GeoJournalAs you read this chapter, use your journal to note the ethnic diversity of North Africa,Southwest Asia, and Central Asia. Recordboth similarities and differences among thepeoples who inhabit this region.

Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 18 to preview information about the cultural geography of the region.

Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowAs you know, the region of NorthAfrica, Southwest Asia, and CentralAsia is made up of a variety of physi-cal features and climates. Many dif-ferent peoples live in the region.How does the diversity of ethnicgroups affect life in North Africa,Southwest Asia, and Central Asia?

Read to Find Out• How have movement and inter-

action of people in the region led to ethnic diversity?

• How do the region’s seas, rivers,and oases influence where peoplelive?

• What effect does the growingmigration into the cities have on the region?

Terms to Know• ethnic diversity

• infrastructure

Places to Locate• Turkey

• Afghanistan

• Armenia

• Georgia

• Kazakhstan

• Tajikistan

• Uzbekistan

• Tehran

C h a p t e r 1 8 439

El Faiyum oasis, Egypt

Population Patterns

A Geographic ViewRefuge of PeoplesA refuge since the last period ofEurasian glaciation, the Caucasusregion has been a gateway fortravel, trade, and conquest. [Despite the numerous power struggles] the Caucasus hasremained a [stronghold] of peo-ples whose identities are tied to the 50-some languages theyspeak. . . . The persistence of theenduring identities of ethnicgroups has been aided by therugged terrain and by societieswhose loyalties are to clanand family as much as tonation or region.

—Mike Edwards, “The Fractured Caucasus,” National Geographic, February 1996

Like North Africa, Southwest Asia, and CentralAsia as a whole, the Caucasus area has long been home to manypeoples. Some of these peoples vanished long ago—defeated inwars, wiped out by famines, or absorbed by more powerful groups.Others have survived for hundreds of years and flourish todaybecause of contact with travelers, merchants, and conquerors fromdistant places. The result is a tapestry as rich and varied as theregion’s much-sought-after carpets.

Many PeoplesThe region of North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia has

served as the crossroads for Asia, Africa, and Europe. As a result, theregion has remarkable ethnic diversity, or differences among groupsbased on their languages, customs, and beliefs.

Family in the Caucasus

440 U n i t 6

homeland. Over the centuries, wars, persecution,and trade led many Jews—as the descendants ofthe Israelites are called—to settle in other coun-tries. Their religious identity, however, kept alivetheir link to the ancestral homeland. Finally, in1948, Israel was founded as a Jewish state. Todayhalf of Israel’s Jews were born in Israel, and halfhave emigrated from elsewhere.

The Arabs of the region, however, did not wanta Jewish state in territory that had been theirhomeland for centuries. Tensions between Arabsand Jews resulted in four wars that broughtsevere hardship to all the people of the area,including the Palestinians—Arabs living in theterritory in which Israel was established. Duringthis period of conflict, many Palestinians weredisplaced from their homes and lived in refugeesettlements in neighboring Arab countries.

Today agreements between Israeli and Palestinianleaders have led to greater Palestinian self-rule.Nevertheless, peace is still elusive. Issues such as theownership of the Old City of Jerusalem, the returnof Palestinian refugees, and ownership of water andother natural resources remain unresolved.

ArabsMost people of the region—about

275 million—are Arabs. Most Arabsare Muslims, followers of thereligion of Islam, but a small percentage followChristianity or other religions. Both Islamic cultureand Arabic, the language of the Arabs, have had asignificant impact in this region.

Before the spread of Islam in the A.D. 600s, Arabic-speaking peoples inhabited the Arabian Peninsulaand a few areas to its north. Many Arabic-speakingpeople today, however, descend from ancient groupssuch as the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Saharan Berbers,and peoples speaking Semitic languages. Currently,Arabs live in 16 countries, including Libya, Tunisia,Algeria, and Morocco—the countries known as theMaghreb—“the West” in Arabic.

IsraelisAbout 6.4 million people of the region are

Israelis living in Israel. Of these, 82 percent areJewish. The remaining 18 percent are mostly Arabswho are Muslim or Christian.

Jews living in Israel and elsewhere trace theirreligious heritage to the Israelites, who in ancienttimes settled Canaan, the land shared today byIsrael and Lebanon. The Israelites believed thatGod had given them this area as a permanent

Bedouins inTunisia Bedouins, or nomadic Arabs, live in the desert areas ofNorth Africa and Southwest Asia.

Place Which countries are part of the Maghreb?

C h a p t e r 1 8 441

Student Web Activity Visit the Glencoe World GeographyWeb site at tx.geography.glencoe.com and click on Student WebActivities—Chapter 18 for an activity about visiting Egypt’scultural and historic sites.

TurksOver the past 8,000 years, many peoples have

occupied Anatolia, the Asian part of what is todaythe country of Turkey. Each group added its owncustoms and beliefs to the cultural blend. Turkicpeoples migrated to the peninsula in the A.D. 1000sfrom Central Asia. One Turkic group, known as theOttoman Turks, later built the Ottoman Empire,which ruled much of the eastern Mediterraneanworld for more than 600 years. When a group ofTurkish citizens was asked to define who a Turk istoday, one of them responded this way:

“ ‘I don’t believe anybody is Turkish,whatever that means,’ he said. Then,swinging his arms to take in the lunchcrowd, he exclaimed, ‘Look at us! A mixof Turks, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Iranians,Armenians, Kurds.’”Thomas B. Allen, “Turkey

Struggles for Balance,”National Geographic, May 1994

Most Turks practice Islam and speak the Turkishlanguage. They have a culture that blends Turkish,Islamic, and Western elements.

Iranians and AfghanisAbout 66 million people live in Iran, once called

Persia. The word Iran means “land of the Aryans.”Many Iranians believe they are descendants ofthe Aryans (AR•ee•uhnz), Indo-Europeans whomigrated into the region from southern Russiaabout 1000 B.C. Iranians speak Farsi, and almost 90percent of them are Shiite (SHEE•EYET) Muslims.

On the eastern border of Iran is Afghanistan.This mountainous country is home to many eth-nic groups that reflect centuries of migrationsand invasions by different peoples. People inAfghanistan speak many languages, and mostpractice Islam.

Caucasian PeoplesMore than 50 ethnic groups and nationalities live

in the Caucasus area. Armenians and Georgiansare among the largest ethnic groups.

Armenians make up more than 90 percentof the population of the republic of Armenia,which became independent after the Soviet

Union dissolved in 1991. The Armenians havehad their own language and literature for morethan 15 centuries, and in the A.D. 300s mostaccepted Christianity.

In ancient times the Armenians ruled a large,powerful kingdom. For much of their later history,however, the Armenians were ruled by others—Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Russians. In 1915about 1 million Armenians in Turkey were massa-cred, were deported, or died of illness at the handsof the Ottoman Turks. Many survivors fled toSouthwest Asia, Europe, and the United States.

The republic of Georgia also became independentafter the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Like theArmenians, most Georgians became Christian inthe A.D. 300s. Today they have their own OrthodoxChristian Church. The Georgian language, with itsunique alphabet, is related to other Caucasian languages, which suggests that the Georgiansprobably originated in the Caucasus region.

Turkic PeoplesMost Turkic peoples outside of Turkey, includ-

ing Uzbeks and Kazakhs, live in the republics ofCentral Asia. All of these peoples speak Turkic lan-guages, and almost all are Muslims.

The Uzbeks form the largest Turkic group inthe Central Asian republics. Of the Central AsianTurkic peoples, only the Kazakhs are a minorityin their own country, Kazakhstan. Under Russ-ian and, later, Soviet rule, Kazakhstan was set-tled by large numbers of Russians, Ukrainians,and Germans. Since the end of the Soviet era, theproportion of Kazakhs has increased for two rea-sons: a high birthrate and the movement of manynon-Kazakhs out of Kazakhstan.

The Tajiks (tah•JIHKS), a predominantly Muslimnon-Turkic group in the Central Asian republics,make up most of the population of Tajikistan.Tajiks also live in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan andspeak a language similar to Farsi.

KurdsThe Kurds also speak a language related to Farsi,

and most Kurds are Muslims. They live in the bor-der areas of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and theCaucasian republics, in an area that is sometimescalled Kurdistan. However, the Kurds have nocountry of their own. Their efforts to win self-rulehave been repeatedly crushed by their Turkishand Arab rulers.

Water and Population A canal supplieswater to farms near Luxor, Egypt.

Place How does the availability of water affecthuman settlement in Egypt?

442 U n i t 6

Population and ResourcesGeographic factors, especially the availability of

water, help determine where the region’s peoplehave settled. Because water is scarce, people have forcenturies settled along seacoasts and rivers, nearoases, or in rain-fed highlands where drinking wateris readily available. For example, many people livealong the Nile River in Egypt or in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley in Iraq. Desert areas remain largelyunpopulated except where oil is abundant. Nomadicherders live in or near the desert oases or where thereis enough vegetation to support their herds.

Government

Control of a Vital ResourceWater has been a major issue in border disputes

between Israel and Syria. As much as 30 percentof Israel’s water comes from the Sea of Galilee,which is partly fed by streams beginning in theGolan Heights, a Syrian area that Israel conqueredin the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. The Jordan River car-ries the water south, where Israeli farmers use it toirrigate their crops. Some 15,000 Israelis live in theGolan Heights. The area also has about 17,000Arabs. Syria wants Israel to return the GolanHeights, but Israel is reluctant to give up neededwater resources.

Population GrowthThe region’s most populous countries are Turkey,

Egypt, and Iran, each with more than 65 millionpeople. Morocco, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Iraq, SaudiArabia, and Afghanistan each have between 20 million and 31 million people. Other countrieseach have about 18 million or fewer people.

Overall, the region’s population is growing rapidly.The result is that many citizens in some countries,especially those in North Africa, are unemployed andmust migrate to other countries to find work. Thismigration serves as a safety valve for some coun-tries, helping to diffuse political discontent.

Urbanization Large urban areas, such as Istanbul, Turkey; Cairo,

Egypt; Tehran, Iran; and Baghdad, Iraq, dominatesocial and cultural life in their respective countries.Cities like these have been growing rapidly as vil-lagers move there in search of a better life. Problems

Checking for Understanding1. Define ethnic diversity, infra-

structure.

2. Main Ideas Create a table like theone below, and fill it in to showinformation about the diverse peo-ples, religions, and languages ofthis region.

Critical Thinking3. Comparing and Contrasting In

what ways is the population ofTurkey similar to and differentfrom the population of Iran?What may account for these dif-ferences and similarities?

4. Identifying Cause and EffectWhat historical event accounts forthe large number of Armeniansliving outside their homeland?

5. Predicting Consequences Whatmight happen if Israel returns theGolan Heights to Syria? How wouldthis affect life in Israel? In Syria?

Analyzing Maps6. Location Study the population

density map on page 412. Whereare the largest concentrations ofpeople in the region? Why arethey concentrated there?

North Southwest CentralAfrica Asia Asia

Peoples

Religions

Languages

7. Ethnic Diversity Thinkabout the diverse groups of people you have readabout. Write a paragraphdescribing positive aspectsof ethnic diversity in theregion. Also mention anydrawbacks to ethnic diversity.

Applying Geography

have arisen, however, becausecities have grown too fast to supplyenough jobs and housing orimprove the infrastructure—basicurban necessities like streets andutilities. Poverty, snarled traffic,and pollution have resulted. Fami-lies moving to a city sometimescrowd into single rooms or live inmakeshift shelters far from thecity’s center, and they overloadpublic resources. For example, ille-gal developments without wateror waste services have cropped upon the outskirts of Cairo, adding tothe city’s sanitation problems.

Some cities have tried to copeby installing traffic control sys-tems and improving public trans-portation. Iran has tried anothersolution—decentralizing its gov-ernment. It has set up many gov-ernment offices in various townsand villages away from the capi-tal, Tehran. By doing so, Iranhopes to improve services in out-lying areas and slow Tehran’srapid growth.

C h a p t e r 1 8 443

Source: 2001 World Population Data Sheet

National Geographic Society

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Armenia

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Tajikistan

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Egypt

Levels of Urbanization

GRAPH STUDY

1. Interpreting Graphs Which countries are less than 60 percenturban? More than 60 percent?

2. Applying Geography Skills Why do you think some countriesare more urbanized than others?

LIKE THE GENIE IN ALADDIN’SLAMP, oil has brought unimaginedriches to the nations of the PersianGulf. Trapped in pockets beneaththe region’s sandy soils are two-

thirds of the world’s known petroleumreserves. This “black gold” provides the raw material for everyday products such ascompact discs, crayons, and house paint. Inaddition, oil supplies more than half of theenergy used worldwide. Almost overnight,oil profits transformed villages in SaudiArabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and other Gulfcountries from watering holes for camelcaravans into gleaming, modern cities.

The discovery of oil in the early 1900s,however, did not immediately bring richesto the region. Nor did drilling wells toextract oil from the ground. The Americanand European companies who owned thewells paid host countries only about 20cents a barrel, and the quantity of oiltapped was small.

Boom Times

Low oil prices in the late 1950s causedWestern companies to cut payments to theoil-producing countries. In 1960 Venezuelajoined with four Gulf states—Iran, Iraq,Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia—to form the

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Massive pipelines carry tons ofcrude oil from wells in Saudi Arabia.

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BLACK GOLD IN THE PERSIAN GULFBLACK GOLD IN THE PERSIAN GULF

AND

GEOGRAPHYHISTORY

444 U n i t 6

Organization of PetroleumExporting Countries(OPEC). The OPEC nationsagreed to reduce oil pro-duction in an effort to cut supplies and increaseprices. As demand grew,

the group gradually assumed more power.They set their ownprices for oil and mandated production quotas for each country.In 1973 the Arab oil embargo, sparked by the Arab-Israeli War,reduced supplies and further boosted prices. In less than a year,prices increased fourfold.

With money pouring in, Gulf countries took over ownership oftheir oil operations. Big budgets meant big spending. Billions wereused to build highways, airports, and telecommunications systems.Hospitals and schools sprang up, and governments showered theircitizens with free medical care, low-cost housing, and lifetime jobs.

Planning for Post-Oil Days

Beginning in the early 1980s, however, oil prices started to decline.Why? Reduced consumption and increased oil production outsidethe Middle East led to a surplus of oil. As oil profits shrank, collabo-ration among OPEC members began to break down. Quota dis-putes and other disagreements led Iraq to invade Kuwait in 1990,igniting the Persian Gulf War. Many Gulf countries have cut spend-ing—an unpopular move among citizens accustomed to subsidies.

While OPEC members manipulate current oil prices, they alsoknow they must prepare for the day their oil reserves will run out.Today Gulf countries are investing in foreign real estate and creatingnew businesses at home, from cement factories to theme parks.

Looking Ahead

Persian Gulf leaders expect their oil to run out within this century.Many are reconsidering their dependence on oil.Will oil prove tobe a genie of good or bad fortune? What will be oil’s legacy in thePersian Gulf?

Money from oil profits buildsnew schools for children in thePersian Gulf region.

▲

1908 Workers discover oil in Persia (Iran)

1960 Four Gulf countriesand Venezuela form OPEC

1960s OPEC members pressfor oil price increases

1970s Gulf countriesacquire their oil production facilities(background photo)

1973 Arab oil embargoleads to gasrationing in UnitedStates (photo above)

1991 Persian Gulf War

2090s Experts predictPersian Gulf oil supplies will bedepleted

U n i t 6 445

Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowThe Egyptian civilization was one ofseveral civilizations that arose in thisregion. Ancient Egypt is a popularsubject in films and books. What canyou recall about its history and gov-ernment?

Read to Find Out• What great civilizations arose

in North Africa, Southwest Asia,and Central Asia?

• What three major world religionsoriginated in the region?

• How did countries of the regiongain independence in the modernera?

Terms to Know• domesticate

• culture hearth

• cuneiform

• hieroglyphics

• qanat

• monotheism

• prophet

• mosque

• nationalism

• nationalize

• embargo

Places to Locate• Mesopotamia

• Fertile Crescent

• Persian Empire

• Silk Road

• Samarqand

• Jerusalem

• Makkah (Mecca)

• Iraq

• Iran

446 U n i t 6

History andGovernment

A Geographic ViewA Long HistoryTucked away at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula, . . . Yemen [is] . . .[d]ivided by nature into three distinctgeographical regions—coastal plains,highlands, and desert. . . . Yemen has for much of its long history been noless divided politically by the shift-ing fortunes of its fiercely indepen-dent inhabitants. Kingdoms andempires have risen and fallen herefor more than 3,000 years.

—Andrew Cockburn, “Yemen United,”National Geographic, April 2000

Yemen is only one of many young countries with along history in the region of North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia. This region saw the rise of some of the world’s greatestcivilizations and the birth of three of the world’s major religions.Sadly, the region also has a long history of intense conflicts.

Prehistoric PeoplesHunters and gatherers settled throughout North Africa, Southwest

Asia, and Central Asia by the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000years ago. By 6000 B.C. farming communities had arisen in areasalong the Nile River, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Taurus andZagros Mountains.

The region’s farmers were among the first in the world to domesticateplants and animals, or take them from the wild and make them use-ful to people. These farmers captured and herded cattle, sheep, goats,pigs, and camels. Some of the animals were used for food. Farmersused the hides to make clothes and shelters.

Yemeni woman in traditional clothing

C h a p t e r 1 8 447

as Samarqand in present-day Uzbekistan, thrivedas trading stations along the Silk Road. At these sta-tions travelers and merchants traded Chinese silksand Indian cotton as well as ideas and inventions.Because of the Silk Road, with its cultural and com-mercial exchange, the region became known as the“crossroads of civilization.”

Today, as they did hundreds of years ago, nomadstravel across the steppes of Central Asia seekinggrasslands for their herds. Sometimes nomadic peo-ples, including the Mongols, invaded these lands.During the late 1100s, a leader known as GenghisKhan united the nomadic Mongol tribes living northof China. In the 1200s they invaded Central Asia,establishing a vast empire. The Mongols killed tensof thousands of people to gain control, but laterthey brought many improvements to the region,such as paper money and safer trade routes.

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MAPSTUDY

Early Civilizations, c. 3000 B.C.

Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Early agricultural civilizations

Early CivilizationsAlthough much of North Africa, Southwest Asia,

and Central Asia has dry land, important civiliza-tions developed there. These civilizations began to grow in the region’s most fertile areas about 6,000 years ago.

The civilizations that arose in Mesopotamia, thearea between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, com-prised one of the world’s first culture hearths, orcenters where cultures developed and from whichideas and traditions spread outward. Part of alarger, rich agricultural region known as the FertileCrescent, the area was home to the Sumerian civi-lization. The Sumerians mastered farming by grow-ing crops year-round and using canals to irrigatethem. The Sumerians made great strides in soil sci-ence, mathematics, and engineering. They alsoestablished at least 12 cities and created a code oflaw to keep order. They kept records by using a writ-ing system called cuneiform (kyu•NEE•uh•FAWRM),wedge-shaped symbols written on wet clay tabletsthat were then baked to harden them.

Egyptian civilization flourished along the NileRiver. Annual floods from the Nile depositedrich soils on the flood plain. During dry seasonsEgyptians used sophisticated irrigation systems towater crops, enabling farmers to grow two cropseach year. The Egyptians also developed a calendarwith a 365-day year, built impressive pyramids astombs for their rulers, and invented a form of picturewriting called hieroglyphics (HY•ruh•GLIH•fihks).

Empires and TradeThe Phoenician civilization, which arose along the

eastern Mediterranean coast, developed an alphabetin which letters stood for sounds. It formed the basisfor many alphabets used in much of the Westernworld today.

During the 500s B.C., the Persian Empire extendedfrom the Nile River and the Aegean Sea in the westto Central Asia’s Amu Darya in the east. Realizingthat irrigation water would evaporate in surfacecanals, the Persians constructed a system of qanats,or underground canals, to carry water from themountains across the desert to farmlands.

Beginning about 100 B.C., parts of Central Asiaand Southwest Asia prospered from the SilkRoad, a trade route connecting China with theMediterranean Sea. Many cities in the region, such

1. Analyzing Maps What body of water liessoutheast of the Tigris-Euphrates area?

2. Applying Geography Skills How did loca-tion and environment aid the development ofearly Southwest Asian civilizations?

448 U n i t 6

Three Major ReligionsThree major religions began in the region:

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three sharemany beliefs, especially monotheism, or belief inone God.

JudaismJudaism is the oldest of the monotheistic faiths.

Followers of Judaism, known as Jews, trace theirorigin to the ancient Israelites, who set up the king-dom of Israel along the eastern Mediterraneancoast. There they made Jerusalem their capital andreligious center.

Despite political division, conquest, and exile toMesopotamia, Jews and Judaism continued to sur-vive and flourish. Many Jews eventually leftMesopotamia and returned to their homeland,now known as Judah. Others settled elsewhere inthe Mediterranean. As they scattered, the Jews tooktheir beliefs with them.

Judaism teaches obedience to God’s laws and thecreation of a just society. Believing that events havea divine purpose, the Jews recorded their historyand examined it for meaning. Writings based onlaws and on the history of the Jews make up theHebrew Bible, or Torah. Worship services are tradi-tionally held in synagogues, where a rabbi officiates.

ChristianityAbout A.D. 30, in the territory of Judah, a Jewish

teacher named Jesus began preaching a message ofrenewal and God’s mercy. Some of Jesus’ teachingsmade him unpopular with people in power, and theRoman officials ruling the area had Jesus put todeath. Jesus’ followers soon proclaimed that he wasthe world’s savior, alive in heaven, and that a newlife in the world to come would be given to thosewho believed in Jesus and followed his teachings.

The life and teachings of Jesus became the basis ofa new religion—Christianity. The Christian scrip-tures came to include the Hebrew Bible as the OldTestament, and writings on the life and teachings ofJesus as well as on the experiences of the earliestChristian communities as the New Testament. Asthe centuries passed, Christians spread the messageof Jesus throughout the Mediterranean world andinto Asia, Africa, and Europe, and eventually to theAmericas.

IslamIslam today is the major religion of Southwest

Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia. Islamic tradi-tion states that in A.D. 610, revelations from Godcame to Muhammad, a merchant in the city ofMakkah (Mecca) in the Arabian Peninsula. Muham-mad began preaching that people should turn awayfrom sin and worship the one true God. Variousgroups in the peninsula accepted Muhammad’smessage, acknowledging him as the last in a line ofprophets, or messengers, that included Abrahamand Jesus.

By the 800s, Islam had spread to North Africa,Central Asia, South Asia, Southwest Asia, and partsof Europe. Islam had profound religious, political,and cultural influences in these areas. One of thenew features seen in the region’s cities was themosque, a house of worship where Muslims pray.Muslim scholars also made important contributions:

“ During Europe’s [Middle Ages], the lightof Islam shone, unifying, stimulating thecultures of many lands with the currentsof trade and the bond of a common lan-guage, Arabic. Ibn Sina of Bukhara, knownto the West as Avicenna, wrote his Canon,which remained Europe’s medical textbookfor more than 500 years. Mathematicianal-Khwarizmi of Baghdad introduced‘Arabic’ numerals and the decimal systemfrom India and wrote the standard trea-tise on al-jabr—algebra.”Thomas J. Abercrombie, Great

Religions of the World, 1971

The geographer Ibn Battuta traveled extensivelythroughout the Muslim world in the 1300s. Hedescribed the peoples and places of the region in hisfamous book, the Rihlah. Other Muslim scholarswrote about Islamic achievements and translatedGreek writings into Arabic, works that later addedto European knowledge about the ancient world.

Today around one-fifth of the world’s populationfollows Islam and is called Muslim, a term meaning“those who submit to God’s will.” Muslims followtheir faith’s principles set down in the Quran,Islam’s holy book. They also fulfill five dutiesknown as the Five Pillars of Islam: professing faith in

C h a p t e r 1 8 449

God and the prophet Muhammad, praying fivetimes a day, helping the poor and needy, fasting dur-ing the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, andmaking a pilgrimage to Makkah, Islam’s holiest city.

The Modern Era As the centuries passed, Muslim empires in North

Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia rose andfell. Major conflicts, including the Crusades and theMongol invasions, brought challenges to the region.Physical geography sometimes placed limits on eco-nomic development. For example, empires in NorthAfrica and Southwest Asia lacked resources suchas minerals, wood, and coal to fuel an industrial

revolution like that of western Europe. By the late1800s, western European powers controlled largeareas of North Africa and Southwest Asia, and theRussian Empire took much of Central Asia.

Although the Caucasus area prospered underthe Russians, peoples in other parts of the regionwere discontented under foreign control. Dur-ing the 1800s a well-educated urban middle classdeveloped in North Africa and Southwest Asia.Trained in European ways, this new middle classadopted European ideas about nationalism, or abelief in the right of an ethnic group to have its ownindependent country. This development stirreddemands for self-rule that provided the basis for themodern countries that have emerged in the region.

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MAP STUDY

Muslim Empires, A.D. 750–1600

Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

2. Applying Geography Skills Why do you thinkIslamic peoples were able to create such vastempires?

Umayyad Empire (A.D. 750)Abbasid Empire (A.D. 800)Ottoman Empire (A.D. 1600)

1. Interpreting Maps Which empire controlledIstanbul? Córdoba?

450 U n i t 6

IndependenceIn North Africa and Southwest

Asia, the continuing rise of nation-alism after World Wars I and IIgradually ended direct European colonial rule. Bythe 1960s most territories in these regions hadachieved political freedom. Independence hasbeen a more recent development in Muslim Cen-tral Asia, where countries did not win their free-dom until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.Even after gaining independence, the regionaleconomies of countries often remained underEuropean control. Regional governments some-times retaliated by seizing European property. Lead-ers in Iran, Iraq, and Libya nationalized, or placedunder government control, the foreign-owned oilcompanies within their borders.

Arab-Israeli ConflictNot all the independent countries in the region are

Arab or Muslim. An exception is Israel, founded in1948 as a Jewish state. About 1,900 years earlier, theRomans had expelled most Jews from their ances-tral homeland, known as Palestine. These Jewishmigrants eventually settled in communities scatteredaround the world. In their adopted countries, theJews often faced persecution by the majority popula-tion around them. In the late 1800s, a fierce wave of

persecution drove many European Jews to call for thereturn of the Jews to Palestine and for the creation ofa Jewish homeland there. Many of these Jews, knownas Zionists, began to settle in Palestine, which wasthen largely Arab and under Ottoman Turkish rule.

After World War I, the British gained controlof Palestine. They supported a Jewish homelandthere while claiming to give equal attention to theinterests of the majority Arab population. Theseconflicting goals, as well as increasing Jewish immi-gration into Palestine, sparked conflict betweenPalestine’s Arab and Jewish communities. Later, themurder of 6 million European Jews by the Nazis inthe Holocaust increased Western sympathy for theZionist cause.

After World War II, hostilities broke out inPalestine among Jews, Arabs, and British forces.Finally, the United Nations decided in 1947 to dividePalestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.When the British withdrew from Palestine, the Jewsproclaimed the independent state of Israel in 1948.During the next 25 years, Arab opposition to Israeland Israel’s concern for its security led to four majorwars in the region. In the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli

War and PeaceFrom the late 1940s to the early 1970s, Arabs and Israelis fought aseries of wars, such as the 1967 Six-Day conflict (left). Since then,Arab and Israeli leaders have held peace talks to try to resolvetheir differences.

Region What major issues divide Arabs and Israelis today?

C h a p t e r 1 8 451

conflicts, victorious Israeli forces took over Arablands that had been part of Palestine. Since its for-mation, Israel has drawn many Jewish immigrantsfrom around the world.

Israelis and PalestiniansThe wars that followed the birth of Israel forced

many Palestinian Arabs from their homes to live asrefugees or settlers in other lands. The status of thePalestinian refugees is an ongoing issue in the Arab-Israeli dispute. In addition, the Palestinians—bothrefugees and those living in Israeli-occupied areas—want an independent state of their own in the WestBank and Gaza Strip areas. The West Bank lies westof the Jordan River, betweenIsrael and Jordan. The Gaza Stripis a territory bordered on thesouth by Egypt, on the west bythe Mediterranean Sea, and onthe north and east by Israel.

The goal of Palestinian inde-pendence is complicated by themany Jewish settlements thathave been built on the West Banksince the 1967 war. The challenge,says one West Bank resident,is straightforward: “Israelis andPalestinians claim the right ofreturn to the same land.”

Israel and the Palestiniansfinally agreed to the first stagesof a peace settlement in 1993.Under its terms the Palestinianswould gain limited self-rule inreturn for Arab recognition ofIsrael’s right to exist as a nation.Another stage began with theWye River Agreement, signedin 1998. It called for Israelitroop withdrawals from Israeli-held areas in the West Bank andGaza Strip in order to increasePalestinian self-rule.

In 2000, peace talks stalled overthe status of Jerusalem and overother issues. During the next year,renewed violence between Israeliforces and Palestinians had putthe peace process in jeopardy.

War in AfghanistanIn past centuries, Hindu Kush mountain passes

brought waves of invaders and traders toAfghanistan. Having an ethnically diverse popula-tion, Afghanistan in recent years has seen conflictinvolving foreign forces and rival Afghan groups.In the 1990s, radical Muslims known as the Talibanwon control of most of the country. Taliban leaderswere criticized internationally for human rightsabuses, especially in limiting education and jobsfor women, and for sheltering terrorists, such aswealthy Saudi exile Osama bin Laden.

In October 2001, American and British warplanesbegan bombing Afghan targets in the first military

Ind

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Dushanbe

Kabul

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Mazar-e Sharif

Jalalabad

Quetta

Karachi

60° E 64° E 68° E 72° E

36° N

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Lambert Conformal Conic projection2000 km

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MAPSTUDY

Afghanistan: Physical–Political

Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

1. Interpreting Maps Describe major characteristics ofAfghanistan’s physical geography from north to south.

2. Applying Geography Skills How might Afghanistan’s physicalgeography have shaped its people and history?

452 U n i t 6

operation of the war on terrorism. The UnitedStates also gave ground and air support to theNorthern Alliance, a group of Afghan rebels fight-ing the Taliban. With this help, the NorthernAlliance in November captured major Afghancities and routed most Taliban forces. Talks thenbegan to form a new Afghan government. Meanwhile, bin Laden and his aides remained atlarge in the mountain caves that honeycombAfghanistan. The United States and other nationsexpressed resolve to defeat them and bring themto justice.

Border ConflictsSince World War II, various nations in South-

west Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia havefought each other over land and water resources.In 1980 a border dispute led to years of warbetween Iraq and Iran. Ten years later, Iraq’s inva-sion of its oil-rich neighbor Kuwait forced theworld community to impose an embargo, or a banon trade, against Iraq. During the Persian GulfWar in early 1991, the United States and othercountries forced Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s leader, towithdraw his army from Kuwait. For years, theregion’s 20 million Kurds, most of whom live inborder areas of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, andTurkey, have sought a country of their own. Polit-ical differences among the Kurds themselves andopposition by the governments ruling them havekept the Kurds from realizing this goal.

Checking for Understanding1. Define domesticate, culture hearth,

cuneiform, hieroglyphics, qanat,monotheism, prophet, mosque,nationalism, nationalize, embargo.

2. Main Ideas Re-create a web dia-gram like the one below, andwrite in the features of one ofthe major religions that began in Southwest Asia.

Critical Thinking3. Drawing Conclusions Why was

the domestication of plants andanimals so important for the earlypeoples in the region?

4. Comparing and Contrasting Howare Judaism, Christianity, andIslam alike, and how do they differ? Describe the similaritiesand differences.

5. Identifying Cause and EffectWhat are the main causes of conflict in the region today?

Analyzing Maps6. Place Study the map of

Afghanistan on page 451. Whatchallenges might military forcesface in fighting a war there?

7. Expansion and GeographyLook at the map of Muslimempires on page 449. Con-sider the physical geographyof the region. Then write aparagraph explaining whythe locations of the threeempires are similar.

Applying Geography

Major Religion

Government

Today’s GovernmentsThe countries of North Africa, Southwest Asia,

and Central Asia have various forms of govern-ment. Traditionally the region was under the ruleof dynasties. Today monarchs with varyingdegrees of power still rule in eight countries,including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emi-rates, Morocco, and Jordan.

The rest of the region’s countries call them-selves republics, although their republican gov-ernments differ greatly. Israel is a parliamentarydemocracy with a president as head of state anda prime minister as head of government. In theWest Bank and Gaza Strip, a body known as thePalestinian National Authority is laying the foun-dation of statehood for Arab Palestinians.

Elsewhere, powerful presidents rule in Egypt,Syria, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,and Georgia. Military-based dictators governLibya and Iraq. Iraq’s leader Saddam Hussein,for example, remains in power despite a UNtrade embargo that has crippled Iraq’s economy.

In some countries, such as Algeria and Egypt,Islamist, or politically Islamic, groups haveopposed secular, or non-religious, governments.Some of these movements have been successful.Under Shiite Muslim religious leaders, Iran’sIslamic government was set up in 1979 after a revolution toppled the country’s shah, ormonarch.

C h a p t e r 1 8 453

Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowAs you have learned, North Africa,Southwest Asia, and Central Asiahave diverse geographic features,climate zones, and ethnic groups.How might these aspects of theregion affect its culture?

Read to Find Out• How have religion and language

both unified and divided the peo-ples of North Africa, SouthwestAsia, and Central Asia?

• What arts are popular in theregion?

• What are some characteristics ofeveryday life in the region?

Terms to Know• ziggurat

• bedouin

• bazaar

Places to Locate• Qatar

• United Arab Emirates

Cultures andLifestyles

A Geographic ViewCity of Tradition Meetsthe Modern WorldSmoke and the fragrance of roast-ing quail float up from long char-coal grills lining the perimeter ofSuq el-Attarine, the Market ofScents in Alexandria, Egypt. . . .Along sidewalks men sit onbenches. . . . Some play domi-noes. Above us hang the purpleflowers of jacaranda trees.

The tranquil scene recallsearlier times in the city thatAlexander the Great foundedmore than 2,300 years ago. But as I strollfrom the marketplace toward the harbor, I am clearly in amodern city. Apartment buildings . . . surround me. Traffic jams the streets. Supermarkets, cell phones, motorcycles, and teenagers in baseball caps are everywhere.

—Joel L. Swerdlow, “Tale of Three Cities,” National Geographic, August 1999

Everyday scenes in Alexandria, Egypt, and else-where in the region reflect both tradition and change. In this sectionyou will look at aspects of culture that have long shaped the lives andexperiences of peoples in the region. You will also consider how thepeoples of the region balance tradition and change in their daily lives.

ReligionReligion both unifies and divides the peoples of the region. The great

majority of the people are Muslims. Most belong to the Sunni branchof Islam, which believes that leadership should be in the hands of the

Alexandria, Egypt

454 U n i t 6

Islamic community at large. In Iran, Azerbaijan,Iraq, and parts of Syria and Lebanon, however, mostMuslims follow the Shia branch of Islam. The Shia,or Shiites, believe that only Muhammad’s descen-dants should lead the Islamic community.

Although Judaism and Christianity originatedin the region, their followers make up only a smallpercentage of the population. Most Jews in thearea live in Israel. Christians predominate inArmenia and Georgia, and large groups of Chris-tians also live in Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria.

LanguagesAs Islam spread across the region, so did the

Arabic language. Non-Arab Muslims learned Arabicin order to read Islam’s holy book, the Quran. Asmore people became Muslims, Arabic became theregion’s main language. Other major languages inthe region include Hebrew in Israel, Berber in south-

Sources: World Almanac, 2001; Britannica Book of the Year, 2000

Sunni Muslim 73%

ShiiteMuslim 18%

Christian 4%

Jewish 1%

Other religions 4%

Shiite Muslim

Christian

Jewish

Other religions

87,000,000

16,900,000

6,000,000

Sunni Muslim 342,000,000

17,000,000

Religion Number of Followers

North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia: Religions

GRAPH STUDY

2. Applying Geography Skills How are the beliefsof Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims similar?How are they different?1. Interpreting Graphs How does the percent-

age of people who are Muslim compare with thatof the followers of other religions?

ern Morocco and Algeria, and Turkish in Turkey.The languages of the Iranians, the Afghanis, andthe Kurds include Farsi, Pashto, and Kurdish,respectively. Turkic languages are spoken in most ofCentral Asia.

The ArtsFrom earliest times, the peoples of the region

have expressed themselves through the arts andarchitecture. Architects, artists, and writers laterfound inspiration in Judaism, Christianity, andIslam. Today the region’s cultural expressionsreflect the influence of both East and West.

Art and ArchitectureThe region’s early civilizations created sculptures,

fine metalwork, and buildings. In Mesopotamia theSumerians built large, mud-brick temples calledziggurats, which were shaped like pyramids and

C h a p t e r 1 8 455

rose above the flat landscape. The Egyptians builttowering pyramids from massive stone blocks toserve as royal tombs. The Persians erected greatstone palaces decorated with beautiful textiles.

Mosques and palaces are the best-known examplesof Islamic architecture. Because Islam discouragesdepicting living figures in religious art, Muslimartists work in geometric patterns and floraldesigns. They also use calligraphy, or elaboratewriting, for decoration. Passages from the Quranadorn the walls of many mosques.

LiteratureBased on a strong oral tradition, epics and

poetry are the region’s dominant literary forms.The epic Shahnameh (King of Kings) describes heroicevents in early Persian history. The Rubaiyat by thePersian poet Omar Khayyam is one of the fewworld masterpieces that has been translated into

most languages. The Knight in the Panther’s Skin, aGeorgian epic by the writer Shota Rustaveli, paintsa picture of brave warriors and their battles duringthe reign of Georgia’s Queen Tamara. The Thousandand One Nights, a well-known collection of Arab,Indian, and Persian stories, reflects life in the earlyperiod of the Muslim empires.

Today rhythmic patterns in the region’s poetryshow an increased Western influence. Much mod-ern literature has nationalistic themes. Many writ-ers also focus on the challenges of change intraditional society. Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov,for example, defends his homeland’s traditionalvalues against modernization. The Egyptian writerNaguib Mahfouz’s novels about Cairo’s recent pastportray the conflicts between traditional village lifeand the new urban environment. In 1988 Mahfouzbecame the first winner of the Nobel Prize inliterature whose native language is Arabic.

Everyday LifeThe lives of people in Southwest Asia, North

Africa, and Central Asia have changed dramaticallyin the last century. The population has grownrapidly with improved health care and a high birth-rate. In most countries more than one-third of thepopulation is under 15 years of age. Many peoplealso have moved to urban areas. For example, lessthan 50 percent of North Africans and SouthwestAsians still cultivate the land, and only a smallpercentage are bedouins (BEH•duh•wuhnz), ordesert nomads. Contact with other regions of theworld through travel, trade, and the Internet is alsochanging lifestyles. Even so, cherished customs andtraditions survive. Daily life still revolves aroundfamily, home, education, religion, and recreation.

Home and CommunityIn the region’s largest cities, many people live in

high-rise apartments. In the older parts of cities,however, people may live in stone or mud-brickbuildings hundreds of years old. Similarly, manyrural people in North Africa and Southwest Asiareside in stone or wooden structures. Some of thesedwellings still lack running water or electricity.

Many families are very close-knit, often gatheringat midday for their main meal. The menu might fea-ture grains such as wheat and barley as well as

architecture of SOUTHWESTASIA

Ishtar Gate Built about 575 B.C., theIshtar Gate was built over the mainentrance to the ancient city ofBabylon (now in Iraq). Thirty-eightfeet (12 m) in height, the gate is

covered in colored,glazed bricksadorned with reliefs,or raised sculptures,of animals. Rows ofbulls and dragonsseem to paradearound andthrough the gate.Each of the bricksforming the fig-ures had to becast separately.

456 U n i t 6

fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Meat, espe-cially lamb or mutton, is also a part of the diet ofmost of the region’s peoples.

Rural dwellers often depend on their own farmsor the village market for food. City dwellers canshop at supermarkets, but the bazaar is still popu-lar. This traditional marketplace is a bustling arearanging from a single street of stalls to an entiredistrict in a large city. The bazaar of Istanbul, forexample, extends along miles of passageways:

“ Sizzling hot kebabs give off an aroma. . . .The pounding of the hammers on copperpots assails our ears. . . . Merchants . . .wave and call out hoping to lure us into

Pilgrims in Makkah This Asian couple eating a meal in front of the holy al-Haram Mosque is amongthe two million pilgrims that visit the city of Makkaheach year.

Location Why is the direction they face when prayingimportant to Muslims?

their shops. Lights make the glass, beads,and brass trays sparkle. The dimly littwisting streets and alleys that curve off into the unknown add a . . . sense of adventure.”Stewart G. McHenry, “Markets, Bazaars,

and Suqs,” Focus, Summer 1993

Economics

Standards of LivingStandards of living vary widely across the

region and even within countries. Urbanizedcountries with economies based on oil productionor manufacturing and trade have relatively highstandards of living. In Israel and Qatar, for exam-ple, the majority of people have access to the mate-rial goods they need. They can also affordadditional goods that they want. Some oil-richcountries, such as the United Arab Emirates, areso prosperous that they have labor shortages anddepend on foreign workers from India, Sri Lanka,the Philippines, and other countries.

In developing countries, however, much of thepopulation does not share in the benefits of theavailable natural resources. Population growth incountries such as Egypt and Afghanistan has sur-passed the ability of their economies to meet citi-zens’ needs. Prosperity and poverty often existalongside each other. For example, cellular phonesand foreign cars may be a common sight in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku, but many other Azeris live in poverty.

Education and Health CareMost young people in the region attend school.

Primary education is free, and enrollment isincreasing. Many students now complete both pri-mary and secondary school, and a small percent-age attend university. Eighteen of the region’s 28countries have literacy rates above 75 percent; in10 countries, more than 90 percent of the peoplecan read and write. Before 1979, when revolutionin Iran established an Islamic government, lessthan 50 percent of Iranians could read or write;today, 79 percent can. Women have advancedespecially in education, now making up fully halfof new university admissions.

C h a p t e r 1 8 457

Checking for Understanding1. Define ziggurat, bedouin, bazaar.

2. Main Ideas Use a diagram like theone below to organize informationabout religion, language, the arts,and everyday life in the region.

Critical Thinking3. Making Generalizations How has

religion been expressed in thearts from earliest times in NorthAfrica, Southwest Asia, and Cen-tral Asia?

4. Predicting Consequences Whatare two possible effects of recentincreases in literacy in Iran?

5. Identifying Cause and Effect Why does a large segment of the region’s population live inpoverty, even in oil-rich countries?

Analyzing Graphs6. Region Study the graph of

religions on page 454. How doesthe percentage of Sunni Muslimscompare to the percentage of Shiite Muslims in the region?

7. Ways of Life Think aboutthe language, religion, sys-tems of education, and cus-toms in this region. Thenwrite a paragraph compar-ing the ways of life therewith your own.

Applying Geography Cultures and Lifestyles

In recent decades health care also has improvedand expanded in the region. People needing medical treatment usually go to government-owned hospitals. In wealthier countries, the hospi-tal stay is often free, but doctor shortages in therural areas of many countries mean that treatmentis available mainly in large towns and cities. Sodespite improvements, average life expectancieshave remained low in much of the region.

Celebrations and Leisure TimeCalls to worship occur five times each day in

countries with large Muslim populations. Amuezzin, or crier, calls the faithful to prayer fromthe minaret, or tower, of each local mosque. Mengather in rows on the mosque’s mats or carpetsafter leaving their shoes at the entrance. Followingthe movements of the imam, or prayer leader, theybow and kneel, touching their foreheads to theground in the direction of the holy city of Makkahin Saudi Arabia.

Religious holidays and observances often bringfamily and community together. Many Muslimsmark Id al Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, by makinga pilgrimage to Makkah. They also observeRamadan, a holy month of fasting from dawn todusk ordained by the Quran. Yom Kippur, theJews’ most solemn holy day, is also a time of fast-ing and prayer. Passover and Hanukkah are other

important holy days for Jews. Christians observethe holy days of Christmas and Easter, with specialservices at the places associated with Jesus’ life.

People also visit with family members duringtheir leisure time, often daily. Simple activitiessuch as watching television or going to the moviesbring young and old together. Soccer matchesdraw many spectators, and hunting and fishingare also popular. Board games such as backgam-mon and chess amount to unofficial national pas-times in countries like Armenia.

Interpretations of Islamic law have preventedMuslim women in some countries from fully par-ticipating in certain public activities such as sports.Some Muslim women, however, have begun toprotest these restrictions. For example, womengather daily in Tehran’s Mellat Park for a morningaerobic session, but in public places they mustcover themselves completely. In sports where suchdress is not practical, women perform in separateareas where the only spectators are female. TodayIranian women are active in many sports, includingskiing, bodybuilding, shooting, and soccer. Theirenthusiasm helped launch the first IslamicWomen’s Games in Tehran in 1993. Women com-peting in the games represented many predomi-nantly Muslim countries, including Afghanistan,Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Syria,Turkmenistan, and Yemen.

Learning the SkillAn electronic spreadsheet is a

worksheet for numerical infor-mation. All spreadsheet pro-grams follow the same basicdesign of rows and columns.Columns, arranged vertically, areassigned letters. Rows, arrangedhorizontally, are assigned num-bers. The point where a columnand a row intersect is called a cell. The cell’s position on thespreadsheet is labeled accordingto its column and row. For exam-ple, the cell at the intersectionof Column A and Row 1 islabeled A1.

Spreadsheets use standardformulas to perform calcula-tions using numbers in the cells.To create an equation using thestandard formulas, you shouldfirst select the cell in which youwant to display the results ofyour calculation. Here are someexamples of equations you canbuild:

• The equation = B4 + B5 appliesa standard formula to add thevalues in cells B4 and B5.

• The equation = B5/B6 dividesthe value in cell B5 by thevalue in cell B6.

• An asterisk (*) signifies mul-tiplication. The equation =(B7 * C4) + D4 means youwant to multiply the value in cell B7 by the value in cell

C4, and then add the value incell D4 to the total.

Because adding is the most com-mon function of spreadsheets,most spreadsheet programshave an AutoSum key (∑) thatyou can click on to place a sumin a highlighted cell.

Practicing the SkillTo practice using an electronic

spreadsheet, follow these steps.1. Open a new spreadsheet file.2. Enter the information in

Columns A through E asshown above.

3. In cell C9, use the AutoSumfunction (∑) to calculatetotal population in millionsfor North Africa.

4. Print your results and sharethem with the class.

Using an Electronic SpreadsheetElectronic spreadsheets are used to manage numbers quickly

and easily. Formulas may be used to add, subtract, multiply,and divide the numbers in the spreadsheet. If you make a changeto one number, the totals are recalculated automatically.

458 U n i t 6

Use the information on pages414–416 to develop a spread-sheet on the land area and pop-ulation for all countries in theregion. Use the AutoSum func-tion to create calculations show-ing the total land area and thetotal number of people in theregion. Then create an equationto calculate the population den-sity of the entire region.

SUMMARY & STUDY GUIDE

Key Points• Movement and interaction of people have

created the region’s ethnic diversity.

• The largest concentrations of population are in coastal and river valley areas where water is readily available.

• Urbanization has caused increased pollutionand overcrowding, challenges that cities and regional governments are addressing in many ways.

Organizing Your NotesUse a cause-and-effect chart likethe one below to help reinforceyour understanding of howchange affects population pat-terns in the region.

Terms to Know• domesticate• culture hearth• cuneiform• hieroglyphics• qanat• monotheism• prophet• mosque• nationalism• nationalize• embargo

Key Points• Early peoples in the region were among the

first to domesticate plants and animals.

• Two of the world’s earliest civilizations arose in Mesopotamia and the Nile River valley.

• Three of the world’s major religions—Judaism,Christianity, and Islam—trace their origins toSouthwest Asia.

• After centuries of foreign rule, independentstates arose in North Africa, Southwest Asia,and Central Asia during the 1900s.

Organizing Your NotesCreate an outline using the for-mat below to help you organizeimportant details from this section.

Terms to Know• ethnic diversity• infrastructure

Terms to Know• ziggurat• bedouin• bazaar

Key Points• Islam and the Arabic language have been unify-

ing forces in much of North Africa, SouthwestAsia, and Central Asia.

• Many people in the region speak Arabic. Othermajor languages in the region include Hebrew,Berber, Greek, Farsi, Pushtu, Kurdish, and variousTurkic languages.

• The peoples of North Africa, Southwest Asia,and Central Asia have expressed themselvesfrom the earliest times through the arts andarchitecture.

• Tradition, especially religious observance, playsan important role in everyday life in the region.

Organizing Your NotesUse a graphic organizer like theone below to fill in examples ofthe role tradition plays in differ-ent aspects of everyday life inthe region.

SECTION 1 Population Patterns (pp. 439–443)

SECTION 2 History and Government (pp. 446–452)

SECTION 3 Cultures and Lifestyles (pp. 453–457)

C h a p t e r 1 8 459

Cause Effect

Movement of people

History and GovernmentI. Prehistoric Peoples

A. Rise of Farming Communities1.2.

B.II.

Role of Tradition

Critical Thinking1. Comparing and Contrasting How are

Armenians and Georgians similar? Different?

2. Predicting Consequences How mightthe impact of new technologies affect theregion’s ways of life?

3. Categorizing Information Create a webdiagram like the one below to explain reasonsfor varying standards of living in the region.

Reviewing Key TermsMatch the following terms with their definitions.

a. cuneiform e. monotheismb. culture hearth f. zigguratc. hieroglyphics g. bedouind. qanat h. bazaar

1. center where cultures developed and fromwhich ideas and traditions spread outward

2. form of picture writing

3. writing system developed by the Sumerians

4. belief in one God

5. large, mud-brick temple shapedlike a pyramid

6. traditional public marketplace

7. desert nomad

8. underground canal

Reviewing FactsSECTION 1

1. What groups of people live inthe region?

2. How has urbanization affectedcities in North Africa, South-west Asia, and Central Asia?

SECTION 23. What physical features allowed

areas in Mesopotamia and theNile Valley to become culturehearths?

4. What basic idea is shared byJudaism, Christianity, and Islam?

5. In which areas of Israel do thePalestinians want an indepen-dent state of their own?

SECTION 36. How do religion and language

influence the region’s cultures?

7. How does tradition blend with modern ways in everyday life?

Locating PlacesNorth Africa, Southwest Asia, and CentralAsia: Physical-Political Geography

Match the letters on the map with the places and physical features of NorthAfrica, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia. Write your answers on a sheet of paper.

1. Tripoli2. Iran3. Istanbul4. Casablanca

5. Riyadh6. Israel7. Tehran8. Suez Canal

9. Astana10. Cairo11. Kabul12. Uzbekistan

0° 20°E20°W 40°E

40°N

30°N

20°N

50°N

60°E 80°E

10°N

0°EQUATOR

TROPIC OF CANCER

AI

H

B

D

E

F

J

G

C

L

K

Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

1,000

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0 km

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ASSESSMENT & ACTIVITIES

460 U n i t 6

Standards of Living

C h a p t e r X 461

Many questions ask you to identifyinformation that CAN and CANNOT beinferred from a passage. In this exam-

ple, you are asked to identify information NOT impliedby the passage. Eliminating answers that are directlyreferred to in the passage helps narrow the possiblechoices. Ask yourself: Which of the statements are trueabout the passage, and which of the statements arefalse? Eliminate statements that you are certain canrefer directly to the passage above.

Self-Check Quiz Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 18 toprepare for the Chapter Test.

Using the Regional AtlasRefer to the Regional Atlas on pages 410–413.

1. Location Where do most people in Turkeylive? What accounts for this pattern?

2. Place Which countries’ capitals have popu-lations of more than 5 million?

Thinking Like a GeographerThink about how language both unites anddivides the region’s peoples. Prepare a map ofNorth Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia,using different colors to show specific languageareas. Use one color for areas where Arabic is themain language, another for Turkish and Turkic languages, and a third color for Farsi-related languages. As a geographer, what might you suggest to improve communication within theregion?

Problem-Solving ActivityGroup Research Project Working in a smallgroup, simulate a meeting of delegates from fouror five oil-producing countries. Each group mem-ber should research and report to the group on hisor her country’s oil production, oil revenues, andways the revenues should be spent. Group mem-bers should then work together to create a chartor a graph to present the information to the class.

GeoJournalDescriptive Writing Use details from yourjournal to write a descriptive paragraph aboutone of the culture groups of North Africa, South-west Asia, or Central Asia. Share your paragraphwith the class.

Technology ActivityUsing E-Mail Search the Internet for

the e-mail address of a museum or university inone of the region’s countries. Compose and sendan e-mail message requesting information aboutsome aspect of the country’s culture, such as archi-tecture, religion, art, or language. Write a shortreport from the response you receive.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

C h a p t e r 1 8 461

The following question refers to the accom-panying quotation. Read the quotation care-fully and then answer the question.

"Censorship in Saudi Arabia is even moreovert. Under a system that took two years todevelop, all Internet connections in the coun-try have been routed through a hub outsideRiyadh, where high-speed government com-puters block access to thousands of sites cata-logued on a rapidly expanding blacklist."

—Douglas Jehl, “The Internet’s ‘OpenSesame’ Is Answered Warily,” New YorkTimes on the Web (online), March 18, 1999

■

1. Which of the following statementsCANNOT be inferred about Saudi Arabia from the excerpt above?

F There is a great amount of censorship inSaudi Arabia.

G People in Saudi Arabia are not interestedin technology.

H The Saudi Arabian government feelsthreatened by the impending technologicalrevolution.

J Many Internet sites are off-limits in SaudiArabia.