🌍 Cultural Geography Lesson: Water, Desert, and Survival in Saudi Arabia

MYP Global Context: Orientation in time and space
Key Concept: Culture
Related Concepts: Geography, Sustainability, Belief Systems
Grade Level: 6–10
Time: 30–45 minutes

Title:

"Desert Geography and the Miracle of Water: Understanding Zamzam and the Land of Saudi Arabia"

Introduction Reading (English + Arabic keywords)

Saudi Arabia is a large country located between the Red Sea (البحر الأحمر) and the Arabian Gulf (الخليج العربي). Much of its land is part of the desert (صحراء), where the sun is strong and rain (مطر) is rare.

People have always needed to find ways to survive in such a dry climate. One of the most famous sources of water is the Zamzam Well (بئر زمزم) in Mecca. According to Islamic tradition, this well (بئر) appeared in the desert when Hajar, the wife of Prophet Abraham, ran in search of water for her son Ismail.

Zamzam continues to flow today, pumping nearly 5 gallons of water per second, even though it is over 4,000 years old and 100 feet deep.

Saudi Arabia also has impressive landforms, including Jabal al-Sooda (جبل السودة)—one of the tallest mountains in the country—and mountain ranges like the Sarawat (جبال السروات), which stretch from the north to the south, near the Red Sea.