Ch. 22: North Africa and Southwest Asia The Cultural Geography of North Africa and Southwest Asia

Southwest Asia Damascus, the capital of Syria, is the oldest continuously inhabited city on the globe-4,000 years.

Bahrain has one of the highest standards of living in the Persian Gulf area.

Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, and the docking and refining base of the U.S. Navy contingent that has been patrolling the Persian Gulf since 1949.

The Bedouins Arab nomads who live in Southwest Asia Many are moving to cities

As the site of the Tigris-Euphrates River, Iraq is the birthplace of the world’s first city-states. Jordan’s largest source of income is the billions of dollars sent home by Jordanians working in other Arab countries.

Israel After WWII, Jews from around the world have relocated to Israel. 90% urbanized

The Cities of Israel About 25% of Israel’s population live in the 3 largest cities- Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Jerusalem Haifa Tel Aviv

Although Israel is poor in natural resources, and averages less than 5” of rain per year, it produces most of its own food through improved irrigation and soil conservation Jordan River

North Africa Most of the people live along the Mediterranean coast. People have lived in Algeria for at least 40,000 years. The Sahara is very sparsely populated.

Morocco is closer to Europe than any other North African country. Spain is just 8 miles away, across the Strait of Gibraltar.

Because of its strategic location, Egypt is very important in world transportation. Written history begins with the records of ancient Egypt.

Arabs Most of the people in North Africa and Southwest Asia are of Arab descent. Most practice the Islamic religion.

Not all Arab- speaking people are from the Arabian peninsula, some are Canaanites, Babylonian and Egyptians. Arabs live in 21 countries in the region.

Israelis Nearly 5 million people in the region are Israelis. Of these, 4.1 million are Jewish and.9 million are Arab. Israeli Jews trace their roots back to the ancient Hebrews and believe that God had given them this land as their permanent home.

The Arabs of the region did not approve of the creation of the Jewish state of Israel because it had been their homeland for centuries. As a result, conflict has been a way of life in this region. Severe hardship had been experienced by both groups of people trying to survive in this very small area of the Southwest Asia.

Turks The Ottoman Turks once controlled the entire Mediterranean area for more than 600 years. not Arab but they practice Islam.

They have their own Turkish language and have developed a mixed culture that includes Turkish, Arab and Western elements.

Iranians Iran used to be called Persia.

“Iran” means the land of the Aryans; the Iranians believe themselves to be the descendants of the ancient Indo-European people who settled the area around 2,000 B.C. Their language is “Farsi”- distantly related to English. Most Iranians practice the Shi’a form of Islam.

Afghanis many different ethnic groups. Islam is common thread.

Cypriots Cyprus is a non- Arab nation. The people of Cyprus include Greek majority and Turkish minority.

When the people of Cyprus won their independence from Britain, the nation broke out in a civil war between the Turks and Greeks. The island remains divided today.

Kurds one of the largest ethnic groups in the region Unfortunately, they have struggled for years to establish their own country.

live in the border regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the former Soviet Union. They call their land Kurdistan, but they have not been able to gain self-rule.

Kurdish-inhabited area

Iraq tested its poison gas on the Kurdish tribes in the borderlands of Iraq killing thousands of people including women and children. Ethnic Cleansing

Population Information 450 million people in region The most populous nations are Turkey, Iran and Egypt.

Urbanization Prior to WWII, the population generally lived in rural areas, however, since WWII, people have moving to the cities.