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Chapter 18. Cultural Geography of the Middle East!. Population Patterns!. Land of Many Peoples Region has remarkable ethnic diversity ! Different peoples based on language , customs , beliefs Groups of People Arabs Majority of the people in the region are Arabs
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Chapter 18 Cultural Geography of the Middle East!
Population Patterns! • Land of Many Peoples • Region 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 ancientIsraelites 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 coexistingpeacefully
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 ethnicsubgroups • Largest two are Armenians and Georgians • Armenians • Live mainly in Armenia • Armenian OrthodoxChristians • 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 CentralAsian republics of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan
Population Patterns! • Groups of People • Kurds • People without a country • Spread throughout Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran • Historicallyoppressed
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