Leading countries according to GDP (how rich they are)

• Kuwait• United Arab Emirates• Qatar• Israel

Leading countries according to Land size

• Algeria• Saudi Arabia• Libya

Leading countries according to population

• Iran• Turkey• Egypt

Physical Characteristics•Middle East 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

• 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.

Sahara desert

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

• Three main mountain ranges–1. Atlas Mountains in northern

Algeria and Morocco–2. Taurus Mountains in southern

Turkey–3. Zagros Mountains in western

Iran

• 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

–Examples :•Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf•Strait of Hormuz•Arabian Sea•Red Sea

• 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

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

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

• 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)

Oasis

• Label each country in BLACK• Label each capital and city of importance

in RED and use the proper symbol• Capital• City of Importance

• Label each sea, river and ocean in BLACK and color them BLUE.• Label each desert in GREEN and color

them YELLOW.• Label each mountain BROWN and use a

triangle.

Economic Characteristics• The area has a heavy reliance

on primary economic activities such as oil drilling, agriculture and herding/grazing

• The area is the home of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)•Many countries in the area still

belong today •Major producers of the world’s oil• Provide large oil revenues

• Positive effects--jobs, revenue, position of power

• Negative effects--reliance on one industry, pollution, unequal distribution of wealth

•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

• Positive effects of the Aswan High dam–Controls flooding, recreation

areas, power• Negative effects of the Aswan high

Dam–land losing fertility, lost homes

when dam built, disease

Benefit

Problem

• 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

• 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)

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

• 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

• All but three of the countries are Arab nations and they use the Arabic language.

• Turkey, Iran and Israel are the non-Arab countries

• North Africa and Southwest Asia are the birthplace to three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. • All three claim similar holy places

and the dominant group has changed over the years.

• Since 1949, the region has been in conflict over the area known as PALESTINE. This area is present day Israel.

•Much of the region has a nomadic lifestyle

• NOMADIC-to wander from place to place behind a food source or for other reasons

• The art of the region reflects the diversity of the religions;• stained glass, geometric tiles,

calligraphy, mosaics, and prayer rugs

Prayer Rugs

Stained Glass/Mosaics

Cities as centers of trade and culture

• Baghdad, Iraq• Cairo, Egypt• Istanbul, Turkey• Jerusalem, Israel•Mecca, Saudi Arabia• Tehran, Iran

Cultural Landscape•Mosques, minarets• Church of the Holy Sepulcher• Hagia Sophia• bazaars, sugs•Western Wall (of Jerusalem)

• Dome of the Rock• Kaaba• Pyramids• Oil rigs•walled cities

Oil Rigs

Kaaba

Dome of the Rock

Hagia Sophia

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Pyramids

Western Wall

Western Wall