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Middle East
CHAPTER16,17, & 18
Objectives
 Students will understand that physical geography
has made much of this region rich in oil and natural
gas
 The climate of the region has made water scarce
 The region is home to different ethnic and religious
groups
Physical Features
Arabia and Iraq
 Arabia is the Arabian
Peninsula and is surrounded
by water on three side
 The Persian Gulf separates
the peninsula from the rest of
Asia
 North of the Arabian
Peninsula is Iraq
 These countries are part of
Asia
Arabia and Iraq Physical Features
 Most of the Arabian
Peninsula lies on the
Arabian plate
 A plate is a block of rock
and soil
 The Tigris and
Euphrates River lie in
the northern Arabian
Plate
Israel and its Neighbors: Physical Features
 Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,
Golan Heights, West Bank,
and Gaza Strip are in
Southwest Asia
 The West Bank and Gaza Strip
are Palestinian Territories
 These countries lie on the
Mediterranean Sea where
Africa and Asia meet.
Israel and its Neighbors: Physical Features
 The Dead Sea is the lowest
place on Earth (1,378 feet
below sea level)
 The southern part of this
area is known as the
Fertile Crescent
 The Fertile Crescent is a
region that stretches from
the Mediterranean east
through Mesopotamia
(modern Iraq) to Persian
Gulf
Iran, Turkey, and Cyprus: Physical Features
 Turkey is on both Europe and
Asia and is made up of the
peninsula called Anatolia
 The Black Sea is to the north
and the Mediterranean Sea is to
the south
 The Bosporus strait splits
Europe from Asia and makes
Istanbul an important trading
port
 A strait is a narrow body of
water that cuts through land,
connecting two larger bodies of
water
Iran, Turkey, and Cyprus: Physical Features
 Iran and Turkey are both
mountainous
 Cyprus is an island below
Turkey
 Turkey experiences many
earthquakes
Climate
 Most of Arabia and Iraq are
desert


Few plants and animals
The mountains or Yemen and Iraq
get enough water for farming
 Most people live around the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
 Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the
United Arab Emirates
desalinate water (remove salt
from the water)
Climate
 Israel and its neighbors have
three kinds of climates



The Mediterranean coast gets most
rainfall and has a Mediterranean
climate (summers are hot and dry
and mild winter months)
The east is in a rain shadow (dry
area that forms behind a highland
that captures rain and snow) This
area is a desert
The rest of the area is dry but has
enough rain for some plants and
animals
Climate
Iran
 In the northwest,
summers are warm and
winters are below
freezing
 It is warmer farther
south
 Dust storms are caused
by shamal: summer
winds
Climate
Cyprus and Turkey
 Cyprus has a Mediterranean climate
 Coastal areas in Turkey receive more rainfall
Natural Resources
Oil
 Fossil fuels are formed
under pressure from the
remains of living things
 Many fold traps lie below
the Persian Gulf and Tigris
and Euphrates River Valleys
 This has given Saudi Arabia
the world’s largest oil
reserves
Natural Resources
 Iraq and Arabia depend on oil
and natural gas to pay for their
needs
 Iran also has large deposits of
fossil fuels

85% of government’s income from oil
 Oil spills have killed plant and
animal life
 Turkey has coal and produces
hydroelectric power
Natural Resources
Water
 Arabia and Iraq use oil money to build water facilities or
desalination plants
 Fresh water is also scarce in Israel and its surrounding areas

Lebanon is the only country with plenty of fresh water
 Israel relies on aquifers: underground layers of rock where
water collects
 Wells and pumps bring the water to the surface
 Iran, Turkey, and Cyprus have built qanats or tunnels to bring
water to villages
Conflict Over Water
 The Euphrates flows from
Turkey through Syria to
Iraq
 If Turkey uses too much
water it limits the supply
for other countries
 Israel uses water from
under the West Bank,
which is home to many
Palestinians.
 Many fear water shortages
could lead to war.
Ethnicity and Religion
 Arab Muslims make up the
majority (more than half) of
Arabia and Iraq
 Arabs dominate politics
 In Qatar, Kuwait, and the
United Arab Emirates, a
majority of the people are not
Arabs

They are foreigners from India, Sri
Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and
Philippines
 Kurds live in a self-governing
area of Northern Iraq
Ethnicity and Religion
 Islam is split into two groups: Sunni and Shias
 Most people in Arabia are Sunnis
 There is conflict between Sunni, Shias, and Kurds in
the area
Israel and its Neighbors
 This area is made up of Jews and Arabs
 Most of Israel's people are Jewish and speak Hebrew
 Arabs speak Arabic and live in Palestinian
Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria
Ethnicity and Religion
Differences Among Arabs
 Druze Muslims follow a religion
that combines Islam with other
teachings
 Alawites follow a form of Islam
similar to Shia Islam
 Most Arabs in Israel, Gaza Strip,
and West Bank are Sunni
 Israeli Arabs consider themselves
Palestinians
 Israeli and Arab neighbors have
fought many wars.
Ethnicity and Religion
Turkey, Iran, and Cyprus
 97% of people in these
countries are Muslim
Turkey
 Turkey does not recognize
separate ethic groups
 Turkey banned the
expression of Kurdish
culture
 Most people in Turkey are
Sunni Muslim
Ethnicity and Religion
Iran
 Half of the people in Iran
are ethnic Persians
 Almost all people in Iran
are Muslim
 Some Iranians practice
Zoroastrianism: a religion
that dates back to ancient
times
Ethnicity and Religion
Cyprus
 People in Cyprus are
called Cypriots
 75% are Greek-speaking
Christians
 The rest are Turkishspeaking Muslims
 There has been fighting
between the two groups