- Dead sea: A landlocked salt lake
- Dome of the Rock: houses the spot where muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad rose into heaven.
- Golan Heights: called Al Jawlan, a hilly plateau over looking the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee
- Jordan River: Provides on of the most precious resources in the entire region-water.
- Kurds: an ethnic group in southwestern Asia
- Mesopotamia: the "land between the rivers"
- OPEC: Organizatio of Petroleum Exporting Countrys
- Palestine Liberation Organization: was formed to regain the land for Palestinian Arabs
- Rub al-Khali: "Empty Quarter" "Place whre no one comes out"
- Taliban: a fundamentalist muslim political group
- Tigris River and Euphrates: two ancient river valley civilitations in an area called the Fertile Crscent
- Zionism: 19th century movement
- crude oil: petrolium that has not been processed
- desalinization: the removal of salt from ocean water, is done at technically sophistricated water treatment plants
- drip irrigation: small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water used for crops
- fossil water: water pumped from underground aquifers
- gaza strip: is a territory along the Mediterranean sea
- guest workers: are largely unskilled laborers
- islam: monotheistic religion
- mecca: the holiest city in the islamic religion
- mosque: an islamic cherch
- muhammad: the creater of islam
- oasis: Area in the desert where vegetation is found because water is available
- palestinians: a group of people who have been displaced in the region
- refinery: it coverts crude oil into useful products
- salt flat: When winds evaporate the moisture in soil and chemical salts remain.
- shi'ite: One of the main branches of islam, most Iranians
- stateless nation: a nation of people without a land to legally occupy
- sunni: One of the main branches of islam, 83% of muslims
- theocratic: the leader of the religion is the leader of the country
- wadi: Riverbeds that remain dry except during the rainy seasons
- west bank: a strip of land on the west side of the jordan river
- western wall: the wailing wall