1. Human Geography Chapters 22 & 23
Southwest Asia
Human Geography
Chapters 22 & 23

2. Leading countries according to GDP
Kuwait
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Israel

3. Leading countries according to Land size
Algeria
Saudi Arabia
Libya

4. Leading countries according to population
Iran
Turkey
Egypt

5. Physical Characteristics
Area is the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia
It has a primarily desert or semi-arid climate
Sahara, Sahel, and steppes are the primary vegetation region

6. Sahara--world’s largest desert, it stretches over most of North Africa and is growing
Sahel--area separating the Sahara from the tropical rainforest of Africa.

7. The Sahel is an area of temperate grassland (steppe) moving into sparse desert scrub-like vegetation

8. Three main mountain ranges
1. Atlas Mountains in northern Algeria and Morocco
2. Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey
3. Zagros Mountains in western Iran

9. Even though this is a dry area, water plays a very large role
There are several large bodies of water which play a major role in world politics

10. Examples :
Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf
Strait of Hormuz
Arabian Sea
Red Sea

11. Other important bodies of water
Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Bosporus Strait, Dardanelles Strait, Nile River (longest in the world), Tigris and Euphrates (home to the world’s first civilization) and the Jordan River

12. The area is also subject to seasonal flooding, alluvial soils, delta regions, oases, and wadis

13. Seasonal flooding--several of the rivers flood regularly (Nile) which deposit rich alluvial soil for farming

14. The desert regions are home to many oases (a place where fresh water makes it possible for life to exist in a dry area) and wadi (a gully or usually dry river bed cut by running water after a downpour)

15. Economic Characteristics
The area has a heavy reliance on primary economic activities such as oil drilling, agriculture and herding/grazing

16. The area is the home of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Many countries in the area still belong today
Major producers of the world’s oil
Provide large oil revenues

17. Positive effects--jobs, revenue, position of power
Negative effects--reliance on one industry, pollution, unequal distribution of wealth

18. Water is the region’s MOST PRECIOUS resource
Aswan High Dam has had positive and negative effects on the region.
Suez Canal enhanced shipping routes in the region

19. There is a great variation in the standard of living in the region.
It ranges from the relatively high to the poverty stricken.
There is also a wide range of per capita income and differing levels of development

20. Trade has been important to the region from the earliest time.
Today regional conflicts and political unrest have affected trade and tourism
The area today has contemporary trade routes (sea lanes)

21. Cultural Characteristics
The area has experienced rapid urbanization
Most modernization has centered around urban areas and more traditional life has continued in the rural areas

22. Large percentage of the population is under the age of 15 due to conflict, disease and the hardships associated with the region.
The population is generally unevenly distributed due to the environment and resources

23. All but three of the countries are Arab nations and they use the Arabic language.
Turkey, Iran and Israel are the non-Arab countries

24. The art of the region reflects the diversity of the religions;
stained glass, geometric tiles, calligraphy, mosaics, and prayer rugs

25. Religious Conflict
Three major world religions consider land in Southwest Asia holy.
Judaism, Christianity, Islam (In order of appearance)
Birthplace of monotheistic religions
Judaisim
Old Testament of Bible, belief in 1 God, Jesus was a holy man, but not the messiah, city of Jerusalem holy
Christianity
Old and New testament of Bible, Belief in 1 God, Jesus was God in human form, the Messiah, city of Jerusalem holy
Islam
Belief in 1 God, Allah, Jesus was a prophet, greatest prophet was Mohammed, who was visited by the Angel Gabriel, holy book is the Koran, city of Mecca holy

26. Sahara desert

27. Oasis

28. Stained Glass/Mosaics

29. Prayer Rugs

30. Oil Rigs

31. Kaaba

32. Dome of the Rock

33. Hagia Sophia

34. Church of the Holy Sepulcher

35. Pyramids

36. Western Wall

37. Western Wall

38. Church of the Visitation
Jerusalem
Church of the Visitation
Golden Gate
From Virtual Tour of Jerusalem at

39. The Great Mosque, around the Ka’aba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

40. Five Pillars of Islam Faith Prayer Charity Fasting Pilgrimage
All beleivers testify to an oath
Prayer
Pray five times per day at specific times, facing Mecca
Charity
Support the less fortunate by giving money
Fasting
During Islamic holy month of Ramadan, don’t eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset
Pilgrimage
All able Muslims must make a pilgrimage or journey to Mecca once in their life.

41. Government Muslim controlled lands were theocracies
Theocratic – government run by religious leaders and religious policies
Though modernizing, some aspects of Muslim culture haven’t changed for centuries due to Islamic law
Codes of decncy, modesty, male and female relationships
Some women are becoming educated and are able to to pursue careers in other nations.

42. The Northeast Mesopotamia
Land in Tigris and Euphrates River valley that was the birthplace of civilization

43. People of the Northeast
Kurds
Ethnic group in Iraq region
Murdered by the thousands by the Iraqi military in the late n1980’s
Genocide
The strategic extermination of a group of people, usually based on ethnic differences
Example - holocaust

44. People of the Northeast
After Mohammed’s death, Muslims divided into two groups
Sunnis
Most in Turkey, Iraq and Afghanistan (83% of all muslims)
Shi’ites
Most live in Iran but some in Iraq and Afghanistan
These groups have clashed over land for decades and continue to do so
Even in Iraq today, the sectarian violence (violence by different sections of the population) essentially divides along Sunni and Shi’ite lines

45. Taliban
In all of the Muslim nations there is a conflict between those who want to be come more modern, and those who want to stay traditional.
Afghanistan is torn by a conflict like this.
Taliban imposed strict traditional rules on people of Afghanistan
They were toppled by US led forces after the 9-11 attacks because they were suspected of supporting the terrorists who did it.