1. The Middle East

2. Overview ■ Physical geography Aridity; very dry with little moisture in the air Oil; the world ’ s most valuable resource. ■ Cultural geography Culture Hearths (cradle of civilization; Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia). World Religions. Religious conflicts. ■ Population geography Clustered population around infrequent water sources. Fast growth rate (young population).

3. ■ Political geography Fragmented due to European and Asian colonialism. Oil and Non-oil states ( “ haves ” versus “ have-nots ” ). ■ Resource wars Conflicts over water: Regional / national issue. Conflicts over oil: Global issue.

4. ■ Popular Labels Dry World. Arab World (ethnic identity) Islamic World (religious identity) Middle East. ■ Dry world Dry/arid climate prevails throughout the realm. Much of the land is unsuitable for cultivation: Exceptions: Oases (infrequent watering holes with lots of vegetation) Several great river valleys.

5. ■ Water Critical for life, food production, and industrial processes. Increasing stress on water resources: Water diversion (Nile, Jordan, Tigris / Euphrates). ■ Population distribution Around water resources: The Nile. Mediterranean Sea. Euphrates and Tigris Basin

6. ■ Arab Realm Relates to language as a cultural feature of this realm. Arabic is the dominant language in 16 States of the realm.

7. ■ Islamic Realm Monotheistic religion: Meaning “ submission to God ”. Emerged in Saudi Arabia in the 7th century (Mecca). A Muslim is a “ believer ”. Word of Allah contained in the Koran

8. ■ Division of the faith Two branches, Orthodox Sunnis (85%) and Shiites (15%). Sunni: Orthodox branch of Islam. Succession from Muhammad did not depend on hereditary decent from his son-in-law Ali. Shiite: Muhammad ’ s genuine successors descended from his son-in-law Ali.

10. The Oil Curse ■ The “ Resource Curse ” Prone to harsh rule, slow growth, corruption and conflict. Resources used to finance armies, corruption and patronage. Oil is a good example. ■ Modernization High incomes. Industrialization. Regional and national disparities (oil wealth distribution). ■ Migration Brought populations from outside the realm. ■ Foreign incursions

11. Global Oil Reserves, 2003

12. Shipping Lanes and Strategic Passages in the Middle East Iran Iraq Saudi Arabia Egypt Turkey Indian Ocean Hormuz Bosporus Bab el-Mandab Suez Oman Yemen Red Sea PG PG: Persian Gulf 15.5 3.3 3.8 3.0 1.0 Oil transited (millions of barrels per day) Black Sea 2002-2003 figures Mediterranean Sudan

13. Oil Exports for the Persian Gulf by Outlet, 2002

14. World Annual Oil Production (1900-2004) and Estimated Resources (1900-2100)

15. Regions of the Realm ■ Egypt Continuous civilization > 5,000 years. 95% of Egypt's 74.1 million people live within 12 miles (20 kms) of the Nile. Basin irrigation. Aswan high dam (1968): Increased agricultural land by 50%. Provides 40% of electricity.

16. ■ The Maghreb Dominated by the Atlas mountains. Morocco - last of the north African kingdoms. Algeria - a secular republic with religious-political problems. Tunisia - smallest and most westernized of the Maghreb. Libya - oil rich desert state with a coastal orientation. Fertile Coastline. French Colonialism.

17. ■ African Transition Zone Sahel - Arabic word for border or margin. A zone where people are ethnically African but culturally Arab. Desertification - principal environmental problem. Cultural and political instability. North versus south - Muslim versus non-Muslim patterns. Cultural Conflict; Muslim – Christian. Nomadism.

18. Regions of the Realm ■ “ Middle ” of the Islamic realm Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon. Center of conflict between Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Sunni - Shiite conflict (within Iraq and throughout the region).

19. ■ Jerusalem Holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims Judaism: Capital of Jewish kingdom 3000 years BCE. Faith took form in the first temple; destroyed by Babylonians in 586 BCE. Rebuilt as second temple; destroyed by Romans in 70 CE. Islam: Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven 7th century CE. Christianity: Based on the teachings of Jesus Christ; crucifixion & ascent.

20. ■ Arabian Peninsula Oil-rich countries of the Gulf area: 5 small: Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. 1 larger: Saudi Arabia; 25.4 million people with the world ’ s greatest oil reserves. Capital-rich but labor-poor (rent economies). Oil revenues. Begun to invest heavily in their own development. Creation of several jobs in government, services and industry.

21. ■ Population and labor issues in the Gulf States A significant share of the labor is foreign: Small populations. Low labor force participation of women. Heavy reliance upon foreign labor.

22. The national population: Little incentive for nationals to get educated. Supported by oil revenues from the state and have little need to work. Diminishes incentive to upgrade skill levels which might mean that foreign labor is continually needed Political instability is a potential threat. The fall of oil prices in the 1990s: Created unemployment problems among the nationals. Triggered Islamic nationalistic movements.

23. Regions of the Realm ■ The Empire States Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan. Imperial heritage. Arab ethnicity gives way but Islamic culture continues. High mountains and plateaus vs. rocky and sandy desert.

24. Turkey ■ Turkish ottoman empire Nomadic peoples from the steppes and forests of Siberia. 6th century- established an empire stretching from Mongolia to the black sea. Spread the Turkic language far and wide. Decline in the early 20 th century. ■ Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) Father of modern turkey. Moved capital from Constantinople to Ankara. Westernized turkey and broke free from the Arab world.

26. Turkey ■ Westernization Islam lost official status. Roman alphabet replaced Arabic. Islamic law replaced by western code. Women gained rights. Turkey separated from Arab world. Hope of joining the European Union.