Wikipedia Trails: Sinbad to Obelisk

I started on the page, Sinbad the Sailor because it was the focus of one of the stories I read and commented on this week. I really only remember the Disney version of the story and was wondering when the original took place. Sinbad is an Arabic story and his hometown is in present day Baghdad. The story is part of the 1001 Nights but doesn't appear in the original manuscripts, only showing up a couple hundred years later in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

(Sinbad the Sailor, Milo Winter, 1914)

From here I went to the page Indian Ocean, as this was where the sailors whose stories influence the tale of Sinbad sailed. It is the 3rd largest ocean on earth and is surrounded by Asia, Africa, and Australia. This ocean also has one of the largest phytoplankton blooms in the summer because of its monsoon winds. It also harbors the Indian Ocean garbage patch which is 1.9 million square miles, made of mostly plastic, and circulates between Australia and Africa.

(Topographic Map of Indian Ocean)

From here I moved to Ancient Egypt as they were one of the first people to explore the Indian Ocean. This was an ancient civilization in Northeastern Africa that formed around 3150 BC. In the latest stages of the civilization, they were subjugated by one of Alexander the Great's generals, Ptolemy. Later, under Cleopatra, it feel to Roman rule. 

(The sphinx and pyramid of Giza)

Lastly, I moved to Obelisks. These are tall, four-sided obelisks that were commonly built in Egypt for religious reasons but have been found in cultures all over the world. They were common throughout Egypt, Assyria, the Axumite kingdom, Rome, the Byzantium Empire, and occasionally in pre-columbus America. The obelisk is still a common form of monument today although they are not always religious.

(The Obelisk from Luxor in Paris)