The Eastern Mediterranean CHAPTER 20 The Eastern Mediterranean Section 1: Natural Environments Section 2: History and Culture Section 3: The Region Today

Section 1 Natural Environments Objectives: What landforms and rivers are found in the eastern Mediterranean region? What climates, biomes, and natural resources does the region have?

Section 1 Natural Environments Landforms and rivers: Turkey—plains and hills; two mountain ranges; Anatolian Plateau coastal plain in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel rift valley, edged with hills Jordan River, flows into Dead Sea Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Climates, biomes, and natural resources: Section 1 Natural Environments Climates, biomes, and natural resources: arid, semi-arid, and Mediterranean climates distance from sea, elevation, rain shadows—factors in temperature and rainfall evergreen forests once common, now mainly gone Syrian Desert—scarce plant and animal life valuable minerals and energy—coal, copper, iron ore, potash, magnesium

World Geography Today 4/25/2017 Section 2 History and Culture Objectives: How have various peoples and empires influenced the eastern Mediterranean? How did the modern state of Israel develop? What are the peoples and cultures of the region like? Chapter 20

Peoples and empires: Section 2 History and Culture Several ancient empires occupied the area: Egyptian, Hittite, Persian. Hebrews established kingdom and Judaism. Romans exiled Jews, then spread Christianity. Byzantine Empire brought growth of Eastern Orthodox Church. Arab Muslim armies occupied the area and spread Islam. Crusades brought clashes between Muslims and Christians. Ottoman Empire ruled the region by 1600s.

Development of Israel: Section 2 History and Culture Development of Israel: Zionist movement of late 1800s called for Jewish homeland. Jews moved to Palestine after World War I. Migration increased in 1930s and 1940s. U.N. divided Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947. Israel declared independence in 1948. Israel gained territories through war—West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights.

Peoples and cultures: Section 2 History and Culture main peoples—Arabs, Jews, Turks, Kurds religions—Islam, Judaism, Christianity Members of same ethnic group may follow different religions—e.g., Christian Arabs. Cultural identity may be distinct from religious identity. urban-rural divide in Turkey—modern versus traditional customs Jewish religious law influences Israeli culture. Multiethnic influences in Israel reflect different national origins.

Section 3 The Region Today Objectives: On what activities do the eastern Mediterranean economies rely? What are the cities of the region like? What challenges do the people of the region face?

Section 3 The Region Today Economic activities: heavy reliance on agriculture; irrigation important strong industrial base in Israel—high-tech, diamond-cutting, chemicals carpets—key Turkish industry tourism—major industry

Cities: rapid growth cramped housing, traffic congestion Section 3 The Region Today Cities: rapid growth cramped housing, traffic congestion ancient city centers, with souks newer areas around center war damages in some cities—Nicosia, Beirut

Challenges: status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Kurdish conflict Section 3 The Region Today Challenges: status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Kurdish conflict Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey Cyprus division Palestinian refugees in Jordan environmental issues—water scarcity, overgrazing