 | Term | Definition |
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What area makes up the Middle East? |
North Africa and Southwest Asia |
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What is this area called because of its location? |
crossroads of continents |
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What does arid mean? |
very dry |
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Why is water a precious resource in the Middle East? |
it has an arid climate, water - especially fresh water is scarce, it is necessary for survival |
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Why is the population so unevenly distributed? |
people settle where the water is |
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What is desalinization? |
process of taking salt out of seawater |
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Why is desalinization a good and bad option? |
it provides water, but is a very EXPENSIVE option |
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How is water regulated in this area? |
building dams controls water flow |
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What is the name of a dam used to control water regulation? |
Aswan High Dam |
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Where is the Aswan High Dam located? |
the Nile River |
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Why is there conflict over sharing water sources in the Middle East? |
if Turkey builds a dam on the Euphrates River, it would reduce the water flow to Syria and Iraq |
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Where is the Arabian Sea? |
upper right hand corner of Africa - north eastern side of Africa |
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Where is the Atlantic Ocean? |
to the left of Africa - on the western side of Africa |
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Where is the Mediterranean Sea? |
north of Africa - between Africa and Europe |
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Where is the Red Sea? |
between Africa/Egypt and Saudi Arabia |
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Where is the Indian Ocean? |
to the right of Africa - east of Africa |
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Where is the Persian Gulf? |
between Saudi Arabia and Iran |
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What is the longest river in the world? |
Nile River |
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What river flows from south to north and empties into the Mediterranean Sea? |
Nile River |
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Which rivers flow near present-day Syria and Iraq? |
Tigris and Euphrates |
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What is alluvial soil? |
it is rich and fertile and has been carried by a river's current and eventually deposited on land |
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What is an oasis? |
fertile area in a desert - usually fed by an underground spring |
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What is a wadi? |
a temporary river or watering hole that fills up only during the rainy season |
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What physical feature dominates most of North Africa's landscape? |
Sahara Desert |
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What is about the size of the U.S. and is the largest hot desert in the world? |
Sahara |
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Where does the name Sahara come from? |
Arabic word meaning desert |
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What physical feature separates the northern moist Mediterranean climate from the arid South? |
Atlas Mountains |
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What is the Sahel? |
semi-arid land below the Sahara that is spreading into a desert region |
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What makes up most of the Arabian Peninsula? |
mostly desert |
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What is the Rub 'al Khali? |
large desert in Saudi Arabia |
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What is another name for the Rub 'al Khali? |
"Empty Quarter" |
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What is the largest area of continuous sand in the world? |
Rub 'al Khali |
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What city was formerly named Constantinople and is the only city located on 2 continents? |
Istanbul |
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What is the largest city in Africa and is Egypt's capital? |
Cairo |
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What is the name of the holy city located on the edge of the West Bank? |
Jerusalem |
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Who claims Jerusalem as their territory? |
Muslims, Jews, and Christians |
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What is Islam's holiest city? |
Mecca |
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What is a hajj? |
the trip to Mecca that each Muslim is expected to make once during their life |
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In which direction do Muslim's face for daily prayers? |
toward Mecca |
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What city is currently occupied by U.S. troops and is the captial of Iraq? |
Baghdad |
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Who has Israel been in constant struggle with since it was founded? |
Palestinian Arabs |
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Who are the Palestinians? |
Arabic speaking people with family origins in the land that is now Israel |
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What are the major land struggles between Israel and Palestine? |
Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights |
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What is Zionism? |
belief in uniting the scattered Jewish people across the world back to their "original" homeland |
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When was Israel created? |
after WWII in 1948 as the idea of Zionism grew |
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Who controlled most of Palestine after the war between Israel and Palestine? |
Israel |
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Who "technically" controls the Gaza Strip? |
Palestinians though many Jewish people still occupy this area |
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Who controls the West Bank? |
Palestinians - Jewish people do still occupy this area |
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Where is fighting the most intense and why? |
Jerusalem - over who will control the holy city |
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Who controls Golan Heights? |
Israel |
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What is important about Golan Heights? |
has very valuable water resources |
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Who has demanded that Israel give Golan Heights back? |
Syria |
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What is so important about Jerusalem? |
the 3 major religions - Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all consider it an important "holy city" |
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What is the Dome of Rock? |
place built over stone where Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven |
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What is the Western Wall or Wailing Wall? |
place Jews go to mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple |
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What is the Church of Holy Sepulcher? |
church Christians built on the site where it is believed that Jesus Christ was crucified |
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What does Israel's WATER say about spritituality? |
fresh water or living water gives life - when that water is allowed to flow freely it meets needs for human life, but when it is passed along through the Jordan River to the Dead Sea - it does not continue to flow and as the salt level builds - nothing is able to live in it - truly a "dead sea" |
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What lesson should one learn about living water? |
we have been called to pass along the "waters of life" that were given to us. Don't bottle God's living water - then you just make it all about YOU - we were meant to let Christ's love - living water - flow through us and into others |
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Describe the Dead Sea's Salt content? |
roughly 9 times saltier than typical seawater, is the lowest place on the planet (about 1,300 feet below sea level), high level of salt makes it easier to float |
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Who are the Arabs? |
people who speak Arabic as their first language and trace their ancestry from the nations of the Middle East or North Africa |
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Which countires are not considered Arab Nations? |
Iran, Turkey, and Israel |
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What are some things that are NOT necessarily true of all Arabs? |
not members of any particular race, some are darked skinned, others have blue eyes and red hair, no religion is required - most are muslims - but NOT ALL - there are Christian Arabs, and Jewish Arabs |
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Why is oil important to the Middle East? |
discovered in N. Africa and Southwest Asia bringing incredible amounts of money, international attention, and political power |
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How manyoil reserves are located in the Middle East? |
about 65 % |
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What does OPEC stand for? |
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
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What is the purpose of OPEC? |
it was set up to help countries increase their income from the sale of oil by setting prices by the increase or decrease of the oil supply |
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What are some positive effects of oil? |
created more jobs, strenghtened the economy, worldwide recognition for OPEC countries, position of power |
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What are some negative effects of oil? |
reliance on only one industry for money, pollution, unequal distribution of wealth |
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What is a bazaar? |
open-air market usually in the center of a Middle Eastern town where many different types of things are sold |
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How is life in N. Africa or S.W. Asia radically different from the life we experience in the U.S.? |
oil = money and has given many countries the ability to modernize - changes in urban areas but rural areas kept to more traditional ways of life, shopping, and religion - not freedom - rules and laws are based on what the Quran says |
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What is the Quran? |
muslim holy book |
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What is one item that a bazaar might specialize in? |
woven Arabian carpets |
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What is the Arabic word for a bazaar? |
suq (pronounced "sook") |
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What are the 3 major world religions? |
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |
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What are followers of Judaism called? |
Jews |
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What are followers of Christianity called? |
Christians |
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What are followers of Islam called? |
Muslims |
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What is the name of the Jewish holy book? |
Torah |
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What is the major difference between Jews and Christians? |
they do not believe in Jesus as their Messiah (Savior) |
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Where are the basic beliefs of Islam summed up? |
the 5 Pillars of Islam |
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Why is it important to study Islam? |
it is the most commonly practiced religion in the Middle East and because of our background it is the one we understand the least |
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What are the Pillars? |
1) Statement of Faith 2) Prayer 3) Charity 4) Fasting 5) Hajj |
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What is the Islamic statement of faith? |
there is only one god - Allah and Muhammad is his prophet |
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What do the Islamic believe about prayer? |
pray 5 times each day facing toward Mecca |
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What do the Islamic believe about charity? |
give to people in need - giving alms |
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What do the Islamic believe about fasting? |
during daylight hours they are to fast during the entire month of Ramadan |
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What do the Islamic believe about the Hajj? |
they must make a religious journey or pilgrimmage to Mecca once during their lifetime |
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What is a mosque? |
muslim place of worship |
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What are some typical features of mosques? |
domes and minarets |
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What are minarets? |
tall, slender tower having one or more balconies where the call to prayer is given |
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How are camels important in the Middle East? |
used as pack animals for transportation, hair is used to make felt, used for their meat and milk, and their dried manure can be used as fuel` |
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What features did God give the camel to help it survive in the desert? |
nostrils that can close completely to keep out sand, mouth helps it get protein and energy out of poor quality food in desert, they can swallow and regurgitate all day allowing them to get every last bit of nutrition |
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