The Middle East. Overview ■ Physical geography Aridity; very dry with little moisture in the air Oil; the world ’ s most valuable resource. ■ Cultural.

The Middle East

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).

■ 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.

■ 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.

■ 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

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

realm.

■ 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

■ 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.

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

Global Oil Reserves, 2003

Barrels (2003)

Less than 5 billion

5 to 25 billions

25 to 50 billions

50 to 150 billions

More than 150 billions

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

NorthAmerica

Central & S.America

WesternEurope

EasternEurope &

FSU

Middle East Africa Asia &Oceania

ReservesProduction

Shipping Lanes and Strategic Passages in the Middle East

IranIraq

Saudi ArabiaEgypt

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

1.0Oil transited (millions ofbarrels per day)Black Sea

2002-2003 figures

Mediterranean

Sudan

Oil Exports for the Persian Gulf by Outlet, 2002

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Strait of Hormuz

Pipeline to Yanbu

Pipeline to Ceyhan

Pipeline through Syria

Millions of barrels per day

TrafficAdditional Capacity

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

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

Bill

ions

of b

arre

ls

Actual

Predicted

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.

■ 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.

■ 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.

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).

■ 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.

■ 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.

■ 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.

• 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.

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.

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 20th century.

■ Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk)• Father of modern turkey.• Moved capital from Constantinople to Ankara.• Westernized turkey and broke free from the Arab world.

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.