1. Southwest Asia’s
Geography
Social Studies for 10th E.G.B. | Teacher: Mauricio Torres

2. Why the name Asia?
 No one knows why it is called in such way, but it is
one of the oldest registered names.
 It is a concept developed by Westerners, specially
Greeks who referred to the land across the
Dardanelles as Asia.
 Such an example would be the
historian, Herodotus, registering the name in his
Histories.
 Asia was originally the name of what we know today
as Asia Minor, it usage was extended to the rest of the
continent.

3. Southwest Asia
 It is composed of, by
the following countries:
 Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria
 Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Bahrain
 Qatar, Oman, United
Arab Emirates
 Yemen, Turkey,
Cyprus, Iran.

4. “The Middle East”

5. “The Middle East”
 Southwest Asia has long been
known as “The Middle East”.
 It is an area with a turbulent
history.
 Historically, it is were the first
civilizations developed:
Mesopotamia.
 Later, during medieval times,
it was the center of very
important trading routes.

6. Geography
 Mesopotamia:
 It is located in the “Fertile
Crescent”.
 Mesopotamia means:
between rivers. This is
because through it, we find
the Euphrates and Tigris.
 Because of these two
rivers, the land is rich in
nutrients, making it easy to
develop agricultural
communities.
 It runs across Iraq, Syria
and Lebanon.

7. Geography
 Bosporus and
Dardanelles:
 They are two narrow
straits between Asia and
Europe.
 They provide a waterway
for ships coming from the
Black Sea into the
Aegean or the other way
around.
 This was considered to
be the center of worldly
affairs, back in ancient
times, due to its important

8. Geography
 Arabian Peninsula:
 It has the largest sand
desert in the world.
 It has no single body of
fresh water
 The deserts are largely
uninhabited.
 2% of the land is
suitable for cultivation.
 It has the world’s
largest petroleum
reserves.

9. Ask Yourself
 Analyze
 What do you think is the economic importance of the
following:
 Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, Dardanelles and
Bosporus
 Recognize
 Why were the trade routes during medieval times so
important?

10. Excercise
 Type two short paragraphs:
 Five lines each
 Times New Roman
 12 pt.
 The subject is, “What do you know about the Middle East”.
 Use your own words. Don´t do any research.
 Don’t be afraid to use stereotypes or make mistakes!
 Start your first draft in class.

11. Bibliography
 Baerwald, T. J., & Fraser, C. (2007). World
Geography. Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Pearson
Prentice Hall.
 Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012). World History
(Teacher´s Edition) (1st Edition ed.). (H. McDougal,
Ed.) Orlando, Florida, US.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Company.
 Images taken from Google.com