The Middle East

Basic Facts  6.2% of Earth’s land  Highest Point – Mount Damavand, Iran18,406 feet  Lowest Point – Dead Sea -1,388 feet  Largest Country – Saudi Arabia 756,985 sq. miles  Smallest Country – Bahrain 257 sq. miles

Basic Facts  Major Languages – Arabic, English, Turkish, Persian  Major Religions – Islam, Judaism, Christianity  Cradle of Civilization  Birthplace of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Deserts  Arabian Desert – one of the largest deserts in the world  consist of differing types of deserts  900,000 sq. miles

Turkey

Mountains  Hindu Kush - Form natural border between Afghanistan and Pakistan - Highest Point - Tirich Mir 25,282 ft.  Taurus - possibly where Noah’s Ark landed  Zagros - Extends from Afghanistan to China and Pakistan - Highest point - Pik Samani 24,590 ft.

Rivers  Euphrates - Flows from Armenia to Iraq for 2,235 miles - Longest river in Middle East - Fertile Crescent - The Cradle of Civilization  Tigris – Flows from Turkey to Iraq for 1,180 miles - Fertile Crescent - The Cradle of Civilization

Most Populated Countries  17 Iran 75,078,000  18 Turkey 72,561,312  39 Iraq 31,467,000  42 Afghanistan 29,117,000  46 Saudi Arabia 26,246,000  96 Israel 7,602,400

Most Populated Cities  21. Istanbul, Turkey (13,576,000)  42. Tehran, Iran (7,419,000)  87. Ankara, Turkey (4,172,000)

Timeline  5000 BC Wheel and plow invented  3000 BC Bronze Age begins  3100 BC Cuneiform writing invented  1867 BC Babylon founded  1700 BC Windmills invented for irrigation purposes  BC Egypt dominates the region of Canaan and Syria  1250 BC Hebrews establish a kingdom in Palestine  1041 BC Jerusalem designated the capital of the Kingdom of Israel  1000 BC Iron Age begins  600 BC Cyrus the Great creates the Persian Empire  331 BC Alexander the Great overpowers Persia

Dome of the Rock

Timeline  50 AD Christianity emerges  634 AD Muslim Empire created  1200 Mongols invade the Middle East  Ottoman Empire  1948 Israel founded  2010 Arab Spring brings major protests, uprisings and revolutions to several Middle Eastern countries

Afghanistan

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Jordan

Lebanon

Syria

Turkey

United Arab Emirates