Which countries/territories are included in the Eastern Mediterranean subregion?

Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and the Palestinian territories

What are the Golan Heights?

Rocky plateau occupied by Israel

Describe the Anti-Lebanon mountain range.

Low population density, thin soil not useful for agriculture, highest point is Mount Hermon

Describe the Syrian Desert.

Composed of gravel, not sand, used as a road way

How is a rift valley formed?

Formed by the separation of tectonic plates

Why is the Negev Desert geographically unique?

Has erosion craters

Why is the Euphrates River important to Syria, and which lake was formed from its dam?
Provides the entire country with water, helps irrigate it.... Lake al-Assad

Why is the Jordan River important?

Important for irrigation and agriculture

Describe the irregularity of Eastern Mediterranean water systems.

Flow intermittently, infrequent rain storms cause streambeds to be dry, can cause flash floods
and mudflows

Describe the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

Sea of Galilee supports some marine life but is relatively salty.... Dead Sea is lowest body of
water on Earth, so salty

Which kind of climates does Eastern Mediterranean have?

Which resources are prevalent in Eastern Mediterranean?

What are the kibbutz and the moshav?
What is Eastern Mediterraneans biggest challenge for agriculture.

What is monotheism?
The belief there is only God

Out of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which is the oldest?

Judaism
What are some ritual and ethical requirements (you do not have to list them all)?
Ritual: daily prayer, observing the Sabbath.... Ethical: Giving to charity, loving your neighbor

Describe Muhammads importance in the Islamic religion.

Muslims believe Muhammad received revelations from God, he is the last in a line of prophets

Describe the Five Pillars.

Describe the conflict between the Jews and Muslims over the Palestine Mandate.
Jews wanted an internationally recognized homeland in a part of the Mandate, Arabs wanted all
of Palestine.... UN voted to divide the Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state, Jews
accepted but Arabs rejected, struggle for control.... creation of Israel forced many Arabs living in
Palestine and Jews living in North Africa to become refugees.... Palestinians have become a
stateless nation

What kind of government does Jordan have?

Constitutional monarchy

What are the official languages in Israel, and what is the primary language in all other
areas?
Hebrew and Arabic for Israel, Arabic

Describe education in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Describe health care in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Trying to make affordable health care... hospitals are often government-wned but they are
crowded.... private hospitals offer better care but more expensive.... in Israel, medical insurance
is mandatory, partially subsidized by the government and is high quality

Describe family life and the status of women.

Centered around religion... in many countries, women have few opportunities

Describe the economic activity of this region, mention tourism.

Why is the Mediterranean Sea at risk?

Overfishing, contamination, rise in sea surface temps, and introduction of invasive species

How did air pollution come to be a serious problem in the Eastern Mediterranean?
High levels of urbanization, strain city services, old buses and taxis, unregulated burning of
fossil fuels

Describe the topography of Northeast Asia.

Largely mountainous, with broad plains and rivers
Where are the Pontic and Taurus Mountain ranges located?
Turkey
Where are the Elburz and Zagros ranges located?
Iran

Describe the Anatolian Peninsula.

Where the continents of Europe and Asia meet, surrounded by the Black Sea, Taurus Mountains, and the
Aegean Sea

What is an alluvial plain?

Low-lying area that is frequently marshy and covered with lakes and swamps

What are the Turkish Straits?

Water way marking the border between Asia and Europe, consist of the Dardanelles, the Sea of
Marmara, and the Bosporus.... produced military and commercial advantages for those who control it,
center of many conflicts

What is the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers called?
Mesopotamia

Why is the Caspian Sea important and what is happening to it?

Slowly shrinking because of evaporation and reduction of water flow,, transportation link, yields some
resources like oil and natural gas

What two major factors influence the climate of the Northeast?

Mountain ranges and proximity to major bodies of water

What is pastoralism?
Raising of livestock

What are the most significant resources of the Northeast?

Fossil fuels and vital waterways that transport them

Describe the significance of Mesopotamia.

Culture hearth... civilizations emerged, agriculture, food, settled communities

Who were the Sumerians?

Civilization in Mesopotamia, grew crops, used canals, created mathematics and code of law

What is cuneiform?
Wedge-shaped symbols pressed into clay tablets

Describe the Persian Empire.

Conquered nearly all of the present-day territory of Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Turkey.... built
qanats
What are qanats?
Underground canals that reduced the evaporation of water

Which country came from the core of Persia?

Iran

Describe the government in Iran.

Secular government was overthrown, now Islamic scholars dominate Iranian politics

What is OPEC?
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, group agreed to regulate oil production to keep
oil prices high

Which religion do a majority of people belong to in Northeast Asia?

Islam

Describe the education situation in Northeast Asia.

Literacy rates are high, support systems of free public education

Describe health care in Northeast Asia.

Describe the status of women.

What are feeder streams

What are negative effects of dams

Describe the Mesopotamian Marsh

What are threats to the marshes?
What happened to the Persian Gulf?

What has been causing air pollution?

What is preventing Turkey from joining the EU?

Describe the Arabian Peninsula.

Dominated by arid land mostly unsuitable for human settlement and agriculture

What is the worlds largest uninterrupted area of sand?

The Rub al-Khali

What is the northernmost tropical sea in the world and also an important shipping route?
The Red Sea

Which gulf serves the international shipping needs of all oil-producing countries of the
Arabian Peninsula?
Persian

What are monsoons?

Seasonal wind that brings warm, moist air from the oceans in summer and cooler, dry air from
inland in winter

What are simooms?

Hot, suffocating winds

What are shamals?

Sand and dust-laden winds

What are sheikdoms?

Territories ruled by Arab tribal leaders

Where did the ancient Greeks establish a trade center?

Persian Gulf near what is now Kuwait

What are a majority of governments in the Arabian Peninsula?

Monarchies

What pushed workers toward oil-wealthy Arab countries?

What is the language common to all Arab people of the Arabian Peninsula?
What is the main religion in this area?
Describe the differences between the Sunni and Shia and what caused their conflict?

What is Ibadhism?
Conservative form of Islam distinct from Sunni and Shia sects

What is the hajj?

Describe health care in this region.
Describe education in this region.

Describe marriages and family in this region.

Describe the management of oil in the Arabian Peninsula (where are people trained, who
is in control, etc.)
What are choke points, which ones are on the Arabian Peninsula, and what are the
effects of blocking them?

What are other important industries in this area?

What is geopolitics?
What negative effects come from oil extraction?
Describe the effects of drought and lack of rainfall in the Arabian Peninsula.

Which country is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and what would that cause?
Describe the carbon emission situation in this area.
How can aquifers be contaminated and what does it cause?

What is causing desertification in the Arabian Peninsula?

Describe how the Arabian Peninsula is conducting desalination efforts.
Describe how cheap water is leading to overconsumption.