Chapter 18

Cultural Geography of the Middle East!

Population Patterns!

Land of Many PeoplesRegion has remarkable ethnic diversity!

Different peoples based on language, customs, beliefs

Groups of People Arabs• Majority of the people in the region are

Arabs• About 275 million in 16 countries• Most Arabs are Muslim; followers of the

Islamic faith

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Israelis• About 6.4 million living in Israel• Culturally trace their heritage to ancient

Israelites and Jewish faith• Jewish people, had left Israel generations ago

due to wars, persecution, and trade• After the Holocaust of WWII millions of Jews

wanted their ancestral homeland to be set aside as a haven

• Unfortunately, Arabs called Palestinians had moved into the area and had lived there for generations

• Israelis and Palestinians have had a difficult time coexisting peacefully

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Turks• Inhabit Turkey on Anatolian peninsula• Blended culture of Turkish, Islamic, and

Western customs

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Iranians• About 66.6 million living in Iran

Speak Farsi language Mainly Shiite Muslims

Afghans• Mixture of many ethnicities• Mainly Islamic peoples

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Caucasians• More than 50 different ethnic subgroups

Largest two are Armenians and Georgians

• Armenians Live mainly in Armenia Armenian Orthodox Christians Speak Armenian Suffered genocide at the hands of Turkey in 1915

Over 1 million murdered

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Caucasians• More than 50 different ethnic subgroups

Largest two are Armenians and Georgians

• Georgians Live mainly in Georgia Georgian Orthodox Christians Speak Georgian

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Turkic Peoples• Turks who live outside of Turkey• Three largest groups are Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and

Tajiks• Muslim peoples• Occupy Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan,

Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan

Population Patterns!

Groups of People Kurds• People without a country

Spread throughout Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran Historically oppressed

Population Patterns!

Population and Resources People cluster near water!• Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile Valleys• Oases in deserts• Sea of Galilee

Argued over by Israel and Syria Population Growth• Population is rapidly growing in the region• Many people are forced to migrate looking for

work

Population Patterns!

Population and Resources Urbanization• Region’s cities are growing rapidly

Cairo, Egypt Istanbul, Turkey, Baghdad, Iraq Tehran, Iran

• Infrastructure is poor Basic urban necessities like streets, utilities,

sanitation

• Poverty is widespread