North%20Africa%20and%20Southwest%20Asia%20(Middle%20East)%20Culture%20and%20Economics

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North Africa and Southwest Asia (Middle
East)Culture and Economics
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Leading countries according to GDP

• Kuwait
• United Arab Emirates
• Qatar
• Israel

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Leading countries according to Land size

• Algeria
• Saudi Arabia
• Libya

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Leading countries according to population

• Iran
• Turkey
• Egypt

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• Southwest Asia and North Africa Satellite Images
  at night

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Economic Characteristics

• The area has a heavy reliance on primary economic
  activities such as oil drilling, agriculture and
  herding/grazing (pastoralism)

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Agriculture
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• The area is the home of the Organization of
  Petroleum Exporting Countries
• Many countries in the area still belong today

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• Positive effects--jobs, revenue, position of
  power
• Negative effects--reliance on one industry,
  pollution, unequal distribution of wealth

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Tourism

• Major service industry of region is tourism
• Because of political unrest and regional
  conflicts has seen a decline in recent years

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Examples of Site Actual

• Harbor sites Alexandria, Egypt and Istanbul,
  Turkey
• Hilltop Site Jerusalem, Israel
• Oasis site Damascus, Syria

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Standard of Living

• Great variation in standard of living
• Some very poor countries and poverty stricken
• Poor countries have low per capita income and
  poor infrastructure

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Examples of Situation

• Baghdad, Iraq- command of land between Tigris and
  Euphrates Rivers
• Istanbul, Turkey- command of Bosporus and
  Dardanelles Straits and land bridge to Europe
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia- focal point of pilgrimage
  (Islam)

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Areas of conflict and dispute

• Western Sahara and Morocco-dispute over land
• Iraq and Kuwait-dispute over land
• Israel and Syria- dispute is over an area called
  Golan Heights
• Ethic differences exist on island of Cyprus
  between Turks and Greeks

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Kurdistan

• Area of northern Iraq, Iran, southern Turkey,
  Syria and former Soviet Union
• Kurds are an ethnic group
• Kurds would like their own nation
• Kurds have strong feelings of nationalism

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Kurdistan
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League of Arab States

• Political organization set up of over 20 Arab
  nations to try to resolve problems

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Cultural Geography of Northern Africa
Southwest Asia

• Population
• 300 million
• concentrations along the Nile, Euphrates Tigris
  Coasts
• low overall population due to desert climate
• very high growth rates in Gaza

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Dying Under 40 years
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• Languages
• Unified by Arabic Language - An Afro-Asiatic
  Language
• Hebrew spoken in Israel
• Tribal languages spoken in remote areas of North
  Africa

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Cultural Characteristics

• The area has experienced rapid urbanization
• Most modernization has centered around urban
  areas and more traditional life has continued in
  the rural areas

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• Large percentage of the population is under the
  age of 15 due to conflict, disease and the
  hardships associated with the region.
• The population is generally unevenly distributed
  due to the environment and resources

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• All but three of the countries are Arab nations
  and they use the Arabic language.
• Turkey, Iran and Israel are the non-Arab countries

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• North Africa and Southwest Asia are the
  birthplace to three major monotheistic religions
  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• All three claim similar holy places and the
  dominant group has changed over the years.

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• Since 1949, the region has been in conflict over
  the area known as PALESTINE. This area is
  present day Israel.

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• Much of the region has a nomadic lifestyle
• NOMADIC-to wander from place to place behind a
  food source or for other reasons

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• The art of the region reflects the diversity of
  the religions
• stained glass, geometric tiles, calligraphy,
  mosaics, and prayer rugs

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Stained Glass/Mosaics
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Prayer Rugs
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Oil Rigs
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Kaaba
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Dome of the Rock
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Hagia Sophia
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Church of the Holy Sepulcher
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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Pyramids
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Western Wall
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Western Wall
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Walled Cities
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Calligraphy-writing
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Religious buildingsIslam-mosqueChristian-church
Judaism-synagogue
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Bazaars/Suq-market