MIDDLE EAST PLACE NAMES

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXX, Issue 13622, 21 April 1942, Page 6

MIDDLE EAST PLACE NAMES

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I T> , Ca iro . ? llace names i n „ country reflect t 0 ‘ a Ci "' i! n f u ® nces "hich C:r : . fr 0m thp es; ' ati °n. In' some * lave made fj,' ties; hut in the hot :: Cyrenaica wfc* re bUt . the "*ind and the " IS J. lttle *at is co mple ;? winch named the topo^ tU, ’! S 0f vast dese n p' cording to their si ffiple t 0 their alni °st as Jr*of those tribes every dat '" : tresh fight for survival the elements or attack" ' hours. Mainly, how • struggle for the Thus, every well, evert t every area of even I;;: vegetation assumed the portance. Conversely, T, ment. a stony plain, a m . or a cliff face had its S pech cance.

As is natural in a co- : - the omnipresence of aivprime factor in life aaj -.■" for the devout obligator* • tribal and religious : ai places bear the names of gL holy men. Others are r.a;leaders and great shiefe & has there been much b.. employed, such as by tfc e v : ; 'New Zealand. / To the its | a hill is a hill and M!t:: ;; I a well is just a well, altfc :.; i the less important for .;. What has been done wastoii j name of a famous man c •-. I thing of equal significance! guish them from any otter! well. The Arabic word for "sb "sidi.' which has become ::-:. part of many place names, • of which have figured in m i muniques during the pas months. Travelling west fr:: wire, there is first Sidi Or.x ; : the Indian Division fought Bft l and gallant action of the cuff Then there is Sidi Azeii. se the heroic defence put op bjiS Zealand brigade beaW against a complete panzer W

Sidi Barani needs little to& I as does Sidi Rezegh, * J j n will live for ever in fci -"• 1 military history. Other well-known Arabic #j y tions are "bir" and "m« w - ') w meaning "well." Bir el Ha!e^:j f Bir el Adem are landmark-:: -; „ of the New Zealand | I of them, however, are # familiar with Maaten for so long was their for*** I "Marsa" meaning port. « r -"'' | considerable use. The '" "mersa" has been name Mersa Matruh. Tfea- -J d c it is wrong to call this«;j :i famous port just Mersa, aM It. is quite permissible to ruh. The word "*&>' *Tk of "Uwein," meaning ■*» j « is found in many place na-j a. desert. Probably best W» | as the war is ; . » 1: Gazala, where a Ne« .■ gade together with tfe* „ Uon overcame * German resistance ' ... • Further west, where, B * , ■ his forces and his next forward *>•# tery and appears far. , ; maps in Northern A' h "a circular *, graphical feature ,, in the desert is tb* .;:■ t _.

as in Got el Dud, so Barani. This is noi: , v.-ithEdDuda ( scene^ r/ . joining " P ° f Z ealand^' :; : with the New Zeaw . There are to***' names, man} w prominent P lace chronologies of ° e There a,, al,» »;';„ ? ■ English or** „„'; |S :anee. PlcadlW ,pe-. —,"-::; the middle of not ff , also Oxford Crrc" yet introduced La r era! others thai to the desert, P« l make u P for t his de