Video Realia 1

Source of Realia:

France 24 (Arabic) 18/01/2008

Video Realia 2

Source of Realia:

Syria TV Weather 19.01.08

These pictures were taken in Ifrane city (nicknamed Little Switzerland) which is a town and ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco.

I have been to this city as a Scout boy when I was around 13 and I loved it – the white snow – though shocking to find in a Mediterranean country was a lot of fun for me and my friends!
If you happen to visit Ifrane, what you’ll notice about the city is that the streets are very clean, nearly free of crime, and probably the best city in northern Africa . It is only half an hour drive away from the famous city of Fez.

It was founded by the French in 1929 and is probably one of the cleanest cities in Morocco.

Ifrane is located in the heart of a region of Morocco known for its beautiful forests, lakes, mountains, and waterfalls.

Al Akhawayn University, an English speaking private university, which follows an American-curriculum, opened its doors for study in 1995. This helped re-launch Ifrane as a desirable destination for domestic tourism. Consequently, Ifrane continues to develop as both a summer and winter resort.

More images

News Realia

Snow in the Middle East

الثلوج تغمر القدس

Watch this video from BBC Arabic

الثلج يتساقط في البلدة القديمة في القدس وقد بدت قبة الصخرة من بعيد

Snow fall in the old city of Jerusalem while the Dome of the Rock appears from a distance

A Palestinian Security officer covers a snowman’s head in the Palestenian city of Al-Koufiya

رجل أمن فلسطيني يغطي رأس “رجل الثلج” بالكوفية الفلسطينية

يهودي متدين في محيط قبة الصخرة في القدس والثلوج في كل مكان.

A Jewish religious man (walking) in the the Dome of the Rock region while snow covers the whole area

رجل فلسطيني يمشي بمحاذاة الجدار العازل على طريق غطته الثلوج نتيجة العواصف الثلجية التي اجتاحت المنطقة.

جرافة تحاول ازالة الثلج الذي تراكم في شوارع العاصمة الأردنية عمان

A bulldozer tries to remove snow which has accumulated in the streets of the capital city of Oman

Source of images:

BBC Arabic - Photo Gallery

Wikipedia - Morocco

These country profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of all Arabic countries and territories, and background on key institutions.

They also include audio/video clips from BBC archives.

Each profile has the following:

General introduction

National flag

Political map

National anthem (audio/vidoe)

Political Leadership   القيادة السياسية

Facts & Figures   حقائق

Media  الصحف ووكالات الأنباء /   الإعلام

News Pages/files

Find out more

Arabic Countires Profile Guide (the guide is at the bottom of the page)

BBC Country Profiles (English)

Explore the European Map in Arabic interactivly

What you can see in the map:

1. Names of European countries in Arabic
2. Facts & Figures about Europe
3. For each country:
   • Population -السكان
   • Geography – الجغرافيا
   • Political System – النظام السياسي
   • Economy – الإقتصاد

Explore the map اكتشف أوروبا من خلال الضغط على الخارطة

Source of realia : Deutsche Welle دويتشه فيله

V-tivity

How do we say “Gibraltar” in Arabic? (Hint: Gibraltar is literally the Arabic of “Mountain of Tariq”)

Can you identify the two oceans that surround Morocco?

Can you recognize the main cities of Morocco?  – Have you been to any of them

What are the countries surrounding Morocco?

V-tivity 

Can you identify the Italian capital and other major Italian cities?

Can you identify the European countries at the top of the map?

Can you identify the two Arabic countries at the bottom of the map?

____________________________________________

ANSWERS

• Share and discuss your answers by leaving a comment in the comments section below
• To view/download the model answers, go to the download page

Hints/Tips:

• North : شمال
• South : جنوب
• East : شرق
• West : غرب

V-tivity

• Can you identify the seven world continents?

Source of Realia:

• q8y2b.com/atlas

This is an Arabic-French map of the Arab world.

Source : facultyfiles.deanza.edu

Source : www.khowaga.us

Source : safarfund.org

Note: There is a spellling mistake in (Morocco)

Source : alkarama.org

Map of the Arab World with corresponding country flags

Source: www.library.ex.ac.uk

List of countries where Arabic is an official language

The following is a list of 26 countries where Arabic is an official language. Non-sovereign states are listed in italics. Please note that is some of these countries, Arabic is spoken by a minority of the people.

Nr.	Country	# Population
#	-	359,288,109
1.	Algeria	33,333,216
2.	Bahrain	708,573
3.	Comoros	798,000
4.	Chad	10,146,000
5 .	Djibouti	496,374
6.	Egypt	80,335,036
7.	Eritrea	4,401,000
8.	Iraq	26,783,383
9	Israel	7,184,000 (including settlers and Arabs)
10	Jordan	5,924,000
11	Kuwait	3,100,000
12	Lebanon	4,099,000
13	Libya	6,036,914
14	Mauritania	3,069,000
15	Morocco	33,757,175
16	Oman	3,204,897
17	Palestinian Territories	3,800,000 (WB and GS)
18	Qatar	841,000
19	Saudi Arabia	24,735,000
20	Somalia	9,118,773
21	Sudan	39,992,490
22.	Syria	20,314,747
23.	Tunisia	10,102,000
24.	United Arab Emirates	4,496,000
25.	Western Sahara	341,000
26 .	Yemen	22,230,531

Find out more

Arab World (Wikipedia)

Source of Realia

• Exeter University Library (Library.ex.ac.uk)
• Alkarama.org
• Safarfund.org