North Africa and Southwest Asia (The Middle East)

Be able to locate the following: Countries- Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen Cities- Bagdad, Dubai, Cairo, Istanbul, Mecca, Jerusalem Water Features- Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal

Chapter 6

Terms, Issues and Concepts

Physical region

Deserts: Sahara and Rub al Khali

Desertification

Mountains and river basins: home to the population

Atlas Mountains and the Maghreb

Turkey and Iran

The Nile: Egypt and Sudan

The Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser

Iraq… Mesopotamia

Jordan and Galilee

Human Geography

History

Civilization, Empires and Religions

From Ottoman Empire to secular Turkey

European Imperialism

Algeria and France

WWI and the formation of Modern Middle-East

Zionism and the establishment of Israel

The Arab-Israeli conflict

Intifada

Cold War

Culture

Ethnicity and Language: Arabs, Turks, Persians

Minorities… Kurds, Berbers, etc…

Religion

Islam

Mecca

Sunni majority

Shiite minority… Iran and Iraq

Judaism… Israel

Christianity… remnant populations

Gender issues

Demographics

Population growth

Birth Rates… Total Fertility Rates

Migration… migrant workers

Economics

Traditional Bedouin lifestyle

Oil

OPEC

Oil Embargo

Diversification… Dubai Inc.

Prosperous Israel

Regional disparity of wealth and poverty… GDP

Information… Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya

Political Issues

Democracy (or the dramatic lack of it) in the Middle East

America’s influence… Saudi Arabia and Egypt

The Islamic Revolution in Iran

Ayatollah Khomeini

Hostage Crisis

Iran-Iraq War`

Ironic Iran… student democracy movements

Islamists in regional politics

Algeria, Egypt, Sudan

Sharia

Lebanon and Hezbollah

Israel and the Palestinian question

Gaza and West Bank

Hamas and Fatah

Western Sahara

 Continuing Conflict

Sudan… Darfur and the South

Kurdistan

Terrorism… Al Qaeda

Iraq