World Regional GeographyChapter 6: A Geographic Profile of the Middle East & North Africa

• Middle East and North Africa– “Middle East” is Eurocentric

– 21 Countries, Palestinian Territories of the West Bankand Gaza Strip, and the disputed Western Sahara

– Area of 5.9 million square miles

– Population of 500 million people (2007)• Turkey, Iran & Egypt each have more than 70 million people• People locate where water is abundant in this arid region• Region on the whole is 56% urban• High rate of population growth across region• Many oil-rich countries of the Gulf region have

more foreigners than citizens living in them

6.1 Area & Population

Middle East and North Africa

Comparison in Area & LatitudeMiddle East & North Africa vs. Conterminous U.S.

Population Distribution

Population Cartogram

• Margins of region are oceans, seas, high mountains, and deserts– Atlantic Ocean to the west– Sahara to the south– Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas to the north– Hindu Kush and Baluchistan Desert to the east

• Land composed of arid plains and plateaus– Large areas of rugged mountains– Isolated “seas” of sand

6.2 Physical Geography & Human Adaptations

Physical Geography

• Climate– Aridity

• 75 percent of region receives < 10” of annual precipitation• Higher precipitation around Mediterranean or up at elevation• Strategies of drought avoidance and drought endurance

– Temperature• Large daily and seasonal ranges• Very hot days and surprisingly cool nights

– Summer relocation of government in Saudi Arabia

• Tectonic Processes– Collision zones have resulted in mountain building– Frequent earthquakes for places like Turkey, Iran,

and Afghanistan

6.2.1 Region of Stark Geographic Contrasts

Climate Types

Biome Types

Great Sand Sea in Egypt

Land Use

The Treasury

Pontic Mountains in Turkey

The West Bank and The Dead Sea

Taurus Mountains of Turkey

Solar Boat of King Cheops

• Middle Eastern Ecological Trilogy– Villagers

• Subsistence farmers of rural areas where dry farmingor irrigation is possible

– Pastoral Nomads• Desert peoples who migrate through arid lands with

livestock, following rainfall and vegetation patterns

– Urbanites• Inhabitants of large towns and cities, generally located

near bountiful water sources

6.2.2 Villager, Pastoral Nomad, Urbanite

The Ecological Trilogy

• Historically, agricultural villagers represented the majority populations in the region– Villages located near reliable water sources with

cultivable lands nearby– Production and consumption focus on a staple grain– Reliance on nomads for pastoral produce

• Effects of exposure to outside influence– Introduction of cash crops– Improved and expanded irrigation – Modern technology– Rural-to-Urban Migration

6.2.3 The Village Way of Life

• Pastoral Nomadism– Emerged as offshoot of village way of life– Vertical Migration in mountainous areas– Horizontal Migration in flatter expanses– Sedentarization is a recent trend – Nomads in region number estimated 5 to 13 million

• Identified by their tribe, not be their nationality

6.2.4 The Pastoral Nomadic Way of Life

• The city was the final component to emerge in the ecological trilogy– Mesopotamia, 4000 B.C.E.– Egypt, 3000 B.C.E.

• Medina (classic Islamic city)– High defensive wall– Congregational mosque– Administrative and educational complex– Bazaar or Suq (Commercial Zone)– Residential areas based on ethnicity, not income

• Rural-to-Urban Migration• New modern urban development in oil-rich countries

6.2.5 The Urban Way of Life

Model of the Medina

Bazaar in Cairo, Egypt

Indoor Ski Resort in Dubai, UAE

• Egypt and Mesopotamia are among theworld’s great culture hearths

• Language Families– Afro-Asiatic Family

• Examples: Semitic (Arabic & Hebrew), Berber, and Bedawi

– Altaic Family (Turkic)

– Caucasian Family

– Indo-European Family (Farsi and Kurdish)

– Nilo-Saharan Family

• Religious Hearth– Monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity & Islam

6.3 Cultural & Historical Geographies

Languages of the Middle East & North Africa

Religions of the Middle East & North Africa

• Judaism– First significant monotheistic faith– Practiced today by 14 million worldwide– Torah is the Jewish holy scripture– Unlike Christianity, Jesus not seen as a savior– Ethnic, not proselytizing religion– Western Wall in Jerusalem

• The most sacred site in the world accessible to Jews

6.3.1 The Promised Land of the Jews

Holy Places in Jerusalem

• Christianity– Offshoot of Judaism that emerged in Palestine– Jesus Christ

• Born in Bethlehem around 4 B.C.E.• His teachings denied validity of many Jewish

doctrines and protesters called for his death• Jesus was put on trial, was found guilty of being a

claimant to Jewish kingship, and was crucified• Christians believe Christ was resurrected from the

dead two days later and ascended into heaven– Seldom has Christianity been majority religion in

the land where it was born– Crusades (11th – 14th centuries)

6.3.2 Christianity: Death & Resurrection in Jerusalem

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

• Islam– Monotheistic faith– Dominant religion by far in Middle East & North Africa– Prophet was Muhammad, who was from Mecca– Qur’an is the holy book of Islam

• Five Pillars of Islam– Profession of the faith– Prayer five times daily toward Mecca– Almsgiving– Fasting during Ramadan– Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca (Islam’s holiest city)

6.3.3 The Message of Islam

Great Mosque in Mecca

• Oil dominates the region’s economic geography– Large reserves– Role of OPEC

• Aim of taking joint action to demand higher profits

• Other resources include:– Remittances– Revenues from ship traffic through Suez Canal– Exports of cotton, rice, and other commercial crops

6.4 Economic Geography

• Historically, region has been a geographic crossroads• Geopolitical Interests

– Narrow Waterways

– Access to Oil

– Access to Freshwater

– Terrorism

6.5 Geopolitical Issues

• Chokepoints– Strategic narrow passageways on land or sea that may

be easily closed off by force or even the threat of force– Examples Links:

• Suez Canal Mediterranean & Red Seas

• Strait of Tiran Gulf of Aqaba & Red Sea

• Strait of Hormuz Persian Gulf & Arabian Sea

• Bab el-Mandeb Red Sea & Indian Ocean

• Bosporus Mediterranean & Black Seas

• Dardanelles Mediterranean & Black Seas

• Strait of Gibraltar Mediterranean Sea &Atlantic Ocean

6.5.1 Chokepoints

Chokepoints

History of War in the Suez Canal Zone

• Region’s oil is marketed primarily in western Europe and Japan

• American Interest in Oil– Support for Israel while courting Israel’s oil-rich enemies

– Carter Doctrine• U.S. would use any means necessary to defend its vital

interests (i.e., Maintaining a secure supply of Gulf oil)

– Gulf War• U.S. led coalition of Western and Arab allies against Iraq

– U.S. Invasion of Iraq in 2003• About weapons of mass destruction or control of oil?

6.5.2 Access to Oil

• Hydropolitics– 90 percent of usable freshwater in the region crosses

one or more international borders– Role of water in Palestinian-Israeli conflict– Water is a critical issue blocking a peace treaty

between Israel and Syria– Nile Water Agreement

• Signed by 10 countries in 1926• Guaranteed Egyptian access to water• Many countries have defied the treaty in recent years

– Upstream country is usually able to maximize itswater use at expense of a downstream country

• Exception with Israel on the Yarmuk

6.5.3 Access to Freshwater

Water Developments in the Nile Basin

Waterfall on Tigris River in Turkey

• Terrorists pursued by U.S. are Islamist militants• Islamist Groups

– Hizbullah– Hamas– Islamic Salvation Front (FIS)– Al-Qa’ida

• President Bush’s “Axis of Evil”– Iran, Iraq, and North Korea

• Tiny minority of Muslims have carried out terrorist actions that the great majority of Muslims condemned

6.5.4 Terrorism

Terrorist Attacks Linked to al-Qa’ida, 1998-2007