geography of west asia

• Modern Middle Est includes countries of West Asian , North and East Africa.
• Countries of West Asia:

  -Bahrain

  -Iraq

  -Jordan

  -Kuwait

  -Lebanon

  -Oman

  -Palestine

  -Qatar

  -Saudi Arabia

  -Syria

  -UAE

  -Yemen
• SIMILARITIES IN WEST ASIANS COUNTRIES:

  • Arabic is a common language
  • -Has an arid or desert environment
  • Coast areas are for fishing and trade
  • Caravan trade routes crossed over from Arabian peninsula in the past.
• Arabian Peninsula: large land surrounded on 3 sides by bodies of water:

  -Red Sea

  -Arabian Guld

  -Arabian Sea
• Islam spread to other parts of the world from Arabian Peninsula, containing 2 holy cities in Islam:

  -Mecca

  -Medina
• Arabian Peninsula divided into different areas. Range of mountains in the western part made out of volcanic rock running from north to south and parallel to the Red Sea.
• Mountain Ranges in Arabian Peninsula:

  Tihama

  -Hijaz

  -Asir

  -Yemen

  with highest peaks to 4,000 meters. A coastal plain runs before the mountain ranges. Southern mountains extend towards southeast with large valley called Wadi Hadramoot.
• Vast sandy deserts, Nafud and Empty Quarter, and rocky steppe Najd, extend to shores of the Gulf, which had limited arable lands and limited sources of water, so was traditionally used for pastoral and seasonal migrations.
• Oman - located in southeastern corner of peninsula. Has coastal plain and mountain range rising up about 3,000 meters. Mountain spring waters feel traditional irrigation systems. Harbours on the coast were fishing, pearl diving, and trading. These were key features of traditional economy in the past.
• UAE - located in northern part of Arabian Peninsula. Port cities of UAE were linked by sea trade to Indian Ocean and by land to Northern Middle East and Mediterranean countries.
• Fertile Crescent - crescent-shaped land running through the Syrian desert. In antiquity, it included fertile agricultural area of Nile Valley in Egypt.
• Climate change changed the arable areas of Fertile Crescent. Less agricultural land - recent problems of war, migration by Syrian people and other refugees. W
• Civilizations like Assyrian, Greek and Roman Empires occupied the Fertile Crescent and left ruins of cities and buildings behind as evidence.
• Islam first spread outside of the Arabian Peninsula to the people of the Fertile Crescent.
• Greater Syria - historic area including the modern countries of Syria and Lebanon down towards Palestine. West is a range of mountains bordering agricultural coastal plains on the western slope and valleys of the interior.
• Orantes river is an important river feeding agricultural lands .
• Damascus - capital of Syria.
• Iraq - long stretch of land stretching between and alongside valleys of Euphrates and Tigris.
• Euphrates and Tigris - originated in snow capped mountains of Anatolia in Turkey, flowing in a south-easterly direction, where they empty into Arabian Gulf.
• Southern Iraq is rich agricultural area set between 2 rivers. Silt from deposits of the river make up great alluvial plain called Sawad, where irrigation makes agriculture possible. Modern and historical capital city of Baghdad is in this region alongside other important cities like Najaf and Basra in south near the Gulf.
• Babylon and Sumer were present in Southern Iraq.
• Northern Iraq - upper Mesopotamia, raised mountains and plateaus provide irrigation to farmland growing grain. Northeast of the rivers is a mountain range extending to Anatolia.
• Kurdistan in upper Mesopotamia is named after Kurds who lived there and had their own language. Pastoral lands of Kurdistan are used mostly for raising sheep and herding animals.
• Anatolia - large plateau of land in the north, modern day Turkey. Bordered by mountain ranges in the Northeast where snow feed rivers and valleys for agriculture and by Taurus Mountains in the South.
• Turkey is bordered by several major bodies of water:

  -Mediterranean Sea

  -Black Sea

  -Sea of Marmara
• Ankara is capital of Turkey. Istanbul used to be the capital of Ottoman Empire and Byzantine Empire when it was called Constantinople.
• Jerusalem - Dome of the Rock built in 692 CE. Site where Prophet Muhammed made his night journey, Isra' wa Mi'raj. Nearby is Mosque al-Aqsa, mosque of the farthest place.
• Damascus - Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, one of the oldest surviving mosques and monuments between 706-714.
• Medina: Masjid al-Nabawi or Mosque of the Prophet was rebuilt about original house of the Prophet and mosque that surrounded his home in Medina. One of the holiest sites in Islam.
• Kuwait City and Kuwait Towers. Recognizable as symbol of the country.
• Beirut, Lebanon - distinguished by urban architecture and waterfront on Mediterranean Sea.
• Baghdad, Iraq - Monument of Liberty was designed by a sculptor Mohammed Jawad Salim in the early 1960s, and located in the centre of Baghdad city.