Geography Vocab 3/26

Golan Heights

a hilly plateu overlooking the jordan river and the sea of Galilee; a strategic location that has been the site of conflict in Southwest Asia for decades

Jordan River

a river that serves as a natural boundary between Israel and Jordan, flowing from the mountains of Lebanon with no outlet to the Mediterranean sea.

Golan Heights

a hilly plateu overlooking the jordan river and the sea of Galilee; a strategic location that has been the site of conflict in Southwest Asia for decades

Jordan River

a river that serves as a natural boundary between Israel and Jordan, flowing from the mountains of Lebanon with no outlet to the Mediterranean sea.

Rub al-Khali

also known as the empty quarter, one of the largest sandy desert in the world covering about 250,000 square miles, located on the Arabian peninsula

Salt Flat

flat land made of chemical salts that remain after wind evaporate the moisture in the soil

Desalinization

the removal of salt from ocean water

Crude oil

petroleum that has not been processed

Refinery

a place where crude oil is converted into useful products

Islam

a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of Muhammad and the biggest cultural influence in North africa

Mosque

an islamic place of worship, where Muslims pray facing towards the holy city of Mecca

Judaism

the religion of the jews and of their ancestors, the ancient Israelites.

Zionism

a movement that began in the 10th century to reestablish a Jewish state in the Jewish homeland

Palestine Liberation Organization

a nationalist group formed in the 1960’s to regain Israel for Palestine Arabs

Kurds

an ethnic group in SW Asia that has occupied Kurdistan, located in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, for about 1,000 years, and who have been involved in clashes with these three countries over land claims for most of the 20th century.

Mesopotamia

a region in SW Asia between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, which was the location of some of the earliest civilizations in the world; part of the cultural hearth known as the fertile. crescent

Shi’ite

one of the two main branches of Islam including most Iranians and some populations of Iraq and Afgahnistan

Sunni

one of the two main branches of Islam, compromising about 83% of all Muslims, including these in Turkey, Iraq, and Afghanistan

Taliban

a strict muslim group in Afghanistan that has imposed rigid rules on society, including prescribed clothing styles for both men and women restrictions on the appearance of women in public places, and regulations on television, music, and videos.

Stateless nation

a nation of people that does not have a country of their own, like Kurds and Basques

west bank

in Israel, a strip of land on the west side of the Jordan River, originally controlled by Jordan, which is part of the land set aside for Arab Palestinians

Gaza Strip

a territory a long the mediterranean sea just northeast of the sinai peninsula, part of the land set aside for palestinians, by the 1947 partition plan and ruled by palestinians today