SECTION 1 – ARABIAN GEOGRAPHY & LIFESTYLES

KEY VOCAB

Peninsula – An area of land with water on three sides.

Oases – Areas of water and plant life in the middle of deserts or other dry areas.

Nomadic – A way of life in which a person is always moving from place to place.

Sedentary – A way of life in which a person stays in one place.

Which continent goes in each box on the satellite image above?

ASIA

AFRICA

EUROPE

On the map above see if you can find the areas of rocky and sandy terrain. Which parts do you think have the least people living there?

The Arabian Peninsula is located between Europe, Africa, and Asia. For thousands of years people have passed through the peninsula either to trade or find new places to live. Because of this movement, Arabia is known as a crossroads location.

Sand dues are continually shifting, although only at a few inches per day. Some are over 300 meters high.

The climate in Arabia is very hot and dry. Large parts of the peninsula are covered in rocky or sandy deserts. During summers, the temperatures in these deserts can often be over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Some sand dunes can be as high as 800 meters.

Desert sand is actually eroded rock from formations like the ones shown above which were created by the wind.

The southeast corner of Arabia, known as the Rub al-Khali, is almost completely lifeless.

Coastal mountain range in Arabia.

Arabia has very few natural sources of water. The only reliable supplies are found in oases where underground water sources rise to the surface

Some Oases appear more like large lakes with trees and other plants growing on their shores.

Some oases are several miles across while others are just a few meters. These oases have been important locations for trade and settlement since humans first began living in Arabia.

Wars and other conflicts have often taken place for control of a single Oasis.

Others are little more than small pools or puddles and can only support a small number of plants.

The marshes around the Persian Gulf are home to an ancient people known as the Marsh Arabs.

Along the edges of Arabia the climate is much cooler than in the interior. The southern and western coasts have low mountain ranges on which people are able togrow a few crops and keep animals like sheep and goats. The area around the Persian Gulf has many marshy areas. Plants have deep roots which can stretch many meters into the ground to tap deep water sources. They also often have small leaves (or spikes) which prevent them from losing water.

A collection of homes built on reed beds. Some families have connected up beds to create small islands.

People have actually built their homes on these marshes using dried reeds. For food they hunt the many birds and fish that inhabit the waters. Plants and animals have adapted to Arabia’s hot and dry climates in many different ways.

Apart from helping them to save water, spikes also help plants to protect themselves from grazing animals.

Plants have deep roots which can stretch many meters into the ground to tap deep water sources. They also often have small leaves (or spikes) which prevent them from losing water.

Many of Arabia’s wild animals are nocturnal, only coming out at night when the temperatures have dropped. During the daytime many creatures live in burrows to protect them from the heat as well as predators.

Other animals have developed ways to store or conserve water. The most famous of these is the camel which is able to store large amounts of water as fat in its hump. For thousands of years, camels have been used to transport people and trade goods across Arabia’s deserts.

The major regions

surrounding the Arabian

Peninsula

The locations of the Peninsula’s

major cities.

The areas covered by

desert, mountains, and

marshes.

The major bodies of water surrounding the

Arabian Peninsula

Arabia’s Climate / How oases form and their uses / How animals adapted to desert

conditions.

ON THE MAP SHOW OR LABEL… IN THE BOXES SUMMARIZE..

LT 1 – ARABIAN GEOGRAPHY

1. The Arabian Peninsula links…

2. Large parts of Arabia are covered in…

3. Larger amounts of water can be found in…

4. On Arabia’s coasts the climate is…

5. Animals kept in Arabia include…

6. Around the Persian gulf are…

7. To get water, plants grow…

8. Camels were used to…

9. Nomadic people were always…

10. Tribes fought for control of…

11. Tribes gave their members…

12. Nomadic tribes worshipped…

13. Sedentary people lived in…

14. Products were traded at…

15. Each town had its own…

16. Most buildings were made from…

LT 2 – SEDINTARY & NOMADIC WAYS OF LIFE

Europe, Africa, and Asia.

rocky and sandy deserts.

oases.

milder.

sheep, goats, and camels..

marshes

deep roots.

transport people and goods.

LT 1 – SEDENTARY & NOMADIC WAYS OF LIFE

The name “Camel” comes from an ancient Hebrew word meaning “to go without”.Arabia’s harsh

environment led to the creation of two main ways of life. Some people were nomads, continually moving from place to place. Other people decided to settle in towns or villages along the coasts. We call these two ways of life “nomadic” and “sedentary”.

Nomad camp site showing a herd of camels being driven in. Children were often used to herd smaller animals.

Most nomads in Arabia survived by raising large herds of goats, sheep, and camels. These creatures provided nomads with milk, meat, and skins from which they could make clothes and shelters.

Goats were used for their wool, milk, and occasionally meat. They were able to eat almost any desert plant.

Camels also provided a means of transport across Arabia’s baking deserts. Nomads moved with the seasons as weather and climates changed in order to get water and food for themselves and their animals. Almost all nomads belonged to tribes which often fought with each other for control of trade routes, water sources, and grazing land.

Tribes, and their leaders, also offered protection from attack. Anyone left without a tribe would be in serious danger of being killed for their animals or other possessions.

Locations of the largest of Arabia’s different tribes. Many tribes were also divided into different clans.

Conflicts between different tribes could break out at any time if either tried to move onto or use another’s resources. Some conflicts could last for hundreds of years and cause many deaths

Nomadic culture was based around important ceremonies such as weddings and religious festivals. Nomads held camel races as a way to help celebrate these events.

Statues of pre-Islamic gods and goddesses.

Nomadic tribes worshipped nature and ancestor spirits –often creating simple statues of them which they could carry with them.

Recreation of the town of Mecca in the period when Muhammad lived showing low-rise mud-brick buildings.

Villages and towns grew up on Arabia’s coasts as well as around oases. The milder climate and supplies of fresh water meant that people living in these places could grow crops (dates, wheat, grapes, olives, onions, and melons) either to eat or sell.

Camels were used to transport goods across the deserts. Each could hold around 300 pounds of cargo.

Some larger towns, especially Mecca and Medina, became centers of trade where people exchanged foods, spices, animals, precious metals, craft goods, and slaves. Most large towns had special markets, called Souks or Bazaars, where merchants and customers could do deals.

Today many Middle Eastern cities still have indoor markets (Souks) selling a variety of different products.

Trade between towns was often done using caravans of camels which could each carry several hundred pounds worth of goods. . Towns on the coasts, especially the Red Sea, could also fish and transport goods by boat. People living in Arabia’s towns had more complex religious beliefs than most nomadic groups.

Illustration of the Kaaba shrine from around 100 years ago. The building has been restored greatly since Muhammad’s time.

Each town had its own gods and goddesses which were worshipped in large shrines. Mecca became wealthy as people from all over Arabia visited its shrine called the Kaaba which housed many large statues and other holy objects.

The ancient city of Shibam in Yemen. Some of the mud-brick buildings are over 10 stories tall.

Buildings in Arabian towns were often built from mud bricks. This material helped to keep rooms cool during the day and warm during the cold nights. Buildings were also often painted white to help reflect the sunlight.

Some families have been living in the same building for hundreds of years with different generations living on different floors.

In some places they were constructed very close together creating long, narrow, alleyways which provided shade to people walking between them.

Some communities were built on, or underneath, large rock outcrops which also provided their building materials.

Builders in Arabia were some of the first people to create high-rise buildings with some houses having as many as 12 floors. Animals were often kept in the lower floors while family members lived above them.

LT 1 – ARABIAN GEOGRAPHY

1. The Arabian Peninsula links…

2. Large parts of Arabia are covered in…

3. Larger amounts of water can be found in…

4. On Arabia’s coasts the climate is…

5. Animals kept in Arabia include…

6. Around the Persian gulf are…

7. To get water, plants grow…

8. Camels were used to…

9. Nomadic people were always…

10. Tribes fought for control of…

11. Tribes gave their members…

12. Nomadic tribes worshipped…

13. Sedentary people lived in…

14. Products were traded at…

15. Each town had its own…

16. Most buildings were made from…

LT 2 – SEDINTARY & NOMADIC WAYS OF LIFE

Europe, Africa, and Asia.

rocky and sandy deserts.

oases.

milder.

sheep, goats, and camels..

marshes

deep roots.

transport people and goods.

moving from place to place.

trade routes, land, and water.

protection from attack.

nature spirits and ancestor spirits.

towns and villages.

markets called souks.

gods and goddesses.

mud bricks.