Chapter 4 Sec 3 Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Arabia

Syria Land: Syria has fertile coastal plains and valleys along the Mediterranean Sea. The vast Syrian desert covers the eastern region. The Syrian Government has also built dams on the Euphrates river for irrigation and to produce hydro electricity.

Syria’s People Half of Syria’s 17.1 million people live in Rural areas. A few are Bedouins- Nomadic desert peoples who follow a traditional way of life. Others live in cities. The capital of Syria is Damascus. Damascus was founded as a trading city over 5,000 years ago. Most of the people follow the religion of Islam.

Syria’s Government They gained independence in 1946 and have been controlled by one political party since the 1960s. They are currently involved in a civil war and are fighting the main political party for control.

Lebanon Is about half the size of New Jersey. Because it is so small people can easily reach all the landforms in one day. They can swim in the Mediterranean Sea and play in snow in the mountains in the same day. Lebanon used to be covered by cedar trees but only a few groves survive today.

Lebanese People 80 percent live on the coast in urban environment. Beirut is the capital and largest city. They gained independence from France in 1940 Lebanon is mostly Islamic but has a significant population of Christians as well. They Islamists and Christians fought a civil war from 1975 to 1991.

Jordan Has only a few water resources. There is some irrigated farmland in the Jordan River Valley. Bedouins live in the desert, but a majority of the people work in service and manufacturing industries.

Jordanian People Amman is the capital and largest city and was founded around 5,000 years ago. Most of the people are Arab Muslim. They have a monarchy. They have been ruled by kings and queens since the Ottoman empire in 1990s.

Saudi Arabia Is the largest country in Southwest Asia and is about the size of the eastern half of the United States. It is covered by Vast deserts. Saudi Arabia has no permanent bodies of water or rivers. They have Wadis- or dry riverbeds filled by rainwater from rare downpours.

It holds 25 percent of the worlds oil. This area of Southwest Asia belongs to OPEC- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. This group supplies 40 percent of the worlds oil. To get more water the government has used money from oil sells to irrigate the land and do Desalinization- It takes salt out of Sea Water.

History and People The Saud family unified the country in The largest city is Riyadh and it has become a very large city. Mecca is also located in Saudi Arabia. This is where Muslims take their Hajj.