Chapter 18.3 The Northeast (Turkey, Iran, Iraq)

The People 1. The people in the northern middle east originally migrated from central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula 2. The religion of Islam is a dominant aspect of the cultures in this region.

The People 3. Turks- live on Anatolia in the country of Turkey. At one time were called “Ottomans”. 4. Iranians- live in Iran, which was once called “Persia”. They believe they are descendants of the Aryans (Indo-Europeans)

The People 5. Arabs- People who have ethnic ties to the Arabian Peninsula are called this. In Iraq, you find 2 types of Islamic people: Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims. 6. Kurds- Live in North Iraq, East Turkey, and West Iran in the mountains. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims and speak Kurdish

Distribution of People 7. The countries in this region are some of the most densely populated in the world. 8. Turkey and Iran have more than 70 million people and 30 million people live in Iraq.

Early Civilizations 9. Many early civilizations arose out of “Mesopotamia”, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers 10. Due to Mesopotamia’s rich soil, it allowed for early people to farm instead of hunt/gather.

Early Civilizations 11. The people of Mesopotamia wrote in Cuneiforms, a wedged shaped writing. 12. Some of the great later civilizations that came out of Mesopotamia were the “Persian Empire” and later to the north the “Ottoman Empire”

Modern People 13. The countries of western Europe controlled large parts of this region from the 1800s to 1900s. 14. Many wars, like World War 1, changed the boundaries and who controlled these countries.

Era of Oil 15. Oil was discovered in this region in the 1900s, eventually bring great wealth (to a select few) to the region.

Era of Oil 16. In the 1950s, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela (in S. America) formed O.P.E.C: the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries 17. This group regulates the production of oil to keep prices high, so they can make more money

Culture: Language 18. Most people who live in Islamic countries speak Arabic 19. In Iran, they speak Persian or Farsi 20. In Turkey, they speak Turkish

Culture: Religion 21. Shia Muslims (Islam) are the most populous religious group in Iraq and Iran. 22. In Turkey, the majority of those who practice Islam are Sunni.

Culture: Education 23. Iraq- Education is required through grade 6 24. Turkey- required to go to school until grade nine and have a literacy rate of 87%. 25. Iran- before the revolution, their literacy rate was 50%. After it rose to 77%

Read from 452-454 and answer the questions below on the back of your paper. Restate the question in your response. How has Iran tried to deal with the overcrowding in their cities? P. 452 How did the Sumerians manage to irrigate (water) their crops? P.452  What revolutionary thing did the Phoenicians develop? P.452 How long did the Ottoman Empire rule? P. 452  What caused OPEC to put an embargo on their oil? P. 453