposite Dandarah. The town was called Caene (New Town) by the ancient Greeks to distinguish ...
