Chapter 21

Physical Geography of Southwest Asia

Harsh and Arid Lands

Section 1:Landforms and Resources

peninsulas:

Arabian and Anatolian

plains and highlands:

most of Arabian Peninsula is

covered by barren plains

with some low hills, ridges,

and wadis

mountains:

Hindu Kush

Zagros

Elburz

water:

Tigris and Euphrates

Jordan River

Dead Sea

resources:

oil and water two most crucial also

have some coal deposits and some

mineral deposits

Section 2:Climate and Vegetation

Southwest Asia is extremely arid. Most areas

receive less than 18 inches of precipitation in a year

deserts:

Rub al-Khali

An-Nafud

Negev

semiarid lands and well-watered coastal lands create

opportunities for various types of vegetation from a small

oasis to pasture land to citrus and olive trees

Section 3:Human-Environment

Interaction

providing precious water:

dams

irrigation systems

including drip irrigation

fossil water

and …

desalinization

oil and natural gas are fossil fuels trapped

in rock and sand. Crude oil needs to be

sent to a refinery to be processed into

more useable products (see diagram on page 498)

Chapter 22

Human Geography of Southwest Asia:Religion, Politics, and Oil

Section 1:The Arabian Peninsula

Islam changes desert culture:

Islam (610 A.D.)

Muhammad

Mecca

Five Pillars of Islam:

Faith: “There is no God but

Allah, and Muhammad is the

Messenger of Allah”

Charity: support the

less fortunate

Prayer: 5 times a day

toward Mecca

Fasting: no eating or

drinking anything between

sunrise and sunset for the

entire holy month of

Ramadan

Pilgrimage: all able Muslims

are expected to make a

pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca at

least once during their

lifetime

modern Arabic life:

lots of mosques

some areas still very

theocratic

oil dominates the

economies – especially in

the OPEC countries

movement into the cities (less farmers, nomads, etc.)

Section 2:The Eastern Mediterranean

Jerusalem is sacred to Judaism, Islam,

and Christianity: religious sites such as –

Western Wall

Dome of the Rock

Mount of Olives

etc.

Whose land is it?

Jews – Israel, Zionism Muslims - Palestinian, PLO

the countries of the

Eastern Mediterranean

are dominated by

Muslims but there are

also Christians, Druze,

Baha’i and other small

congregations

There are also other

groups such as

Bedouins, Eastern

Europeans, etc.

Section 3:The Northeast

a blend of cultures:

Mesopotamia

Kurds

Sunni

Shi’ite

clashes over land:

Taliban in Afghanistan

Saddam Hussein in Iraq

Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda

Chapter 23 - Todays’ Issues:Southwest Asia

Section 1:Population Relocation

guest workers – in 2005 almost 90%

of UAE workforce was foreigners

West Bank Gaza Strip

struggles continue between Israelis and Palestinians with millions of

refugees including Kurds, Arabs, Jews, and others affected

Israel rich, modern, strong Palestine poor, overcrowded, cheated

Section 2: Oil Wealth Fuels Change oil, “black gold” was so

vital it became a strategic

commodity, but has also

provided money for

countries to diversify

modernizing infrastructure

new technologies

agricultural production

human resources

read the case study on page 532

How do you propose to solve the problem of

Jerusalem?

Credits

all photos:

Sean Simons