| A | B |
|---|
| exotic rivers | rivers that begin in humid regions and then flow across dry land |
| Sunni | one of the two main branches of Islam. Choose imams who serve many as prayer leaders |
| Shi'ism | one of the two main branches of Islam. Believe that imams can be chosen only fromdescendants of prophet Muhammed |
| imams | Muslim religious leaders |
| OPEC | organization that influence oil prices by controlling supply |
| ayatollahs | religious leaders of the highest authroity among Shia Muslims |
| theocracy | a coutnry governmed by religous law |
| Holocaust | the murder of millions of Jews during WWII |
| Kurds | minority group in Turkey and neighboring countriese |
| secular | non-religious |
| Arabian Peninsula | where Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar are located |
| Mesopotamia | land between the Tigris and Euphrates River |
| Jordan River | flows into the Dead Sea; Great Rift valley on either side |
| cuneiform | -Sumerian writing system that carved wedge shaped symbols on wet clay that are baked and hardened |
| Sumerian | early civilization that started in Mesopotamia; known for cuneiform |
| heirocglyphics | Egyptian writing with pictures |
| papyrus | paper like material used by Egyptians |
| Egyptian | first civilization that devoloped along the Nile River |
| Phoenician | Med. early civilization that developed a postal system, coin system and an alphabet where leaders stood for sounds |
| qanats | underground canals used to carry water from the mts across the desert to farmlands without it evaporating.) |
| Persian | early civilization in present day IRan |
| Tora (Old Testament) | Jewish Holy book |
| Koran | Islamic Holy book |
| Jerusalem | holy city for Judaeism, Islam, and Christianity |
| Mecca | Holy city for Islam |
| Muhammed | prophet of Islamic religion |
| Ramadan | month of fasting |
| prayer, almsgiving, hajj, fasting, and recitation | 5 pillars of Islam |
| hajj | journey to Mecca (at least once in your lifetime) |
| Taliban | governs Afghanistan |
| Israel | created by the UN in 1948; cause of much anitmosity among Arab countries |
| Yassir Arafat | leader of the PLo |
| PLO | Palestinian Liberation Organization |
| Six Day War | Israel seized possession of Sinai Peninsula, Golan Hieghts, West Bank and Gaza Strip during this |
| Camp David Accords | signed agreement between Begin and Sadat in which Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt |
| Hebrew | language spoken in Israel |
| Pashtu | language spoken in Afghanistan |
| Persian | language spoken in Iran |
| Arab | leading language in the Middle East |
| Taliban | governed Afghanistan since 1990s |
| Camp David Accords | signed by Sadat and Begin |
| Six Day war | Israel gained disputed territories including Sinai Penn. Gaza STrip, West bank and Golan Heights |
| Lebanon | country that is largely Chritian |
| 1001 Arabian Nights | famous Middle Eastern book from which Aladdin, Alib Baba and Sinbad tales were taken |
| Sadam Hussein | dictator of Iraq who was hanged |
| Sinai Peninsula | peninsula controlled by Egypt |
| Arabian Peninsula | area of land between Persian Gulf and Red Sea |
| Suez Canal | connect the Mediterranean with REd Sea |
| OSama Bin Laden | founder of Al Qaeda, a terrorist organization believed to be responsible for the September 11 and other terrorist attacks |
