Geography of Asia and the Middle East

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Across
  1. 2. largest country by population and third by land area; birthplace of Confucianism; governed by the Communist Party today; contains the longest fortification in the world
  2. 4. a military dictatorship cut off economically and diplomatically from the rest of the world; has reeducation camps and internment camps for political prisoners
  3. 5. wedge-shaped writing invented by the Mesopotamians
  4. 8. large exporter of electronics (e.g., Nintendo, Sony) and cars (e.g., Toyota, Honda, Nissan)
  5. 10. second king of Israel; killed Goliath and wrote many Psalms
  6. 13. a collection of teachings (religious and philosophical) developed in ancient India characterized by reincarnation, the caste system, and karma
  7. 16. acts of worship required of all Muslims: declaration of faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage
  8. 17. ("enlightened one"); Hindu prince who around 500 B.C. rejected Hinduism and left his family and possessions in order to find enlightenment and peace
  9. 21. the longest river in the world; has its source near the equator and its delta in Egypt, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea
  10. 22. consists mostly of uninhabitable desert; home to Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad; largest producer and exporter of oil; uses Sharia law as its criminal code
  11. 23. third king of Israel; wise and rich rule who wrote many Proverbs; worshiped the foreign gods of his wives
  12. 25. a strict social class system in which all people are born into one of four groups which dictate their occupation (job) and rules of behavior
  13. 26. the most populous Arab country; birthplace of the ancient cradle of civilization on the Nile River; famous for its ancient pyramids
  14. 28. large, desert peninsula in the Middle East; between the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea
  15. 29. the belief that one's good or bad actions affects what happens to them later
  16. 31. cradle of civilization which grew up along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; means "[land] between the rivers"
  17. 34. the most holy book of Islam
  18. 35. another term used to refer to South Asia; so-called because of this region's separation from the rest of the Asian continent by the Himalayas
  19. 37. a person who follows Islam
  20. 39. called the "graveyard of empires"; place from which Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the 9/11 attacks
  21. 41. the land of Cyrus the Great's vast Persian Empire; U.S. Embassy and personnel were taken hostage for 444 days in 1979; over 90% Shi'a Islam
  22. 42. considered the best country in robotics, and home to the electronics company, Samsung; the most protestant country in Asia
Down
  1. 1. the repeating cycle of birth, life, and death; after one dies, their soul returns in another body as a human, animal, or spirit
  2. 3. one of the earliest written law codes, written by a Babylonian king
  3. 6. its Tigris and Euphrates Rivers fueled Mesopotamia; dictator Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces in 2003
  4. 7. a religion that teaches detachment from the world in order to reach the perfect peace of nirvana; begun in India but is most popular today in East Asia
  5. 9. a philosophy teaching how behave virtuously within one's family and in society
  6. 11. 1,500 miles of mountains forming the northeastern border of the Indian subcontinent; includes Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth
  7. 12. popular Indian leader who used non-violence to get the British to withdraw from India
  8. 14. (A.D. 570-632) Arab prophet who founded Islam and gained political and religious power in Arabia
  9. 15. historically important rivers in Mesopotamia flowing southeastward from Turkey to the Persian Gulf
  10. 18. the triangular-shaped mouth of a river where sediment builds up
  11. 19. military leaders who saved the Jews from their neighboring enemies before Israel had a king
  12. 20. fourth largest country by population and most populous Muslim-majority country; an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands
  13. 24. the most important resource in the Middle East
  14. 27. the fathers of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
  15. 30. an area in the Pacific Ocean having a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes
  16. 32. first king of Israel; went crazy and tried to kill David
  17. 33. the largest hot desert in the world; makes up most of North Africa
  18. 36. second largest country by population; the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism; known for its curry powder
  19. 38. the event in which Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt
  20. 40. the most common religion in the Middle East and North Afirca; based on the teachings of Muhammad and stresses belief in one god (Allah); means "submission"