1. Characteristics of the Middle East & North Africa
Physical
Aridity
Oil
Cultural
Culture Hearths
World Religions
Conflict

2. Three Sub-Regions
Middle East
Arabian Peninsula
North Africa

3. Population
Scattered clusters around scarce water sources
Regional Differences
Oil and Non-oil states
Political Geography
Fragmented

4. NAMING THE REGION Popular Names Dry World Arab World Islamic World
Middle East

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

6. 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.

7. AN ARAB 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