Geography Chapter 12 S.1Turkey has a unique location between the

continents of Asia and Europe. It includes three important waterways – the Bosporus, the Sea of

Marmara, and the Dardanelles – these are called the Turkish Straits.

The Anatolia plateau is rimmed by the Pontic Mountains in the north and the Taurus

Mountains along the south.Most people are farmers, but Turkey’s most

important industry includes oil, and making of textiles/clothing. Turkey’s history and location

also make it a popular tourist attraction.

Famous city located on both continents

Turkish is the official language and almost all the people are Muslim or follow Islam

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey located on both the Asian and European continents as well. It was once the center of the Greek culture and a Greek port named Byzantium. Later it became Constantinople renamed by the Roman emperor Constantine and the center of the Byzantine Empire. Also important to Christianity with the church built called the Hagia Sopia. The Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in AD 1400’s and made it the capital city of a powerful Muslim empire.

After World War I, the country changed again and its first president bringing about many modern changes.

Hagia Sophia

View inside the Hagia Sophia

Syria is south of Turkey Euphrates River runs through Syria and provides water for irrigation and hydroelectric power for cities/industries

Oil is Syria’s major export.

Euphrates River runs through it! (Syria

Most people are Arab Muslims. Half the people in Syria live in rural areas and few are nomadic desert people called Bedouins.

Damascus is the capital of Syria and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world – founded as a trading center over 4,000 years ago.

View of Ancient Damascus GateDamascus Today

Lebanon is located west – southwest of Syria. It’s capital is Beirut. Lebanon’s civil war between the Arab Muslims and Christians almost destroyed it’s people and economy.

Both Arabic and French are official languages.

Jordan has a constitutional monarchy Second wife of Hussein I – Princess Muna Mother to King Abdullah --She was a British until she converted to Islam to marry King Hussein I. King Hussein I and last wife Queen Noor

King Abdullah II and his family

Interesting facts about Queen Noor – last wife of Hussein I:

Queen Noor was born Lisa Najeeb Halaby in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Najeeb Halaby and Doris Carlquist (Swedish descent). Her father was an aviator, airline executive, and government official. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Truman administration, before being appointed by John F. Kennedy to head the Federal Aviation Administration. Najeeb Halaby had a successful private-sector career, serving as CEO of Pan American World Airways from 1969 to 1972. The Halabys had two children following Lisa; a son, Christian, and a younger daughter, Alexa. They divorced in 1977.

Noor's paternal grandfather, Najeeb Elias Halaby, a Syrian immigrant, was a petroleum broker, according to 1920 Census records.[2] Merchant Stanley Marcus, however, recalled that in the mid-1920s, Halaby opened Halaby Galleries, a rug boutique and interior-decorating shop, at Neiman-Marcus in Dallas, Texas, and ran it with his Texas-born wife, Laura Wilkins (1889–1987, later Mrs. Urban B. Koen). Najeeb Halaby died shortly afterward, and his estate was unable to continue the new enterprise.[3]