POLS 157 Lecture 1: Geography
19 Feb 2020
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Document Summary
Iran and turkey are not typically considered the middle east, but have a big presence in the region. The jordan river starts in lebanon and flows south, forming the border between israel and the tigris and euphrates rivers originate in turkey and flow through syria and iraq. The suez canal in egypt connects the mediterranean and red seas. The straits of tiran are between egypt and saudi arabia; israel"s access point for trade. Straits of hormuz in the persian gulf between iran and oman. Arabian desert takes up a significant portion of saudi arabia: region where mohammed originated, contains holy sites of mecca and medina. Birthplace of islam, pilgrimage sites (1) source of tourism money: has lots of oil. The syrian desert is between syria and iraq: the expanse allowed isis to rise and grow. The sahara desert forms the southern boundary of north africa. Jerusalem is a holy city for judaism, islam and christianity.
