1. A Regional Study of
The Middle East

2. The Middle East?

3. North Africa and the Middle East

4. The Middle East vs. the U. S. Latitude Lines

5. The Approach
Things change rapidly in the Middle East so we are not using a text book.
Articles and PowerPoints are posted in the handout section of Schreiner One.
You are also expected to keep up with current events in the region. We will begin each class with a brief discussion of what is going on.

6. The Approach
We will explore the key features that make the Middle East what it is and define the problems that exist there.
We will begin with an overview of the land and the peoples of the region.
We will then examine the beliefs and practices of Islam, the main human feature of the area, as well as the history of the region from the time of Mohammed to 1918.
This will be followed by an examination of the characteristics of each of the key national actors in the region, country by country.
Finally, we will discuss the major crises and conflicts that plague this area of the world and affect our own lives.

7. MEASURING COURSE OUTCOMES
 Course outcomes will be measured by a series of essay examinations. There will be 1000 points in the course. Four quizzes at 200 points each and a final examination at 200 points will determine the grade.
 FINAL GRADE:
900 – 1000 points A
800 – 899 points B
700 – 799 points C
600 – 699 points D
below 600 points F

8. OFFICE HOURS
I am in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:15-2:30 and 4:05 -5:20, and from 12:15-1:05 on Thursdays. Office hours are from 12:00 -1:00 and 2:30-4:00 on Tuesdays and 2:30-4:00 on Thursdays but meetings at other times are possible by mutual agreement. To set an appointment, please contact me at  or Telephone: Drop-ins are also welcome in AC Schreiner 214 anytime.

9. The Middle East: Land and Peoples

10. Middle East: Climate Regions

11. The Sahara

12. Rub al-Khali: “The Empty Quarter”

13. Southern Israel
E.J. PALKA

14. Sinai
E.J. PALKA

15. WATER - A Critical RESOURCE
Water is critical for life, food production, and industrial processes.
9 out of 14 North African, Middle Eastern and Southwest Asian states face water-short conditions.
The North African and Middle Eastern states all have rates of natural population increase above the world average, increasing the stress on water sources.

16. Dwindling Renewable Water Supply Per Capita (Minimum adequate 1700 Cubic feet)
Country
Kuwait
Qatar
Bahrain 1,
Saudi Arabia 1,
UAE 6,
Jordan
Yemen 1,
Israel 1,
Tunisia 1,
Algeria 1,
Libya 4, ,
Morocco 2, ,
Egypt 2, ,
Oman 4,240 1,
Lebanon 3, , ,113
Iran 6, ,
Syria 6, ,
Turkey 8, , ,186
Iraq 18, , ,356
Sudan 11, , ,993

17. The Nile River

18. Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”
95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the land!
Nile Delta

19. The Tigris & Euphrates and Other River Systems

20. The Jordan River System:

22. Mountain Ranges Taurus Mts. Zagros Mts. Atlas Mountains Hejaz Mts.
Ahaggar Mts
Hejaz Mts.

23. The Atlas Mountains, Morocco

24. The Ahaggar Mountains, Sahara

25. Hejaz Mountains, Saudi Arabia

26. Taurus Mountains, Turkey

27. Zagros Mountains, Iran

28. Fresh Groundwater Sources

29. Israeli Kibbutz
E.J. PALKA

30. Wadis – Instant Springs

31. Desert Oases

32. Hail Oasis In Saudi Arabia

33. Modern Oasis

34. Desalinization Plants

35. The Middle East: Natural Vegetation

36. A Regional Study of
The Middle East

37. Iraqi Elections March 7, 2010 All 325 seats to the Council of Representatives
Leader: Ayad Allawi Nouri Al-Maliki Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Party : al-Iraqiyya State of Law National Iraqi Alliance
Seats won:
Popular vote: 2,631,388 2,620, ,976,412
Percentage : 25.87% % %

38. Al-Qaida Return in Iraq
Sheikh Sabah al-Janabi, a leader of the Awakening Council – also known as the Sons of Iraq – told The Guardian that many of his members have not collected their salaries for the last two months and some, he believes, are now taking money from their former enemies.
The US handed over control of the Sons of Iraq to the Iraqi government in late The program since has been plagued by complaints about distrust and delays in paying salaries, as well as almost daily bombings or shootings targeting Awakening Council leaders and members.
Brig. Gen. Patrick M. Higgins commander of U.S. Special Forces in Iraq said last week, “Though weakened by the deaths of top leaders and a drop-off in foreign funding, al-Qaeda in Iraq's ‘cellular structure’ remains pretty much intact.”

39. Withdrawal Schedule in Question?
"If I were asked about the withdrawal, I would say to politicians: the U.S. Army must stay until the Iraq Army is fully ready in 2020."
Iraqi Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Babakar Zebari.

40. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

41. Population of Key Middle Eastern Countries
Estimated Population
Egypt
78,513,000
Turkey
77,804,000
Iran
67,037,000
Algeria
34,199,000
Morocco
31,993,000
Iraq
30,428,000
Sudan
30,121,000
Saudi Arabia
24,949,000
Yemen
23,363,000
Syria
20,196,000
Tunisia
10,216,000
Libya
6,203,000
Jordan
6,202,000
Rest of Region
18,937,000
Regional Total
460,163,000
Israel
7,353,000
Population of Key Middle Eastern Countries

42. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
The Middle East is more urbanized than is often assumed. At least 190 cities in the region have populations that exceed 100,000, and 22 cities exceed 1 million.
Cities with populations between 100,000 and 500,000 have become relatively numerous during the second half of the twentieth century and are found in almost all Middle East countries.
Despite the trend of increasing urbanization, most of the people of the Middle East still live in villages, but traditional nomads make up less than 2% of the peoples of this region.

44. Peoples of the Middle East
The Middle East constitutes the center of Islamic and Arab identity, but there is actually a complicated mosaic of peoples.
Enumerating populations is difficult in most Middle East countries, and quantifying religions and linguistic groups is even more of a problem because such quantification often confronts very sensitive issues.
Governments often attempt to obscure the number-and therefore the influence-of minority ethnic groups, such as Kurds in Turkey, Iran and Iraq (and other countries involved in "Kurdistan") or Druzes in Lebanon.

45. Turks
Azerbijianis
Kurds
Arabs
Persians
Bakhtiari

46. Demographic Rates
Most Muslim countries of North Africa and Southwest Asia double their population every 29 years.
In Israel, Jews have one of the lowest birthrates in the Middle East, doubling their population every 60 years. Most growth in Israel’s population comes from immigration.

47. Population Migrations
Immigration, emigration, and internal migration play a significant role in defining the contemporary pattern of peoples in the Middle East.
For example, immigration into the region (by Jews, Indians, and Pakistanis) and migration within the region (by Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, Jews, Lebanese, Kurds, and others) have dramatically increased some populations and profoundly altered the ethnic composition of some states.

48. Bahrain
Qatar
Kuwait
Lebanon
Israel
UAE

49. Languages

50. Religions
In the Middle East Muslims number about 368 million, more than 92 percent of the population of the region. Christianity is the second-largest religion, with approximately 12 million adherents, and Judaism is third with approximately 4.8 million

51. Haram Al Sharif (The Temple Mount)

52. Dome of the Rock

53. The Western Wall

54. E.J. PALKA
THE WESTERN WALL

55. The Western Wall

56. Church of the Holy Sepulcher

57. E.J. PALKA
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

58. Kaaba

59. Mosque of the Prophet, Medina

60. A Region of Wealth?

61. OIL AND NATURAL GAS RESERVES

62. World Oil Reserves

63. Petroleum Reserves by Country
Billion Barrels
Date of Information
Saudi Arabia
264,100,000,000
1 January 2009 est.
Canada
178,100,000,000
Iran
137,600,000,000
1 January 2010 est.
Iraq
113,500,000,000
Kuwait
101,500,000,000
Venezuela
98,590,000,000
United Arab Emirates
97,800,000,000
Russia
79,000,000,000
Libya
46,000,000,000
Nigeria
36,220,000,000
Kazakhstan
30,000,000,000
Qatar
27,190,000,000
United States
21,320,000,000
China
15,700,000,000
Algeria
15,150,000,000
Angola
13,500,000,000
Mexico
13,350,000,000

64. Source of U.S. Oil Imports, 2008
The Persian Gulf supplies
26% of US imports
83 percent of Japan’s
about half of China’s, and
27 percent of Europe’s.
The Middle East is also a substantial supplier to India.
Source: Energy Information Administration

65. The Middle East: Land and Peoples