Khemed
Encyclopedia
Khemed is a fictional Arab
emirate
in The Adventures of Tintin
by Hergé
. It is located somewhere on the shores of the Red Sea
and has been compared to Jordan
, with its Emir resembling the Hashemite
kings and Mull Pasha corresponding to the British General Glubb Pasha.
The name means "got it!" in Marols
, the Brussels
Flemish
dialect; the names of many people and places in the country are based on Marols phrases.
, near Saudi Arabia
. More precisely, the state is outside the Gulf of Aqaba
, being an enclave in what is now Saudi Arabia. According to the narrative in Land of Black Gold
, the capital is less than one day's journey by car from the port, which in the original serialization in Le Petit Vingtième
(1939–40) and Tintin magazine (1948–50) is referred to as the oil port of "Caiffa". In the first album edition (1950) it is clearly identified with Haifa
(so stated by the Lieutenant of the Speedol Star) and is fictionalized as "Khemikhal" ("Khemkhah" in French) in editions from 1971 on.
At least one writer has envisioned Khemed in the location of Yemen
.
The capital is on the shore of the Red Sea halfway between Aqaba
and Jeddah
, as is clear in the map prepared by Hergé for The Red Sea Sharks.
The region is subject to the Khamsin, a burning sandstorm which blows from the Egyptian desert towards Palestine. Foreign correspondents covering Khemed are based in Beirut
and a regular air service (formerly by DC3
) links Beirut to the emirate's capital. In Khemed one can find ruins, mistaken by Haddock as Roman, but actually from the Nabataean civilization, like those in Petra, Jordan.
The country is inhabited by Bedouin tribes, with an age-old feud between the family of Bab El Ehr and that of Ben Kalish Ezab; the former is nomadic and present in the western desert, while the latter is settled on the coastline and form a majority in the capital. The family of Patrash Pasha is the third largest of the nomadic tribes and usually lives far from cities.
The capital and principal city of the country is Wadesdah (Brussels dialect wadesdah = "What's that?").
The second city of the emirate, the oil port of Khemikhal, is very active.
The Emir resides in Hasch El Hemm, located 20 km from the capital. (This is a pun
on the French abbreviation H.L.M., habitation à loyer modéré = "low rent housing".)
The territory of Khemed consists mainly of a very large desert, Jebel Kadheïh. The country's main resource is the exploitation of onshore oil.
The reign of Emir Mohammed ben Kalish Ezab (Brussels dialect kalichesap = "licorice juice") is disputed. His opponents are led by Sheikh Bab El Ehr (Brussels dialect babbeleer ="babbler") of the rival tribe. In Land of Black Gold, the rebellion is supported by an agent of European origin called Mull Pasha (who turns out to be Dr. Müller), representing the Skoil Petroleum Company. In The Red Sea Sharks, Bab El Ehr succeeds in overthrowing the Emir, this time with the support of the Marquis di Gorgonzola, but later the Emir is restored to power.
The Wadesdah airport is served by daily Arabair flights including the Beirut-Mecca line.
The Bedouin culture has a strong presence in Khemed.
The manners are rough. The Emir has the absolute power to inflict floggings, and impalement was practiced until very recently.
. Known vehicles of the army are Willys Jeeps
, Daimler Armored Cars
, GMC CCKW's
, Supermarine Spitfire
and Mosquito fighter-bombers
. The Emir's soldiers dress in a light uniform with white puttee
s and red headcloth tied with a black band.
and The Red Sea Sharks
.
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
emirate
Emirate
An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir ....
in The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
by Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
. It is located somewhere on the shores of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
and has been compared to Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, with its Emir resembling the Hashemite
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
kings and Mull Pasha corresponding to the British General Glubb Pasha.
The name means "got it!" in Marols
Marols
Marols or Marollien was a dialect spoken in Brussels. Essentially it is a Dutch dialect incorporating many words of French origin as well as a sprinkling of Spanish dating back to the rule of the Low Countries by the Habsburgs...
, the Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
Flemish
Flemish
Flemish can refer to anything related to Flanders, and may refer directly to the following articles:*Flemish, an informal, though linguistically incorrect, name of any kind of the Dutch language as spoken in Belgium....
dialect; the names of many people and places in the country are based on Marols phrases.
Geography
Hergé's stories place the Arab Emirate Khemed somewhere on the coast of the Arabian PeninsulaArabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, near Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. More precisely, the state is outside the Gulf of Aqaba
Gulf of Aqaba
The Gulf of Aqaba is a large gulf located at the northern tip of the Red Sea. In pre twentieth-century and modern sources it is often named the Gulf of Eilat, as Eilat is its predominant Israeli city ....
, being an enclave in what is now Saudi Arabia. According to the narrative in Land of Black Gold
Land of Black Gold
Land of Black Gold is the fifteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
, the capital is less than one day's journey by car from the port, which in the original serialization in Le Petit Vingtième
Le Petit Vingtième
Le Petit Vingtième was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle from 1928 to 1940. The comics series The Adventures of Tintin first appeared in its pages.-History:...
(1939–40) and Tintin magazine (1948–50) is referred to as the oil port of "Caiffa". In the first album edition (1950) it is clearly identified with Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
(so stated by the Lieutenant of the Speedol Star) and is fictionalized as "Khemikhal" ("Khemkhah" in French) in editions from 1971 on.
At least one writer has envisioned Khemed in the location of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
.
The capital is on the shore of the Red Sea halfway between Aqaba
Aqaba
Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, the capital of Aqaba Governorate at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport. Aqaba is best known today as a diving and beach resort, but industrial activity remains important...
and Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, as is clear in the map prepared by Hergé for The Red Sea Sharks.
The region is subject to the Khamsin, a burning sandstorm which blows from the Egyptian desert towards Palestine. Foreign correspondents covering Khemed are based in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and a regular air service (formerly by DC3
DC3
DC3 can refer to:* Device Control Three, one of the C0 and C1 control codes* DC3 a punk band formed by Dez Cadena after leaving Black Flag * DC3 is the name of a fictional band in the TV Show "Cory in the House"* Dark Castle 3, a video game...
) links Beirut to the emirate's capital. In Khemed one can find ruins, mistaken by Haddock as Roman, but actually from the Nabataean civilization, like those in Petra, Jordan.
The country is inhabited by Bedouin tribes, with an age-old feud between the family of Bab El Ehr and that of Ben Kalish Ezab; the former is nomadic and present in the western desert, while the latter is settled on the coastline and form a majority in the capital. The family of Patrash Pasha is the third largest of the nomadic tribes and usually lives far from cities.
The capital and principal city of the country is Wadesdah (Brussels dialect wadesdah = "What's that?").
The second city of the emirate, the oil port of Khemikhal, is very active.
The Emir resides in Hasch El Hemm, located 20 km from the capital. (This is a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on the French abbreviation H.L.M., habitation à loyer modéré = "low rent housing".)
The territory of Khemed consists mainly of a very large desert, Jebel Kadheïh. The country's main resource is the exploitation of onshore oil.
Political system
Emirate under an absolute monarchy.The reign of Emir Mohammed ben Kalish Ezab (Brussels dialect kalichesap = "licorice juice") is disputed. His opponents are led by Sheikh Bab El Ehr (Brussels dialect babbeleer ="babbler") of the rival tribe. In Land of Black Gold, the rebellion is supported by an agent of European origin called Mull Pasha (who turns out to be Dr. Müller), representing the Skoil Petroleum Company. In The Red Sea Sharks, Bab El Ehr succeeds in overthrowing the Emir, this time with the support of the Marquis di Gorgonzola, but later the Emir is restored to power.
Economy
The main resource is oil, coveted by rival multinationals Arabex and Skoil Petroleum Company, which dominate this market. Khemed is crossed by several pipelines.The Wadesdah airport is served by daily Arabair flights including the Beirut-Mecca line.
Culture
The country is Muslim and tolerant of other religions (non-Muslims are allowed to consume alcohol but not to sell it).The Bedouin culture has a strong presence in Khemed.
The manners are rough. The Emir has the absolute power to inflict floggings, and impalement was practiced until very recently.
Military
In Land of Black Gold and The Red Sea Sharks, the military of Khemed are equipped with rifles and sub-machine guns and wear the British Battle DressBattle Dress
Battle Dress was the specific title of a military uniform adopted by the British Army in the late 1930s and worn until the 1960s. Several other nations also introduced variants of Battle Dress during the Second World War, including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the...
. Known vehicles of the army are Willys Jeeps
Willys MB
The Willys MB US Army Jeep and the Ford GPW, were manufactured from 1941 to 1945. These small four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep, and inspired many similar light utility vehicles. Over the years, the World War II Jeep later evolved into the "CJ" civilian...
, Daimler Armored Cars
Daimler Armoured Car
The Daimler Armoured Car was a British armoured car of the Second World War.-History:The Daimler Armoured Car was a parallel development to the Daimler Dingo "Scout car", a small armoured vehicle for scouting and liaison roles. It was another Birmingham Small Arms design...
, GMC CCKW's
GMC CCKW
The GMC CCKW is a 2½ ton 6X6 U.S. Army cargo truck that saw service in World War II and the Korean War, often incorrectly referred to as a "Deuce and a Half" or "Jimmy"...
, Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and Mosquito fighter-bombers
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
. The Emir's soldiers dress in a light uniform with white puttee
Puttee
A puttee, also spelled puttie, is the name, adapted from the Hindi patti, bandage , for a covering for the lower part of the leg from the ankle to the knee, consisting of a long narrow piece of cloth wound tightly and spirally round the leg, and serving both as a support and protection, worn...
s and red headcloth tied with a black band.
Appearances in The Adventures of Tintin
Khemed appears twice in the comic series: Land of Black GoldLand of Black Gold
Land of Black Gold is the fifteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
and The Red Sea Sharks
The Red Sea Sharks
The Red Sea Sharks is the nineteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
.
See also
- BorduriaBorduriaBorduria is a fictional country in the comic strip series The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. It is located in the Balkans and has a rivalry with the fictional neighbouring country of Syldavia. Borduria is depicted in King Ottokar's Sceptre and The Calculus Affair, and is referred to in Tintin and...
- Nuevo Rico
- San TheodorosSan TheodorosSan Theodoros is a fictional Central American country in The Adventures of Tintin. It is a satirical version of a Latin American banana republic country under the yoke of military government.-History:...
- São Rico
- SyldaviaSyldaviaSyldavia is a fictional Balkan kingdom featured in The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. The name was derived from TranSYLvania and MolDAVIA.-Overview:...