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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______

Chapter 7: North Africa and Southwest Asia

Part Two: pages 363 - 398

Student Notes

I. Egypt and Lower Nile Basin (363-369)

General Information: Egypt controls the Suez Canal (Connects the Indian Ocean & the

Atlantic Ocean)

The region is the link between Africa & Asia, Mediterranean & Red Sea

1. Egypt & the Nile Capital: Cairo

Basin Irrigation: Flood waters fertilize the soil of the region, 95% of population live within 12

miles of the Nile

Aswan Dam (1968): Created Lake Nasser. 40% of nations power.

Problems: Diseases, messes with the ecosystem of the Nile.

Fellaheen: Subsistence farmers, haven’t really changed for 5000 years

Products: Oil, cotton, textiles, tourism

2. Sudan Capital: Khartoum

British Rule: Put Muslim/Arabs with African/Christians. When the British left a civil war

ensued.

War lasted 30 years, killed roughly 2 million, displaced about 4 million.

Oil: Discovered in the late 1900s…Opportunity for expansion, caused many problems.

Oil in the South, Records kept in the North

Janjaweed: (Darfur) A militia comprised of Arab/Muslims who took over farms of Africans in

Southwest Sudan.

They were backed by the army & the killed at will

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II. Maghreb and its Neighbors (Northwest Africa) (369-372)

Maghreb: The collective name for countries in Northwest Africa

Atlas Mountains: Lots of rainfall (x3 rainfall in Alexandria) Makes ideal farming land

Colonial Impact: Between 1830-1960 over 1 million Europeans settled here. Most of them were

French, they soon became dominant in commerce & agriculture

Nations:

1. Morocco Capital: Rabat

Poverty, conservative in a revolutionary region

2. Algeria Capital: Algiers

Fought for freedom against France, country had been in turmoil since

3. Tunisia Capital: Tunis

Government is stable, economy has potential, strongest ties to Europe in all of North Africa

4. Libya Capital: Tripoli

Majority of the population lives along the coast, economy based around oil, past terrorist

activities (2012 Benghazi Attack)

5. Mauritania Capital: Nouakchott

Dependent on fishing, Strongly Islamic

6. Mali Capital: Bamako

Democratic & Multicultural

7. Niger Capital: Niamey

One of the world’s least urbanized countries

8. Chad Capital: N’Djamena

Country with the strongest divide between Christians (South) and Muslims (North)

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III. Middle East, the Crucible of Conflict (373-381)

1. Iraq (373-375) Capital: Baghdad

Size: 60% of the entire Middle East & 40% of its population

“Heir of Mesopotamia:” Rich heritage and national identity, but not much other than that.

Stateless Nation: a national group that aspires to be a nation-state but lacks the territorial means

to do so (Ex: Palestinians & Kurds)

Concern of its neighbors: Iraq is dependent on its neighbors to help move its oil

Cultural/Political Geography:

Shia’: Majority, live in the oil centers

Sunni: are the minority

Kurds: The area with the control of the oil and the most stable

2. Syria (376) (oldest continuously inhabited city in the world – BC 1500) Capital: Damascus

Sunni: Majority

Shi’ite: Minority, they rule the nation

Products: Recently oil, traditionally agriculture (Irrigation from Orontes River)

Relationship to Lebanon: Occupied and controlled Lebanon until 2005, the UN pressured them

to withdraw

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3. Jordan (376) Capital: Amman

Palestinians: Outnumber original residences 2 to 1

The Palestinians were forced there with the creation of Israel

4. Lebanon (376) Capital: Beirut

Potential: Prime coastline, agriculture (Bekaa Valley), oil terminals, tourism, it’s capital is

known as the “Paris of the Middle East”

1950’s Muslims rebelled against the Christians and took control

1975: Civil war broke out, the country was devastated, Syria took control

Today: constant conflict and dysfunction

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Car bombing in Beirut kills 14, injures 200. Committed by Hezbollah (2013)

5. Israel (377-381) Capital: Jerusalem

Creation: Created by the UN in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people following WWII. The

country was attack immediately

1948 War: Israel responded to the attacks by pushing back and actually taking more land from

the attackers. Jordan took the West Bank area (Part of Jerusalem)

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1967 War: Six Day War: Egypt pushed into Israel, Israel pushed back by taking Golan Heights

(Syria), West Bank (Jordan), Gaza Strip & Sinai (Egypt)

Israel boasts an incredibly strong air force, which helped them win many conflicts

Palestinians: a stateless nation

Allies: US & Europe

Obstacles for Peace:

West Bank: There was a chance for this to be the Palestinian homeland, this ended when Jewish

settlements began coming up.

Golan Heights: Important water, Strategic because it overlooks Northern Israel. Relations with

Syria most likely won’t be normalized until this land is return, which is unlikely

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Jerusalem: Both Israel & Palestine want the city as their capital

IV. Arabian Peninsula (381-385)

1. Saudi Arabia Capital: Riyadh

Government: Ruled by an absolute monarch, King Salman of Saudi Arabia

Used oil to benefit most of his people,

Product: Oil, they possess the largest oil reserves in the world.

Waist-belt: The area where development is most prominent in SA

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Pressures: Iraq, Iran (Nuclear Program), Yemen

Above: King Salman of Saudi Arabia Below: Prince Mohammed bin Salman

2. Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City

Sunni Majority, Progressive (Women allowed to vote in 20017), Block Iraq from the Persian

Gulf.

3. Bahrain Capital: Manama

Island state

Sunni rules over Shia majority

Economic problems & social unrest

4. Qatar Capital: Doha

Small Peninsula

Sunni Majority

Focusing on international economic, social, and democratic reforms

5. United Arab Emirates Capital: Abu Dhabi

Government: A Federation of 7 emirates, each emirate has a sheik that rules over it, rotate sheiks

each year

Dubai: Chief economic center of the Arabian Peninsula “Hong Kong of Arabian Peninsula”

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Modern,

liberal, stable

and prosperous

Emirates

Airline has

become a very

promote

country based

of UAE, Investing in many foreign nations

6. Oman Capital: Muscat

Gov: Absolute Monarchy

Choke point of the Persian Gulf

Foreign investment, tourism, and good infrastructure

7. Yemen Capital: San’a

Choke point to the Red Sea

Representative government, progress (Human rights minister is a women)

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Location of the bombing of the USS Cole (2000)

V. Empire States (385-391)

A. Turkey Capital: Ankara

Ataturk: Mustafa Kemal, “Father of the Turks”

Modernized turkey, Islam lost its official title of state religion. Began to create ties with Europe,

adopted the Roman alphabet, monogamy was made law, adapted western laws.

Turkey was almost completely removed from the Muslim World

Today: Has met resistance over joining the EU, specifically Germany (Their number on trading

partner)

Products: Textiles, agriculture, minerals, oil and tourism.

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Istanbul: (Formerly Constantinople) was the capital until 1923. Center of the Byzantine Empire,

containing some of the region’s most important history. Where the East meets the West. Today

the city has crumbling infrastructure with many shanty towns

Armenians: The Ottomans (Turkey) forced 2 million to leave their homes in the Northeast. With

600,000 dying from forced evacuation. Today it is an obstacle for the EU

Kurds: Make up 1/5 of the population, greatly discriminated against. Today it is a bit better,

however animosity between the two sides still remains

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Alevis: practice a less strict orthodox form of Shiism, greatly persecuted (sometimes murder &

arson)

European Union: The leaders of Turkey would like to be a part of the EU, the people do not.

They feel they are being discriminated against because their Muslim (Bulgaria & Romania were

both admitted) Armenian genocide & Nicosia are points that the EU argues prevents it

B. Iran, Capital: Tehran

History: Sometimes called “Persia”. It was the center of many empires in the past 4000 years.

In the 1950s Iran was a democracy and had a popular prime minister

US formed a coup in order to put a pro-Western monarch in place

In 1979 the monarchy was toppled and replaced with a Theocracy

Ruled by an Ayatollah

Since then Iran has been under strong religious control

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Relations with neighbors: None of Iran’s neighbors trust them.

Today: 2 groups in Iran

Those who side with the Ayatollah & The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The moderates who protest the Ayatollah’s rule

Population: It has doubled since 1970

67% live in urban areas

Majority are under 25

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There’s a lot of internal dissention within Iran

The country itself hasn’t changed that much over the centuries, specifically in the rural areas

Nomadism: Cyclical movement among a definite set of places

Qanats: Underground tunnels used to carry water, supply Tehran and other major cities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lS_ar5UpiU

3. Ethnic/Culture:

Northwestern region: Kurds and Azeri’s live

Southwest: Arabs, oil rich, poor and restive

Southeast: Baluchis (Pakistan)

Iranians are surrounded by a large mix of groups. Many of the groups aren’t happy with Iran

4. Energy/Conflict:

Income: Oil is 90% of Iran’s income

Iran/Iraq War: 1980’s left both nations sapped of money and energy

Division: Mullahs and Reformers

Terrorism: Iran supports many terrorist organizations world-wide

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Nuclear power: Working on creating it for power and peace

VI. Turkestan (Central Asia) (391-398)

Former Soviet Central Asian States, A Cultural Mosaic (map on p. 393)

1. Kazakhstan Capital: Astana

Between Russia & China, exports oil to both

Strong ties to Russia in Northern Kazakhstan

2. Uzbekistan Capital: Tashkent

Uzbeks make up %80 of the population

Wahhabism (Branch of Sunni Islam) created issues

3. Turkmenistan Capital: Ashgabat

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Oil, gas, agriculture. Very isolated, difficult to export products

4. Kyrgyzstan Capital: Bishkek

Diverse/Multicultural

April, 2010 their corrupt president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was removed from office

5. Tajikistan Capital: Dushanbe

Multicultural with regional conflicts (Uzbek activism, Islamic revivalism)

6. Afghanistan Capital: Kabul

Three Environmental Zones:

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1. North: Fertile, well-watered plains and basins

2. Central Highlands: rugged, mountainous and earthquake prone

3. Southern Plateaus: deserts

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Culture: Formed from many different groups traveling through and settling in the region

Languages: Pashto & Dari (Comes from Persian language)

Ethnic Groups: Pashtuns/Dari (Name forced on them by Pashtuns)

War with Russia: Soviet Union invaded, The Mujahedeen (Muslims opposition rose to fight the

USSR) They were backed by the US (Stinger Missiles) forced USSR to withdrawal

Taliban: Power vacuum after the Soviets left. From Pakistani religious schools – Enforced s

strict laws – Not liked by Muslims and Non-Muslims alike.

Haven for like-minded extremists:

Osama Bin Laden, helped with the war against Russia, then took it against Saudi Arabia, and the

US

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