Sa'ud: King of Saudi Arabia (1953-64).
Saadawi, Nawa l El: Egyptian doctor, author and feminist.
Sabbath: Jewish weekly holy day of rest, starting on Friday afternoon, lasting until Saturday afternoon.
Sadat, Anwar as-: President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981.
Safi:
Safi:
Sahara: The world's largest desert, covering large parts of North Africa.
Sahrawi: People in western Sahara with a population between 500,000 and 1 million.
Said, Edward W.: American-Palestinian professor, social and literature scientist.
Saladin: First Ayyubid sultan, and famous for having recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
Salat, as-: Ritual prayer or divine service in Islam.
Sale: City in Morocco with 400,000 inhabitants.
Samaritans: Religious group, representing their own religion. Between 550 and 600 adherents.
San'a: Capital of Yemen with 1.65 million inhabitants.
Saqqara: Funerary area in Egypt, 40 km south of Cairo and Giza.
Saudi Arabia: Country in the Middle East, located south of Iraq, and north of Yemen.
Sawm: Fast in Islam, lasting one month, during the whole of the month of Ramadan.
Schistosomiasis: Larva that strikes hard on the population in countries like Egypt and Sudan.
Sebha: City of Libya with 15,000 inhabitants.
Semitic languages: Language group that includes the languages Arabic, Hebrew in the Middle East region.
Sesostris I: Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1962- 1928 BCE, being the 2nd of the 12th dynasty.
Sesostris III: Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1878 to 1843 BCE, being the 5th ruler of the 12th dynasty.
Seti I: Egyptian Pharaoh, ruling from 1314 to 1304 BCE, during the 19th dynasty.
Sfax: City in Tunisia with 340,000 inhabitants.
Shahada: The creed of Islam, and one of the religion's five pillars.
Sharia: The law system inspired by the Koran, the Sunna, older Arabic law systems.
Sharif, Omar: Egyptian film actor with world-wide success.
Sharm el Sheikh: Touristic town in Egypt with 4,000 inhabitants.
Sharon, Ariel: Israeli prime minister, military officer and politician, former defence and building minister.
Shatt El Arab: River in Iran and Iraq, of about 170 km length.
Shavuoth: Jewish festival, that takes place on 6. Sivan, 7 weeks after Pesach.
Shi'i Islam: The largest non-Sunni branch of Islam, the Shi`i.
Shiraz: City in southwestern Iran with 1,050,000 inhabitants.
Sidi Bel Abbes: City in Algeria with 250,000 inhabitants.
Sidi Ifni: Town in Morocco with 15,000 inhabitants.
Sinai: Peninsula in Egypt, with an area of 61,000 square km and a population of about 60,000.
Siwa: Oasis in western Egypt with 15,000 inhabitants.
Six-Day War: War fought in 1967 between Israel on one side and Egypt, Jordan and Syria on the other.
Sousse: City in Tunisia with 250,000 inhabitants.
Sudan: Country located in the Middle East, on the southern border of Egypt.
Suez: City in Egypt with 500,000 inhabitants.
Suez Canal: Artificial waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to Gulf of Suez.
Suez, Gulf of: Gulf that is an arm of the Red Sea, touching Egypt.
Suez-Sinai War: War fought between Egypt on one side, and Israel, Britain and France on the other.
Sufism: Mystical orientation inside Sunni Islam.
Sukkoth: Jewish festival, where living in huts made out of boughs gives the festival its name.
Sunni: Main group in Islam, making up 90% of the religion's adherents.
Suq: Arabic name for market in a city or village.
Sura: Chapter of the Holy Koran.
Synagogue: The central house of religious activities in Jewish religion.
Syria: Country located in the Middle East, south of Turkey and north of Jordan.