Southwest And Central Asia Vocab Flashcards
Refinery
A place where crude oil is converted into useful products
Crude oil
Petroleum that has not been processed
Salinization
A solution of salt and water
Desalinization
The removal of salt from ocean water
Silk Road
The 4,000 mile route named for its high concentration of high-tech companies
Yurt
A tent of Central Asia’s nomads
Oasis
A place where water from an aquifer has reached the surface
Salt flat
Flat land made of chemical salts that remain after winds evaporate the moisture in the soil
Mecca
The holiest city of Islam
Sunni
One of the two main branches of Islam, comprising about 83% of all Muslims
Shi’ite
One of the two main branches of Islam
Taliban
A strict Muslim group in Afghanistan
Theocracy
A form of government in which religious leaders control the government
Western Wall
For Jews, the holiest site in Jerusalem
Dome of the Rock
A shrine in Jerusalem, located on the Temple Mount
Zionism
A movement that began in the 19th century to create and support a Jewish homeland in Palestine
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
A group formed in the 1960s to regain Arab land in Israel for Palestine Arabs
Kurds
An ethnic group in Southwest Asia who have been involved in clashes with other countries over land claims
Mesopotamia
A region in Southwest Asia, part of the cultural hearth known as the Fertile Crescent
West Bank
In Israel, a strip of land set aside for Arab Palestines
Gaza Strip
A territory which is part of the land set aside for Palestinians, which was occupied by Israel in 1967
