https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/maps/newmaps/ba-map.gif (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/maps/maptemplate_ba.html)
Background:
The area has long been an important trading center and is mentioned in Persian, Greek, and Roman references. It was ruled by Arabs from the 7th century AD but was then occupied by the Portuguese in 1521–1602. Since 1783 it has been ruled by the Khalifah family, though through a series of treaties its defense remained a British responsibility from 1820 to 1971. After Britain withdrew its forces from the Persian Gulf (1968), Bahrain declared its independence
in 1971. It served as a center for the allies in the Persian Gulf War (1990–91).Constitutional revisions, ratified in 2002, made Bahrain a constitutional
monarchy.
Location:
Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf, east of Saudi Arabia
Climate:
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Natural resources:
oil, associated and nonassociated natural gas, fish, pearls
Population:
728,709
country comparison to the world: 162
note: includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2009 est.)
Ethnic groups:
Bahraini 62.4%, non-Bahraini 37.6% (2001 census)
Religions:
Muslim (Shia and Sunni) 81.2%, Christian 9%, other 9.8% (2001 census)
Languages:
Arabic, English
Government type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name: Manama
Administrative divisions:
5 governorates; Asamah, Janubiyah, Muharraq, Shamaliyah, Wasat
note: each governorate administered by an appointed governor
National holiday:
National Day, 16 December (1971); note - 15 August 1971 was the date of independence from the UK, 16 December 1971 was the date of independence from British protection
ـ[بَحْرُ الرَّمَل]ــــــــ[02 - 11 - 2010, 01:35 م]ـ
EGYPT
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/eg-lgflag.gif (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_eg.html)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/maps/newmaps/eg-map.gif (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/maps/maptemplate_eg.html)
Background
Egypt is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous
civilizations. Upper and Lower Egypt were united c.
3000 BC, beginning a period of cultural achievement
and a line of native rulers that lasted nearly 3,000
years. Egypt’s ancient history is divided into the Old,
Middle, and New Kingdoms, spanning 31 dynasties
and lasting to 332 BC. The pyramids date from the Old
Kingdom, the cult of Osiris and the refinement of
sculpture from the Middle Kingdom, and the era of
empire and the Exodus of the Jews from the New
Kingdom. An Assyrian invasion occurred in the 7th
century BC, and the Persian Achaemenids established
a dynasty in 525 BC. The invasion by Alexander the
Great in 332 BC inaugurated the Macedonian Ptolemaic
period and the ascendancy of Alexandria. The
Romans held Egypt from 30 BC to AD 395; later it was
placed under the control of Constantinople. Constantine’s
granting of tolerance in 313 to the Christians
began the development of a formal Egyptian (Coptic)
church. Egypt came under Arab control in 642 and ultimately
was transformed into an Arabic-speaking
state, with Islam as the dominant religion. Held by the
Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, in 969 it became
the center of the Fatimid dynasty. In 1250 the Mamluks
established a dynasty that lasted until 1517,
when Egypt fell to the Ottoman Turks. An economic
¥