Ch. 6

#1: Physical Patterns

The Middle East – land bridge that connects Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Earthquake prone region – Arabian plate colliding with Eurasian plate

Climate – extensively dry and hot, one of the hottest/driest places in the WORLD!

#1: Physical Patterns (continued)

•Landforms/Vegetation: extremely arid – most receive 10 in. precipitation per year. Desertification is occurring.

•Most famous desert is Rub-al-Khali - it’s the size of Texas, has 2000 ft dunes & no vegetation! Could go 10 years without rain.

•Deserts lead to scarcity of water, overpopulation of cities, strain on agriculture, and reduce travel capabilities.

#2: Water

•The most valuable resource in the Middle East is water, not oil!

•Only 8% of the land can be farmed because of deserts and lack of rain.

#2: Water (continued)

•There are many important bodies of water in the Middle East:

Tigris River

Euphrates River

Jordan River

Dead Sea

Red Sea

Persian Gulf

#3: Environmental Issues

The ME uses techniques to conserve due to lack of water:

•Drip irrigation (use of pipe w/ small holes to deliver water drip at a time)

•Desalinization (process to remove salt from sea water for drinking and

irrigation - costs a lot!)

•Ground water pumping (pump up water from underground aquifer fossil waters under Sinai Peninsula and Negev Desert - water bearing rock readily transmits

water to wells and springs)

•Water shortages will be extreme in the future

•Water acquisition strategies strain cross border relations

#4: Sociocultural Issues• Families are patriarchal (father is supreme) and can be

polygynous (men have multiple wives)• Gender Roles – men occupy public spaces and women

occupy private spaces (seclusion, stay out of public view)• Women wear the veil – different types depending on how

conservative or liberal the Islamic country is (cover body vs hair)

• Children – contribute to family welfare at young age (cities vs rural), identify more with family than peers, technology increasingly influences lives

#5: Population

• Fertility Rates – 3.1 children per woman (higher than world average)

• Majority of population under 25 years old (young population) – need educational services!

• 74% of women can read compared to 88% of men (less educated women = more children)

• Preference for sons• Many languages spoken in region (Farsi,

Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic, French, English)

#6: Religion

•The religion of Islam began in the Middle East and unites the

region

•93% of people practice this religion in this region

•Shari’a is Islamic religious law – governs many countries

#6: Religion (continued)• 5 Pillars

– Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his prophet– Prayer 5 times daily– Fasting during month of Ramadan– Almsgiving of 2.5% of income to the poor– Pilgrimage to Mecca once in life if possible

• Different Branches of Islam– Sunni – 85% of Muslims– Shi’ite (Shi’a) – 15% of Muslims (mostly Iran)– After death of Muhammad, argument of who should succeed the

prophet and have the right to interpret the Qu’ran for all– Shi’ites believe direct descendent of Muhammad

#6: Religion (continued) ~Jews (Wailing Wall & Temple of Solomon)

~Christians (Life & Crucifixion of Jesus)

~Muslims (Dome of the Rock & Muhammad ascends to heaven)

•All religions hold the city of Jerusalem as a holy site. This has caused many years of unrest in Jerusalem.

#7: Urbanization

• 1970s – significant migration from rural to urban areas

• 70% in urban vs 30% in rural

• Fuel rich places – highly urbanized with workers from all over the world

#7: Urbanization (continued)

•There are many political refugees in the Middle East including:

oKurds (Iraq, Turkey and Syria)

oPalestinians (Israel)

oIraqis & Afghans (Iran)

#8: Economic & Political Issues

•Wealth from fuel exports in hands of few

elites

•The ME has 2/3 of the oil & natural gas in the world & it has changed

their way of life.*

*A strategic commodity is a resource so important that nations go to war to secure a steady supply.

#8: Economic & Political Issues (continued)

Some of the changes that have occurred with the discovery of oil are:

~Transportation (improved roads, airports)

~Urbanization (70% of pop. in cities)

~Desalinization (remove salt from H2O)

~Education (schools)

~Medical Care (hospitals)

#9: Democratization

• One of least democratized in the world as power remains with wealthy, politically connected, religious leaders, and military

• Most countries do allow women to vote but face barriers to participate in politics

• Demand for political freedoms is increasing (Arab Spring)

#10: Arab Spring

• Middle East (and North Africa) in state of upheaval for most of 2011 and 2012…

• Arab people are no longer resigned to being governed against their will – have a voice in their own politics

• US has stayed on sidelines militarily (except for Libya – backed rebel forces with NATO against Qaddafi regime)

• It could be a long time before changes brought about by Arab Spring become clear…economic, political, demographic consequences play out over decades…

• Middle East

– Syria Civil War – clashes between protesters & military – 60,000 killed

– Jordan – King faces growing unrest

– Yemen – protests & lawlessness raising fears of Al Qaeda influence

– Bahrain – violent crackdown on protesters kept king in power

– Saudi Arabia – King using cash to keep people happy & tightened media censorship