>BTW, the reason why pen-l doesn't discuss what's happening in
>the Greater Levant (is that a good term, Blair?)
Hey, Jimmy D., I should have guessed you'd pick up on this. :)
Actually, I consulted my dictionaries (electronic and paper) on this.
Here's what I found:
"The countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to
Egypt."
As an intransitive verb, levant means, "To leave hurriedly or in secret to
avoid unpaid debts."
Now, given the history of British colonialism, I wondered where the name
"Levant" came from, and whether it had anything to do with unpaid debts of
the British to that area -- which would, in my mind, render this name
problematic also. Could it be from earlier European interventions in the
area, i.e. the Crusades? I don't know (and would like to).
Notice also that this name ("Levant") would exclude the Persian Gulf
countries as they do not border the Mediterranean. Even Jordan would
technically be excluded. Perhaps "Greater Levant" is intended to solve this
problem.
I actually *like* "Afro-Asia." "Western Asia," of course, does not include
Egypt, so that's a problem with *that* name.
Blair
Blair Sandler
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
