1. North Africa and Southwest Asia

2.  Capital-Cairo  Delta: Area formed by soil deposited at mouth of the river  Hieroglyphics: writing using symbols

3. Mosque: places of worship for Islam Bazaar: marketplace Oasis: area in desert formed by underground water

4.  Capital: Tripoli  Civil War: conflict between groups in the same country  Secular: non-religious

5.  Up to 90 percent of the land area is covered in desert  Formerly a dictatorship under Muammar Gaddafi, now a democracy

6.  Capital: Tunisia  Smallest country in North Africa  Was a French colony until 1956  Carthage was once a large empire here

7.  Capital: Algiers  Ergs: Large, shifting sand dunes  Largest country in North Africa  Sells oil and natural gas  Was a French colony until 1962

8.  Capital: Rabat  Strait of Gibraltar separates Africa (Morocco) from Europe (Spain)  Muslim: A follower of Islam  Islam: Religion  Arab: Person of Middle Eastern descent

9.  Capital: Ankara  Was called Ottoman Empire until WWI  Istanbul is the only city in world that lies on two continents

10.  Migrate: Move from one place to another  Nearly half of the country’s people are farmers  Rich in minerals such as coal, copper and iron.

11.  Capital: Damascus  Bedouins: nomadic people who follow traditional way of life  Center of trade for many centuries  Oil is major export  Does not allow many freedoms  Currently involved in a civil war  US embassy just closed there

12.  Capital: Beirut  Most densely wooded area of all Middle Eastern countries  Still rebuilding after violent civil war that lasted from 1975-1991  80 per cent of the people live in the coastal areas

13.  Capital: Amman  Lacks water resources  Most people that flee Israel/Palestine conflict settle here  Petra is an ancient city carved in a cliff that is located here

14.  Capital: Riyadh  Desalinization: take salt out of sea water  Hajj: Religious journey (All Muslims are expected to make a hajj to the holy city of Mecca if possible) Customs are based on Quran (Islam’s holy book)

15.  Largest country in SW Asia  World’s largest exporter of oil

16.  Capital: Sanna  Only country in SW Asia that does not have large deposits of oil  Very ancient country

17.  Capital: Baghdad  Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are here  Saddam Hussein was dictator that was overthrown by U.S. forces after 9-11-01

18.  Capital: Tehran  Once known as Persia  Elburz and Zagros Mountains here  Oil rich nation  98% of people follow Islam  Ruled by dictator  Used to be ruled by shahs or (kings)

19.  - Law states that women who appear on streets and in public without the prescribed ‘Islamic Hejab’ will be condemned to 74 strokes of the lash.  -Dictator does not believe in the Holocaust  -The media is controlled by the government, and there is no internet access in this country.

20.  Capital: Kabul  Country is landlocked  Hindu Kush Mountains here  Known to harbor terrorists (Al-Queda)  Taliban is a terrorist group that ruled the country until U.S. forces overthrew them after 9-11-01