Atacama Desert is commonly known as the driest nonpolar place in the world, especially the surroundings of the abandoned Yungay town (in Antofagasta Region, Chile). The average rainfall is about per year, although some locations, such as Arica and Iquique, receive in a year. Moreover, some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Periods up to four years have been registered with no rainfall in the central sector, delimited by the cities of Antofagasta, Calama, and Copiapó, in Chile. Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971. The Atacama Desert may be
Tourism in the Arab world the "Fertile Crescent", "Eastern Mediterranean", "Syria (region)", "Mashriq" which is the Arabic word for "Levant". The Eastern Mediterranean Muslims, Christians, Circassians and Christian Maronite Cypriots populations speak Levantine Arabic also known as Mediterranean Arabic (شامي). These populations share not only the language, but the geographic position, cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. Geographically-speaking, the Levant boasts some of the most diverse natural features in the Arab World. The Syrian Desert, a 200,000-square-miles wide rocky and flat desert, occupies the center of the Levant and is considered a continuation of the Arabian Desert. To its east lies Mesopotamia, fertile