Middle east

• The Middle East is also known as the cross roads of the world, because of its location in the center of continents,
• Deserts are the most common physical feature here and make up 66% of the area
• Water is scarce in the region, which countries often competing over access to Rivers and seas
• The Euphrates and Tigris river, both start in the mountains of Turkey and run parallel to each other in some places
• The Euphrates runs through syria before joining tigris river in southern Iraq
• Then flows along the border between Kuwait and Iran, and empties into the Persian Gulf
• the Euphrates is the birthplace of ancient civilization, Sumer, Babylon, and Asyria
• The Euphrates is a source of water for Iraq, Syria, and Turkey
• The Tigris river flows through Turkey to Iraq
• Along with the Euphrates, the Tigris was a central part of ancient middle, eastern civilizations
• Today the Tigris river still provide water for both drinking and farming
• The countries that share these rivers have had problems over how the water should be shared
• The Jordan river starts in the mountains of Israel, Lebanon and Syria and flows south, until it reaches the Dead Sea
• The Jordan river is only 20 feet wide at some parts, and only reaches 12 feet at deepest point
• The Jordan river is a main source of water for Israel Lebanon Jordan, parts of Syria, and many of those living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
• The Jordan river is also important because it is the political boundary between Israel, the West Bank and Jordan
• The Suez canal connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea
• sues canal is 120 miles man-made waterway that is used to transport goods to, and from Asia, Africa, and Europe
• the suez canal is an important shortcut because it allows trade between all three continents
• At the northern end of the Red Sea ships can enter the canal and get to the Mediterranean Sea, without having to sail all around the continents of Africa
• The Persian Gulf is a shallow body of water between Iran and the Arabian peninsula
• This area holds one of the largest and most important fields in the world
• The Persian gulf is one of the ways oil is shipped from the Richfield of Kuwait Saudi Arabia, Iran, other countries that line its shores
• all of the countries that produce oil in the region depend on the Persian Gulf as a shipping route
• The straight of hormuz is a narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea
• The straits of Hormuz is a critically important shipping channel because much of the worlds oil supply passes through this strait
• Any ships coming out of war into the Persian Gulf must navigate through the strait of Hormuz
• The Arabian Sea is the most north western part of the Indian Ocean
• The Arabian Sea is bordered by India to the east Pakistan and Iran to the north, and the Arabian peninsula to the west
• For centuries the Arabian Sea has formed the key shipping route between Europe, and the western ports of India
• The Red Sea is an arm of the Indian ocean that lies between north east, Africa, and Asia
• the Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal
• Because of the Red Sea’s location between Europe and east Asia heavy shipping. Traffic takes place there.
• During the Middle Ages, the Red Sea was a key part of the spice trade
• The area that covers Israel, the Gaza Strip on the West Bank was once known as Palestine
• After World War II and the holocaust, the Zionist movement gained a lot of momentum throughout the world
• zionist wanted to reunite the worlds Jews and give them a homeland in Palestine
• The United Nations decided to divide Palestine into separate nations, a Jewish state and an Arab state
• 1947 the United Nations created the state of Israel for the Jews, and two territories for the Arabs, the area around the town of Gaza and the territory of the West Bank
• The Gaza Strip is politically unstable, and there have been many outbreaks of violence over the last 60 years