| A | B |
|---|
| kum | deserts |
| alluvial soil | rich soil made up of sand and mud deposited by running water |
| wadi | in the desert, a stream bed that is dry except during a heavy rain |
| phosphate | natural mineral containing chemical compounds often used in fertilizers |
| oasis | small area in a desert where water and vegetation are found |
| pastoralism | the raising of livestock |
| cereal | any grain, such as barley, oats, and wheat |
| arable | suitable for growing crops |
| commodity | goods produced for sale |
| crude oil | unrefined petroleum |
| petrochemical | chemical product derived from petroleum or natural gas |
| landlocked | enclosed or nearly enclosed by land |
| embargo | a ban on trade |
| aquifer | underground water-bearing layers or porous rock, sand, or gravel |
| desalination | the removal of salt from seawater to make it usable for drinking and farming |
| nomad | a member of a wandering pastoral people |
| Bedouin | member of the nomadic desert peoples of North Africa and Southwest Asia |
| infrastructure | the basic urban necessities like streets and utilities |
| domesticate | to adapt plants and animals from the wild to make them useful to people |
| hieroglyphics | belonging to an ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures and symbols respresent words or sounds |
| geometric boundary | a fixed limit or extent that follows straight lines |
| nationalism | belief in the right of each people to be an independent nation |
| monotheism | belief in one God |
| prophet | person believed to be a messenger from God |
| mosque | in Islam, a house of public worship |
| culture hearth | a center where cultures developed and from which ideas and traditions spread outward |
| cuneiform | Sumerian writing system using wedge-shaped symbols pressed into clay tablets |
| qanats | underground canal used in water systems of ancient Persians |
| natural boundary | a fixed limit or extent defined along physical geographi features such as mountains and rivers |
| embargo | a ban on trade |
| ziggurat | large step-like temple of mud brick build in ancient Mesopotamia |
| sheikhdom | territory ruled by an Islamic religious leader |
| shari’ah | Islamic law dereived from the Koran and the teachings of Muhammad |
| emir | a prince of ruler in Islamic countries |
| hajj | in Islam, the yearly pilgrimage to Makkah |
| Ibadhism | a conservative form of Islam distinct from Sunni and Shia sects |
| enclave | a region or community (as within a country or city) made up of people of a different race or cultural background |
| exclave | distinct group of people who are isolated from the main or larger part of a country |
| mujahideen | Islamic guerrilla fighters |
