Khemed

In the Adventures of Tintin and Milou, Khemed is an imaginary Arab emirate which seems to be located some share on banks of the Red Sea.

Geography

Some exégètes estimate that the Arab Emirate of Khemed is located some share on banks of the Arab Péninsule, close to the Saudi Arabia. One can be more precise while affirming than this State is before the gulf of Aqaba while being an enclave in current Saudi Arabia. Indeed, one can easily reach the capital conveys some in less than one day (the jeep being advised) starting from the port which one believed to be Haifa (a lapse of the Lieutenant of Speedol Star which is only in the first version of the album) and which actually is the oil port of " Caiffa" (denomination used in the original publications Petit Twentieth and Newspaper of Tintin) which will become " Khemkhah" after the withdrawal of the English of the Middle East.

The capital is on the edges of the Red Sea with semi way between Aquaba and Djeddah as it is clear in the plan of situation prepared by Hergé (see the work " Tintin, Haddock and Bateaux") for Coke in Stock.

It is known that there the Khamsin blows, which is an extreme sand wind coming from the desert of Egypt towards Israel (see Tintin with the country of the black gold ). The foreign correspondents covering the businesses of Khemed are based with Beirut (see Coke in Stock ) and a regular air link (formerly by DC3) connects the Libanaise capital to that of the Emirate. Lastly, one finds in the country of the vestiges (incorrectly taken for Roman ruins by Haddock) of the civilization nabatéenne, whose well-known nail is Pétra, in Jordan.

The country is inhabited by tribes bédoines whose secular opposition is well-known between the two principal families that of Bab El Ehr and that of the Ben Kalish Ezab the first being wandering and rather present in the western part of the desert and the second sedentarized on the coastal strip and majority in the capital. The family of Patrash Pasha constitutes the more important third of the wandering tribes which generally keeps away from the cities and is known to remain six months per annum in the area of Djebel.

Capital and principal city of the country: Wadesdah.

Second city the oil port of Khemkhah which is very active.

The town of residence of the Emir is Hasch El Hemm located at 20 km of the capital.

Khemed is made up pricipalement of a very important desert: the djebel Kadheïh. The pricipale resource of the country is the exploitation of one-Shore oil discovered by English in the years 1930. However it is thought that these reserves will be exhausted in the 20 years which come and an attempt at reconversation in progress is mainly directed towards the pécheries.

Political regime

Emirate under the mode of the absolute monarchy. The sovereign reigning, rather old now, is the Emir Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab, with the rather difficult character but nevertheless considered as Juste. The political commentators fear the moment when this State will see the reign of its designated successor, the prince Abdallah, with the still more marked character.

The reign of Sheik Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab is disputed. The Face of release of Khémed (F.L.K.) is ordered by Sheik Bab El Ehr of the opposite tribe. The FLK had its hour of glory with the support of a mythical military chief, now missing, of European origin is called Mull Pasha (in which some saw one begun again of justice having initially worked in Khémed for the account of an oil company: the Dr. Müller). Initially, the F.L.K achieved its goals with the assistance of mercenaries and modern military material, but a restoration took place with the support of the tribe of Patrash Pasha joined then by a rising of the whole of the population

At the time of the publication of Tintin to the country of the black gold, the country was still under English mandate. The trade was strongly held by the Jewish community now disappeared from the country after having joined the State of Israel. Tradesmen of European origin or Indian succeeded to them.

Economy

The principal resource is the oil, coveted by the great multinationals making the law on this market. Khemed is crossed by several pipelines.

The airport of Wadesdah is served in particular by the stopover of the daily flights of Arabair ensuring the line Beirut it Mecque.

Civilization

The country is to 90% of Moslem and tolerant confession for the other religions (nona Moslem has the right to hold alcohol but not to make trade of it).

The culture Bedouin is very present at Khémed.

A warlike tradition animates Khemediens (or Khéménites according to certain authors) and the country has its own extremely disciplined armed force.

Manners are hard there. The emir has still the absolute right to inflict the Bastonnade, and the torment of the stake was practiced there until it hardly has there.

Appearances in the adventures of Tintin

Khemed appears twice in the famous drawn series: in Tintin with the country of the black gold and in Coke in Stock .

Tintin with the country of the black gold :

A strange epidemic of explosions of engines bursts and even Dupondt are victims. But for Tintin, the solution is well in Khemed producer country of black gold. This adventure marks the great return of the Dr. Müller which supports Sheik Bab El Ehr whereas this one seeks to reverse the emir Ben Kalish Ezab. Tintin will discover that it is this same Dr. Müller (who uses the pseudonym professor Smith) which falsified the gasoline and which removed Abdallah, the son of the emir.

Coke in Stock :

While leaving a cinema, the Haddock Captain knocks himself by chance with the Alcazar general, who loses his wallet. Tintin tries to bring it back to him, but the general is unknown with the hotel where it is supposed to place. Tintin and the Haddock captain ends up finding it in another hotel, in conversation with Dawson, the ex-chief of the international police force of Shanghai. Haddock returns the wallet to him while Tintin follows Dawson discreetly and surprises a discussion on a mysterious traffic of weapons. While eclipsing, Tintin does not realize that it was located. Of return to the Castle of Moulinsart, he discovers that Abdallah and his continuation settled there to flee a coup d'etat to Khemed against the father of Abdallah, the emir Ben Kalish Ezab. Tintin (wanting to help the emir) and Haddock (wanting to flee Abdallah) decide to go to Khemed.

With the airport of Wadesdah, the customs drive back them without explanation and a bomb is placed on their aircraft. The attack fails miraculeusement, a fire of engine forcing the plane to land before the bomb does not explode. Tintin and Haddock, helped by Oliveira da Figueira, overlap to the city troglodyte where the emir took refuge (quoted inspired by Pétra, in Jordan). The emir explains to them that Bab El Ehr, which reversed it, receives weapons and planes of the Marquis Di Gorgonzola which finances these purchases by the draft of the slaves.

Tintin and Haddock, leave for the coast and embark in a boat to inquire into this traffic, but their boat is run at the time of an air attack. Taken refuge on a raft, they collect Piotr Szut, the attacking pilot that Tintin cut down. The shipwrecked men are then helped by the yacht of the richissime Di Gorgonzola (which is not other than Rastapopoulos, the film director of the Cigars of the Pharaon). He can nothing try against them, Tintin and Haddock having been recognized by one of the croisierists, celebrates it professional singer Bianca Castafiore.

They are discreetly transferred the following night on a cargo liner, Cleaned it, where they are made prisoners by the crew which works for Di Gorgonzola (the Haddock captain finds on this occasion an old knowledge, Allan). A fire occurs during the night on the ship and the crew flees leaving behind them Tintin, Haddock and Szut, which manage to extinguish fire. By doing this, they discover that transported in its holds a great number of Africans Cleaned it, in pilgrimage for Mecque. By excavating the boat, Tintin finds a bit of paper on which is registered a mysterious message, intimating the order to deliver coke. The cargo liner is then accosted by an Arab “tradesman” who asks them to inspect “coke”: it is actually the code name given to the African slaves (this album was written before coke does not mean cocaine. The coke term on a cargo liner applies normally to coal, this term innocent is used here by the smugglers to designate the African black slaves). The trafficker of slaves is finally driven out, under the gibes of the Captain.

Di Gorgonzola learns by the trafficker from slaves that Cleaned it is except and tries to run it using a submarine launcher of torpedes then of a mine transported by a frogman. These attempts fail thanks to the intervention of the U.S. Navy, called with the rescue, which also hails the yacht of Rastapopoulos. This last however manages to escape in a miniature submarine. The slave die nevertheless is dismantled and the scandal is reported by the press to the return of Tintin and the captain to Moulinsart. Those find their released residence of Abdallah, the emir Ben Kalish Ezab having recovered the capacity in Khémed. On the other hand, they will have to support the inénarrable Séraphin Lampion…

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