What is western sahara?

Western Sahara

Western Sahara ( i/ˌwɛstərn səˈhærə/, /ˌwɛstən səˈhɑrə/, Arabic: الصحراء الغربية‎ Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah, Spanish: Sahara Occidental) is an occupied territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laâyoune), the largest city in Western Sahara.

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Famous quotes containing the word western:

    For twenty-five centuries, Western knowledge has tried to look upon the world. It has failed to understand that the world is not for the beholding. It is for hearing. It is not legible, but audible. Our science has always desired to monitor, measure, abstract, and castrate meaning, forgetting that life is full of noise and that death alone is silent: work noise, noise of man, and noise of beast. Noise bought, sold, or prohibited. Nothing essential happens in the absence of noise.
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