The Middle East

YEAR 10 INTERNATIONAL FOODS 2020

 Map of the Middle East

Land Area (Km

Rank Country
Sq)
Countries that make up the Middle East:
1 Saudi Arabia 2,149,690

Turkey, Qatar, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, 2 Iran 1,648,195

Tunisia, Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, 3 Turkey 747,272

4 Yemen 527,968
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait,
5 Iraq 438,317
Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, 6 Oman 309,500
Yemen, and Iran.  7 Syria 185,180

8 Jordan 89,342

United Arab
9 83,600
Emirates
Population:
10 Egypt* 60,000
It has an overall population of 11 Israel 20,273
approximately 300 million people. 12 Kuwait 17,818

13 Qatar 11,586

14 Lebanon 10,452

15 Cyprus 9,251

16 Palestine 6,220

17 Bahrain 765
Why is it called the middle east?

 The term "Middle East" is a phrase originating from the European perspective, they also described Asia as "the
Far East." The Middle East denotes the transcontinental area between Western Asia and Egypt, located north east of
Africa.
 Before the First World War, Asia was divided into 3 parts for reference with its vicinity to Europe:
1.Near East: Ottoman Empire and Balkan Region
2.Middle East: Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan Etc
3.Far East: China, Hong Kong, Japan etc.
Weather in the Middle East

 The climate in the Middle East is pretty consistent throughout the region with only two seasons: winter
(October to April) and summer (May to September) which are jokingly referred to as hot and hotter.

 Rainfall is almost nonexistent as most Middle Eastern

countries consist of semi-arid and desert terrain, although the
countries along the Mediterranean coast and the northern areas
of Iraq, Iran and Turkey experience wet and freezing conditions
in the winter months.
 Summer temps in the Middle East can reach up to 50 degrees
Celsius where even the seawater is a warm, salty soup.
History – WRITING TASK

 Please access the link below:

 https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east
 Using this website, choose 1 topic for example: Persian Gulf War and write a summary in
your class OneNote. Remember you can access this via teams. (You will find a work sheet in
your OneNote under Handouts)
 Your summary should be 2-3 paragraphs long. You may even like to do some further
research to gain a better understanding or add pictures.
 Remember to reference all websites used.
The War on hummus

They call it "The Hummus Wars." Lebanon accused the Israeli people

of trying to steal hummus and make it their national dish,
so hummus became a symbol of all the tension in the Middle East,
follow the links below to find out more.

Give Chickpeas A Chance: Why Hummus Unites, And Divides, The Mi

deast

Hummus, a Middle Eastern dish with an identity crisis

Saudi Arabia

 Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the middle east.

 The flag features an Arabic inscription and a sword. The inscription is
the Islamic creed, or shahada: "There is no god but Allah;
Muhammad is the Messenger of God".
 Religion in Saudi Arabia. Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia and its
law requires all citizens to be Muslims
 Men's traditionally wear a thawb or thobe. It is a long loose shirt made
from cotton. It has long sleeves. The color of a thawb is usually white
because they are worn in summer. In winter Saudis wear colorful wool
thobes.
 Women's traditionally wear It consists of a long dress, an outer cloak
called "abaya", and a scarf called "shayla". Saudi women always cover
their body, sometimes they leave only face and wrists uncovered, and
some women leave only eyes and wrists.
 Food in Saudi Arabia

 Meal times consist of a light breakfast often containing eggs.

 Lunch is the main meal of the day usually roasted or grilled meats served in wraps or with
rice.
 Dinner is often served late at night and is a lighter meal than lunch, it may include
leftovers from lunch, another rice and meat dish, a stew, or a legume dish such as
hummus, accompanied with fruit or salad.
 Consuming alcohol or pork is strictly banned and doing so can result in harsh
punishments
 Saudis drink coffee, tea, and fresh fruit juices throughout the day.
 Dishes are generally served family style, with all diners helping themselves from
communal platters.
 Many dishes are eaten by hand, using bread to roll, dip, or scoop food.
 The left hand, however, is considered impure and is never used for eating or passing
dishes
 Iran

 Iran is the second biggest country by land mass in the Middle East
 Farsi, the official language of Iran, is historically one of the most prominent languages
of the Middle East and extended regions. 
 Islam is practiced by the majority of Iranians and governs their personal, political,
economic and legal lives.
 Typical wedding rituals occur in two stages. The first stage, Aghd, represents the legal
aspect of marriage in Iran, where the bride and groom sign a marriage contract, The
second phase, Jashn-e Aroosi, is the wedding reception, where feasts and celebrations
are held.
 Iran has a long history of fine silk and wool rug weaving, that is why Persian rugs are
internationally known as the most beautiful across the world. Iran produces more rugs
and carpets than all other countries put together.
 Iran has a great art heritage visible in architecture, paintings, calligraphy and poetry.
 Food in Iran

 Iranian breakfast is usually a light meal, the most classic version of which is called noon chaie panir,
meaning “bread, tea, cheese.” 
 The two largest meals of the day are not distinguished in the Persian language both are
called naahaar va shsam. Lunch is eaten around 1pm, and dinner takes place around 8pm. The same
foods are served at lunch and dinner.
 Iranians enjoy layered flavors and long-simmered dishes, so a lot of time goes into preparing
elaborate daily meals.
 Iranians particularly enjoy snacking on nuts, seeds, and fruit
 Iranian social etiquette, called ta’arof, is the practice of everyday politeness that requires extreme
humility.
 One expression of ta’arof is seen in the marketplace, where vendors initially downplay the value of
their products, and may even offer to give them away for free, in order to avoid seeming boastful or
greedy. The proper response to such humility is not acceptance, but protest, and offer of payment.
 Similarly, diners are expected to refuse initial offers of hospitality, particularly of drinks or food.
When the host offers a second time, guests can accept. Initial refusals are seen simply as the first
volley in the social dance of ta’arof.
 Turkey

 Third biggest country in the Middle East

 Football (soccer) is a favourite sport in Turkey; introduced to the region in the late 19th century.
 Turkey has a rich tradition of folk dancing with performances at all social occasions, from
weddings and celebrations held for young men leaving for military service, to national and
religious festivals, or local festivities.
 Religion & Islam in Turkey. Turkey has been home to all three great revealed religions: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam for centuries.
 99% of Turkey's people today are Muslim
 On 25 April 1915, the Anzacs landed around Ari Burnu on the western side of the Gallipoli
peninsula with the loss of 5,000 casualties. The landing site became known as Anzac Cove. The
25th of April is now known as ANZAC day in Australia, New Zealand and in Turkey.
 Gallipoli for the Turks was symbolised by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who was one of the
commanders on the ground. He later emerged as the heroic founding Father of the Republic of
Turkey and Gallipoli became synonymous with being the birthplace of modern Turkey.
 Food in Turkey

 Turkey’s cuisine reflects the influence of Greek, Arab, and Persian ingredients and cooking
techniques.
 Sharing boarders with both Europe and the Middle East, Turkey is at the center of major
historical trade routes, so Turkish cuisine combines some of the best elements of both the
East and West.
 In Turkey, breakfast is a slow and social meal that is considered the most important of the
day in spite of the fact that it is not the largest
 The main dinner course consists of meat (usually lamb) and is served with soup, salad,
and pilav.
 Gozleme is a traditional savoury Turkish flatbread or pastry filled with meat, spinach, feta
and lots of herbs.
 Dinner is often followed by a dessert of fresh fruit.
 Turkish sweets include baklava (phyllo dough, honey, and pistachios), lokum (a nougat also
known as Turkish delight), and kaystatls (candied apricots stuffed with nuts and kaymak).
 Lebanon

 Lebanon, particularly its coastal region, was the site of some of the oldest human settlements in the
world
 In the middle east, Lebanon is the only country that lacks a desert in the Middle East
 During its history, Lebanon has been under the of Roman, Persian, Greek, Arab, Ottoman, and,
French rule.
 Men who are well known to one another often greet each other with three kisses to alternating cheeks,
as do women greeting other women. However, it is not appropriate for a man to kiss a woman who is a
non-relative.
 The traditional costume of women of any class consists of a long dress (usually with long sleeves), a
short jacket made from satin, silk or cotton, with minimal embroidery and appliqué, a cloak or scarf
to cover the head and body, and sometimes baggy trousers
 Male national clothing of Lebanon usually consists of baggy trousers, a shirt, a vest, jacket or cloak, a
belt, a headdress, and shoes. It often is multilayered. Dark colors are predominating though the colors
of festive costumes are much brighter
 Food in Lebanon

 Much like other Middle Eastern countries the main meal of the day is usually served
around 2pm lunch and dinner menus are more or less interchangeable
 Unlike people in other predominantly Arab countries, Lebanese usually use Continental
table manners, holding the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand.
 Many dinners include numerous dishes, and guests are expected to try them all. Second
and even third helpings are considered a compliment to the host, so the wise guest takes
smaller portions for the first helping.
 Many Lebanese adults drink beer, wine, or arak with meals, although those who more
strictly follow Islamic customs avoid alcohol. Children often
enjoy limoonada (lemonade), fresh fruit juices, or jellab (a soft drink made from
raisins). Milk is rarely consumed as a beverage. 
 Quiz

You will find a quiz assignment for you to complete in your class Microsoft Teams.
 You can find these
This weeks recipes recipes on SEQTA and
OneNote!
 References

 https://www.atozworldfood.com/saudi-arabia/did-you-know.html
 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-largest-countries-in-the-middle-east.html
 http://nationalclothing.org/middle-east/33-saudi-arabia/45-traditional-clothing-of-saudi-arabia-men-in-white,-women-in-black.html
 https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/07/18/483715410/give-chickpeas-a-chance-why-hummus-unites-and-divides-the-mideast
 https://www.universaltraveller.com.au/destinations/middle-east/weather
 https://www.globalizationpartners.com/2015/12/03/iranian-culture-and-tradition/
 https://www.atozworldfood.com/iran/national-cuisine.html
 https://turkeytravelplanner.com/Religion/index.html
 https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/04/24/3744369.htm
 https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-gallipoli-campaign
 https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/turkish-gozleme-lamb/
 https://www.britannica.com/place/Lebanon/Climate#ref23393
 http://nationalclothing.org/middle-east/44-lebanon/83-national-costume-of-lebanon-sleeves-of-traditional-female-dresses-can-be-attached-and-detached.html
 https://www.atozworldfood.com/lebanon/daily-meals.html