Eps 5: Physical Geography of Southwest Asia and North Africa
Early Judaism was a temple-centered religion.
The fifth pillar of Islam is , a pilgrimage to Mecca that is expected for all physically and financially able Muslims to complete at least once in their lifetime.
Many newly created governments in the region consisted of military groups.
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Objectively, the equator may be in the center of the Earth, but the Middle East is only 1,000 miles north of it. Green spaces are found in North Africa and South Asia, as well as in parts of Asia and the Pacific.
The flat, barren plains stretching from Senegal to Sudan consist of the Sahel, a region of Africa with a population of about 2.5 million people. The Sahel covers more than one million square miles, the largest land area in the world, and is responsible for the formation of much of North Africa, as well as parts of South Africa and South Asia.
These four regions are particularly characterised by the highest population density . The area around the Tigris, Euphrates and Nile was settled in the Middle East and North Africa about 2,000 years ago. During this time, innovations occurred that would change the course of human existence.
However, there are generally areas in North Africa and South-West Asia where there is a greater diversity of plants than in the Middle East and West Asia.
In an area largely defined by its physical geography, global climate change could have profound effects. Already, climatic and physical geographies are severely constrained by factors such as land use, water availability, and land-use patterns.
Heatwaves and dust storms are likely to become more frequent, and rising temperatures could exacerbate droughts. However, there are generally areas in North Africa and South-West Asia where the flora is more abundant, such as the Middle East and South Africa, and parts of Africa.
Heatwaves and dust storms are likely to become more frequent, and rising temperatures could exacerbate droughts. In an area largely defined by its physical geography, global climate change could have profound effects. Climate and physical geographies are already severely constrained by factors such as land use, water availability, land use change, climate variability, weather patterns and other factors.
North Africa and the desert of southwest Asia are one of the most extreme examples of the effects of climate change. The largest hot desert in the world is the Sahara, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Aden in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula in South Africa. This southern part of this desert has been the scene of a major drought in recent decades due to a combination of drought, heat waves and drought.
The northern basin borders the Gulf of Aden in Egypt, the Mediterranean Sea in South Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In the southern basin, Dasht - e - Lut is the largest basin in the Middle East and one of the driest regions in the world.
In Yemen, the elevations in many places exceed 3,700 meters, and the highlands stretch north from the Red Sea coast to northern Lebanon.
Jebel al-Akhdar borders the small Gulf of Oman, and al Khali joins the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. The northeastern borders of Oman are located in the southern part of Yemen, at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level. Saudi Arabia's northern border with Yemen and its southern border with Egypt stretch from the Red Sea coast to the mountain pastures and extend from 2,500 to 2,700 meters above sea level.
To the south is the Ruba al-Khali district, which is mainly desert and occupies about 25 percent of Saudi Arabia. The region is extremely dry and virtually uninhabited, although oil discoveries have brought temporary settlements to the region.
Agricultural activities are largely limited to bee farming, with the exception of a small number of small livestock farms.
As you can see on the map on page 488, the area called the Fertile Crescent is supported by two major rivers: the Nile and the Euphrates. These two rivers converge in a place called Shatt al-Arab, in the eastern part of the region. However, as much of this region is dry, there are few rivers that flow all year round and are washed by a large number of small lakes, rivers and streams.
Oil tankers must pass this vital choking point - point to leave the Persian Gulf, so they must spread across the region before eventually emptying into it and then into the Mediterranean.
The rugged, arid central plain covers the central region, and the mountains in the eastern region of Oman reach an altitude of over 9,000 feet. The climate is generally hot - temperatures can reach 120 degrees Celsius between May and September - and rainfall varies between four inches or less in the eastern sector and up to eight inches in the western sector.