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Shamar (シャマール,Shamāru?) is a Town Stage/Village that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a lively town in the middle of an arid desert, where the majority of the people are merchants and devout members. It is also a famous tourist hotspot and features several ancient ruins. Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip visited Shamar on their quest to restore a powerless Chaos Emerald and the town's broken continent following Dark Gaia's awakening.
Shamar is derived from Middle Eastern themes, such as Petra, Jordan, Iran, Iraq and Qatar. It features a desert landscape with various ruins, which are based on Petra's numerous ruins.
History[]
Sonic Unleashed[]
During the beginning of Sonic Unleashed, Shamar's continent was torn away from the earth's mantle when Dr. Eggman awoke Dark Gaia, resulting in the planet shattering into pieces.
After Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip had restored Holoska's continent, the duo traveled to Shamar when Professor Pickle had pinpointed a Gaia Temple in that region. At the same time, the Professor decided to relocate himself and his research to his other lab in Shamar to make his analysis of the Gaia Manuscripts more efficient. Upon arriving in Shamar, Sonic and Chip met up with the Professor and Amy at the Professor's lab, where Pickle had them investigate the area (in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version, Pickle also had them investigate Empire City).
When Sonic and Chip returned to Shamar from Arid Sands (and Skyscraper Scamper in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version), having found a keyfragment for the Gaia Temple, Professor Pickle revealed he had located another Gaia Temple in Adabat, while telling Sonic and Chip to investigate Shamar further (in the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version, Pickle also had them check Empire City due to reports of Badniks there). Later, after collecting another key fragment from Arid Sands (and saving Empire City on the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version), Sonic and Chip returned to Shamar where they used their collective key to enter Shamar's Gaia Temple, where they returned Shamar and its continent to their proper place with the Temple and the Chaos Emeralds.
When Sonic and Chip came back to Shamar from recovering a key fragment in Jungle Joyride, Professor Pickle had them return to Adabat to look further. After restoring Adabat's continent, Sonic and Chip returned to Shamar to learn from the Professor that the last Gaia Temple was located in Eggmanland, promoting them and Tails to head there in the Tornado-1.
A while later, as Dark Gaia began casting the world into darkness while maturing into Perfect Dark Gaia, Professor Pickle, Amy and the inhabitants of Shamar watched in horror as the sky above the village turned dark. Professor Pickle himself succumb to despair as the world's end seemed near, but Amy refused to believe that Sonic would let it end like this. Fortunately, Super Sonic and the Gaia Colossus defeated Perfect Dark Gaia, and everyone in Shamar rejoiced as the world returned to normal. As Amy then told Pickle she was right about Sonic all along, Pickle reflected on how Dark and Light Gaia's eternal struggle was a reflection of the planet's desire for balance. Regardless, Amy had the Professor save his speech, and suggested they should prepare for Sonic's homecoming party.
On the walls of Shamar's Gaia gates, in the Wii/PS2 version, it reads, in Arabic: "I testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger" (this motto is written on the flags of Saudi Arabia and Somaliland). This is most likely due to the fact that Shamar is based on Arabian cities, in which most inhabitants are Muslim.
The flag of Shamar is based on the flags of predominatley Jordan, but also Sudan and Palestine.
In the internal data of the game, it was found that the original name of Shamar was "Petra".
Together with Spagonia, Shamar hosts the most inhabitants in Sonic Unleashed.
One of the foods sold in Shamar is called "Elastic Ice Cream", which is a reference to Turkish ice cream called Dondurma, recognizable by being flexible.
The name "Shamar" comes from the Arabic word "Shamr" (شمر,"Shamr"?), meaning "fennel". It is also the name of a Yemeni Arab Tribe.
