Alabasta


 * The subject of this article has also been referred to as Arabasta.

Alabasta Kingdom is a desert kingdom in Paradise. It was the fourth island that the Straw Hat Pirates visited on the Grand Line, and the events here resulted in Luffy's bounty being raised to 100,000,000, and Zoro acquiring a bounty of 60,000,000. It is where the Poneglyph showing the location of Pluton is located, and is one of the twenty founding countries of the World Government.

General Information
Alabasta is an established kingdom with a long history. It is located on Sandy Island (サンディ島); roughly half-way through the first part of the Grand Line. Sandy Island is a Summer Island. It is arguably one of the largest islands the Straw Hats have visited in the Grand Line, containing several cities and towns and a massive river.

Kingdom Information

 * Kingdom Name: Alabasta
 * Current King: Nefertari Cobra
 * Important People: Nefertari Vivi, Chaka, Pell, Igaram, Kohza
 * Current Affiliations: Straw Hat Pirates, World Government
 * Poneglyph: Yes
 * Population: Over 10 million

Architecture
Alabasta's architecture is very similar to Middle Eastern and Moorish buildings However, the styles vary between cities.

Alubarna
The capital city of Alabasta has white, simple buildings. The palace is grand and resembles the architecture of Enies Lobby, except more colorful.

The city plan of Alubarna is round and similar to the old design plans of Iraq during the era of the Abbasid caliphate. Due to the Middle Eastern influences on Alabasta, it is possible that the city of Alubarna is designed based on Baghdad.

Yuba
The architecture of Yuba is generally circular buildings. All the tops of the buildings have thin logs. After the arrest of Crocodile, many people went to Yuba and tried to rebuild it.

Rainbase and Nanohana
Both Rainbase and Nanohana have similar architecture, with Rainbase's resembling a classic nineteenth century American town, with white walls, similar to those in Alubarna. Nanohana is extremely similar, but the designs seems closer to Alubarna's, but with taller buildings.

Cities
Cities are central gathering places for the citizens of Alabasta. Alabasta is a very old country; there are few oases, but where they exist a town is likely built around it. Some older cities are now in ruins, while new ones also exist. The Sandora Desert is extremely desolate, and is usually only entered for travel. The cities are further divided by the Sandora River, which splits the country in half.

Alubarna
Alubarna is the capital city of Alabasta, and is rich in culture. It is an extremely large city, on a huge rock. Stairs are carved and paved for entrance to the city. It is extremely circular, and features both a clock tower and the Alabasta Royal Palace. Just outside the city exist the Royal Tomb, there is a forest where Zoro got lost in, and the Tomb of the Kings.

The Alubarna Clock tower is an extremely tall building, resembling Big Ben in England. There is a large open area at the very top of the tower. The top of the clock tower can only be accessed from the stairs on the bottom floor, and going up the stairs for the building it rests upon will get you nowhere. At the time, Crocodile planned to launch a bomb from there, due to the large open space and the close proximity to the Central City Square. This is a large, circular area where people can meet. It resides just outside of the Alabasta Royal Palace. The first and final confrontation between the Rebel Army and the Alabasta Royal Army took place here, at the climax of the Alabasta Arc.

Nanohana
Nanohana is a port-town in south-east Alabasta. It is the central port city, and handles the most import and exports in all of Alabasta that goes to outside. It is famous for its perfume, which is very pungent to those that aren't used to it. Nanohana is the "Little Flower" of Alabasta. Nano is an English word for "very tiny", and hana is the Japanese word for "flower". This possibly hints the city may have many cultures within it.

Yuba
Yuba is a small town, only about 8–10 years old. It was started by Toto and his son, Kohza. It has a very unique, dirt like style of architecture. This town was abandoned (except by Toto) after many sandstorms came. The Rebel Army relocated after this to Katorea. After the events of the defeated Crocodile, most people went to Yuba and try to rebuild it.

Erumalu
Erumalu is an ancient city. It was known as the Green City, but is now all ruins. The city itself resides in a region that lacks large amounts of rain.

Rainbase
Rainbase is one of the few thriving towns left. The casino, Rain Dinners is here, and under it is Crocodile's base. A pyramid-shaped building, it seems like a normal casino, and acts as one. Behind the scenes, Crocodile was secretly scheming against the King.

Katorea
Katorea is a city only seen very briefly. It is just north-east of Nanohana, a short ride away. The only view shown is in a filler scene where Chopper accidentally falls asleep in the back of a caravan and travels there, where he meets Eyelashes the camel. While Nanohana is the city that is famous for its perfume, Katorea is where said perfume is made.

Ido
Ido is an anime-only city. This town was visited by a group of con men led by Camus who came there to take advantage of the town and get free food while posing as Rebel Army men.

Tamarisk
Tamarisk is a city located in Alabasta. This is where Hina arrived in Alabasta.

Landmarks
Landmarks are memorable places around Alabasta.

Sandora Desert
The Sandora Desert is a large desert that makes up the majority of the land of Alabasta that is not inhabited near oases.

Sandora River
The Sandora River is a large river the runs through Alabasta, right down the center.

Tomb of the Kings
The Tomb of the Kings is the royal tomb where the members of the royal family are buried. It is just outside of Alubarna, located underground beneath ordinary tombs, and accessed through a secret staircase. It was destroyed by Nefertari Cobra in an attempt to kill Crocodile.

Symbol
The symbol of Alabasta Kingdom is a sun consisting of a circle with 8 curved drop shapes around it. It was first revealed in Chapter 130. When Vivi reads about the war in Alabasta the newspaper, a flashback of the kingdom's flag being burned is shown. The flag bears the sun sign. The shield of an Alabasta soldier in Chapter 182 also shows this symbol.

Further, it is seen on the sleeves of Sanji's overcoat and on Igaram's fan when he disguises as Vivi (the latter only has 5 shapes around the circle, though).

Ancient Past
Alabasta has a long, and illustrious history. According to Nico Robin, the country has existed since 500 years before the Void Century, perhaps even longer.

800 years ago, the Nefertari royal family was one of the twenty royal families who founded the World Government. Notably, they are the only family to remain in rule of their own country, rather than moving to Mariejois and letting new royalty take over.

The Poneglyph
The Poneglyph, as read by Nico Robin, tells about the early days of Alabasta.

Robin, as Miss All-Sunday, recited a few events, until Crocodile interrupted her, not interested in the history of the country:
 * Kahira falls to Alabasta (Alabasta's history, date: Year of Heaven 239. Information supplied by Nico Robin)
 * The Bitein Dynasty of Taymar begins its rule (Alabasta's history, date: Year 260. Information supplied by Nico Robin)
 * Great Taph Temple completed in Erumalu (Alabasta's history, date: Year 306. Information supplied by Nico Robin)
 * The Hero of Oltea, Mamudin... (Alabasta's history, date: Year 325. Information supplied by Nico Robin, however she is not allowed to finish the sentence.)

This Poneglyph supposedly only tells the location of the Pluton, but the specific details are not expounded upon.

Crocodile's Operation Utopia
Crocodile, then Shichibukai, attempted to incite civil war in Alabasta and conquer the country. Luffy defeated him after three battles.

Translation and Dub Issues
It was long debated whether the proper name was Arabasta or Alabasta. The error was because of the 'R' and 'L' pronunciations. On the map of Alabasta, it was spelled as Arabasta, hence the popularity.

Trivia

 * Many things about and relating to Alabasta (i.e. the geography, architecture and culture) are references to ancient Egypt and the modern Middle East.
 * The name may come from alabaster, a mineral commonly found in ancient Egyptian artifacts.
 * According to Crocodile, the prevailing winds of Alabasta always blow from north to south, which was why all his sandstorms continually hit Yuba.

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