World Regional Geography

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CHAPTER 7: North Africa/Southwest Asia

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Studying the Chapter:

  • Read and study the textbook. (See outlines below.)
  • Read and study the Online Lecture

Map Quiz 3 - Chapter 7:

Review Activities:

For All Realms:

Keep these in mind as you read and study EACH REALM (chapter).

  • Defining a Realm: Know the physical, cultural, economic, and/or historical criteria (characteristics) used to define the realm.
    • Why are the boundaries drawn where they are?
      • Are there any physical barriers (oceans, seas, mountains, deserts, dense forests) at the realm border?
      • Are there physical, cultural, economic, and historical differences on either side of the realm boundary?
      • Do the realm boundaries tend to run through areas of sparse population?
    • How do the physical, cultural, economic, and historical characteristics of the realm differ from these characteristics of neighboring realms?

     

    • You may want to do the following FOR EACH REALM to help your learning:
      • print this realm worksheet and keep track of the characteristics in the chart as you read and study the chapter.
      • You may want to review the lecture on REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
      • Use the Goode's Atlas maps, especially the world maps at the beginning, to see differences between realms

     

    • Here are SOME of the physical, cultural, economic, and historical characteristics that you should consider
      • physical geography
        • landscapes
        • climate
        • precipitation
        • major physical features
        • physical barriers at the realm boundaries (oceans, seas, mountains, deserts, dense forests)
      • cultural geography
        • religion
        • language
        • politics
        • other
      • economic geography
        • level of development - IMPORTANT: SEE TABLE G-1 (pp. 34-41)
        • per capita income (GDP)
        • population growth rate
        • % urban population
        • life expectancy
        • other measures of development - IMPORTANT: SEE TABLE G-1 (pp. 34-41)
      • historical Geography
        • culture hearths
        • colonization - who colonized
        • other

 

  • Know where most people live in the realm. See the population density map in your Goode's Atlas and Figure G-9 (pp. 18-19) in your textbook. Also, assess how well the 5 reasons explain the population distribution. Do they apply to this realm or not?

 

  • Know the CONCEPTS, IDEAS, and TERMS listed on the first page of each chapter and the italicized words within the chapter. ALSO, know EXAMPLES of the terms from the realm being studied. It is strongly suggested that you make a list of these terms with their definitions and examples. Each unit exam will have a question where you DEFINE and GIVE EXAMPLES of these terms.

 

  • You must understand map SCALE. Know the difference between a large scale map and a small scale map. Each unit exam will have a question about map scale. See Figure G-3.
    • Large scale = large detail = small area
    • Small scale = small detail = large area

Textbook Notes:

[Some maps may be difficult to read. To see a clear image, RIGHT CLICK on the image and select VIEW IMAGE]

BRIEF OUTLINE / 4 CLASS THEMES

Chapter 7

NORTH AFRICA/SOUTHWEST ASIA

 DEFINING THE REALM 326

  • Dry World?
  • An "Arab World"?
  • An "Islamic World"?
  • "Middle East"?

     

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY:

  • Hearths of Culture 327
    • Mesopotamia and the Nile 328
    • Decline and Decay 330
  • Stage of Islam 331
    • Muhammad the Prophet 331
    • The Arab-Islamic Empire 331

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY:

  • Islam Divided 334
    • Religious Revivalism in the Realm 335
    • Regional Issue 336
    • Islam and Other Religions 337
    • The Ottoman Aftermath 337
  • Local Reaction, Global Impact 343

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY:

  • The Power and Peril of Oil 338
    • Location and Dimensions of Known Reserves 338
    • A Foreign Invasion: The impact of Oil 340

REGIONS OF THE REALM 343

  • Egypt and the Lower Nile Basin 346
    • Egypt's Regional Geography 349
    • Divided Sudan 349
  • The Maghreb and the Neighbors 350
    • The Countries 351
  • The Middle East 352
    • Iraq 353
    • Syria 356
    • Jordan 357
    • Lebanon 357
    • Israel and the Palestinian Territories 357
  • The Arabian Peninsula 362
    • Saudi Arabia 362
    • On the Periphery 363
  • The Empire States 365
    • Turkey 365
    • Iran 369
  • Turkestan 370
    • The Five States of Former Soviet Central Asia 370
    • Afghanistan 374

 


DETAILED OUTLINE

Chapter 7
 NORTH AFRICA & SOUTHWEST ASIA

 

MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES OF THE REALM

 

NAMING THE REALM

Popular labels:
  • Dry World?
  • Arab World?
  • Islam World?
  • Middle East?

Question:

Why might it be inappropriate to characterize the whole realm with one of the following terms:
  • Dry World?
  • An "Arab World"?
  • An "Islamic World"?
  • "Middle East"?

THE DRY WORLD?

  • Dry/arid climate prevails throughout the realm (Figure G-7, G-8)
  • Exceptions:
    • Peripheral regions of Turkey
    • Mediterranean coast (southwest, east, northeast),
    • lower mountain slopes (northwestern section of Iran, Turkestan)
    • Oases
    • Several great river valleys (Nile, Tigris-Euphrates)
  • WATER - A RENEWABLE OR FINITE RESOURCE?
    • Water is critical for life, food production, and industrial processes.
    • 9 out of 14 Southwest Asian states face water-short conditions (the most concentrated region of scarcity in the world).
    • The North African states all have rates of natural increase above 2.0%, increasing the stress on water sources.
  • POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
    • The majority of the people in this realm live not in the dry arid regions, but around water resources.(Figure G-9)
      • The Nile river valley
      • near the Mediterranean Sea
      • Euphrates and Tigris Basin (Hydraulic Civilization)
      • Lower mountain slopes of Iran, south of the Caspian Sea

 

AN ARAB WORLD?

  • Relates to the Arabic language as a cultural feature of this realm (map)
  • Arabic is the dominant language in 16 States of the realm.
  • There are non-Arab States where indigenous languages dominate
    • Turkey - Turkish
    • Iran - Farsi
    • Israel - Hebrew
    • others

 

ISLAMIC WORLD? (Figure 7-2 )

  • Muhammed born in Arabia (571- 632 AD)
  • The diffusion of Islam (Figures 7-4, 7-5)
  • There are non-Islamic areas in the realm
    • Israel
    • Christianity in Egypt and Lebanon
    • others
  • Today: 1.3 billion followers of Islam in this realm a
  • There are many Islamic areas outside of the realm:
    • Pakistan, India, Bangladesh
    • Indonesia (the world's largest number of Muslims)
    • Northern Nigeria
    • coasts of East Africa
    • Europe: Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia

 

MIDDLE EAST
  • "East "of what?
    • east of Europe, but west of India
    • reflects a Eurocentric bias
  • "Middle" of what
    • "near" east = Turkey
    • "far" east = Chaina and Japan
  • Used in textbook as the name of a REGION within the REALM, not the whole realm (Figures 7-9, 7-12)

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

 

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

 

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY - THE POWER AND PERIL OF OIL (Figure 7-8)

 

REGIONS OF THE REALM (Figure 7-9)

EGYPT AND THE LOWER NILE BASIN (Figure 7-10)
  • Continuous civilization > 5,000 YEARS
  • 95% of Egypt's 74.1 million people live within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the Nile River
  • Basin irrigation
  • Perennial irrigation - mid 1800s
  • Aswan High Dam - 1968
    • increased agricultural l;nd by 50%
    • provides 40% of electricity
  • Centrally located part in Asia, part in Africa
  • Suez Canal
  • Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser
    • 50% more irrigated land
    • 40% of country's electricity
    • problems:
      • more malaria
      • prevents flooding, therefore need for increase use of fertilizers
      • fewer fish do to fertilizers
      • delta is subsiding, fear of salt water invasion
  • Egypt's Regional Geography
  • Divided Sudan
    • Arab/Islamic north and African south (Figure 7-2)
    • oil found in 1990s (Figure 7-10)
      • close to rebellious southern provinces
      • Sudanese army drove villages form the oil area (100.000s)
      • oil revenues used to build military
    • civil war 1983-2005 ?
      • oil
      • Sharia law
      • peace agreement?
    • Darfur "genocide"

     

 

The Maghreb and its Neighbors (Figure 7-11)

  • THE MAGHREB - DOMINATED BY THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS
  • MOROCCO - LAST OF THE NORTH AFRICAN KINGDOMS
    • conflict with the Western Sahara - former Spanish dependency
  • ALGERIA - A SECULAR REPUBLIC WITH RELIGIOUS-POLITICAL PROBLEMS
  • TUNISIA -
    • SMALLEST AND MOST WESTERNIZED OF THE MAGHREBS
    • repression of Muslim radicals
  • LIBYA -
    • OIL RICH DESERT STATE WITH A COASTAL ORIENTATION
    • Muammar Gadhafi - dictator
  • ATLAS MOUNTAINS almost 13,000
  • FRENCH COLONIALISM

 

THE MIDDLE EAST (Figure 7-12)

  • "MIDDLE" OF THE ISLAMIC REALM
  • IRAQ, SYRIA, JORDAN, ISRAEL, LEBANON
  • CENTER OF CONFLICT BETWEEN CHRISTIANS, JEWS, AND MUSLIMS
  • SUNNI - SHI'ITE CONFLICT (WITHIN IRAQ AND THROUGHOUT THE REGION)
  • A FUTURE KURDISTAN?
  • FERTILE CRESCENT
  • CULTURE HEARTH
  • OIL
  • CULTURAL CONFLICT
  • Five countries:
    • Iraq (Figure 7-13)
      • 1980s war with Iran
      • 1991 Gulf War (Kuwait)
      • axis of evil
      • WMD
      • March 2003 to ???? - war
      •  
      • oil, natural gas, gold agricultural land, resources
      • multination state
        • Sunni
          • north and northwest of Baghdad
          • Sunni triangle (Baghdad, Ramadi, Tikrit) Hearth of the Iraqi Sunni nation
          • 22 % of Iraq's population
          • Saddam Hussein
          • controlled Iraq before current war
          • major oil fields
        • Kurds - mountains of Turkey/Iranian border
          • stateless nation
          • Sunni Islam
          • 16% of Iraq's population
          • 25 million in Turkey (14) , Iran (8) , Iraq (4) , Syria, Armenia, Azerbaijan (Figure 7-12)
          • 300 years
          • repressed by Turkey, Saddam Hussein in Iraq,
          • internal rivalries
          • Saddam Hussein used poisonous gas against the Kurds
        • Shia
          • south of Baghdad to Persian Gulf
          • largest nation in Iraq - 60%
          • oil fields and Persian Gulf waterfront
          • Shi'ite Arabs also extend into Iran (which is mostly Shi'ite Persians)
          • politically repressed by Saddam Hussein
          • Uprising after the Gulf War 1991 - ruthlessly put down by Saddam Hussein
    • Syria
      • ruled by a minority (like Iraq was)
      • 75% Sunni
      • Rulers come from a smaller Islamic sect - Alawites
      • authoritarian rule / ruthless suppression of dissent
      • densely populated coastal zone
      • was involved in Lebanon
      • lost Golan Heights to Israel
    • Jordan
      • kingdom
      • product of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
      • Palestinian refugees
      • no oil
    • Lebanon
      • advantages:
        • Mediterranean coast
        • modern capital city
        • oil terminals
        • fertile agricultural land
        • Beirut - "Paris of the Middle East"
      • But:
        • civil war began in 1975
        • Muslim with large Christian Minority
      • current political change
        • Syrian troops forced to leave
        • elections
    • Israel (Figure 7-14)

QUESTION:

On a map of Israel and the Palestinian territories label the following:

  • UN sponsored Israel
  • Israel after 1949 war
  • Israel with territory gained 1967
  • West Bank
  • Golan Heights
  • Gaza Strip

  • Palestinians
    • stateless nation
    • 1 million as Israeli citizens
    • 2.3 million in the West Bank
    • 1.3 million in the Gaza Strip
    • 2.7 million in Jordan
    • 300,000 to 500,000 each in Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia
    • many still in refugee camps
  • Roadblocks on the "Roadmap to Peace" and statehood
    • Jewish settlements
      • 200,000 Israelis have settled in the West bank
      • small Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip
    • Jerusalem
      • UN Plan - International City
      • 1949 Israel held the western part of the city
      • 1950 declared Jerusalem as the Israeli capital (forward capital)
      • 1967 war - Israel conquered all of Jerusalem
      • Jewish settlements built in East Jerusalem
    • Golan Heights
  •  
  • ISRAEL
    • ZIONISM
      • POLITICAL MOVEMENT
      • FOUNDED BY THEODOR HERZL (1897)
      • OBJECTIVE: SECURE A HOMELAND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE
    • BALFOUR DECLARATION (1917)
      • SUPPORTS THE CONCEPT OF A JEWISH HOMELAND
    • JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO PALESTINE
    • 1922 - BRITISH MANDATE TO GOVERN PALESTINE
    • RISING CONFLICT BETWEEN ARABS AND JEWS
    • UN PARTITION PLAN FOR PALESTINE
      • DIVISION INTO JEWISH AND ARAB AREAS
      • BRITISH EVACUATE PALESTINE IN 1948
      • PROCLAMATION OF ISRAEL AS A STATE (14 MAY 1948)
    • 1948: ARAB INVASION (WAR OF INDEPENDENCE)
      • EGYPTIAN, IRAQI, JORDANIAN, & SYRIAN FORCES
      • ISRAEL SEIZES MORE LAND THAN PRESCRIBED UNDER UN MANDATE
    • ARMISTICE (1949)
      • 900,000 PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

       

    • ARAB - ISRAELI CONFLICT
      • 1956: SUEZ WAR
      • 1967: SIX-DAY WAR - ISRAEL GAINS CONTROL OF:
        • GAZA STRIP
        • SINAI PENINSULA
        • WEST BANK OF THE RIVER JORDAN
        • EAST SECTOR OF JERUSALEM
        • GOLAN HEIGHTS IN SYRIA
      • 1973: YOM KIPPUR WAR
      • THE GOLAN HEIGHTS - RETURN TO SYRIA?
      • THE SECURITY ZONE - RETURN TO LEBANON?
      • JERUSALEM - HOLY CITY FOR WHO?
      • THE WEST BANK - PALESTINIAN HOMELAND?
      • THE PALESTINIANS- REFUGEE PROBLEM
      • ARAB/ISLAMIC DISRUPTION- IMPACT OF EXTREMIST GROUPS

 

  • STRUGGLE FOR JERUSALEM
    • HOLY TO JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND MUSLIMS
    • JUDAISM: CAPITAL OF JEWISH KINGDOM 3000 YEARS BP; FAITH TOOK FORM IN THE FIRST TEMPLE-DESTROYED BY BABYLONIANS IN 586 BC; REBUILT AS SECOND TEMPLE; DESTROYED BY ROMANS IN AD 70
    • ISLAM: PROPHET MUHAMMAD ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN -7TH CENTURY AD
    • CHRISTIANITY: BASED ON THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST; CRUCIFIXION AND ASCENT
    • 1947 - UNITED NATIONS DID NOT INCLUDE JERUSALEM AS PART OF ISRAEL
    • 1947 - PALESTINE PARTITION RESOLUTION DESIGNATED JERUSALEM AS AN "OPEN CITY"
    • 1948-49 - WAR AND TRANSFER OF ISRAELI GOVERNMENT FROM TEL AVIV TO JERUSALEM
    • 1967 - WAR AND AFTERMATH CHANGED BOUNDARIES AGAIN
    • 1980 - JERUSALEM REAFFIRMED AS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL

 

  • ARABIAN PENINSULA (figure 7-17)
    • SAUDI ARABIA, KUWAIT, BAHRAIN, QATAR, UAE, OMAN, YEMEM
    • OIL, DESERT, AND STRATEGIC LOCATION
    • SAUDI ARABIA- 25.4 MILLION PEOPLE WITH THE WORLD'S GREATEST OIL RESERVES
    • DESERT
    • OIL
    • ISLAM

     

    • Saudi Arabia (figure 7-17)
      • 25.4 million people
      • world's largest reserves of crude oil (figure 7-8)
      • Kingdom
      • economic "waist
      • nomadic periphery
      • 3-4 million foreign laborers
      • rapid population growth (2.9%)
      • 9-11 aftermath
    • On the Periphery
      • 5 of 6 are monarchies
      • oil

 

THE EMPIRE STATES (figure 7-18)

  • TURKEY, IRAN, CYPRUS, AZERBAIJAN
  • IMPERIAL HERITAGE
  • ARAB ETHNICITY GIVES WAY BUT ISLAMIC CULTURE CONTINUES
  • HIGH MOUNTAINS AND PLATEAUS VERSUS ROCKY AND SANDY DESERT
  • THE EMPIRE STATES (MAP)

 

TURKEY
  • TURKISH OTTOMAN EMPIRE
    • NOMADIC PEOPLES FROM THE STEPPES AND FORESTS OF SIBERIA
    • 6TH CENTURY- ESTABLISHED AN EMPIRE STRETCHING FROM MONGOLIA TO THE BLACK SEA
    • SPREAD THE TURKIC LANGUAGE FAR AND WIDE
    • DECLINED IN EARLY 1900s
    • MAXIMUM EXTENT OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (MAP)
  • MUSTAFA KEMAL (ATATURK)
    • FATHER OF MODERN TURKEY
    • MOVED CAPITAL FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO ANKARA
    • WESTERNIZED TURKEY AND BROKE FREE FROM THE ARAB WORLD
  • WESTERNIZATION
    • ISLAM LOST OFFICIAL STATUS
    • ROMAN ALPHABET REPLACED ARABIC
    • ISLAMIC LAW REPLACED BY WESTERN CODE
    • MONOGAMY BECAME LAW
    • WOMEN GAINED RIGHTS
    • TURKEY SEPARATED FROM ARAB WORLD
  • KURDISH POPULATION
    • 14 MILLION- 1/5 OF TURKEY'S 70 MILLION
    • SOUTHEAST TURKEY (IRAQ) - 3,000 BP; RECENTLY - ISTANBUL
    • ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM

CYPRUS

  • POPULATION OF 900,000
  • PREDOMINANTLY GREEK SINCE ANCIENT TIMES
  • CONQUERED IN 1571 BY TURKS
  • 1878 - BRITISH TOOK CONTROL
  • AFTER WW II, INDEPENDENCE OR UNION WITH GREECE OR TURKEY?
  • 1960- GRANTED INDEPENDENCE
  • 1974- CIVIL WAR
  • 1983- TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS SECEDED; 2 DE FACTO STATES EXIST
  • Divided between two realms (figure 7-9)

 

IRAN

  • A COUNTRY OF MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
  • POPULATION OF 67.1 MILLION
  • 66% URBANIZED
  • NOMADISM
  • CULTURAL TIES TO IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, AZERBAIJAN
  • OIL RESERVES
  • 1980-1990 WAR WITH IRAQ

 

TURKESTAN (Figure 7-19)

  • CHARACTERISTICS OF TURKESTAN
    • MOUNTAINS
    • DESERTS
    • OIL, COTTON
    • PASTORALISM
    • DIPLOMATIC REALIGNMENT
    • ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

 

  • 5 STATES OF THE FORMER USSR
    • KAZAKHSTAN
    • UZBEKISTAN
    • TURKMENISTAN
    • KRGYSTAN
    • TAJIKSTAN

 

  • ETHNIC DIVERSITY (Figure 7-20)

 

  • AFGHANISTAN
    • BUFFER STATE
    • MUJAHEDEEN
    • TALIBAN ERA
    • CURRENT MILITARY OPERATIONS
    • PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE?