MIDDLE EAST Essays - Western Asia, Arabian Peninsula,

MIDDLE EAST MIDDLE EAST Regional Makeup- There are three main regions that make up the Middle East. The Fertile Cresent it includes the countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Isreal, and Jordan. It is a 1000 mile long area of, fertile land and is shaped like a cresent moon. Another region is the Highlands it includes the countries of Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan.A sereies of mountain ranges stretch through these countries. They are the Taurus Mountains,Elburz Mountains, and the Zagros Mountains.A third region is the Arabian Peninsula it is bordered by the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and,Arabian Sea. Its land area is about 1 milloin squaremiles Saudi Arabia the largest country in the Middle East takes up much of the area. Much of the rest is covered by the Rub' al-Khali or the empty quarter. Physical Features- There are many physical features made up of water such as seas the Red, Mediterranean, Dead, Caspian, Arabain, and Black. Rivers the Euphrates and Tigris are the main rivers. Straits the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. Gulfs Aden, Persian, and Oman. There is also two plateaus the Iranian and the Anatolian and three main mountain chains Zagros, Elburz, and the Taurus. Deserts the Rub' al-Khali (empty quater). Lifestyles- If you lived in the Middle East you would probally not have much money and no material things. You have to work all day to survive the types of work you would probally be doing is herding sheep,weaving baskets,selling fruit at the markets,and trading goods. Languages- Pastro,Dari,Farsi,Turkish,Kurdish,Arabic,Persian,Hebrew,English,French, and Armenian. Major agricultural,manufactured, and exported products- Exports-Crude Oil,Petroleum, Services, Machinery,Diamonds, and Natural Gas. Imports-Motor Vehicles, Machinery,Food,and Crude Oil. Agriculture-sheep and fruits. The thing that interested me most about the Middle East is that if you are a muslim you must visit Mecca at least once in your life if you can afford it. That interests me because if you are catholic you do not have to visit Vatican City home of the Pope. Another thing that interested me about the muslim religion is that you must pray in the direction of Mecca wich is the most holy city in the muslim religion. Extra tidbits of information- In our textbooks it states that three major religions were started in the Middle East they were Judism,Christianity,and Islamic but I found out that a fourht major religion was also started there it is Zoroastrianism. The meaning for the word muslim is "Those who surrender to gods will" In sixth century B.C. the Persians overran the whole Middle East and set up a ruling system that became the model for all later empires.