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Sub Regions of southwest Asia

Unit 8: Southwest Asia. Sub Regions of southwest Asia. THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. Population Patterns Dry and desert conditions have caused many to settle along coastal plains and the Euphrates River Valley. Eastern Mediterranean is predominantly urban.

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Sub Regions of southwest Asia

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  1. Unit 8: Southwest Asia Sub Regions of southwest Asia

  2. THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN • Population Patterns • Dry and desert conditions have caused many to settle along coastal plains and the Euphrates River Valley. • Eastern Mediterranean is predominantly urban. • Example: 75 percent of people in Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon and 50 percent of Syria and Palestine are living in cities.

  3. History • Eastern Mediterranean is the center of three major religions. • Judaism • Capital and religious center is Jerusalem in Israel. • Sacred Text – The Torah • Christianity – About 30 A.D, in Israel, a Jewish teacher named Jesus began preaching about those who believe shall be saved.(Sent to Heaven) • Islam – in 610 A.D. revelations from God came to Muhammad in the city of Mecca.

  4. Israeli and Palestinians Conflict • Problem: Israelis and Palestinians each claim the same territory in Southwest Asia • 1990’s officials were making some progress. • Palestinians were acknowledging Israel’s right to exist as a nation. • Israel was withdrawing troops and handing over West Bank and Gaza to Palestinians. • 2006 election of Hamas, an Islamic group that opposes Israel and supports armed attacks on Israeli territory.

  5. THE NORTHEAST • Population Patterns: • Most populous countries in the Northeast are Turkey and Iran with nearly 70 million residents. • About 29 million in Iraq. • Overcrowding in many cities such as Istanbul (Turkey), Tehran(Iran), and Baghdad(Iraq) is due to villagers seeking a better life.

  6. Main ethnic groups of the Northeast • Turks – • Turkic people migrated to the peninsula from Central Asia. (Ottoman Turks – later built the Ottoman Empire) • Most Turks practice Islam and speak Turkish languages. • Iranians – • Iranians speak Persian and about 90% practice the Shia branch of Islam. • Arabs – • Arabs are people with ethnic ties to the Arabian Peninsula. (The majority living in Iraq) • Arabs speak Arabic and the majority practice the Shia branch of Islam (about 35% practice Sunni) • Kurds – have no country to call their own. • Kurds live in the mountainous borders or Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. • Most speak Kurdish and practice the Sunni branch of Islam.

  7. History • Mesopotamia – one of the world’s first culture hearths (center where cultures developed and spread outward) • Sumerian civilization – • Created a code of law • Used cuneiform – writing system using wedge-shape symbols on clay tables. • Phoenician civilization – • Began around 3000 B.C. along the Mediterranean coast • Developed alphabet – Letters = Sounds • British Control • Western Europe controlled large areas of the Northeast by the late 1800s. • Iraq was under British control until 1932. • Turkey, established in 1923, is now a candidate to join the European Union.

  8. ARABIAN PENINSULA • Population Patterns: • Many cities have high populations • Example: • In Bahrain 89% of the people live in its two major cities. • Parts of Saudi Arabia have population densities as high as 2600 people per square mile. • Discovery of Oil lead to the increase in: • Wealth • Modernization • Immigration

  9. History • Harsh climates made it hard for large settlements to exist anywhere along the coast. • Unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932. • For fear of invasion, many signed treaties with Great Britain for protection • Slowly throughout the region countries gained their independence. • Examples: Kuwait eventually won independence from Great Britain by the mid-1900s.

  10. CENTRAL ASIA • Population Patterns: • Populations are spread unevenly across its mountainous terrain. • Afghanistan is the most populous country in the subregion with a population of 29.9 million • Central Asia is considered a crossroad for cultures because of the Silk Road.

  11. History • Many of the Central Asian countries gained their independence simultaneously when the Soviet Union fell in 1991 • Independence for many of the countries has been hard. • Examples: • Afghanistan‘s inability to form a strong central government has led to terrorism and instability in the country.

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