Africa and the Middle East Study Guide Africa is the second largest continent in the world It is divided into Africa north of the Sahara the world s largest desert and Africa south of the Sahara Culturally the countries to the north are akin to the Middle East The Middle East o Geographically refers to Israel Syria Lebanon and Jordan plus the 6 countries of the Arabian Peninsula and the 4 countries in Asia o Politically it also includes the North African countries of Morocco Algeria Tunisia Libya and Egypt The Middle East is in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres Most travelers come to Turkey and Israel It borders the Mediterranean and the Black Seas to the north To the south it borders the Indian Ocean the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman Africa is divided by the equator It has land in all four hemispheres It is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from Asia by the Red Sea The Atlantic Ocean is to the west and the Indian Ocean is to the east Africa Africa has the world s longest river the Nile o It begins at Lake Victoria and runs to the Mediterranean Sea The Sahara covers 25 of Africa The tallest mountain is the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania The Great Rift Valley begins in the Middle East in Syria and extends south to Mozambique Africa is known as the birthplace of the human race People lived in the Middle East as early as 25 000 B C The Egyptian Civilization rises in the Nile reached the height of its power about 1400 B C Islam was the next major force in the region from 700 A D to the 1100 s South of the Sahara there were very powerful kingdoms Centuries of European colonial rule followed the late 1400 s Zulu s largest ethnic group in South Africa major kingdom In 1884 European powers met in Berlin to draw the boundaries of their colonies The Berlin Conference created African nations with no consideration for native cultures In the 20th Century the countries in the region regained their independence After WWI the League of Nations divided the Arab lands between Britain and France During the 1940 s the Arabs states fought for their independence and Israel became a country African colonies became independent between 1950 and 1989 Morocco Morocco has great strategic location at the entrance of the Mediterranean o Gateway to Europe It is larger than California in size From 1085 played an important part in Muslim domination of Spain To the south lies the Western Sahara The Atlas Mountains run southwest to northeast Tourists visit the four imperial cities o Rabat with great influence from the French in its architecture is the capital o Marrakesh was founded in 1662 Known as the Red City because of the color of its walls and buildings located to the south most popular o Meknes was built to rival Paris after Louis XIV built Versailles o Fez The most ancient of the imperial cities Built in the 8th century second most popular Egypt Known as the Gift of the Nile Lower Nile lies to the north of Cairo South of Cairo is Upper Egypt The Nile flows north from Sudan Cairo is the capital o The city has many tourist attractions and can provide an immersion in Egyptian culture The Egyptian Museum is a popular attraction o It has a mixed population of Arabs Turks Africans and Europeans pyramid Giza is a suburb of Cairo on the Nile is the site of the most famous o The Great Pyramid of Cheops The Great Pyramid is the world s largest single building The Sphinx is also located at Giza o The face is destroyed because of soldiers that used to shoot at Memphis southwest of Cairo was the first capital of Egypt Alexandria second largest city and principal port Today it is a for practice beach resort o First library built here Years of storage fire destroyed it all Luxor the country s most important destination About 405 miles south of Cairo Site of Thebes Egypt s imperial capital and the Temple of Luxor considered by many as the most important site in the country The Valley of the Kings is across the river from Luxor The Safari Lands Africa safaris airplanes Safari means a journey in Kiswahili the common language of East There are two types of safaris land safaris minibuses and wing The Safari Lands run along east Africa from Kenya to South Africa It includes Kenya Tanzania Zambia Botswana Namibia and South Africa Tanzania is the 1 travel destination TEST QUESTION Kenya Kenya s tourist industry has suffered great losses since 2004 when terrorists launched a missile at a commercial aircraft Nairobi is the capital It is one of Africa s largest cities Kenya has many national parks including Nairobi National Park within the city limits of the capital Tanzania Considered the largest country in East Africa Home to more than 125 tribal groups Principal attractions include o Mount Kilimanjaro Africa s highest mountain o Ngorongoro Crater a volcano to the west of Kilimanjaro o Serengeti National Park noted for its herds of zebras antelopes and lions o Selous Game Preserve one of the biggest parks in the world Considered to be Africa s number one travel destination Ernest Hemmingway s novel The Snows of Kilimanjaro Capital is Dodoma The Ngorongoro Crater is 12 miles in radius o Animals live in this area and they are completely isolated in the crater o Animal population has remained at a healthy level in this area for a long time has not become overpopulated It is a landlocked country in South Central Africa Lusaka is the capital Top attraction is Victoria Falls Most of the country is covered by bush a mix of woodland and Zambia savanna Botswana It is also a landlocked country One of the most desirable safari destinations Gaborone is the capital and largest city The Kalahari Desert spreads across the central part of the country The desert is home to the Bushmen o One of the last hunter gatherer societies Chobe National Park is a popular destination with the world s highest elephant population Namibia Its architecture reflects the past as a German colony Windhoek is the capital The Namib Desert is one of the world s oldest and driest deserts To the north along the west coast is the Skeleton Coast o Hot air coming from the desert combines with the cold air coming off the water to the north heavy fog Etosha National Park to the northwest of the capital is one of the The five major game animals Elephants rhinos buffalos lions world s largest game parks and leopards South Africa 1600 Dutch settled here 1800 s British came in and took control after war About three times the size of Texas Lies at the southern
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