The Arabian Peninsula

Culture, Religion, and Influence

If you are familiar with these…

Asparagus

Algebra

Bangs

Navigation

Then you already have a connection to Arabia!

Silk Road Connection

•The Silk Road connected people of the Arabian peninsula with people of Asia.•This provided the opportunity for an exchange of goods, ideas, and culture.•The map above demonstrates the range of goods available on the silk road.•Also, notice the terrain included along the route.

Geographical Location

•The Arabian Peninsula is in a part of the world we often call the Middle East, which places it between Europe and Asia.•It includes such modern-day countries as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, and Jordan.•As the second map shows, Saudi Arabia alone is roughly the same size as the eastern Unites States.

LandscapeThe Arabian Peninsula has these characteristics:

•Vast Deserts

•Bordering Mountains

•High Daily Temperatures

•Low Nightly Temperatures

•Limited Rainfall and Water

•Desert Oasis Locations

•Fertile Land Near Rivers

Bedouins•Many people of Arabia were, and still are, Bedouins.•Bedouins are nomadic groups.•Hospitality is an important part of their culture.•Bedouins belong to specific tribes.

•The most important form of transportation in the deserts of Arabia is camels.•Camels can carry large loads for great distances.•They require relatively little water.•Their bodies are especially well adapted to the harsh desert environment.

Bedouin man and his Camel

Bedouin Family

Bedouin Tents

•In this tent interior, you can see the size of the space.•Most of the textiles are colorful and contain intricate patterns.

•In this tent model, you can again see the use of colorful rugs.•In front of the men’s half are the tools for making coffee.•There is a curtain dividing the two halves.•The women’s half is set up for weaving.

Food

Arabian food has a great deal of variety due to the many regional differences in farming, fishing, and trading. Even so,certain items are shared in common. Rice is popular everywhere,similarities in climate support similar fruits (lemons, grapes, etc.),and sheep and goats, who can handle the environment, are used for meat and milk.

Sherbet, the original MiddleEastern “soft drink”, was a method of preserving fruitbeyond its season.

Middle Eastern cooking wouldn’t be the same withoutsuch spices as saffron, ginger, cinnamon, cumin,and turmeric.

Dates, which comein many varieties, areanother popular fruitthat can be grown throughout Arabia.

Art

Pendant

Incense Burner

Iranian Painting

FlaskTextile Fragment

Iranian BowlMosque Lamp

TilesTiles such as these would have been made in large quantities to provide a

decorative surface by being laid together in a pattern.

Those used to decorate mosquescould not contain human or animal

forms.

Many tilescontained Arabic

words, floral patterns,

or geometricdesigns.

Inventions

Islamic sailors combined the compass and sundial

to create a useful tool.

The kamal was a block of wood with a knotted string attached. The

specific location of the knots helped to findlatitude for ports.

The astrolabe was perfected in Arabia for measuring theheight of a star or planet.

Islamic doctors knew a great deal about diagnosing diseasing, anatomy, public health, psychiatry, surgery, and circulation before the Western world.

Architecture

Hygiene is important, and public baths have

many rooms with different temperatures.

A medrese is an academic building with several small rooms for classrooms and student housing.

Mosques are characterized by domes, minarets, and

a sizable courtyard.

Mosque Details

Minarets are towersfrom which Muslims are called to prayer.

This is a unique minaret in Baghdad,

Iraq.

Prayer hall floors are carpeted, often to show individual prayer

spots.

A mihrab niche symbolizes the entrance to paradise.

Islam

The 'Five Pillars' of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life:

• Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and theprophethood of Muhammad

• Establishment of the daily prayers (5 times)• Concern for and almsgiving to the needy • Self-purification through fasting during Ramadan • The pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able

Muhammad and Gabriel

Koran

Illuminated Koran Manuscript

•The Koran is the holy book of Islam.

•Muslims believe it was revealed by an angel to Muhammad.

•The text was memorized by Muhammad’s followers before being recorded in writing after his death.

Folding stand for holding a copy of the Koran

Famous PeopleIbn Battuta:

14th centuryArabic traveler who visited more than 40 lands and left behind detailed, firsthand accounts of his journeys

Marco Polo:13th century European traveler who opened tradebetween Europe andthe Silk Route and wrote descriptionsof Asia through aEuropean’s eyes

Chinese Sculpture

Venetian Engraving

Saladin:12th century militaryleader who is remembered in the Muslim world for his leadership against the Christians during the Crusades