Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Cilician Gates sĭlĭshˈən [key], Turk. Külek Boğazi, mountain pass, S Turkey, leading across the Taurus range. Known to the ancients as the Pylae Ciliciae, it follows the gorge of the Gökoluk Ri...

(Encyclopedia) Gandía gändēˈä [key], town, Valencia prov., E Spain, in a fertile garden region near the ...

(Encyclopedia) Venice vĕnˈĭs [key], Ital. Venezia, city (1991 pop. 309,422), capital of Venetia and of Venice prov., NE Italy, built on 118 alluvial islets within a lagoon in the Gulf of Venice (an arm of the Adr...

(Encyclopedia) Fertile Crescent, historic region of the Middle East. A well-watered and fertile area, it arcs across the northern part of the Syrian desert. It is flanked on the west by the Mediterranean and on the ...

(Encyclopedia) terrace, a level field built on top of a hillslope into the floor of a deep valley to improve cultivation of crops. Terracing uses the runoff from the hill to increase soil retentiveness and arability...

(Encyclopedia) Languedoc läNgdôkˈ [key], region and former province, S France, bounded by the foot of the Pyrenees, the upper Garonne River, the Auvergne Mts., the Rhône, and the Mediterranean. It comprises the ...

(Encyclopedia) Apis āˈpĭs [key], in Egyptian religion, sacred bull of Memphis, said to be the incarnation of Osiris or of Ptah. His worship spread throughout the Mediterranean world and was particularly important...

(Encyclopedia) Alicante älēkänˈtā [key], city, capital of Alicante prov., SE Spain, in Valencia. A Mediterranean port, it has exports of wine, oil, cereals, fruit, and esparto from ...

(Encyclopedia) Ibiza ēvēˈthä [key], island, 221 sq mi (572 sq km), Baleares prov., Spain, third largest ...

(Encyclopedia) Genoa jĕnˈōwə [key], Ital. Genova, city, capital of Genoa prov. and of Liguria, NW Italy,...