Southwest Asia & North Africa

5 Quick Words… Come up with 5 words that come to mind

when you think of this region.

People Places Things Events

List of Countries…. Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Cyprus Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon

Libya Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates Yemen

Peninsulas Arabian Peninsula

Bordered by: Red Sea Persian Gulf Arabian Sea Gulf of Aden

Sinai Peninsula Bordered by:

Red Sea Anatolian Peninsula

Bordered by: Black Sea Aegean Sea Mediterranean Sea

Location… This region is

sometimes called the “crossroads” of the world because of its critical location between several continents

Dead Sea…. Landlocked

saltwater lake Saltiest body of

water 9 times as salty as

the ocean

Mountains…. Taurus Mount Ararat Elburz Zagros Hindu Kush Atlas Ahaggar

Rivers…. Nile

World’s longest river

Tigris Euphrates

Makes up Mesopotamia or “Fertile Crescent”

Jordan Flows into Dead Sea

Deserts…. Cover about 50% of this

region Sahara

World’s largest desert Rubal Khali

Means empty quarter Found on the Arabian

Peninsula This desert covers ¼ of

total land are of Arabian Peninsula

Natural Resources…. Most important

resources Natural gas Petroleum (oil)

60 % of the world’s reserves are found here

Before World War II, this region produced less than 5% of the world’s oil

Today, it is the top region for oil production

Population…. Crossroads for Africa, Asia

and Europe Ethnic diversity – the

difference in people based on origins, language, customs, or beliefs

Arabs Majority of people in this

region Most Arabs follow Islam

Islam is the religion Muslim is a person who

follows Islam Speak Arabic language

Population cont…. Israelis

Live in Israel Most are Jewish (follow Judaism) Settled in the region believing that God had given them land for a

permanent home Continuing conflict between Israelis and Arabs

Turks Live in Turkey Practice Islam

Iranians Live in Iran Speak Farsi Practice a form of Islam called Shiism

Afghanis Many ethnic groups established from invasions and migrations  Practice Islam

Kurds Primarily live in Turkey and Iraq Muslim but not Arab

Population Densities & Growth…. 350 million Growing quickly Water and population

People live near water Desert areas are unpopulated

Except for cities and oil fields Urbanization

The region used to be more rural than urban Since World War II, most of the major oil and gas producing

countries have become more urbanized Rural villagers moved to cities to search for a better life The cities can’t handle the population shift yet Shortage of housing and food

History…. Early Civilizations

Mesopotamia Sumerian Civilization developed in Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is located between the Tigris and

Euphrates Rivers called the “Fertile Crescent” Egypt

Developed along the Nile River Phoenician Civilization

Coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Israel and Lebanon Persian Empire

Between the Nile River and Aegean Sea 3 of the world’s major religions began in

southwest Asia

Judaism…. Oldest of the three

religions The Hebrews established

the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

Made Jerusalem their capital and religious center

People who followed Judaism are called Jews

Believe in monotheism- the belief in one God

Holy book- Torah or Hebrew Bible

Christianity…. Based on the

teachings of Jesus The Jews and non-Jews

who followed the teachings of Jesus became known as Christians

Holy book- Bible Christians added books

to the Hebrew Bible called the New Testament

Islam…. Majority of people in this region follow Islam

Islam is the religion Muslim is a person who follows

Islam Sunni & Shia Sunnis choose own leaders; Shia

only allow descendants of Muhammad to lead

Began around 600 AD Newest of the three religions Muslims believe Muhammad was

the prophet- God’s messenger Worship “Allah”- Arabic word for God Holy book- Quran Worship in mosques – temples Mecca – holiest city

5 Pillars of Islam… The Creed - "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah" Prayer - Prayer is done five times a day, said facing the direction of Mecca, and

a weekly prayer on Friday.  Daily prayers are said while rising, at noon, mid-afternoon, after sunset and before retiring to bed.  The weekly prayer is usually offered at mid-day in public worship in a mosque.

Fasting - during the ninth month of the Muslim year, Ramadan.  A Muslim must not take any food or drink from dawn until sunset.  At night, this time is a great feast/festival.  (There are exceptions - old people, sick, young children)

The Hajj - a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.  Every Muslim is expected to do this at least once in their lifetime - unless illness or poverty make this impossible. Then they go to the great mosque to kiss the Black Stone in the eastern corner of the Ka'aba.  They make seven trips around the Ka'aba (the first three running, the rest walking). On the ninth day of the hajj, the Muslims travel 12 miles to Mt. Arafat where continuous prayer is offered from noon to sunset.

Almsgiving - Muhammad believed that his followers should give to God and to the poor.  Giving is based on income: a Muslim is expected to give about 2 1/2% of his yearly income.

Cultures & Lifestyles…. Religion

Religion influences the language, arts, government and lifestyles of the people

Very important in this region The majority of the people

follow Islam Even though Christianity and

Judaism began in this region, only a small percentage of the population follow Judaism or Christianity

Most Jews live in Israel Cyprus and Lebanon have

large Christian populations

Cultures & Lifestyles….

Languages The major

language spoken is Arabic

Hebrew is official language of Israel

Meeting Food Needs…. Because a lot of the

land is desert, producing enough food is always an issue

Agriculture Only a small portion of

land is good for crops or grazing

Yet a large percentage of people work in agriculture (especially in poorer countries)

Meeting Food Needs….

Livestock Cattle and sheep

are another source of food

Fishing Along the seas,

fishing is done

Industrial Growth…. Most important natural

resource is petroleum (oil)

Oil has brought wealth to many countries in this region

Some countries have developed industries that use petrochemicals- products derived from petroleum or natural gas to make fertilizers, medicines, plastics or paints

Most oil is exported in crude form to industrialized countries to refine

Less than 5% of the oil produced is refined in Southwest Asia and North Africa

Natural gas has helped to advance the region by: Powering various industries Promoting economic growth

Provided jobs Improved standard of

living

OPEC…. OPEC stands for Organization of Petroleum

Exporting Countries Began in 1960 OPEC is considered a cartel - a group of

producers who get together to set prices and determine production OPEC’s ability to control the price of oil is not as great as it

used to be But OPEC still has considerable impact on the price of oil by

controlling the supply of oil OPEC countries produce 40% of the world’s oil and

have 2/3 of the world’s oil reserves

The purpose of OPEC is to: Give these countries greater control over the

price and production of oil Determine the best way to protect the interests

of the member countries Design ways to make sure oil prices remain stable Give a steady income to the member countries

from oil OPEC’s official language is English

Although most of the member countries speak Arabic

http://www.opec.org/home/

11 Member Countries….

Algeria Indonesia Iran Iraq Kuwait Libya Nigeria Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Venezuela

Service Industries…. Service industries - business that provides a

service instead of making goods (examples – banking, insurance, tourism)

These industries are important to the economies too

Example: In Bahrain, banking, real estate, and insurance

industries provide more than 60% of the GDP Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the value of all

goods and services created in a country in a year

Tourism Millions of tourists

travel to see the ancient historical places (pyramids, Holy Lands, Mecca etc)

The violence in this region has hurt the tourism industry

Environment…. 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have clean

water to drink 2/3 of people must find water outside of their

homes In the U.S. people use approximately 300 billions

of water everyday Since a lot of North Africa and SW Asia are

deserts, providing enough freshwater for drinking and irrigation is difficult

They get water from rivers, oases, and wells Water comes from aquifers – underground layers

of porous rocks, gravel, or sand that contain water

Need for Water…. Major rivers

Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates provide water for some countries

Jordan River provides water for Israel “Great Human-Made River”

Found in Libya Multibillion dollar pipeline to carry water from two large

aquifers beneath the Sahara Desert to farm areas The pipeline has a 13 foot diameter Scientists worry the man made river may:

Drain aquifers Draw in saltwater from the Mediterranean Sea

Desalination…. Desalination – the removal of salt from seawater Used during World War II to provide fresh drinking water

United States’ naval ships had simple desalination units that boiled salt out of the seawater

Today, desalination plants around the world produce about 3.4 billion gallons a freshwater a day

First, used in Israel in this region Desalination is very expensive It has moved beyond just distillation - the boiling and condensing of

water The price has come down but it is still too expensive for many

countries Some of the oil rich countries can afford to use these plants

Aswan High Dam…. In the 1950s, President

Nasser of Egypt wanted to build a huge dam on the Nile River at Aswan

The purpose of the dam was to:

Control the Nile’s floods Improve irrigation Supply electricity Create the world’s largest

artificial lake for the fishing industry

The dam provided 50% of electrical power and opened 3 million acres to irrigation

Aswan High Dam… But, the dam had negative effects on the

environment: Before the dam was built, the Nile flooded along

the river banks Now, the soil gets trapped on one side of the dam Farmers have to use expensive fertilizers on their

land The dam also prevents the annual (yearly) floods

from washing away salt from the soil Increases in diseases and deaths caused by

parasites in the Nile River (used to be washed away into the Mediterranean Sea)

Persian Gulf War….

Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990

United Nations demanded Iraq withdraw from Kuwait

Iraq refused An international

effort, led by the U.S., attacked the Iraqi soldiers

Persian Gulf War…. Before the Iraqis

withdrew, they set fire to a large number of Kuwait’s oil wells

Huge black clouds of smoke polluted the area

Iraqi troops dumped 250 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf

Oil spilled for 350 miles in the Gulf

Current Issues…. Terrorist

organizations: al Qaeda, Taliban

Modern vs. traditional values

Political instability Gap between rich and

poor

Underdeveloped countries

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Refugees Violence

Depletion of resources

ADD THIS INFO IN!!!! Arab / Israeli Wars  Who wins and who does the US support? Arab Response  Oil Embargo  Formation of OPEC Iran - 1950s - 1970s  The US supports the "Shah" of Iran 1978  People protest against the Shah / he leaves the country and takes $$$$$ The Shah comes to the US  "they" want him back Ayatollah Khomeini takes over in Iran Iran "students" take the US Embassy 11/4/1979 and all 50 Americans in it as hostage for 444

days Also while Carter is President  the Camp David Accords M. Begin / Israel and A. Sadat / Egypt sign an agreement to stop fighting  many were upset on

both sides. 1979  Soviet Union invades Afghanistan US Response by President Carter Grain Embargo & Boycott the 1980 Olympics (the Soviets boycott the 1984 Olympics in LA) In 1980  Reagan defeats Carter for the Presidency / Iran releases the US hostages / RR lifts the

Grain Embargo