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Bandar (port)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bandar or Bunder (in Persian بندر) is a Persian word meaning "port" and "haven". Etymologically it combines Persian بند Band (enclosed) and در dar (gate, door) meaning "an enclosed area" (i.e. protected from the sea) derived from Avestan Bandha (to tieup) and Dwara (entrance). The word travelled with Persian sailors over a wide area leading to several coastal places in Iran and elsewhere having Bandar (haven) as part of their names. In some Indian languages the word Bandargah means "port". In Indonesian Malay it means "port" (compare the term "bandar udara", which literally translates to airport). In Malaysian Malay the word has undergone a semantic drift and is now always taken to mean "city". However, the word syahbandar, a historical term for "harbourmaster", still survives. In Assamese-Bengali languages "bondor" means port.

Places

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Various ports around the world derive their names from the word "bandar". Some of them are listed (country-wise) below.

Bangladesh

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India

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The west coast of India, with its historic links to Persia, has several place names that include the word bunder. The city of Bombay historically had a number of piers along its waterfronts, each named after the cargo it typically handled (or at times a landmark or important personality). The piers have long gone, but the place names continue to be used today. A coastal town in Andhra Pradesh by name Machilipatnam is also called Bandar by the local people over there. These include:

Similarly, in the state of Gujarat, several town names include the word bunder:

Indonesia

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Iran

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Malaysia

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Oman

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Pakistan

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Somalia and the East African Coast

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  • Bandar Beyla
  • Boosaaso, formerly known as Bandar Qaasim
  • A coastal region of Somalia is called Banaadir, however Arab geographers applied the term historically to all port cities of the East African coast, from Somalia to Mozambique.[1]

Other countries

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References

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  1. ^ Vianello, Alessandra; Kạssim, Mohamed M.; Kapteijns, Lidwien (2006). Servants of the Sharia. p. 5. ISBN 9789004131224.