Arabesk Airline Alliance
155-664: Syrian Airlines ( Arabic : السورية للطيران ), operating as SyrianAir ( Arabic : السورية ), is the flag carrier of Syria . It operates scheduled international services to several destinations in Asia, Europe and North Africa , though the number of flights operated has seriously declined since 2011 due to the Arab Spring and subsequent Syrian war . SyrianAir previously served over 50 destinations worldwide. Its main bases are Damascus International Airport and previously Aleppo International Airport . The company has its head office on
310-592: A marshy , alluvial plain , with altitudes ranging from 275 to 300 meters, along with hilly terrain that elevates from 310 to 370 meters. The city has four principal features: the Malebo Pool, a vast expanse of water with islands and islets; the Kinshasa Plain, which is a highly urbanizable space , but susceptible to drainage issues; the Terrace, which is a series of low ridges overlooking the plain; and
465-643: A natural border with the Republic of the Congo ; to the south lies the Kongo Central Province . Across the river sits Brazzaville , the smaller capital of the neighboring Republic of the Congo, forming the world's second-closest pair of capital cities despite being separated by a four-kilometer-wide unbridged span of the Congo River. Kinshasa also functions as one of the 26 provinces of
620-470: A waterway it provides a means of transport for much of the Congo Basin ; it is navigable for river barges between Kinshasa and Kisangani ; many of its tributaries are also navigable. The river is an important source of hydroelectric power , and downstream from Kinshasa it has the potential to generate power equivalent to the usage of roughly half of Africa's population. Topographically, Kinshasa has
775-518: A clay content typically below 20%, low organic matter , and absorbent complex saturation. The basement is composed of Precambrian bedrock , featuring finely stratified red sandstone often infused with feldspar . This rock is visible at the rapids' base near Mount Ngaliema and south of the N'djili River , and effectively withstands erosive forces. Kinshasa's vegetation comprises gallery forests , grassy formations , ruderal plant groups, and aquatic formations . These gallery forests, found along
930-575: A collection of related dialects that constitute the precursor of Arabic, first emerged during the Iron Age . Previously, the earliest attestation of Old Arabic was thought to be a single 1st century CE inscription in Sabaic script at Qaryat al-Faw , in southern present-day Saudi Arabia. However, this inscription does not participate in several of the key innovations of the Arabic language group, such as
1085-435: A corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'an usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ʿarabiyya . Arabic spread with the spread of Islam . Following the early Muslim conquests , Arabic gained vocabulary from Middle Persian and Turkish . In the early Abbasid period , many Classical Greek terms entered Arabic through translations carried out at Baghdad's House of Wisdom . By
1240-636: A deterioration of the overall budget balance. Nevertheless, the DRC's debt risk remains moderate, with public debt at 24.7% of GDP. The approval of the third review of the IMF program reflects the satisfactory performance of the country's reform efforts. Big manufacturing companies such as Marsavco S.A., All Pack Industries and Angel Cosmetics are located in the center of town (Gombe) in Kinshasa. There are many other industries, such as Trust Merchant Bank , located in
1395-1081: A dialect of Arabic and written in the Latin alphabet . The Balkan languages, including Albanian, Greek , Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian , have also acquired many words of Arabic origin, mainly through direct contact with Ottoman Turkish . Arabic has influenced languages across the globe throughout its history, especially languages where Islam is the predominant religion and in countries that were conquered by Muslims. The most markedly influenced languages are Persian , Turkish , Hindustani ( Hindi and Urdu ), Kashmiri , Kurdish , Bosnian , Kazakh , Bengali , Malay ( Indonesian and Malaysian ), Maldivian , Pashto , Punjabi , Albanian , Armenian , Azerbaijani , Sicilian, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, Tagalog , Sindhi , Odia , Hebrew and African languages such as Hausa , Amharic , Tigrinya , Somali , Tamazight , and Swahili . Conversely, Arabic has borrowed some words (mostly nouns) from other languages, including its sister-language Aramaic, Persian, Greek, and Latin and to
1550-445: A few short-haul regional flights. The Six-Day War disrupted S.A.A.L's operations for several weeks in 1967 and the airline had to suspend its flights to Jerusalem. Beyond these immediate consequences on the airline, Syria's military defeat in 1967 left the whole country in a state of shock and had a decisive impact on the evolution of its political system for years to come. Nevertheless, S.A.A.L's operations were gradually restored and
1705-467: A greater role for automobile transportation but did not predict the city's significant population growth. Thus much of the urban structure has developed without guidance from a master plan. According to UN-Habitat , the city is expanding by eight square kilometers per year. It describes many of the new neighborhoods as slums , built in unsafe conditions with inadequate infrastructure. Nevertheless, spontaneously developed areas have in many cases extended
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#17327869430211860-599: A hill commune with population verging on one million. In 2022, Kinshasa's GDP exceeded initial expectations by expanding 8.5%, as reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The mining industry in the DRC has been instrumental in maintaining a positive economic outlook, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic . Raw material exports, particularly cobalt and copper , have experienced historically high prices, resulting in substantial investment in
2015-487: A lesser extent and more recently from Turkish, English, French, and Italian. Arabic is spoken by as many as 380 million speakers, both native and non-native, in the Arab world, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world, and the fourth most used language on the internet in terms of users. It also serves as the liturgical language of more than 2 billion Muslims . In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Arabic
2170-690: A millennium before the modern period . Early lexicographers ( لُغَوِيُّون lughawiyyūn ) sought to explain words in the Quran that were unfamiliar or had a particular contextual meaning, and to identify words of non-Arabic origin that appear in the Quran. They gathered shawāhid ( شَوَاهِد 'instances of attested usage') from poetry and the speech of the Arabs—particularly the Bedouin ʾaʿrāb [ ar ] ( أَعْراب ) who were perceived to speak
2325-469: A normal level of operation was recovered by 1968 as shown in the timetable below. The fleet consisted then of two Super Caravelles and three DC-6Bs. With the beginning of the seventies, S.A.A.L continued its steady development by introducing flights to Moscow in 1970 and purchasing another two Super Caravelles from Sterling Airways in June 1971. Frequencies were increased, and flights to Jeddah were resumed
2480-463: A range between 5.3 million and 7.3 million. In 2017, the most recent population estimate for the city, it has a population of 11,855,000. According to UN-Habitat, 390,000 people immigrate to Kinshasa annually, fleeing warfare and seeking economic opportunity. According to a projection (2016) the population of metropolitan Kinshasa will increase significantly, to 35 million by 2050, 58 million by 2075 and 83 million by 2100, making it one of
2635-412: A rebel uprising began, which in 1997 finally brought down the regime of Mobutu. Kinshasa suffered greatly from Mobutu's excesses, mass corruption, nepotism and the civil war that led to his downfall. Nevertheless, it is still a major cultural and intellectual center for Central Africa, with a flourishing community of musicians and artists. It is also the country's major industrial center, processing many of
2790-417: A relatively austere on-board service and in the persistence of tedious multiple-leg routings, while competing airlines were offering nonstop frequent flights. SyrianAir had ultimately to resort to Soviet-built aircraft to expand its fleet. The Tupolev Tu-134s were introduced in 1983. In all, six Tu-134s were bought by SyrianAir, including two devoted to governmental missions. The Tu-134s were used along with
2945-594: A result, many European languages have borrowed words from it. Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in European languages (mainly Spanish and to a lesser extent Portuguese , Catalan , and Sicilian ) owing to the proximity of Europe and the long-lasting Arabic cultural and linguistic presence, mainly in Southern Iberia, during the Al-Andalus era. Maltese is a Semitic language developed from
3100-462: A script derived from ASA attest to a language known as Hasaitic . On the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as Thamudic B , Thamudic D, Safaitic , and Hismaic are attested. The last two share important isoglosses with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered Old Arabic . Linguists generally believe that "Old Arabic",
3255-470: A single language, despite mutual incomprehensibility among differing spoken versions. From a linguistic standpoint, it is often said that the various spoken varieties of Arabic differ among each other collectively about as much as the Romance languages . This is an apt comparison in a number of ways. The period of divergence from a single spoken form is similar—perhaps 1500 years for Arabic, 2000 years for
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#17327869430213410-465: A total 976,000 workers. Most new jobs are classified as informal. By the end of 2022, Kinshasa's foreign exchange reserves had seen a significant improvement, soaring past $ 4.5 billion. The DRC benefits from support and partnerships with several global organizations and financial institutions, including the IMF, World Bank , African Development Bank , European Union , China and France . The People's Republic of China has been heavily involved in
3565-507: A type of Arabic. Cypriot Arabic is recognized as a minority language in Cyprus. The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of diglossia , which is the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations. Tawleed is the process of giving a new shade of meaning to an old classical word. For example, al-hatif lexicographically means
3720-693: A variety of regional issues, from the Iranian revolution , the Palestinian cause , to the raging conflict in Lebanon and Iran-Iraq War . These tensions ultimately resulted in economic sanctions voted by the U.S Congress , which accused Syria of harbouring and embracing illegal opposition movements. The sanctions, which became effective in the early eighties, apart from harming Syria's economy in general, prevented SyrianAir from buying newer Western equipment. This climate of difficult economics also resulted in
3875-507: A variety of regional vernacular Arabic dialects , which are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Classical Arabic is the language found in the Quran , used from the period of Pre-Islamic Arabia to that of the Abbasid Caliphate . Classical Arabic is prescriptive, according to the syntactic and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as Sibawayh ) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as
4030-403: A village named Kinshasa that once stood near the site. Kinshasa grew rapidly under Mobutu, drawing people from across the country who came in search of their fortunes or to escape ethnic strife elsewhere, thus adding to the many ethnicities and languages already found there. In 1991 the city had to fend off rioting soldiers , who were protesting the government's failure to pay them. Subsequently
4185-934: A week, Aleppo-Beirut (by MEA/pool partnership Viscount) 2X, Damascus-Beirut (DC4 for RB and Viscount for ME) twice daily, Damascus-Jerusalem (DC3 and DC4) 2X, Damascus-Baghdad-Teheran (DC6 and Caravelle) 2X, Damascus-Jeddah (Caravelle) 1X, Damascus-Kuwait (2XCRV, 1XDC6) 3X, Damascus-Bahrain (DC6) 1X, Damascus-Doha-Sharjah (DC6) 1X, Damascus-Doha-Sharjah-Karachi-Delhi (Caravelle) 1X, Damascus-Dhahran-Sharjah-Karachi (Caravelle) 1X. Westbound: Damascus-Athens-Rome-Munich-London (Caravelle) 1X, Damascus-Istanbul-Prague-Luxembourg (DC6) 1X, Damascus-Nicosia (DC4) 1X, Damascus-Athens-Munich-Paris-London (Caravelle) 1X, Damascus-Aleppo-Istanbul-Luxembourg (DC6) 1X, Damascus-Nicosia-Rome-Paris-London (Caravelle) 1X. Domestic: Damascus-Latakia (DC3)X5, Damascus-Palmyra-Deirezzor (DC4)X3, Damascus-Deirezzor-Aleppo (DC3)2X, Damascus-Deirezzor (DC3) 1X, Damascus-Aleppo-Qamishli (DC3X2, DC4X4) X6, Damascus-Aleppo (DC3)X5 (including
4340-476: A wider audience." In the wake of the industrial revolution and European hegemony and colonialism , pioneering Arabic presses, such as the Amiri Press established by Muhammad Ali (1819), dramatically changed the diffusion and consumption of Arabic literature and publications. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi proposed the establishment of Madrasat al-Alsun in 1836 and led a translation campaign that highlighted
4495-641: Is DRC's first pedagogical university and one of Africa's top pedagogical universities. N'Djili International Airport is the largest airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ranks 37th in Africa in terms of passengers carried, with 12 international flights per day. In December 2015, Kinshasa was designated as a City of Music by UNESCO and has been a member of the Creative Cities Network since then. Nsele Valley Park
4650-737: Is a Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world . The ISO assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic , including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic , which is derived from Classical Arabic . This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as al-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā ( اَلعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ "the eloquent Arabic") or simply al-fuṣḥā ( اَلْفُصْحَىٰ ). Arabic
4805-464: Is a city of sharp contrasts, with affluent residential and commercial areas and three universities alongside sprawling slums. The older and wealthier part of the city ( ville basse ) is located on a flat area of alluvial sand and clay near the river, while many newer areas are found on the eroding red soil of surrounding hills. Older parts of the city were laid out on a geometric pattern, with de facto racial segregation becoming de jure in 1929 as
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4960-590: Is a minimum level of comprehension between all Arabic dialects, this level can increase or decrease based on geographic proximity: for example, Levantine and Gulf speakers understand each other much better than they do speakers from the Maghreb. The issue of diglossia between spoken and written language is a complicating factor: A single written form, differing sharply from any of the spoken varieties learned natively, unites several sometimes divergent spoken forms. For political reasons, Arabs mostly assert that they all speak
5115-559: Is a sister language rather than their direct ancestor. Arabia had a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity. The term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula , as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece . In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside the Ancient South Arabian family (e.g. Southern Thamudic) were spoken. It
5270-652: Is also home to three large universities and an arts school: Primary and secondary schools: In 2020, 93% of children over six attended school and 70% of people over 15 were literate in French. There are twenty hospitals in Kinshasa, plus various medical centers and polyclinics. Since 1991, Monkole Hospital is operating as a non-profit health institution collaborating with the Health Department as district hospital in Kinshasa. Directed by Pr Léon Tshilolo, paediatrician and haematologist , Monkole Hospital opened
5425-516: Is also the primate city of the DRC with a population several times larger than the next-largest city, Lubumbashi . The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by its French acronym MONUSCO (formerly MONUC) has its headquarters in Kinshasa. In 2016, the UN placed more peacekeepers on active duty in Kinshasa in response to the unrest directed against Kabila, at that time. Critics, including recently
5580-478: Is believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages (non-Central Semitic languages) were spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hejaz , Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages. In Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested. In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in
5735-408: Is credited with establishing the rules of Arabic prosody . Al-Jahiz (776–868) proposed to Al-Akhfash al-Akbar an overhaul of the grammar of Arabic, but it would not come to pass for two centuries. The standardization of Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century. The first comprehensive description of the ʿarabiyya "Arabic", Sībawayhi's al - Kitāb , is based first of all upon
5890-472: Is credited with standardizing Arabic grammar , or an-naḥw ( النَّحو "the way" ), and pioneering a system of diacritics to differentiate consonants ( نقط الإعجام nuqaṭu‿l-i'jām "pointing for non-Arabs") and indicate vocalization ( التشكيل at-tashkīl ). Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (718–786) compiled the first Arabic dictionary, Kitāb al-'Ayn ( كتاب العين "The Book of the Letter ع "), and
6045-514: Is flanked by the provinces of Mai-Ndombe , Kwilu , and Kwango to the east, while the Congo River delineates its western and northern boundaries, naturally demarcating the border with the Republic of the Congo . To the south, it is demarcated by the Kongo Central Province . The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa after the Nile and has the continent's greatest discharge . As
6200-574: Is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA. In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined many terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve. Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., فِلْم film 'film' or ديمقراطية dīmuqrāṭiyyah 'democracy'). The current preference
6355-855: Is official in Mali and recognized as a minority language in Morocco, while the Senegalese government adopted the Latin script to write it. Maltese is official in (predominantly Catholic ) Malta and written with the Latin script . Linguists agree that it is a variety of spoken Arabic, descended from Siculo-Arabic , though it has experienced extensive changes as a result of sustained and intensive contact with Italo-Romance varieties, and more recently also with English. Due to "a mix of social, cultural, historical, political, and indeed linguistic factors", many Maltese people today consider their language Semitic but not
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6510-524: Is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Once a site of fishing and trading villages along the Congo River , Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest-growing megacities . Kinshasa's 2024 population was estimated at 17,032,322. It is the most densely populated city in the DRC , the most populous city in Africa , the world's fourth-most-populous capital city , Africa's third-largest metropolitan area , and
6665-572: Is the third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations , and the liturgical language of Islam . Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the world and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, governments and the media. During the Middle Ages , Arabic was a major vehicle of culture and learning, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy. As
6820-567: Is the language of street signs, posters, newspapers, government documents, schools; it dominates plays, television, and the press, and it is used in vertical relationships among people of different social classes. People of the same class, however, speak the Congolese languages ( Kikongo , Lingala , Tshiluba or Swahili ) among themselves. Kinshasa hosted the 14th Francophonie Summit in October 2012. The head of Kinshasa ville-province has
6975-413: Is the largest urban park in Kinshasa, housing a range of fauna and flora . According to the 2016 annual ranking , Kinshasa is Africa's most expensive city for expatriate employees, ahead of close to 200 global locations. The origin of the name Kinshasa is rooted in multiple theories proposed by scholars. Paul Raymaekers, an anthropologist and ethnologist , suggests that the name derives from
7130-590: Is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. "Literary Arabic" and "Standard Arabic" ( فُصْحَى fuṣḥá ) are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic. Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows: MSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., dhahaba 'to go') that
7285-413: Is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use loan translations (e.g., فرع farʻ 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; جناح janāḥ 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.), or to coin new words using forms within existing roots ( استماتة istimātah ' apoptosis ', using the root موت m/w/t 'death' put into
7440-535: Is used as a lingua franca in the street. The city's inhabitants are popularly known as Kinois , with the term "Kinshasans" used in English terminology. The Kinshasa site has been inhabited by Bantus ( Teke , Humbu [ fr ] ) for centuries and was known as Nshasa before transforming into a commercial hub during the 19th and 20th centuries. The city was named Léopoldville by Henry Morton Stanley in honor of Leopold II of Belgium . The name
7595-524: Is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the industrial and post-industrial era , especially in modern times. Due to its grounding in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic is removed over a millennium from everyday speech, which is construed as a multitude of dialects of this language. These dialects and Modern Standard Arabic are described by some scholars as not mutually comprehensible. The former are usually acquired in families, while
7750-445: The Lisān al-ʻArab ). Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary
7905-480: The Congo Free State , not as a colony but as his private property. The post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls , a series of rapids over 300 kilometres (190 miles) below Leopoldville. At first, all goods arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi , the port below the rapids and 150 km (93 mi) from
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#17327869430218060-580: The Congo River and its principal left bank tributaries, traversing the city from south to north. These include the Lukunga , Ndjili , Nsele, Bombo, or Mai-Ndombe rivers and the Mbale. Unfortunately, these waterways are polluted due to the city's demographic pressures and inadequate sanitation. Geologically, the soil in Kinshasa is of the Arenoferrasol category, characterized by fine sands with
8215-635: The Gulf War in 1990. As Syria supported the U.S.-led coalition against the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait , it regained some of its long-lost sympathy in Western hearts. Flights to London were resumed in 1991, and passenger numbers continued to increase to 700,819. The long-standing U.S. sanctions were eased in 1993, allowing the acquisition of modern Western equipment. In 1994, Kuwait donated to Syria three Boeing 727-269s which enabled SyrianAir to finally phase out
8370-551: The Royal Jordanian Airlines were to join forces in launching the first transatlantic route ever operated by an Arab Middle Eastern airline. The joint flight agreement never really materialized, and Alia launched independently its own Amman-New York flights in 1977. SyrianAir started its Boeing 747SP operations on June 1, 1976, using the jumbo jet on the Damascus-Munich-London sector. During
8525-697: The Syrian Civil War continued, the European Union imposed a new wave of sanctions on Syria, which included sanctions on SyrianAir. The sanctions meant that the airline could not conduct flights to the EU, or buy any new aircraft which contained European parts. As a result, Syrian Air was forced to suspend all its operations in the EU. The company is discussing a lawsuit against European Union countries since Syrian Airlines "did not violate any laws nor did it jeopardise safety". However EU ministers justified
8680-672: The US ambassador to the UN , have accused the peacekeeping mission of supporting a corrupt government. Other non-governmental organizations play significant roles in local governance . Since 2016, the Belgian development agency ( Coopération technique belge ; CTB) has sponsored the Programme d'Appui aux Initiatives de Développement Communautaire (Paideco), a 6-million-euro program aimed at economic development. It began work in Kimbanseke ,
8835-576: The Warsaw Pact countries led to the progressive buildup of a comprehensive network in Eastern Europe, with the addition of Bucharest–Otopeni , Prague–Ruzyně and Berlin–Schoenefeld . More flights to North Africa were added in 1974 with the introduction of Tripoli , Tunis , Algiers and Casablanca . Sanaa was also added to the network in 1974. In parallel to that, S.A.A.L. was managing an increasing number of Soviet-built aircraft for
8990-568: The Xth form , or جامعة jāmiʻah 'university', based on جمع jamaʻa 'to gather, unite'; جمهورية jumhūriyyah 'republic', based on جمهور jumhūr 'multitude'). An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., هاتف hātif 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; جريدة jarīdah 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk'). Colloquial or dialectal Arabic refers to
9145-558: The equator , so its dry season begins around its winter solstice, which is in June. This is in contrast to African cities further north featuring this climate where the dry season typically begins around December. Kinshasa's dry season is slightly cooler than its wet season, though temperatures remain relatively constant throughout the year. Kinshasa is home to a diverse range of parks and gardens: An official census conducted in 1984 counted 2.6 million residents. Since then, all estimates are extrapolations. The estimates for 2005 fell in
9300-469: The grid street plan of the original city. Kinshasa is both a city ( ville in French) and a province, one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Nevertheless, it has city subdivisions and is divided into 24 communes (municipalities), which in turn are divided into 369 quarters and 21 embedded groupings. Maluku , the rural commune to the east of the urban area, accounts for 79% of
9455-494: The northern Hejaz . These features are evidence of common descent from a hypothetical ancestor , Proto-Arabic . The following features of Proto-Arabic can be reconstructed with confidence: On the other hand, several Arabic varieties are closer to other Semitic languages and maintain features not found in Classical Arabic, indicating that these varieties cannot have developed from Classical Arabic. Thus, Arabic vernaculars do not descend from Classical Arabic: Classical Arabic
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#17327869430219610-419: The "learned" tradition (Classical Arabic). This variety and both its classicizing and "lay" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an Old Higazi register. It is clear that the orthography of the Quran was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi. In
9765-859: The "purest," most eloquent form of Arabic—initiating a process of jamʿu‿l-luɣah ( جمع اللغة 'compiling the language') which took place over the 8th and early 9th centuries. Kitāb al-'Ayn ( c. 8th century ), attributed to Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi , is considered the first lexicon to include all Arabic roots ; it sought to exhaust all possible root permutations —later called taqālīb ( تقاليب ) — calling those that are actually used mustaʿmal ( مستعمَل ) and those that are not used muhmal ( مُهمَل ). Lisān al-ʿArab (1290) by Ibn Manzur gives 9,273 roots, while Tāj al-ʿArūs (1774) by Murtada az-Zabidi gives 11,978 roots. Kinshasa Kinshasa ( / k ɪ n ˈ ʃ ɑː s ə / ; French: [kinʃasa] ; Lingala : Kinsásá ), formerly named Léopoldville until 30 June 1966,
9920-454: The 11th and 12th centuries in al-Andalus , the zajal and muwashah poetry forms developed in the dialectical Arabic of Cordoba and the Maghreb. The Nahda was a cultural and especially literary renaissance of the 19th century in which writers sought "to fuse Arabic and European forms of expression." According to James L. Gelvin , " Nahda writers attempted to simplify the Arabic language and script so that it might be accessible to
10075-571: The 4th to the 6th centuries, the Nabataean script evolved into the Arabic script recognizable from the early Islamic era. There are inscriptions in an undotted, 17-letter Arabic script dating to the 6th century CE, found at four locations in Syria ( Zabad , Jebel Usays , Harran , Umm el-Jimal ). The oldest surviving papyrus in Arabic dates to 643 CE, and it uses dots to produce the modern 28-letter Arabic alphabet. The language of that papyrus and of
10230-834: The 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. For example, Maimonides , the Andalusi Jewish philosopher, authored works in Judeo-Arabic —Arabic written in Hebrew script . Ibn Jinni of Mosul , a pioneer in phonology , wrote prolifically in the 10th century on Arabic morphology and phonology in works such as Kitāb Al-Munṣif , Kitāb Al-Muḥtasab , and Kitāb Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ [ ar ] . Ibn Mada' of Cordoba (1116–1196) realized
10385-514: The 9,965 km (3,848 sq mi) total land area of the city-province, with a population of 200,000–300,000. The communes are grouped into four districts which are not in themselves administrative divisions. Under the Köppen climate classification , Kinshasa has a tropical wet and dry climate ( Aw ). Its lengthy rainy season spans from October through May, with a relatively short dry season, between June and September. Kinshasa lies south of
10540-719: The Caravelles on low-yield regional and medium-haul flights and some domestic routes, while most of the domestic flights continued to be operated using the Yakovlev Yak-40s . Three Tupolev Tu-154Ms were acquired by SyrianAir between 1984 and 1986, they provided a well-needed boost to the Boeing 727 operations in Europe and the Persian Gulf region. The same difficult summer of 1985, flights to Beirut were restarted using
10695-478: The Caravelles were stored by the airline at Damascus International Airport. In 1999, flights between Aleppo and Beirut were inaugurated (no such flights had been carried out since the sixties) and service to Libya was resumed following the removal of the UN sanctions against that country. In 2000, SyrianAir operated a fleet of 14 aircraft: six Airbus A320s, six Boeing 727s and two Boeing 747SPs, while it continued to use
10850-594: The Congo since the 1970s, when they financed the construction of the Palais du Peuple and backed the government against rebels in the Shaba war . In 2007–2008 China and Congo signed an agreement for an $ 8.5 billion loan for infrastructure development. Chinese entrepreneurs are gaining an increasing share of local marketplaces in Kinshasa, displacing in the process formerly successful Congolese, West African, Indian, and Lebanese merchants. Mean household spending in 2005
11005-559: The Congo estuary, pursuant to the Royal Decree of 1 July 1923, countersigned by the Minister of the Colonies , Louis Franc. Before this, Léopoldville was designated an "urban district", encompassing exclusively the communes of Kintambo and the current Gombe , which burgeoned around Ngaliema Bay . Then the communes of Kinshasa , Barumbu , and Lingwala emerged. In the 1930s, these communes predominantly housed employees of Chanic, Filtisaf, and Utex Africa . In 1941, legislative ordinance n°293/AIMO of 25 June 1941, conferred Kinshasa
11160-515: The Congo, in particular its uranium. Less than a year after Lumumba's election, the Belgians and the U.S. bought the support of his Congolese rivals and set in motion the events that culminated in Lumumba's assassination. In 1964, Moïse Tshombe decreed the expulsion of all nationals of Republic of the Congo , Burundi and Mali , as well as all political refugees from Rwanda . In 1965, with
11315-489: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and is administratively divided into 24 communes , which are further subdivided into 365 neighborhoods. With an expansive administrative region, over 90 percent of the province's land remains rural, while urban growth predominantly occurs on its western side. Kinshasa is the largest nominally Francophone urban area globally, with French being the language of government, education, media, public services and high-end commerce, while Lingala
11470-462: The European and African neighborhoods grew closer together. City plans of the 1920s–1950s featured a cordon sanitaire or buffer between the white and black neighborhoods, which included the central market as well as parks and gardens for Europeans. Urban planning in post-independence Kinshasa has been limited. The Mission Française d'Urbanisme drew up some plans in the 1960s which envisioned
11625-563: The Hills Area, which is characterized by deep valleys and cirque -shaped formations. The Malebo Pool spans over 35 kilometers in length and 25 kilometers in width and is encircled by Ngaliema Municipality to the west and Maluku Municipality to the east, traversing through Gombe , Barumbu , Limete , Masina , and Nsele municipalities. The Kinshasa Plain has a banana-like shape and is surrounded by eastward-oriented hills. Its low sandy alluvial masses extend from Maluku Municipality in
11780-555: The Malebo Pool and is characterized by deep valleys and cirque-shaped formations. These hills reach heights surpassing 700 meters and exhibit gentle, rounded contours sculpted by local rivers. While their eastern counterparts may reflect remnants of the Batéké Plateau , their origins in the west and south remain enigmatic. Their natural erosion processes are exacerbated by human intervention, sometimes assuming catastrophic proportions. Kinshasa's hydrographic network encompasses
11935-412: The Middle East and North Africa have become a badge of sophistication and modernity and ... feigning, or asserting, weakness or lack of facility in Arabic is sometimes paraded as a sign of status, class, and perversely, even education through a mélange of code-switching practises." Arabic has been taught worldwide in many elementary and secondary schools, especially Muslim schools. Universities around
12090-690: The Qur'an is referred to by linguists as "Quranic Arabic", as distinct from its codification soon thereafter into " Classical Arabic ". In late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the Hejaz , which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the Hijra , most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from
12245-576: The Romance languages. Also, while it is comprehensible to people from the Maghreb , a linguistically innovative variety such as Moroccan Arabic is essentially incomprehensible to Arabs from the Mashriq , much as French is incomprehensible to Spanish or Italian speakers but relatively easily learned by them. This suggests that the spoken varieties may linguistically be considered separate languages. With
12400-596: The Super Caravelles. In 1986, SyrianAir had to suspend flights to one of its long-standing and most important destinations, London, because of a diplomatic crisis between the UK and Syria following the Hindawi affair . The number of passengers carried by SyrianAir declined to 353,355 in 1988, the lowest since the mid-seventies, forcing the airline towards more reform. The workforce was reduced by 1.5% to 3,526 in 1989,
12555-753: The Syrian Air Force Yakovlev Yak-40s for the domestic routes to Qamishly and Deirezzor. Flights to Vienna were inaugurated, while the resumption of Amman and Baghdad flights during that year would prove only temporary. According to the Syrian DGCA website, the airline carried 764,000 passengers that year. In 2003, the airline registered a 9 million dollar net profit thanks to its more economical fleet and carried 907,850 passengers. Unprofitable routes were either scrapped or downscaled for seasonal operations. Thus, flights to Teheran , Bahrain , Doha and Muscat were operated only during
12710-658: The Syrian Air fleet comprises the following aircraft: The airline operates some Dassault Falcon 20 , Dassault Falcon 900 and Tupolev Tu-134 for government VIP charters, as well as Ilyushin Il-76 military cargo aircraft, all of which are painted in Syrian Air livery. Arabic language Arabic (endonym: اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ , romanized : al-ʿarabiyyah , pronounced [al ʕaraˈbijːa] , or عَرَبِيّ , ʿarabīy , pronounced [ˈʕarabiː] or [ʕaraˈbij] )
12865-524: The Syrian government and the Syrian Air Force. That fleet was gradually expanded to include two Antonov An-24s , six Antonov An-26s , six Yakovlev Yak-40s and four Ilyushin Il-76 freighters (2Il-76Ts, 2 Il76Ms), in addition to two French-built Dassault Mystere Falcon 20 Fs and one Dassault Falcon 900 . These aircraft were not used by the airline for scheduled services except for some of
13020-762: The Tupolev Tu-134 was restricted to the Budapest , Beirut, Kuwait, Deir ez-Zor and Qamishly sectors while the Tu-154s were still flown to Bucharest, Moscow , Istanbul , Cairo and Aleppo. In October 1998, SyrianAir received its first Airbus A320-232, YK-AKA and a new livery was unveiled for the occasion. Six Airbus A320s were delivered to SyrianAir in all, allowing the withdrawal of the Tupolevs from regular service by 2000. The Tupolev Tu-134 (except for YK-AYE, YK-AYB and YK-AYF maintained for government use) as well as
13175-465: The Upper Congo (now Tshopo Province ). However, Hendrik van Moorsel, an anthropologist, historian and researcher, proposes that Bateke fishermen traded fish for cassava with locals along the riverbank, and the place of this exchange was called " Ulio ". In Teke , "exchange" is " Utsaya ", and "place of exchange" is " Intsaya ". Thus, the name evolved from Ulio to Intsaya , and later, under
13330-599: The Yak-40s which replaced the Douglas DC-6B and the Caravelles on domestic routes by the early eighties. In 1974, two Boeing 707s were leased in from British Airtours to complement the Caravelle fleet. That year, the airline carried 279,866 passengers. A fleet renewal program was launched in 1975 as S.A.A.L. ordered three brand-new Boeing 727 -294s and two Boeing 747SPs . Awaiting the delivery of its new planes,
13485-473: The adjunct regions of Ndjili and Matete were incorporated. After gaining its independence on 30 June 1960, following riots in 1959 , the Republic of the Congo elected its first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba whose perceived pro-Soviet leanings were viewed as a threat by Western interests. This being the height of the Cold War, the U.S. and Belgium did not want to lose control of the strategic wealth of
13640-408: The airline leased Boeing 707s to improve its service offer. In all, two Boeing 707-420s and six Boeing 707-320s were leased in (respectively from British Airtours and British Midland Airways ) at various times between 1974 and 1976 and were used to reinforce frequencies and add new destinations to the network. The SyrianAir styling was officially adopted on November 11, 1975, in anticipation of
13795-417: The airline. The eighties brought about new challenges to both, Syria and its airline. SyrianAir welcomed the eighties with an active fleet of three Boeing 727s, two Boeing 747SPs, and two ageing Super Caravelles. In 1980, SyrianAir sold the Caravelles as plans were made for the acquisition of newer aircraft. In 1981, the airline carried 510,000 passengers, but these numbers declined to 462,000 in 1982 following
13950-589: The coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway , in 1898, provided an alternative route around the rapids and sparked the rapid development of Léopoldville. In 1914, a pipeline was installed so that crude oil could be transported from Matadi to the upriver steamers in Leopoldville. By 1923, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo , replacing the town of Boma in
14105-455: The colony's inaugural university, was founded in 1954. By 1957, Léopoldville comprised eleven communes and six adjunct regions: Kalamu , Dendale (present-day Kasa-Vubu commune ), Saint Jean (now Lingwala ), Ngiri-Ngiri , Kintambo , Limete , Bandalungwa , Léopoldville (current Gombe ), Barumbu , Kinshasa , and Ngaliema ; along with the adjunct regions of Lemba, Binza , Makala , Kimwenza , Kimbanseke , and Kingasani. Subsequently,
14260-522: The combination of the Kikongo and Kihumbu languages. The prefix " Ki(n) " signifies a hill or inhabited area, while " Nsasa " or " Nshasa " refers to a bag of salt. According to Raymackers, Kinshasa was a significant trading site where people from the Lower Congo (now Kongo Central Province ) and South Atlantic Ocean exchanged salt for goods like iron , slaves and ivory brought by those from
14415-574: The conversion of Semitic mimation to nunation in the singular. It is best reassessed as a separate language on the Central Semitic dialect continuum. It was also thought that Old Arabic coexisted alongside—and then gradually displaced— epigraphic Ancient North Arabian (ANA), which was theorized to have been the regional tongue for many centuries. ANA, despite its name, was considered a very distinct language, and mutually unintelligible, from "Arabic". Scholars named its variant dialects after
14570-459: The delivery of the new Boeing fleet and to generate a more modern and international image. However, SyrianAir's official and legal title continued to be Syrian Arab Airlines . The Boeing 727s supplemented the Caravelles throughout the network, while the Boeing 747SPs were used on high-load international routes ( Munich , Paris, London, the Persian Gulf region, Karachi and Delhi ). Demand
14725-434: The east to the western foothills of Ngaliema, covering approximately 20,000 hectares. The Terrace is mainly situated in the city's western expanse, between N'djili and Mount Ngafula . It comprises stony blocks of soft sandstone and silica -covered yellow clay , topped with brown silt , and ranges from 10 to 25 meters in height. It retains vestiges of an ancient surface. The Hills Area commences several kilometers from
14880-587: The emergence of Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include: There are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the Dadanitic and Taymanitic languages of
15035-479: The establishment of Kinshasa, the area was for a time part of the Anziku Kingdom . By about 1698, it had become an essentially independent domain known as Nkonkobela . The city was established as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881. It was named Léopoldville in honor of Stanley's employer King Leopold II of the Belgians . He would then proceed to take control of most of the Congo Basin as
15190-728: The eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009). The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests. Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories. According to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from pidginized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples. Pidginization and subsequent creolization among Arabs and arabized peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA. In around
15345-607: The fact that they participate in the innovations common to all forms of Arabic. The earliest attestation of continuous Arabic text in an ancestor of the modern Arabic script are three lines of poetry by a man named Garm(')allāhe found in En Avdat, Israel , and dated to around 125 CE. This is followed by the Namara inscription , an epitaph of the Lakhmid king Imru' al-Qays bar 'Amro, dating to 328 CE, found at Namaraa, Syria. From
15500-641: The fifth floor of the Social Insurance Building in Damascus . Syrian Airways was established in 1946, with two propeller aircraft and started to fly between a domestic networks such as Damascus , Aleppo , Deir ez-Zour , Palmyra and Qamishli . The airline started its operations in June 1947 using two Beechcraft Model 18s and three Douglas DC-3 ( C-47 Dakota ). The Dakotas had been acquired from Pan American World Airways (PAA), which provided technical assistance to Syrian Airways during
15655-416: The first years of operation. Syrian Airways also operated a regional network, with flights to Beirut , Baghdad , Jerusalem , Amman ; followed by Cairo , Kuwait , Doha and Jeddah . The airline expanded during the next years to include Beirut, Baghdad, and Jerusalem, then Cairo, Kuwait and Doha, in addition to flights during the hajj . Financial difficulties and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War led to
15810-474: The fleet in the mid-fifties: two Douglas DC-4/ C-54 Skymaster , followed by a Douglas DC-4-1009 acquired from Swissair in December 1958, complementing an active fleet of four Douglas C47 Dakotas. The network was expanded to Dhahran in the Persian Gulf while frequencies were reinforced elsewhere. In February 1958, Syria and Egypt decided to unite under the leadership of president Gamal Abdel Nasser , and
15965-465: The flights continuing to Beirut). Luxembourg was a rare destination for carriers in the Middle East in the 1960s; in addition to cargo, SAAL flights could be linked to Loftleidir 's budget flights to North America. In 1967, S.A.A.L. joined IATA by which it was granted the serial number 70. The Dakotas and Skymasters were gradually withdrawn from the fleet, while the DC6-Bs were used for domestic and
16120-510: The fourth most useful language for business, after English, Mandarin Chinese , and French. Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet , an abjad script that is written from right to left . Arabic is usually classified as a Central Semitic language . Linguists still differ as to the best classification of Semitic language sub-groups. The Semitic languages changed between Proto-Semitic and
16275-496: The heart of the city. Food processing is a major industry, and construction and other service industries also play a significant role in the economy. Although home to only 13% of the DRC's population, Kinshasa accounts for 85% of the Congolese economy as measured by gross domestic product. A 2004 investigation found 70% of inhabitants employed informally, 17% in the public sector, 9% in the formal private sector, and 3% other, of
16430-419: The help of the U.S. and Belgium, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seized power in the Congo. He initiated a policy of " Authenticity ", attempting to renativize the names of people and places in the country. On 2 May 1966, the government announced that the nation's major cities would be restored to their pre-colonial names, effective on 30 June, the sixth anniversary of independence. Léopoldville was renamed Kinshasa , for
16585-597: The inclusion of new words into their published standard dictionaries. They also publish old and historical Arabic manuscripts. In 1997, a bureau of Arabization standardization was added to the Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization of the Arab League . These academies and organizations have worked toward the Arabization of the sciences, creating terms in Arabic to describe new concepts, toward
16740-524: The industry. Parenthetically, production has increased, and Covid-related restrictions have eased, leading to sustained economic growth. Despite facing external challenges, including the repercussions of the Russo-Ukrainian War , the DRC has shown fiscal stability . In 2022, tax performance exceeded projections, showcasing improved revenue generation. However, increased expenditures related to security concerns and internal arrears resulted in
16895-510: The influence of Kikongo, transformed into Kintsaya , eventually becoming Kinshasa . Kinshasa , also known as N'shasa , is regarded as the primary "place of exchange" on the southern bank of the Pool Malebo , where bartering occurred even before the commercial boom of Kintambo . The name Nshasa is believed to originate from the Teke verb " tsaya " ( tsaa ), meaning "to exchange", and
17050-613: The language. Software and books with tapes are an important part of Arabic learning, as many of Arabic learners may live in places where there are no academic or Arabic language school classes available. Radio series of Arabic language classes are also provided from some radio stations. A number of websites on the Internet provide online classes for all levels as a means of distance education; most teach Modern Standard Arabic, but some teach regional varieties from numerous countries. The tradition of Arabic lexicography extended for about
17205-418: The largest metropolitan areas in the world. The official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of which Kinshasa is the capital, is French (See: Kinshasa French vocabulary ). Kinshasa is the largest officially Francophone city in the world, albeit that the vast majority of people either cannot speak French, or struggle in speaking it. Although Lingala is widely used as a spoken language, French
17360-604: The late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal "poetic koine" distinct from the spoken vernaculars developed based on the Bedouin dialects of Najd , probably in connection with the court of al-Ḥīra . During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax. Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali ( c. 603 –689)
17515-420: The latter is taught in formal education settings. However, there have been studies reporting some degree of comprehension of stories told in the standard variety among preschool-aged children. The relation between Modern Standard Arabic and these dialects is sometimes compared to that of Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin vernaculars (which became Romance languages ) in medieval and early modern Europe. MSA
17670-609: The leading economic , political , and cultural center of the DRC. Kinshasa houses several industries , including manufacturing , telecommunications , banking , and entertainment . The city also hosts some of DRC's significant institutional buildings, such as the Palais du Peuple , Palais de la Nation , Court of Cassation , Constitutional Court , Cité de l'Union Africaine , Palais de Marbre , Stade des Martyrs , Immeuble du Gouvernement , Kinshasa Financial Center , and multiple federal departments and agencies. Covering 9,965 square kilometers, Kinshasa stretches along
17825-445: The main watercourses within humid valleys of the Congolese guinéo ombrophile type, have degraded into highly exploited pre-forest fallows, manifesting as reclusive foresters of varying ages. Ruderal plant groups line railway tracks within narrow strips, reflecting the region's vegetation cover's discontinuity and repetition. Kinshasa is home to diverse vegetation types, each intricately linked to specific ecological parameters. Kinshasa
17980-883: The many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language. Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be mutually unintelligible , and some linguists consider them distinct languages. However, research indicates a high degree of mutual intelligibility between closely related Arabic variants for native speakers listening to words, sentences, and texts; and between more distantly related dialects in interactional situations. The varieties are typically unwritten. They are often used in informal spoken media, such as soap operas and talk shows , as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising. Hassaniya Arabic , Maltese , and Cypriot Arabic are only varieties of modern Arabic to have acquired official recognition. Hassaniya
18135-637: The natural products brought from the interior. Joseph Kabila , president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019, was not overly popular in Kinshasa. Violence broke out following the announcement of Kabila's victory in the contested election of 2006 ; the European Union deployed troops ( EUFOR RD Congo ) to join the UN force in the city. The announcement in 2016 that a new election would be delayed two years led to large protests in September and December which involved barricades in
18290-727: The need for a lexical injection in Arabic, to suit concepts of the industrial and post-industrial age (such as sayyārah سَيَّارَة 'automobile' or bākhirah باخِرة 'steamship'). In response, a number of Arabic academies modeled after the Académie française were established with the aim of developing standardized additions to the Arabic lexicon to suit these transformations, first in Damascus (1919), then in Cairo (1932), Baghdad (1948), Rabat (1960), Amman (1977), Khartum [ ar ] (1993), and Tunis (1993). They review language development, monitor new words and approve
18445-720: The new national airline. The fleet initially consisted of three Douglas C-47 Dakotas, two Douglas C-54 Skymasters, two Douglas DC-6Bs and one Douglas DC-6B freighter (later sold to LAC Colombia ). Domestic and regional flights were promptly resumed and the fleet originally was painted in a green livery reminiscent of that of the Syrian Airways colors. S.A.A.L. purchased a third DC-6B from SAS in November 1962. Flights to European destinations ( Rome and Munich ) were started in 1963, followed by flights to London and Paris ( Le Bourget ), Karachi and Delhi in 1964. A new livery
18600-720: The noun " intsaya " ( insaa ), referring to any market or place of exchange. It was at this location that Teke brokers traded ivory and slaves from the Banunu slave traders, often mistaken for the Yanzi , for European trade items brought by the Zombo and Kongo people. Despite the various theories, the historical name of Kinshasa is known to have been Nshasa , as documented by Henry Morton Stanley during his crossing of Africa from Zanzibar to Boma in 1874–1877 when he mentioned visiting "the king of Nshasa" on 14 March 1877. Prior to
18755-417: The number of passengers being carried declined to less than 740,000 passengers by 2009. Plans were made for the renewal of the fleet with the possible acquisition of several new Airbus aircraft to replace the ageing Boeing 727 and 747s. These plans were hampered by the reinforcement of a U.S.-led embargo against Syria after the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, and fleet renewal using Russian equipment
18910-583: The number of passengers carried that year increased to 509,659. The workforce was increased to 3,615 in 1990, and the number of passengers increased to 655,644, a record despite the war in Kuwait, and the airline was able to finish the year without losses. While sanctions and harsh economics kept it lagging way behind its competitors, and while the demise of the Soviet Union cast doubts on the future of its Tupolev fleet, SyrianAir's fortunes changed following
19065-424: The one whose sound is heard but whose person remains unseen. Now the term al-hatif is used for a telephone. Therefore, the process of tawleed can express the needs of modern civilization in a manner that would appear to be originally Arabic. In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of any nationality can be assumed to speak both their school-taught Standard Arabic as well as their native dialects, which depending on
19220-549: The overhaul of Arabic grammar first proposed by Al-Jahiz 200 years prior. The Maghrebi lexicographer Ibn Manzur compiled Lisān al-ʿArab ( لسان العرب , "Tongue of Arabs"), a major reference dictionary of Arabic, in 1290. Charles Ferguson 's koine theory claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times. Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on
19375-410: The region may be mutually unintelligible. Some of these dialects can be considered to constitute separate languages which may have "sub-dialects" of their own. When educated Arabs of different dialects engage in conversation (for example, a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), many speakers code-switch back and forth between the dialectal and standard varieties of the language, sometimes even within
19530-458: The same sentence. The issue of whether Arabic is one language or many languages is politically charged, in the same way it is for the varieties of Chinese , Hindi and Urdu , Serbian and Croatian , Scots and English, etc. In contrast to speakers of Hindi and Urdu who claim they cannot understand each other even when they can, speakers of the varieties of Arabic will claim they can all understand each other even when they cannot. While there
19685-551: The same year while new flights were launched to Abu Dhabi , Benghazi and Budapest . Flights were disrupted for several weeks during the 1973 Yom Kippur War . A new airport, the Damascus International Airport , was built 25 km south-east of the capital and was opened to traffic in 1973 to become S.A.A.L's modern hub, replacing the old Mezze structure inherited from the French mandate. A climate of confidence, pragmatism and political stability
19840-487: The sanctions on the airline because the company "provides financial and logistical support for the Syrian government" On 10 October 2012, a Syrian Air flight in Turkish airspace was flanked by two fighter jets and forced to land in the country. It was believed the plane was carrying a Russian shipment to the Syrian military. Turkey's then-Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said that Turkey had "received information this plane
19995-400: The seventies, SyrianAair managed to acquire a modern fleet, revamp its image and operate a profitable passenger network on three continents largely satisfying the needs of the Syrian market. Its fares were accessible and attracted budget travellers flying between Europe and South Asia. The climate of stability and economic prosperity in Syria had a determining influence on the positive results of
20150-458: The sole example of Medieval linguist Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati – who, while a scholar of the Arabic language, was not ethnically Arab – Medieval scholars of the Arabic language made no efforts at studying comparative linguistics, considering all other languages inferior. In modern times, the educated upper classes in the Arab world have taken a nearly opposite view. Yasir Suleiman wrote in 2011 that "studying and knowing English or French in most of
20305-523: The south. The urban populace swelled in 1945 with the cessation of forced labor , facilitating the influx of native Africans from rural regions. Léopoldville then became predominantly inhabited by the Bakongo ethnic group. In the 1950s, planned urban centers such as Lemba , Matete , and a segment of Ndjili were established to accommodate workers from the Limete industrial zone. Lovanium University ,
20460-504: The southern shores of the Pool Malebo , on the Congo River . It forms an expansive crescent across flat, low-lying terrain at an average altitude of about 300 meters. Situated between latitudes 4° and 5° and longitudes East 15° and 16°32, Kinshasa shares its borders with the Mai-Ndombe Province , Kwilu Province , and Kwango Province to the east; the Congo River delineates its western and northern perimeters, constituting
20615-563: The standardization of these new terms throughout the Arabic-speaking world, and toward the development of Arabic as a world language . This gave rise to what Western scholars call Modern Standard Arabic. From the 1950s, Arabization became a postcolonial nationalist policy in countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Sudan. Arabic usually refers to Standard Arabic, which Western linguists divide into Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. It could also refer to any of
20770-542: The status of a city and established an Urban Committee ( Comité Urbain ), with an allocated area of 5,000 hectares and a population of 53,000. Concurrently, it became the colony's capital, the Congo-Kasaï Province 's capital, and the Moyen Congo district. The city was demarcated into two zones: the urban zone, comprising Léo II, Léo-Ouest, Kalina, Léo-I, or Léo-Est, and Ndolo; and the indigenous zone to
20925-430: The streets and left dozens of people dead. Schools and businesses were closed down. Kinshasa is strategically situated on the southern bank of the expansive Malebo Pool , spanning 9,965 square kilometers, configured in a grand crescent shape atop a low-lying, flat terrain with an average elevation hovering around 300 meters. Positioned between latitudes 4° and 5° and longitudinal coordinates 15° to 16°32 east, Kinshasa
21080-495: The summer season. New markets were sought with the addition of Milan , Barcelona , Manchester , Copenhagen and Benghazi in 2004. With a workforce exceeding 4,000 employees, SyrianAir, whose revenues nevertheless exceeded 171 million dollars in 2003, remains over-staffed. In 2004, and despite a difficult regional situation and U.S. sanctions, the airline improved its performance, carrying 1.07 million passengers. Syrian air carried close to 1.4 million passengers by 2005, however,
21235-415: The title of Gouverneur . Daniel Bumba [ fr ] has been governor since 21 June 2024. Each commune has its own Bourgmestre . Although political power in the DRC is fragmented, Kinshasa as the national capital represents the official center of sovereignty, and thus of access to international organizations and financing, and of political powers such as the right to issue passports . Kinshasa
21390-501: The towns where the inscriptions were discovered (Dadanitic, Taymanitic, Hismaic, Safaitic). However, most arguments for a single ANA language or language family were based on the shape of the definite article, a prefixed h-. It has been argued that the h- is an archaism and not a shared innovation, and thus unsuitable for language classification, rendering the hypothesis of an ANA language family untenable. Safaitic and Hismaic, previously considered ANA, should be considered Old Arabic due to
21545-426: The two Caravelles in December of the following year. In 1995, a record 71 million dollars in operating profit was reported by the airline. The Tupolev operations were gradually scaled down, while new destinations ( Madrid and Stockholm ) were launched. In 1997, the airline took drastic measures in reducing its workforce to 2,331, as operating profits had declined to 44 million USD during the previous year. By 1998,
21700-483: The two countries became provinces of the United Arab Republic (UAR). The merger between Syrian Airways and Misrair, the state-owned airlines of Syria and Egypt came as a consequence of this political union. The airlines merged on December 25, 1958, to form United Arab Airlines (UAA). At the time of the merger, Syrian Airways was still only a small regional airline while its Egyptian counterpart, Misrair,
21855-581: The unrest caused by the 1982 Lebanon War . The Yakovlev Yak 40s devoted to internal routes were mostly flown on behalf of the Syrian Air Force . While there was an obvious need to renew the fleet and increase the airline's capacity, mounting tensions between Syria and the West hampered the airline's modernization plans. There was a growing rift between the U.S. administration in particular and Syria; both parties found themselves often at odds regarding
22010-464: The withdrawal of PAA and caused the suspension of service until mid-1951. The operation was resumed after receiving government support in 1952. In 1952, the airline was provided with three Douglas DC-3s and with four Douglas DC-4s in 1954, and in 1957 it received four Douglas DC-6s in the name of United Arab Airline. On December 21, 1953, one of the airline's Douglas planes crashed near Damascus killing all nine aboard. The airline's operating permit
22165-451: The world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their foreign languages , Middle Eastern studies , and religious studies courses. Arabic language schools exist to assist students to learn Arabic outside the academic world. There are many Arabic language schools in the Arab world and other Muslim countries. Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all Islamic terms are in Arabic, millions of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study
22320-596: Was being reconsidered. By 2012, Syrian Air had retired all its old Boeing 747, 727 and Tupolev aircraft, leaving SyrianAir with just 8 aircraft in its fleet - 2 ATRs and 6 Airbus A320s. In 2017, the company acquired an Airbus A340-300 (YK-AZA, YK-AZB) despite sanctions. On 9 January 2020, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad issued a legislative decree to change the name from Syrian Arab Airlines to Syrian Airlines. Two more Airbus A-320-200 were delivered via Iran in July and December 2022 (reg. YK-AKG, YK-AKH). On 23 July 2012, as
22475-472: Was cancelled following the crash. The airline was allowed to fly again in 1954. The Model 18s had been returned to the Syrian Air Force in 1949, while four additional Dakotas were acquired between 1952 and 1956. One of the older Dakotas (YK-AAE) crashed during its climb out of Aleppo's Nayrab Airport on February 24, 1956, during a heavy storm. The 19 people on board died in the airline's worst accident to date. Newer and stronger planes were consequently added to
22630-449: Was carrying cargo from Accra to Leopoldville on September 1, 1960, and a Dakota which crashed on its final approach of Qamishli on a domestic flight from Aleppo on May 6, 1961. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in either accident. The union between Egypt and Syria ended on September 26, 1961, amidst tensions between the leaderships of the two provinces of the UAR. The Syrian Arab Republic
22785-444: Was carrying cargo of a nature that could not possibly comply with the rules of civil aviation." Russian news agency Interfax cited an unnamed source from a Russian arms exporting agency who stated that there were no weapons or military equipment on board the plane. Syrian Air had codeshare agreements with the following airlines (as of April 2022): SyrianAir operates the following services (as of October 2024): As of January 2023,
22940-535: Was changed to Kinshasa in 1966 during Mobutu Sese Seko 's Zairianisation campaign as a tribute to Nshasa village. The National Museum of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is DRC's most prominent and central museum, housing a collection of art , artifacts , historical objects, and modern work of arts . The College of Advanced Studies in Strategy and Defense is the highest military institution in DRC and Central Africa. The National Pedagogical University
23095-414: Was declared in Syria, while Egypt chose to continue to carry the title of UAR until 1971. In parallel to that divorce, Syria withdrew from UAA. All the airliners previously owned by Syrian Airways, two Douglas DC-6Bs and one Douglas DC6B freighter were given up by UAA to the Syrian authorities. Syrian Arab Airlines (S.A.A.L.) was founded in October 1961 to take over UAA's operations in Syria and to become
23250-725: Was introduced for the occasion, removing the parallel stripes from the fin and removing the red stripes from the cheatline. In 1966, a pool partnership with Middle East Airlines – Air Liban was signed and a twice-daily rotation between Beirut and Damascus was launched. The summer 1966 timetable below clearly reflects the airline's growth and modernisation. In 1966, Syrian Arab Airlines used the Caravelles on flights to Europe (London, Paris, Munich, Rome, Athens and Nicosia ) as well as high-density Middle Eastern routes (Baghdad, Teheran, Jeddah, Kuwait, Doha, Sharjah ) and on flights to South Asia (Karachi and Delhi). Routings were as follows: Eastbound and Lebanon: Damascus-Aleppo-Beirut (DC3) 3 times
23405-545: Was introduced then, with alternating dark blue and red stripes for the cheatline. Syrian Arab Airlines became a founding member of the Arab Air Carriers' Organization (AACO) and entered the jet age in 1965, with the purchase of two Sud Aviation 210 Super- Caravelle 10B3s. These jets enabled the airline to expand and reinforce its network with the addition of flights to Luxembourg , Prague , Athens , Istanbul , Teheran and Bahrain . A slightly altered livery
23560-455: Was nevertheless in sight in Syria after decades of volatile politics and coups d'état. Ambitious development programs were launched throughout the country. Syrian Arab Airlines was among the government's priorities as a new modernization and expansion program was launched. A new S.A.A.L. livery was introduced in 1973, featuring the airline's new logo, a mythical bird rising over a Mediterranean-blue disk. Closer economic and political ties with
23715-526: Was particularly high on these routes in 1976, especially following the repeated closures of the Beirut International Airport , and the increasing number of passengers using Damascus International Airport for travel to and from neighboring and war-stricken Lebanon . A record 480,000 passengers were carried by the airline in 1976. The two jumbo jets were ordered in 1976 to operate transatlantic services to New York City . SyrianAir and
23870-402: Was the equivalent of US$ 2,150, amounting to $ 1 per day per person. The median household spending was $ 1,555, 66 cents per person per day. Among the poor, more than half of this spending goes to food, especially bread and cereal. Kinshasa is home to several higher-level education institutes, covering a wide range of disciplines, including civil engineering , nursing , and journalism . The city
24025-575: Was the largest and oldest airline in the Arab world, operating an extensive network out of Cairo, the region's metropolis. During the UAA interlude, only regional and domestic routes were operated in Syria, flights further afield connected at the Cairo hub. Two planes inherited from Syrian Airways were written off between 1959 and 1961: the Douglas DC-4-1009 which was ditched in the Congo River as it
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