The Arabian Peninsula

If you lived there....You are in a plane flying over the vast desert areas of the Arabian Peninsula. As you look down, you see some tents of desert nomads around trees of an oasis. Sometimes you can see a truck or a line of camels crossing the dry, rocky terrain. A shiny oil pipeline stretches for miles in the distance.

What is life like for people in the desert?

Climate and Vegetation

Desert Climate:

Empty Quarter:

Oasis:

Wadis:

Fossil Water

Oil:

SHIA SUNNI

Government & EconomySaudi Arabia is a monarchy

OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting CountriesAn international organization whose members

work to influence the price of oil on world markets by controlling the supply.

SAUDI ARABIA

KUWAITOil has made Kuwait very rich.

Persian Gulf War

Ruled by a royal family but have an elected legislature.

BAHRAIN & QATARBahrain is a monarchy with a legislature. They are a rich country due to oil, banking, and tourism.

Qatar is ruled by a powerful monarch. They are wealthy due to oil and natural gas.

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATESSeven tiny kingdoms make up the UAE.

Profits from oil and natural gas have made them all wealthy.

OMAN & YEMENOman's economy is based on oil... they are attempting to develop new industries.

Yemen has an elected government but it suffers from corruption.

Oil and coffee generate much of their income.

It is the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula.

IraqSaddam Hussein:

United Nations:

Embargo:

Iraq & 9/11

U.S. government officials believed that Iraq aided terrorists.

March 2003: President Bush ordered U.S. forces to attack Iraqi targets.

Weeks later the Iraqi army was defeated and Saddam's government was crushed.

Peoples & CultureThere are two major ethnic groups:1. Arabs: They make up more than 75% of Iraq's population. They speak the country's official language- Arabic.

2. Kurds: Make up 15-20% of the population. They are farmers and live in a large region in northern Iraq. They speak both Kurdish and Arabic.

Nearly all Iraqis (both Arab and Kurdish) are Muslim

IranShah:

Revolution:

Farsi:

Theocracy: