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MECAS
The Middle East Centre for Arab Studies (MECAS) was an Arabic language college created by the British Army during World War II in Jerusalem, and relocated afterwards as a civilian institution to Lebanon near Beirut where it functioned between 1947–1978. History The Middle East Centre for Arab Studies was established by the British Army during World War II in Jerusalem. Between 1944-1946 it functioned in the requisitioned Austrian Hospice, where it was headed by the English Arabist Bertram Thomas. Its purpose was to teach officers Arabic language and culture. After a short post-war intermezzo in the town of Zarqa in Transjordan, in 1947 it moved to its final location in Shemlan, in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon. In Lebanon the college was reopened by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government. The college gained notoriety as a "spy school" after it was publicly denounced as such by Kamal Jumblatt speaking in the Lebanese Parliament. Official docume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemlane
Shemlan ( ar, شملان), (also spelled Chemlane, Chimlane, Shimlan) is a village in the Aley District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon, located about 25 km from Beirut. History Shemlan is first mentioned in chronicles as early as the 12th century. Under Ottoman rule, Shemlan and surrounding villages were controlled first by the Maan family and then by the Shihab dynasty. Power struggles led to the departure of some rival Druze, and their replacement by Christians from the North, which in 1828 prompted the establishment of a Maronite Christian monastery, now the village church. In 1838, Eli Smith noted the place, called ''Shumlan'', located in ''El-Ghurb el-Fokany'', upper ''el-Ghurb''. For more than a century, Shemlan consisted of five extended families: the Maronite Christian Jabbours, Hittis, Tabibs, and Farjallahs, plus the Druze Moukaddems, once lords and chief land-owners. Due to its strategic location overlooking Beirut International Airport and the diver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bertram Thomas
Bertram Sidney Thomas (13 June 1892 – 27 December 1950) was an English diplomat and explorer who is the first documented Westerner to cross the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter). He was also a scientist who practiced craniofacial anthropometry. Biography Bertram Thomas was born in Pill near Bristol and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. After working for the Civil Service in the General Post Office, he served in Belgium during World War I. He was commissioned in the Somerset Light Infantry in January 1916 and served in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) between 1916 and 1918. He worked as an Assistant Political Officer in this country from 1918 to 1922, and Assistant British Representative in Transjordan (now Jordan), from 1922 to 1924. He was appointed as Finance Minister and Wazir to Taimur bin Feisal, the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (now Oman), a post he held from 1925 to 1932. In this capacity, he undertook a number of expeditions into the desert, and became the first European ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Blake
George Blake ( Behar; 11 November 1922 – 26 December 2020) was a spy with Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union. He became a communist and decided to work for the MGB while a prisoner during the Korean War. Discovered in 1961 and sentenced to 42 years in prison, he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London in 1966 and fled to the Soviet Union. He was not one of the Cambridge Five spies, although he associated with Donald Maclean and Kim Philby after reaching the Soviet Union. Early life George Blake was born George Behar in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 1922. He was the son of a Protestant Dutch mother, Catherine (née Beijderwellen), and an Egyptian father of Sephardi Jewish origin who was a naturalised British subject. He was named George after George V of the United Kingdom. His father, Albert Behar, served in the British Army during the First World War. While Albert received the Meritorious Serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic Language
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston, 2011. Having emerged in the 1st century, it is named after the Arab people; the term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula, as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece. Since the 7th century, Arabic has been characterized by diglossia, with an opposition between a standard prestige language—i.e., Literary Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Classical Arabic—and diverse vernacular varieties, which serve as mother tongues. Colloquial dialects vary significantly from MSA, impeding mutual intelligibility. MSA is only acquired through formal education and is not spoken natively. It is the language of literature, official documents, and formal written m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parliament Of Lebanon
The Lebanese Parliament ( ar, مجلس النواب, translit=Majlis an-Nuwwab; french: Chambre des députés) is the national parliament of the Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's diverse Christian and Muslim denominations but with half of the seats reserved for Christians and half reserved to Muslims per Constitutional Article 24. Lebanon has universal adult suffrage. Its major functions are to elect the President of the republic, to approve the government (although appointed by the President, the Prime Minister, along with the Cabinet, must retain the confidence of a majority in the Parliament), and to approve laws and expenditure. On 15 May 2013, the Parliament extended its mandate for 17 months, due to the deadlock over the electoral law. And, on 5 November 2014, the Parliament enacted another extension, thus keeping its mandate for an additional 31 months, until 20 June 2017 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1947 Establishments In Lebanon
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in the 20th century causes extensive disruption of travel. Given the low ratio of private vehicle ownership at the time, it is mainly remembered in terms of its effects on the railway network. * January 1 - The Canadian Citizenship Act comes into effect. * January 4 – First issue of weekly magazine ''Der Spiegel'' published in Hanover, Germany, edited by Rudolf Augstein. * January 10 – The United Nations adopts a resolution to take control of the free city of Trieste. * January 15 – Elizabeth Short, an aspiring actress nicknamed the "Black Dahlia", is found brutally murdered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles; the mysterious case is never solved. * January 16 – Vincent Auriol is inaugurated as president of France. * January 19 – Ferry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence in support of the UK's national security. SIS is one of the British intelligence agencies and the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ("C") is directly accountable to the Foreign Secretary. Formed in 1909 as the foreign section of the Secret Service Bureau, the section grew greatly during the First World War officially adopting its current name around 1920. The name "MI6" (meaning Military Intelligence, Section 6) originated as a convenient label during the Second World War, when SIS was known by many names. It is still commonly used today. The existence of SIS was not officially acknowledged until 1994. That year the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (ISA) was introduced to Parliament, to place the organisation on a statutory footin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arab Studies
Arab studies or Arabic studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Arabs and Arab World. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, geography, international relations, law, literature, philosophy, psychology, political science, and public administration. The field draws from old Arabic chronicles, records and oral literature, in addition to written accounts and traditions about Arabs from explorers and geographers in the Arab World (Middle East-North Africa). History Arab studies talk about the history of the Middle East and North Africa, before the rise of Islam to the present time. Covering a wide range of topics, such as methods, approaches, colonial history, gender, environmental and legal dimensions. It depends on the political, economic, social and cultural history of the region. Linguistic Arabic is a language spoken by more than 422 million people from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Language Schools
A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, for example, communicative competence in a foreign language. Language learning in such schools typically supplements formal education or existing knowledge of a foreign language. Students vary widely by age, educational background, work experience. They usually have the possibility of selecting a specific course according to their language proficiency. According to the ''Common European Framework of Reference for Languages'' (CEFR), there are six language levels that define student language proficiency based on their speaking, writing and reading skills. Students will be then assigned to the course that matches their skills. Structure As a general rule, new students take a placement test which enables teachers to determine which is the most appropriate level for the student. Courses can be organized in groups or for individuals (one-to-one lessons). Pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Educational Institutions Established In 1947
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Various researchers emphasize the role of critical thinking in order to distinguish education from indoctrination. Some theorists require that education results in an improvement of the student while others prefer a value-neutral definition of the term. In a slightly different sense, education may also refer, not to the process, but to the product of this process: the mental states and dispositions possessed by educated people. Education originated as the transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to the next. Today, educational goals increasingly encompass new ideas such as the liberation of learners, skills needed for modern society, empathy, and complex vocational skills. Types of education are commonly divided into formal, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aley District
Aley ( ar, عاليه) is a district (''qadaa'') in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, to the south-east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital is Aley. Aley city was previously known as the "bride of the summers" during the 1960 and 1970s, when Aley and neighboring Bhamdoune were attractive tourist locations for Lebanese emigres and local Lebanese The district elects 5 members of parliament, of which 3 are Christians (1 Orthodox and 2 Maronite) and 2 are Druze. During the 1975-1990 Civil War in Lebanon, Aley witnessed several battles around its environs. Cities *Abey *Aghmide Aïn-Dara *Aïn-El-Jdeidé *Aïn-Enoub *Aïn-Rommané *Aïn Drafile *Aïn El-Halzoune *Aïn Ksour *Ain Saideh *Aïn Sofar *Aïn Traz *Aïnab *Aïtate *Aley *Aramoun *Baïssour *Baouarta *Bchamoune *Bdédoune *Bedghane *Bhouara *Bisrine *Bkhichtay *Bleibel *Bmakkine *Bmehraï *Bouzridé *Bsous *Btallaoun *Btater *Bteezanieh *Chamlane *Chanay *Charoun *Chartoun *Chouaifat Amroussyat *Chouaifat Oumara *Cho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others being Gatwick, City, Luton, Stansted and Southend). The airport facility is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings. In 2021, it was the seventh-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and eighth-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic. Heathrow was founded as a small airfield in 1929 but was developed into a much larger airport after World War II. The airport lies west of Central London on a site that covers . It was gradually expanded over seventy-five years and now has two parallel east-west runways, four operational passengers terminals and one cargo terminal. The airport is the primary hub for both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Location Heathrow is west of central London. It is locate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
