Grand Erg Oriental Grand Erg Oriental The Grand Erg Oriental (English: 'Great Eastern Sand Sea') is a large "erg" or "field of sand dunes" in the Sahara Desert. Situated for the most part in Saharan lowlands of northeast Algeria, the Grand Erg Oriental covers an area some 600 km wide by 200 km north to south. The erg's northeastern edge spills over into neighbouring Tunisia. The Grand Erg Oriental is a desert, a natural region receiving very little rainfall. It is the largest "Erg" in Algeria, the next in size being the much smaller Grand Erg Occidental ('Western Sand Sea'). The largest erg
Liwa (Arabic) Liwa (Arabic) Liwa, or Liwā’ (), is an Arabic term meaning ensign, or banner. The word has developed various other meanings in Arabic: "Liwa" was used interchangeably with the Turkish term "Sanjak" in the time of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of the empire, the term was used in the Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule. It was gradually replaced by other terms like qadaa and mintaqa and is now defunct. It is only used occasionally in Syria to refer to the Hatay Province, ceded by the French mandate of Syria to Turkey in 1939, at which time was