Name:___________________________________________ Block:________________________
Study Guide for Southwest Asia and North Africa
1. Know the locations on a map of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Iraq, Israel, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan.
a. These nations have many things in common like a shared history and their
religious beliefs, but they have
very different forms of political
systems.
b. These nations are all Islamic.
i. A Muslim (a follower of
Islam) prays at a mosque.
A mosque usually has a
tall slender tower nearby
used for calling people to
prayer.
ii. Muslims are required to
visit the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia at least once in their lives to honor
the sites that are important to early Islam.
2. Most of this region is a desert, and because of the dry climate, agriculture is significantly
limited.
3. Centuries ago, SW Asia and N Africa were conquered by many invading armies. This
directly led to authoritative governments, poorly-developed economies, and allowed
Islam to spread through the entire region.
a. Most of these nations now have a command economy which can limit the
opportunities citizens have to obtain substantial wealth.
b. Turkey and Israel are two nations in the region with democratic governments.
i. In Turkey, you cannot vote if you are a convicted criminal or are currently
serving in a military school.
c. Saudi Arabia has an absolute monarchy, where the king has all the power.
4. Middle Eastern oil deposits have led to significant business investments from many
nations around the world, especially the USA.
5. After experiencing the horrors of the holocaust after World War II, Many Jewish people
around the world migrated to Israel.
a. Yom Kippur, an important Jewish holiday, is a day devoted to asking for
forgiveness.
b. Israel is a strong ally to the USA.
6. Egypt
a. Egyptians traveling south on the Nile River encountered rapids and waterfalls
and it limited their transportation and influence on that end (southern) of the
country.
b. The Suez Canal uses a narrow land bridge to link the Mediterranean Sea with
the Red Sea.
c. Mobile phones and eDevices were a critical tool in the 2011 revolution.
i. Even though the government shut down the internet people used their
devices to record the event.
7. In Qatar, education is a right to all citizens and service in the military (defending the
country) is a responsibility.
8. Both Bahrain and the USA protect their citizen’s right to communicate with
government officials.