C U LT U RA L G E O G RA P H Y

CHAPTER 16

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

TURKEY

•Climate – Temperate. It has hot dry summers and mild wet winters. Conditions are more harsh in the interior regions and in areas of greater elevation.

•Bordered on three sides by water:

•North – Black Sea•West – Aegean Sea• South - Mediterranean Sea

To the east is Georgia, Armenia and Iran. Northwest borders Bulgaria and part of Greece.

• Turkey has sought to become a secular – non religious – state.

•Often called Asia Minor because of its size and influence on history.

• Turkey has the largest population of any country in the Middle East and the second largest in Europe.

•Turkey is a chokepoint at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

•The two straits that separate the Asian and European portions of Turkey are the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.

•The Kurds are an ethnic minority that populate the southeastern border of Turkey.

• Istanbul is the largest city of the Middle East.

•The mainland (Asian) section of Turkey is called Anatolia.

•The Pontic Mountains stretch across the northern part of Turkey from the Dardanelles eastward.

• The southern coast of Turkey is so scenic that it has earned the name the “Turquoise Coast.”

•Mount Ararat is mentioned in the Bible.

•Religious differences are the primary cause of trouble in the Eastern Mediterranean.

•The Father of Modern Turkey – is Kemal Ataturk. • Reforms include:• Non Arabic alphabet•Western Laws• Right of women to vote• Ban on polygamy• Ban on veils and turbans•Western Solar calendar

•Thrace• Small part of Turkey on the Balkan Peninsula.

WHY IS THERE OPPOSITION TO TURKEY JOINING THE EUROPEAN UNION?

•Turkey’s economy is relatively weak in contrast to the economies of most EU members. •Historically in conflict with Greece•History of human rights abuses• It is Muslim and shares more in common with Asia or the Middle East than Europe.

CYPRUS

•Cypress is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. (Behind Sicily and Sardinia)

•Most inhabitants of Cyprus are Greek Cypriots (Greek Orthodox, the rest are Turkish Cypriots who are Muslim…the rest are a mixture of Christians and Jews.

•Mandates are areas of control in the Middle East that the League of Nations gave to France and Great Britain following World War I.

•French mandate – Syria•British mandate - Palestine

•Levant – lowlands and mountain ranges have a mediterranean climate. The Levant and the river valleys of Mesopotamia form a crescent shaped area called the Fertile Crescent. .

SYRIA

•The government of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad strictly controls both the economy and personal liberties.

•Capital and largest city is Damascus. It claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

•The Golan Heights are a highland area that has been a point of frequent dispute between the border states of Israel and Syria.

LEBANON

• Tyre – major city in Lebanon built on an island.

•Modern capital of Lebanon is Beirut.

•Most modern Christians in Lebanon are Maronites. Just under 40% of the Lebanese are some type of Christian.

•Lebanon has two mountain ranges running north and south with the Bekaa Valley between.

ISRAEL

•Shephelah is an area of low hills in Israel between the Plain of Philistia and the Lebanese Mountains.

•Negev is a desert, but irrigation helps it produce abundant crops of fruits and vegetables.

•The Valley of Jezreel is mentioned in the Bible. The valley of Megiddo and Jezreel are to be the site of the last great battle. The Battle of Armageddon.

•The Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea.

•Tel Aviv is the largest port and second largest city.

•The Mount of Olives is the main mountain, rising above Jerusalem, in the mountains of Judah, west of the Jordan river.

•The flat topped, steep sided mountain fortress on which the Jewish Zealots held out against the Romans before eventually committing suicide is Masada.

PALESTINE

•The long time leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization was Yasir Arafat.

•Hamas is the terrorist group most closely associated with Palestine.

•The narrow, arid area of southern Israel bordering the Mediterranean Sea that Israel captured during the Six Day War but later turned over to the Palestinians is called the Gaza Strip.

•Because most of the events recorded in the Scripture took place in the region often called Palestine, both Jews and Christians called the area The Holy Land.

RELIGION

• Judaism – Religion of the Jews.

•Zionism – name of the nineteenth-century Jewish movement dedicated to returning Jews to their God-given land.

CAPITALS

•Cyprus – Nicosia• Israel – Jerusalem• Jordan – Amman•Lebanon – Beirut•Syria – Damascus•Turkey - Ankara