| A | B |
|---|
| Islam | major religion of Middle East |
| Judaism | major religion of Israel |
| 1948 | year Israel became a country |
| Law of Return | Rule that states Jewish people could return to the homeland (Israel) |
| Diaspora | the scattering of the Jews by the Romans |
| Christianity | Islam, Judaism and this religion were born in the Middle East |
| Arab | the name of the people who are descendants of Arabia |
| Turk | people whose name was given to the country of Turkey |
| mosque | a place of worship for Muslims |
| Muslim | the name of a person who follows Islam |
| Mecca | a holy city of Islam |
| hajj | a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca once in a lifetime by Muslims |
| Kabul | capital city of Afghanistan |
| Amman | capital city of Jordan |
| Persian Gulf States | Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman |
| Persian Gulf | area where a lot of oil can be found |
| Riyadh | national capital of Saudi Arabia |
| Saud | name of royal family for whom Saudi Arabia is named |
| Israel | Jerusalem is its national capital |
| Beirut | Lebanon's national capital |
| West Bank and Gaza Strip | territory of Arab Palestinians |
| desert | most of land on Arabian Peninsula |
| Tigris and Euphrates | major geographical features of Iraq |
| Iraq | Baghdad is its capital city |
| Iran | Persia is its ancient name |
| Tehran | national capital of Iran |
| Kuwait | Kuwait's national capital |
| Persian Gulf War | This began when Iraq invaded Kuwait |
| embargo | a country is punished with this; no trade |
| Strait of Hormuz | Oman controls this body of water |
| Damascus | capital city of Syria and ancient trade center |
| Pontic Mountains | mountains in north of Turkey |
| Ankara | national capital of Turkey |
| Turkey | country straddles Asia and Europe |
| Istanbul | Ottomans renamed Constantinople this name in the 1400s |
| Black Sea and Aegean Sea | Turkey borders these seas |
| Red and Mediterranean Seas | Israel and Egypt border these seas |
| Taurus Mountains | mountains in the south of Turkey |
| Anatolia | plateau in center of Turkey |
| Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf | Iran borders these bodies of water |
| Kurds | Turkish government has conflict with this ethnic group |
| Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey | countries of large Kurdish populations |
| Pashtuns, Afghans, and Tajiks | These ethnic groups live in Afghanistan |
| Hindu Kush | Mountains of Afghanistan |
| Khyber Pass | trade route and passageway through the Hindu Kush |
| Yemen | Arabian peninsula country with least amount of oil |
| Turkish Straits | Sea of Marmara, Bosporus, and Dardanelles |
| farm | 1/2 of Turkey's people do this and so do most in Syria |
| service industry | 1/3 of Turkey's people do this |
| mountainous | land that describes Iran and Afghanistan |
| Zagros and Elburz | mountains of Iran |
| Byzantium and Constantinople | ancient names of Istanbul |
| Ottomans | conquered Constantinople (ancient Istanbul) in AD 1400s |
| Kemal Attaturk | Turkey's first president |
| World War One | Ottoman's defeat; Turkey is an independent nation |
| Golan Heights | plateau in northern Israel |
| Dead Sea | lowest elevation on earth between Israel and Jordan |
| Negev Desert | dry land in southern Israel |
| Jordan River | river flows into Dead Sea |
| kibbutz | Israeli people who share a farm settlement and may also produce goods |
| moshav | Israeli people who share in farming, production and selling, and allowed to own private property |
| potash | mined in Israel's Dead Sea area |
| King David | led ancient Jews and created a kingdom in what is now called Israel |
| Jerusalem | national capital of Israel |
| Judah and Israel | 922 BC, King David's kingdom split into two kingdoms |
| monotheism | Jews were first to have an organized religion around this idea |
| Holocaust | mass imprisonment and slaughter of Jews during WW II |
| democratic republic | government of Israel and Turkey |
| Tel Aviv | largest city in Israel |
| Syrian Desert | land that covers most of eastern Syria |
| 1946 | year that Syria became an independent country |
| oil | Iraq, Iran, and Syria's major export |
| civil war | this occurred from 1975-1991 in Lebanon |
| Arabic | widely spoken language in the Middle East |
| Constitutional monarchy | Elected leaders govern but a king or queen is the official head of state; Jordan |
| Hashemite Family | rules Jordan today |
| King Abdullah | Jordan's present monarch |
| Arab Muslims | majority of people who live in the Middle East |
| Palestinians | majority of people who live in Gaza Strip and the West Bank |
| Christian and Muslim | religions of Arab Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip |
| Persian Gulf | Iraq borders this body of water to the south |
| desalinization | take salt out of seawater to make freshwater |
| wadis | dry riverbeds filled by rainwater and is a source of water in Saudi Arabia |
| oases | green areas in the desert fed by underground water and is a source of water in Saudi Arabia |
| OPEC | Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| Quran | Islamic holy book |
| Saddam Hussein | Iraqi dictator ousted by Allied Forces |
| shahs | kings who once ruled Iran |
| Islamic Republic | government run by Muslim religious leaders in Iran |
| Arab | major ethnic group of Southwest Asia (Middle East) |
| Persian | major ethnic group of Iran |
| Turk | major ethnic group of Turkey |
| Islam | major religion of people in Middle East |
| Judaism | major religion of people in Israel |
| democracy | types of government for Turkey and Israel |
| theocracy | type of government for Iran |
| urban | most people who live in Iran, Israel, and Turkey are this |
| oil | major export of Iran |
| Hebrew | major language of Israel |
| Persian | major language of Iran |
| Farsi | major language of Iran, also known as Persian |
| Turkish | major language of Turkey |
| Kurds | minority ethnic group who live in northern Syria, Iran, Iraq and eastern Turkey |
| Kurdish | major language of Kurds |
| factories | Israel makes most of its money by making products in these |
| tourism | TUrkey makes a lot of money with this industry |
