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Chapter 17
The Persian Gulf
Bahrain
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
I. Saudi Arabia
 Largest Middle Eastern country and most influential
 Greatest oil exporter in the world
 Birthplace of Islam, home to many Muslim holy sites
 In the highlands of the west: Mecca and Medina
 Arabian Peninsula- surrounded by Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea
 90% desert, no permanent rivers and no lakes
Islam
 Pillars of Islam
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Declare that Allah is God and that Muhammed is his messenger
Pray 5 times a day
Give alms to the poor
Fast during the month of Ramadan
Make a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)
 Mosque- every city has at least one, criers call people to pray
 Mecca- where Muhammed was born
 Koran- Muslim holy book
 Medina- where Muhammed fled after being run out of Mecca, raised an
army in Medina and defeated Mecca 8 years later, Muhammed is buried in
Medina
 Sunni- 80% of Muslims, means “well trodden path”, conservative, follow
the Caliphs- appointed successors of Muhammed
 Shiites- 20%, honor the Iman- the hereditary successor of Muhammed, 4
countries with Shiites majority (Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan)
 Women Veils must be worn in public, not allowed to socialize with men other than
relatives, not many job opportunities
 No PDA- can get arrested for holding hands!
Saudi Arabia
 Rub al Khali- southern desert, larger than California, 3rd largest in the
world, called the Empty Quarter
 Riyadh- capital, built by an oasis in the Nejd plateau
 Discovered oil in 1936 on the Eastern coast- created new economy
 Rulers are descendants of Ibn-Saud who conquered the land and created the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 No constitution
 Only bound by Islamic law interpreted by Wahhabi leaders (noted for strict
following of Islam)
 Saud family lives very lavish life, recently fueled antigovernment movements
II. Small States on the Arabian
Peninsula
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Yemen
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Oman
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UAE
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Qatar
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Bahrain
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Kuwait
Yemen
 Occupies the western corner of Arabian Peninsula
 Most people are very poor, lowest literacy rate, life
expectancy and per capita GDP in the Middle East
 History of civil war has held it back
 Sanaa- capital
 Land along the Red Sea, once known as Sheba, Queen of
Sheba journeyed from here to visit Solomon, all the riches of
that time have been used up
Oman
 One of the hottest countries in the world- daytime temps
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reach 130*F
Wear long white robes and turbans to protect themselves
from blowing sand in the Rub al Khali desert
Government is a sultanate– Sultan= Muslim monarch
Capital- Muscat, is on the coast
Controls Cape Musandam, on the narrowest part of the Gulf
of Oman
United Arab Emirates
 Made up of 7 small states with their own traditions and princes
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(emirs)
Retain sovereignty over local affairs, but are now combined in one
country
The 7 emirs form the Supreme Council and appoint a president as
head of state
Richest country in the Persian Gulf, prosperity has brought in lots of
immigrants
Capital: Abu Dhabi
Most populous city: Dubai, home to the world’s tallest building Burj
Khalifa (2,717 ft)
Qatar
Government type: Emirate
Capital: Doha
Grown rich from oil
More than 2/3 of the population are foreign-born
On a peninsula in the Persian Gulf, most of the land is
desert, some salt flats in the south
 People use the process of desalination to be able to drink
the sea water
 Held main headquarters for the US-led invasion of Iraq in
2003
 Also home to the controversial TV station- Al Jazeera
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Bahrain
 Consists of one large island and several small islands
 Government type- Emirate
 Capital- Manama
 Many natural springs give Bahrain a resource that is rare in the Middle
East: Fresh water
 The ancient port of Dilmun has 4000 yr. old ruins
 Ancient Sumerians said this was where Noah settled after the flood
Kuwait
 Uninhabited until 1710, when Arab settlers discovered water near the present day
capital: Kuwait City
 Presence threatened by Saudi Arabia and Iraq
 Joined OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) in 1960
 Decides how much oil to produce to control the prices and influence Western policies
 Persian Gulf War: In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait claiming they had exceeded
OPEC limits and that it was really a territory of Iraq, UN coalition used “all
necessary means” to free Kuwait and protect the flow of oil, not a clear victory- left
Saddam Hussein in power
 Still heavily dependent on other countries – imports all food
III. Iraq
 Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the most important rivers in the Middle East
 Start in Turkey, flow through Iraq
 Area in between called Mesopotamia (land between the rivers), home to early
civilizations: Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria
 Capital: Baghdad- associated with Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar, famous for
being the setting for popular tales “Aladdin” “Ali Baba and the forty thieves”
 Saddam Hussein often compared himself to and strove to be like Nebuchadnezzar
 Kurds live in the northern highlands
 In ancient times, this was the site of Nineveh
 Great empire of northern Iraq: Assyrian Empire
Read Baghdad pg. 443
IV. Iran
 Iran is an ancient kingdom- the people are
Persian not Arab
 Persian Empire ruled all of modern day Iran
 Iran was called Persia until 1935
 Tehran is the capital and largest city
 12 million people, largest city in Persian Gulf too
 Used to be ruled by a shah- a hereditary
leader, but in 1979 radical Shiite Muslims
overthrew the old ways and instituted an
“Islamic Republic”
 Continue to trouble the world- talk about wiping
Israel off the face of the map
 Defied UN efforts to prevent nuclear weapons
Religion in Iran
 Shiite Muslims are the majority
 Government required religious affiliation in 1993, uses that
information to persecute Christians
 Zoroastrianism- religion of the Persian Empire
 Still practiced by a minority
 Worship the god Ahura Mazda
 Baha’ism
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Based on writings by 2 renegade Shiites
Promote the unity of all religions
Offer no salvation from sin, their god is unknowable
Headquarters: Haifa, Israel