Transcript North Africa and the Middle East

SSWG3 The student will describe the interaction of physical and human systems
that have shaped contemporary North Africa/Southwest Asia.
Kuwait
Bahrain
Lebanon
Israel
Tunisia
Morocco
Algeria
Libya
Turkey
Syria
Cyprus
Iraq
Egypt
Qatar
Afghanistan
Iran
Saudi
UAE
Arabia
Oman
Yemen
Jordan
Answers to Map Practice
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1. Afghanistan
2. Yemen
3. Kuwait
4. Syria
5. Jordan
6. Israel
7. Turkey
8. Oman
9. Iraq
10. Lebanon
11.Qatar
12. UAE
13. Cyprus
14. Iran
15. Bahrain
16. Saudi Arabia
Importance of North Africa
and the Middle East’s Features
The Mighty Nile River:
“Longest River in the World”
Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”
Nile Delta
Annual Nile Flooding
95% of the Egyptian
people live on 5% of
the land!
The Tigris & Euphrates
River System
Mesopotamia:
”Land Between the Two
Rivers”
aka the Fertile Crescent
Sinai Peninsula
in between Egypt and Arabian
Peninsula
Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth
2,300 feet below sea
level
Highest
Salt
Content
(33%)
*9x saltier
than
ocean
Suez Canal
• Links Mediterranean Sea to Red Sea
Suez Canal
Completed by the British in
1869
Strait of Hormuz
-Most important strait in WORLD
b/c only way to LOTS of OIL
Rub al-Khali:
“The Empty Quarter”
Lack of H2O….how would this affect
the population?
Importance of Mountains & Rivers
• Why are mountains important to people?
–
–
NATURAL barriers of protection
Deserts = natural boundaries
• Why are rivers of great importance?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Supply water to drink
Supply Food
Good source of water for crops
Transportation
On the RIGHT SIDE of your notebook, you are to
write each term and its definition.
On the LEFT SIDE of your notebook, you are to
draw a picture representing each term.
**Here are the Vocabulary Words:
1. Golan Heights
2. Wadi
3. Rub al-Khali
4. Salt Flat
5. Desalinization
6. Crude Oil
7. Refinery
8. Aquifers
15. Silt
9. Oasis
10. Sahara
11. Nile River
12. Rift Valleys
13. Desertification
14. Aswan High Dam
Climate, Vegetation, and
Resources of North
Africa/SW Asia
North Africa/Middle East:
Climate Regions
– Desert Climate:
• 50% of N. Africa & S.W. Asia
– Semi-Arid (not as dry as
desert)
– Mediterranean:
Hot, dry summers & cool
rainy winters
– Found primarily in countries that border bodies of
water
– HIGHLAND
http://www.classzone.com/cz/books/world_geography05/get_chapte
r_group.htm?cin=7&rg=map_center&at=maps&var=maps
Highland Climates
• Tops of mountains and plateaus
• Areas where major food crops are grown
 cereals
• Most rainfall of the region
The Sahara
• Largest desert in the world = 3.5 million
sq. miles
• The size of the US
• Oasis = places in the
desert where water is
present
• Desertification = land
becoming more dry
and so turns into
desert
North Africa/Middle East:
Vegetation
Desert
• The #1 vegetation region throughout
North Africa and the Middle East
Steppe/Grasslands
• Area surrounding deserts
• Grassy areas where people can live and
where animals can be raised 
Pastoralism (domesticating and raising animals
and living off them)
The Natural Resources of the
North Africa/Middle East
Natural Resources
• Petroleum &
Natural Gas
– 60% of the
world’s
known
petroleum
reserves
World Oil Flow Routes
World Oil Reserves
Leading U. S. Oil Suppliers
The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the
Middle East.
Human Geography
The Culture of North Africa and
the Middle East
North Africa/Middle East:
Population Density
Cairo, Egypt:
Most Populated City in the Middle East
17,000,000+
People!
Desert Bedouins – people who have no permanent
home and live off of the land.
Arabs
• Speak Arabic
• Mostly Muslims
• Most trace ancestry back to
the Arabian Peninsula
– Civilizations
such as
Egyptians &
Babylonians
Israelis
• 6 million people in the region
• Citizens of the country of Israel
• Of the people 5 million = Jewish, 1
million Arab (Palestinians)
• Fighting between Jews and
Palestinians is a constant occurrence
because both claim rights to the land
and want to be in control
Turks
• Ottoman Turks – ruled an empire in eastern
Mediterranean (modern day Turkey)
• Not Arab, but most practice Islam
• Unique culture that blends Turkish, Islamic,
and Western elements
TURKEY
NOT
TURKEY
Iranians
• Speak Farsi, an Indo-European language
that is related to English
• Practice a form of Islam known as Shi’ite
• A religious state  the
religious leaders run the
government
Islam
Islam An Abrahamic Religion
 Muslims are strict monotheists.

They believe in the JudeoChristian God, which they call
Allah.

Muslims believe that the Torah
and the Bible, like the Qur’an,
is the word of God.
The Prophetic Tradition
Adam
Noah
Abraham
Moses
Jesus
Muhammad
1. Faith

The declaration of faith:
There is no god worthy of
worship except God, and
Muhammad is His
Messenger [or Prophet].
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2. Prayer
 The mandatory prayers
performed 5 times a day:
* dawn
* noon
* late afternoon
* sunset
* before going to bed

Wash before praying.

Face Mecca and use a prayer rug.
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3. Giving to the poor
 Almsgiving (charitable
donations).

Muslims believe that all things
belong to God.

way to both “purification”
and “growth.”

About 2.5% of your income.
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4. Fasting
 Fasting during the holy month
of Ramadan.

Considered a method of selfpurification.

No eating or drinking from
sunrise to sunset during
Ramadan.
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5. The Hajj (pilgrimage)
 The pilgrimage to Mecca.

Must be done at least once in a
Muslim’s lifetime.

2-3 million Muslims make the
pilgrimage
every
year.
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Judaism Beliefs
• Monotheistic
• Holy Book=Torah
• Prophet=Abraham
• 10 Commandments (Laws)
• Holidays/Celebration:
– Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
– Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)
– Bar/Bat Mitzvah (becoming an adult)
Christianity Beliefs
• Monotheistic
• Trinity = Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
• Holy Book = Bible
• Sects:
– Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant (to
name a few)
• Holidays/Celebrations:
– Christmas
– Easter
– Ash Wednesday