Brief Survey of the Countries of South-Western Asia
On the peninsula of Asia Minor lies Turkey with a population of over 29,000,000. Its capital is Ankara. Part of the area of Turkey, moreover, falls within Europe, facing the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. On the European coast of the Bosporus stands Istanbul, a large city, formerly called Constantinople.
Fig. 124. Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey (over 1,200,000 inhabitants). The large buildings with the rounded roofs and minarets are Mohammedan
mosques (temples).
On the Plateau of Iran, east of Turkey, is I r a n, with a population of over 20,000,000. Its capital is Teheran. Turkey and Iran border on Soviet Transcaucasia between the Black and Caspian Seas. East of the Caspian Sea Iran borders on Soviet Central Asia.
Iran is rich in oil which is, however, entirely in the hands of foreign capitalists.
Afghanistan, further east, also borders on the U. S. S. R. Its capital is Kabul.
South of Turkey and Iran are a number of states inhabited mainly by Arabs.
The eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea is occupied by the Arab Republic of Syria, whose capital is Damascus.
South-east of Syria is the Iraq Republic with Bagdad as its capital.
There are huge deposits of oil in Iraq.
The greater part of the Arabian Peninsula is occupied by Saudi Arabia. In the south-western part of Arabia lies the small state of Yemen. Like the rest of the countries of South-Western Asia, Saudi Arabia is very rich in oil.
The arid deserts and semideserts of Arabia are very thinly populated. The greater part of the population consists of Arabian nomads, so-called Bedouins, whose main occupation is camel-breeding. The camel provides them with milk and meat, hair for clothing and tents, leather for shoes and plates and dung for fuel. The camel is the 'ship of the desert', carrying people and goods from place to place.
The famous Arab horses are reared here and used for riding, but they can be afforded only by the rich.
 In the oases live farmers. The date-palm is grown here. The date is the bread of the Arabian poor. It is eaten either fresh and dried or cooked with barley flour and oil. The date is especially widely cultivated in Iraq.
Fig. 125. Ploughing with a crooked stick.
Farming methods in South-Western Asia are very primitive. Modern machinery is almost unknown here. Most of the Arabian peasants still use a crooked stick which is dragged by a camel or often pushed by hand.
Coffee is grown in Yemen. From here fragrant mocha (a superfine kind of coffee) is exported to all parts of the world.
The Persian Gulf is an important pearling centre. Divers, working without helmets or equipment of any kind, gather the shells at the bottom of the Gulf, some of which contain the precious gem. This trade is very hard and dangerous. Pearl-divers quickly develop lung and eye diseases. They are often attacked by sharks.
Arabia is the home of Islam (Mohammedanism), the religion of the Moslems, widespread among the peoples of Asia and Africa. Not far from the Red Sea stands Mecca, the sacred city of the Moslems.
Questions and Assignments.
- Trace the boundaries of the states of South-Western Asia on
the outline map. Put down their names and the names of their
capitals.
- Study the map and name the oil-producing countries of
South-Western Ask.
Use the maps in your Atlas to speak on the natural features
of any one of these countries. |
