Transcript Middle East - Alvinisd.net

Middle East
Islam
• Followers of Islam are called Muslims
• More than 90% of the people of the Middle East are Muslims
• Islam is the predominant religion of the Middle East
• Muslims study the Qu’ran
• Muezzins call Muslims to prayer five times a day in cities and towns in
the Middle East and N.Africa
• Muslim women in Middle Eastern countries are expected to be
covered
Judaism and Christianity
• The Romans punished the Jews and Christians for their beliefs
• Later, Christianity will become the official religion of the Roman
Empire
• The city of Jerusalem is important to all three religions and is
considered to be holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians
• Christians study the Gospel
• Jews study the Torah
resources
• The most important is natural gas and oil
• The most scarce natural resource is water
• The growth of oil industries led to the growth of cities
• OPEC was created to control the oil production of Middle East
countries
Government and Economy
• The countries of the Middle East have a wide range of governments,
including republics and different forms of monarchies
• Most of the countries have mixed economies (some free enterprise,
some government control)
• A command economy is one where the government owns most
businesses
History
• Ziggurat- a temple for gods
• Sumerians built wheeled cars and sailboats for transportation
• Mesopotamia was important because it was a fertile land that
enabled people to learn agriculture
• The Egyptians called the Nile the ‘giver of life’ because it provided
farmers with water and rich soil
• The Egyptians changed the Nile by building dams to control the
waters and the flooding
Other info
• The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Sea and allows
ships to travel between the 2 seas
• The history of relations between the Palestinians and Israelis can best
be described as tense
• The Sahara Desert is located in Northern Africa, people still live there