1. The Northeast

2. People Turks Iranians Arabs Kurds Anatolia Turkish Iran Farsi Iraq
Arabic
Kurds
Mountain areas of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran
Kurdish

3. Density and Distribution
Highest populations
Iran and Turkey
50% urban
Urban areas
Istanbul, Turkey
Tehran, Iran
Baghdad, Iraq

4. History and Government

5. Civilizations Mesopotamia Phoenician Cultural hearth Sumerians
Cuneiform – writing system
Phoenician
Eastern Mediterranean
Alphabet

6. Empires Persian Ottoman Empire Qanats – underground canals
Northern Africa, western Asia, and southeastern Europe

7. Modern Era European control until late 1800s Iraq – conflict with U.S.
Turkey – waiting to join the European Union
Iran – 1979 Islamic revolution

8. Oil Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela
Works to regulate prices at a high rate
Began an embargo (ban on trade) over the Arab-Israeli war

9. Education and Healthcare
Required
Iraq through 6th
Turkey through 8th
Literacy rates 80-86%
Hospitals are usually government owned, but have doctor shortages

10. Arts Ancient Sumerians Literature Ziggurats
Strong oral tradition, epics, poetry