Characteristics of Southwest Asia and North Africa Physical Arid OilCultural Culture Hearths Culture Hearths World Religions World Religions Conflict Conflict

NAMING THE REGION Popular Labels Dry World Arab World Islamic World Middle East

THE DRY WORLD ? Dry/arid climate prevails throughout the realm Exceptions: Regions of Turkey Northwestern section of Iran Oases Several great river valleys

Characteristics of Southwest Asia and North Africa Population Scattered clusters around scarce water sources Regional Differences Oil and Non-oil states Political Geography Fragmented

WATER - A RENEWABLE OR FINITE RESOURCE? Water is critical for life, food production, and industrial processes. 9 out of 14 Southwest Asian states face water-shortage conditions (the most concentrated region of water scarcity in the world). The North African states all have rates of natural increase above 2.0%, increasing the stress on water sources.

AN ARAB REALM ? Relates to language as a cultural feature of this realm Arabic is the dominant language in 16 States of the realm. In Non-Arab States, indigenous languages dominate. - Turkey - Turkish - Iran – Farsi (Persian) - Israel - Hebrew

ISLAMIC REALM? Muhammed ( Ad) Five Pillars Of Faith – Repeated Expressions Of Creed/Affirmation – Frequent Prayer (5 Times a Day) – Month Of Daytime Fasting (Ramadan) – Alms-giving – Pilgrimage To Mecca Sunnis vs Shi’ites – Sunnis make up 85% of Muslims. Most Shi’ites live in Iran.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION The majority of the population in this realm lives not in the dry arid regions, but around water resources. - The Nile - Mediterranean Sea - Euphrates and Tigris Basin - Lower mountain slopes of Iran, south of the Caspian Sea

THE MIDDLE EAST “Middle” of the Eastern realm- between the Far East (China) and the Near East (Turkey) Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon Center of conflict between Christians, Jews, and Muslims Sunni – Shi’a conflict (within Iraq and throughout the region)

Fertile Crescent An area located in a crescent-shaped region between the Persian Gulf in the south and Israel in the west. Center of human civilization and was the site of the ancient Mesopotamian Empire that developed along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.