The Middle East

 What is the Middle East?  Term invented by Europeans  Includes Southwest Asia and often North Africa (because of Islam and use of Arabic language)

 Crossroads of the World  Connects 3 continents  Asia, Europe, Africa  Trade, ideas, inventions of many civilizations spread (i.e. alphabet, religion) Silk Road

 Today  Strategic importance for military  Vital sea routes  Economy  Oil

 1.Northern Tier 2.Arabian Peninsula 3.Fertile Crescent 4.Nile Valley 5.The Maghreb 5 Major Regions

 Northern Tier  Turkey to Iran  Mountains and plateaus  Anatolian Plateau in Turkey: fertile soil, large population  Iranian Plateau: dry, small population

 Arabian Peninsula  Large Plateau  Small Population:  Lack of water  Live around oasis (fertile desert area)  Large amounts of oil  Birthplace of Islam

 Fertile Crescent  Between Mediterranean Sea and Persia Gulf  Large pop. – Rich soil, abundant water  Early civilizations  Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

 Nile Valley  Northeastern Africa  Flooding of Nile predictable and dependable, unlike Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

 The Maghreb  Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia  “Western isle”  Sahara Desert, Atlas Mountains  Most live along coast where there is more rain

 Climate and Resources  Nearly all the region is desert  Adapt due to lack of water  Building irrigation systems  Desalination Animal-powered irrigation, Upper Egypt, circa 1840

 Climate and Resources  Oil is the most valuable resource  Unevenly distributed across Middle East  Economic differences between oil-rich countries and those that lack oil

Where The World’s Oil is Coming From

 What is an Arab?  Anyone whose native language is Arabic  Majority ethnic group  Originally from Arabian Peninsula May Ziade ( ) – writer for the Arabic newspapers, poet, author

  Major languages:  Arabic  Turkish  Hebrew  Kurdish  Farsi  Greek  Armenian Languages

 Religions  Islam  Judaism  Christianity

  Majority are Muslim (practice Islam)  Most Arabs are Muslim  There are non-Arabs who are also Muslim  Large numbers of Christians in Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria Religious Diversity

 Other Ethnic Groups  Turks, Iranians, Kurds  Migrated to the Middle East from other parts of Asia  Own language and traditions Azra Akın – Turkish model, Miss World 2002