Middle East

NOTES
What do we already know about the
Middle East ?
 What do we already know about the Middle East ?
Pre-Test
1. T/F- The U.S. is currently fighting a war in the Middle East.
2. Which country in this region is among the closest allies of the US?
3. Into which middle eastern country did the US go to war after 9-11-
01?
4. T/F- The international community is concerned with protecting
waterways in the middle east.
5. What middle eastern city is significant to Jews, Muslims, and
Christians?
6. T/F- All Muslim women cover their faces.
7. T/F- You can ski in the Middle East.
 WHAT WE ARE GOING TO LEARN:
 how physical and cultural geography shape the
environment, nations, and people of the Middle East
I. Introduction
A. The term Middle East refers to the region which is between
Europe and the Far East.
• The Middle East is only 'middle' in relation to Europe.
• A very euro-centric term!
• Today, this region is also referred to as the Near East or
Southwest Asia.
• Due to religion, language and culture, North Africa is
also included in this area.
• The Middle East consists of 19 countries and almost
350 million people.
• The major languages are Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew,
Kurdish, Persian, Greek, and Armenian.
• The three major religions are Islam, Christianity, and
Judaism.
B. The Middle East stands at the crossroads to three
continents:

1. Africa

2. Asia

3. Europe

Besides the location, the

region is the crossroad
between
Faiths… has led
to conflict!
C. The Middle East has served as a melting pot
for the world.
• Due to the location, traders have passed
through on land and over seas to
transport goods.
• Along with traders, this area has been
conquered by numerous groups of
people.
• All of these groups gradually combined
to formulate what is considered Middle
East.

D. The location and the vast amount of oil

reserves, has given the Middle East a strategic
importance today.
Why is oil so Important???
What would happen without it?
ARAB MUSIC…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF-kgZf2nFI
II. Regions
A. There are 6 geographical regions of the Middle East.

Region Advantage Disadvantage

Northern Africa Maghreb region is Atlas mountains block
located at the the rain moving
Mediterranean Sea across the region and
and serves as the created the Sahara
access point to the Desert. Water is
Atlantic Ocean. scarce within the
region.
Region Advantage Disadvantage
Arabian Oasis – The area has a small
Peninsula Fertile desert area which population due to the
can support plants and lack to water. However,
animals. there are some areas
that are able to sustain
a limited degree of
It also contains a large
amount of oil. The agriculture.
region is the birthplace of
Islam and the holy city of
Mecca.
Fertile Crescent The area is known as The area has very few
"The Cradle of natural barriers and has
Civilization". The rich been conquered many
soil and abundant water times. Although
has made it a major plentiful water is a
population center. benefit for farming,
flooding also occurs.
Region Advantage Disadvantage
Nile Valley The Nile River is The soil does have good
protected by deserts drainage but salinity is a
which make it difficult to problem.
conquer the region. It is
Red – Water also heavily populated. Salinity –
Annual flooding is
Containing salt.
Blue – Building predictable and
dependable.
White - Desert Fertilizing the land is an
option with fresh dirt and
manure. However, most
of the poor farmers
cannot afford it. The
densely populated area
has pollution, disease and
sanitation issues as well.
Region Advantage Disadvantage

Iranian Plateau The birthplace of several A dry region with a low

empires. population.
Region Advantage Disadvantage
Northern Tier Connects Europe and Some have tried to
Asia conquer it due to it’s
strategic importance!
Turkey has fertile soil
in the Anatolian Plateau -to WHOM?
due to surrounding
mountains- good for
farming
Strategic location-
controls access to the
Black Sea
 Which is missing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro8m4c-o4bc
B. There is several Islamic nations that are located in the former
Soviet Union. They are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD
OF THIS REGION…
• Disputed regions &
Violence?
– Sochi?
– Boston?

• Energy?
• Movies?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_I3tIjztj8&li
st=RD4_I3tIjztj8#t
=71
Shade the following regions
accordingly:
• Maghreb- Brown
• Nile River Valley- Blue
• Arabian Peninsula- Yellow
• Fertile Crescent- Green
• Iranian Plateau- Orange
• Northern Tier- Red
Shade the following regions
accordingly:
• Maghreb- Brown
• Nile River Valley- Blue
• Arabian Peninsula- Yellow
• Fertile Crescent- Green
• Iranian Plateau- Orange
• Northern Tier- Red
 1/30/14
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/29/studentnews/sn-curriculum-thu/index.html
Syria
 WHAT WE ARE GOING TO LEARN:
 Understand how the physical geography has impacted the
people of the Southwest Asia (aka Middle East) and how they
have adapted to it to meet their needs
III. Geographical Features- WATER!
A. The key feature of the Middle East is water. There is an old saying from
the region, "Where there is water, there is life". The population
density increases around sources of water. In Cairo, there are almost
350,000 people per square mile. NYC has almost 66,000 and
Pittsburgh has almost 7,000.
The Mighty Nile River:
“Longest River in the World”
 EGYPT: The “Gift of the Nile”
Nile Delta

Annual Nile Flooding

95% of the Egyptian

people live on 5% of the
land!
 Aswan High Dam, Egypt

Hydroelectric
Power Plant
Suez Canal

Completed by the British in 1869

 The Tigris & Euphrates
River System

Mesopotamia:
”Land Between the Two
Rivers”

Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

The
Jordan
River
System:

Israel &
Jordan--A Fight
Over
Water Rights?
 Dead Sea:2,300’
Lowest Point on Earth
below sea level

Highest
Salt
Content
(33%)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTcyACmiaho
Wadis – Instant Springs http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOhnzJ5pwo
 WHAT WE ARE GOING TO LEARN:
 Understand how the physical geography has impacted the
people of the Southwest Asia (aka Middle East) and how they
have adapted to it to meet their needs
B.The Middle East is dominated by two features; mountains
and plateaus.
When you combine these two features desertification is the result.
1. Desertification –
The reduction of plant life due to external factors.
C. Desertification is caused by several reasons.
1. Overgrazing livestock in areas that contain mostly scrub grass.
2. Poor soil that cannot sustain the overuse by the livestock.
3. The mountain affect forces the warm moist air to rise where it then
cools. The moisture which is created then falls on one side of the
mountain.
4. The heavy rainfall may then cause flooding… How does this cause desertification???
5. The Nile River receives flood waters during the rainy seasons.
Geographical Features- Mountains &
Plateaus Caucasus
Mts. .
ts
M
Anatolian rz
Plateau l bu
E
 
Mt s. Iranian
s
Atlas Mts. uru Zagros Plateau
Ta Mts.

He
jaz
Mt
s.
Mountain Ranges in Mid-East

Elburz Mts., Iran Zagros Mts., Iran

Lebanese Mts. Taurus Mts., Turkey

Geographical Features- Deserts

Sinai
Desert Negev
Desert

Libyan Desert Arabian

Desert
Rub
al-Khali
Sahara Desert
Desert Bedouins
Bedouins
A. Traditionally, the people of the
Middle East were nomadic. The Bedouins
tribes used overland caravans to direct
traders through the deserts on camels
and horses. They are famous for
developing the Arabian horse that has
great speed and durability.

B. There are two types of Bedouins.

1. Horizontal Nomads – Follow the
“rains” on “plains”. They travel from wadi to
wadi.
a. Wadi – A river bed which is dry
except during the rainy season.
2. Vertical Nomads – Go up and down the
mountains. They travel up during the dry
season and down during the rainy season.
C. The Bedouins wore a traditional robe, which enabled them to keep
their core temperature low in the desert.
1. Ginutra – Head scarf worn to reduce sand exposure.
2. Agal – Headband
3. Thobe – Robe
4. Besnt – Outer cape that was generally black or brown.
5. Sandals – They enabled the sand to fall in and out
easily.
D. The Bedouins traditionally lived in a black tent.
The color was chosen to absorb heat. The tents would
contain a pillow and a heater for the lower
temperatures at night. Dried cow or goat dung was
burned in the fires at night. They would bathe two
times year.
E.Due to the size of the group, the
Bedouins had to establish marriage
practices to ensure their
continuation.
1. Endogamy – Marrying
someone inside the group.
a. If a group follows endogamy, it
has to be large. The major
problem is the health risks of
marrying someone who is closely
related to you.

2. Exogamy – Marrying someone

outside of the group.
b. Enforced by small groups.
F. The Bedouins make up only 3% of the
population in the Middle East.
Most of them do not still live in the traditional
manner. Instead of horses and camels, today’s
Bedouin owes Jeeps and pick up trucks. Many of the
younger men have been able to find employment in
the army, oil fields, or deliver goods from the desert
to the city. Those who chose to live in the traditional
manner, mainly herd sheep, goats, and camels. The
changing lifestyle of these once nomadic herders and
traders can be seen in the creation of “The Bedouin
Hour” on radio Kuwait.
 Swarms of Desert
Israel Hit By Worst
Locusts!
Locust Plague Since the
1950s!

Locusts Swarm the

Pyramids Complex
at Giza! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Of7FRRVLR4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L19Zh6Injzw
1. According to this article, how
large are desert locust swarms?
2. What detail indicates the
destruction capability of desert
locusts?
3. What has been different about the
desert locusts this year? What is
this attributed to?
Breeding Areas of
Desert Locusts
Rub al-Khali:
“The Empty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwC2I22HBPc

Quarter”
Desert Oases: Water at a
Premium!
Fresh Groundwater Sources
D.Interaction:
Over 90% of the North African and Arabian Peninsulas are deserts
that receive less then 10 inches of yearly rainfall. Settlers had to be inventive in
order to improve the soil for agriculture. Today, modern technology is used to
increase yearly agricultural output.
1. Drip irrigation –
Delivering a measured amount of water to each plant.

Modern Drip
Irrigation System
2. Desalination plants –
Converting water from the surroundings into fresh water.

The sun causes water to

evaporate from surface
sources such as lakes,
oceans, and streams. The
water vapor eventually
comes in contact with
cooler air, where it re-
condenses to form dew or
rain.
This process can be
imitated artificially, and
more rapidly than in
nature, using alternative
sources of heating and
cooling.
Desalinizatio
n
Plants
E. The Middle East has had the benefit of resources. The amount
and the type of resources vary greatly between the countries.
Resources include salt, phosphate, copper and oil. Due to the
differences in resources, there is great disparity between rich and
poor nations.
Some of the countries are trying to solve
other problems with water. WHAT???
HOW???