Transcript Middle East Powerpoint

Geography, culture, cuisine and history
The Middle East
ISRAEL
Israel lies on the Mediterranean coast of
southwest Asia, with most people living
along the coastal plain. The eastern
interior is dry and includes the Dead Sea—
the lowest point on the Earth's surface.
North are the rugged hills of Galilee, and
south lies the Negev, a desert plateau.
Israel's population is about 81 percent
Jewish; most of the rest is Arab. The
Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories
have some 3.5 million inhabitants—about
11 percent Jewish, 89 percent Palestinian.
Area
22,145 sq km (8,550 sq mi)
Population
6,707,000
Capital
Jerusalem 692,300
Religion
Jewish, Muslim, Christian
Languages
Hebrew, Arabic, English
Literacy
95%
life Expectancy
79
Currency
new Israeli shekel
Jordan
Located on desert plateaus in southwest
Asia, Jordan is almost landlocked but for a
short coast on the Gulf of Aqaba. In 1923,
after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire,
Transjordan was designated a British
mandate. Independence came in 1946.
Following the Arab-Israeli conflict in 194849, the country annexed the West Bank—but
lost it to Israel in the 1967 war. The ArabIsraeli wars have brought this small, poor
country some 1.5 million Palestinian
refugees. Jordan has a constitutional
monarchy, with an economy based on
agriculture and phosphates.
Area
89,342 sq km (34,495 sq
mi)
Population
5,480,000
Capital
Amman 1,237,000
Religion
Sunni Muslim, Christian
Languages
Arabic, English
Literacy 91%
Life Expectancy
69
Currency
Jordanian dinar
GDP Per Capita
U.S. $4,300
Economy
Industry: phosphate
mining, pharmaceuticals,
petroleum refining, cement,
potash
Iran
Iran is a southwest Asian country of
mountains and deserts. Eastern Iran is
dominated by a high plateau, with large salt
flats and vast sand deserts. The plateau is
surrounded by even higher mountains,
including the Zagros to the west and the
Elburz to the north. Farming and settlement
are largely concentrated in the narrow
plains or valleys in the west or north, where
there is more rainfall. Iran's huge oil
reserves lie in the southwest, along the
Persian Gulf.
In 1978 Ayatollah Khomeini imposed a
fundamentalist theocracy, under which an
estimated 70,000 critics were executed. The
official state religion is the Shiite branch of
Islam, practiced by most Iranians.
Area
1,648,000 sq km (636,296 sq mi)
Population
66,582,000
Capital
Tehran 7,352,000
Religion
Shiite and Sunni Muslim
Languages
Persian, Turkic, Kurdish, various local
dialects
Literacy
79%
Life Expectancy
69
Currency
Iranian rial
GDP Per Capita
U.S. $6,800
Economy
Industry: petroleum, petrochemicals,
textiles, cement and other
construction materials
Iraq
Iraq occupies the ancient region of Mesopotamia,
"land amidst the rivers," a fertile lowland created
by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Today these
rivers sustain large areas of irrigated farmland
and one of the highest populations in the Middle
East. Beneath the land, Iraq is second only to
Saudi Arabia in rich oil reserves. Temperatures
range from below freezing in winter to higher
than 49°C (120°F) in the summer.
Iraq's diverse population includes some 20
million Arabs consisting of Shiite Muslims (60%),
Sunni Muslims (35%), and Christians (3%). Most
Shiites live in the southeast, and most Sunnis live
in central Iraq. About four million Kurds, a nonArab Muslim people, live in the mountainous
northeast.
Area
437,072 sq km
(168,754 sq mi)
Population
24,205,000
Capital
Baghdad 5,620,000
Religion
Shiite and Sunni Muslim
Languages
Arabic, Kurdish,
Assyrian, Armenian
Literacy
40%
Life Expectancy
58
Currency
Iraqi dinar
GDP Per Capita
U.S. $2,400
Economy
Industry: petroleum,
chemicals, textiles,
construction materials.
Egypt
A Middle Eastern country in northeast
Africa, Egypt is at the center of the
Arab world. Egypt controls the Suez
Canal, the shortest sea link between the
Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean
Sea. The country is defined by desert
and the Nile, the longest river on Earth.
The Nile flows north out of central
Africa, cascading over the cataracts
(waterfalls) through Upper (southern)
Egypt and Lower (northern) Egypt to
the Mediterranean Sea—with a
mountainous desert to the east, a
rolling drier desert to the west, and the
vast Sahara to the south.
Area
1,002,000 sq km (386,874
sq mi)
Population
72,062,000
Capital
Cairo 11,146,000
Religion
Sunni Muslim, Coptic
Christian
Languages
Arabic, English, French
Literacy
58%
Life Expectancy
68
Currency
Egyptian pound
GDP Per Capita
U.S. $4,000
Economy
Industry: textiles, food
processing, tourism,
chemicals.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian
Peninsula and is the largest country in area in the
Middle East—but 95 percent of the land is desert.
Mountains running parallel to the Red Sea slope
down to plains along the Persian Gulf (called the
Arabian Gulf by Arab states). Below the arid
landscape, oil has made this desert kingdom one
of the wealthiest nations in the world.
Relations with the U.S. were strained after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks—carried
out mainly by Saudi citizens.
In this conservative society, underpinned by
Islamic law, women live in veiled segregation.
Saudi Arabia is keeper of Islam's most sacred
cities: Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad
received the word of Allah, and Medina, where
Muhammad died in A.D. 632.
Area
1,960,582 sq km (756,985 sq mi)
Population
24,070,000
Capital
Riyadh 5,126,000
Religion
Muslim
Languages
Arabic
Literacy
79%
Life Expectancy
72
Currency
Saudi riyal
GDP Per Capita
U.S. $11,400
Economy
Industry: crude oil production,
petroleum refining, basic
petrochemicals, cement.
Other Middle East countries
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Lebanon
Turkey
Syria
Kuwait
Dubai
Quatar
Afghanistan
Yemen
Armenia
Images of the Middle East
Food Terms to Know – Middle Eastern Cuisine
Baba Ghannouj – Egg plant puree
Burghul – cracked wheat
Falafel – chick pea fried patties
Haleeb – Milk
Hummus – chick pea puree
Kafta – ground meat patties
Kibbeh – ground meat with wheat
Ma’amoul – easter cakes
Ma’mounia – semolina pudding
Meza – appetizers
Tahini – sesame paste
Tanzine – Moroccan cooking pot
Tabbouleh – salad with bulgar, mint and
parsley
Common foods: lamb, yogurt, lemons, dates,
figs, mint, parsley, rice, cracked wheat,
almonds, rose water, filo dough, chick
peas, fava beans,, cumin, cinnamon,
paprika, olives, coffee, tea (no alcohol)