South West Asia and North Africa: An Introduction

Algeria

Oasis, Sinai Peninsula

Bedouin People, Lebanon

Qatar

Nile River at Aswan, Egypt photo: Mark Chickering

Medinet Habu Temple, Egypt

Photo: Mark Chickering

Rub al Khali Desert, Yemen

Yemen

White Desert, Sahara, EgyptPhotos by Amira Bakr

White Desert, Sahara

“Magic Well, White Desert

White Desert

View of the Nile

Red Sea

Sinai Mtns

Physiographic Regions There are diverse features interspersed across the Middle East and North Africa:• Mountain Ranges

• Coastal Lowlands

• Highland Plateaus

• Floodplains

• Deserts

Two Crucial River Systems:Tigris-Euphrates in Fertile CrescentNile (White Nile/Blue Nile) in North Africa

Middle East and North Africa Elevations

Generalized Tectonics of the Middle East

Climate

• Variable

• Orographic Rainfall

• Largely Arid- consider it’s location around 20-30N

Climate in Middle East and North Africa

Domestication of plants and animals led to:

Agricultural Mini-Systemsa. Development of villagesb. Extended family systems, reorganization of land, resourcesc. Specialization in non-agriculture craftsd. Trade Networks

TurkeyPhoto: Hadi Arslan, Trek Earth

Rich Cultural Heritage

Ancient Sites of Fertile Crescent

Trade Routes in Greco-Roman World

Recent Empires in the Middle East

• Ottoman

• European Mandates and Colonies, 1914- post World War II

Colonial Regimes in 1914

Figure 6.11

Family

Importance of kinship and tribe

Family as physical space and functional group

Gendered architecture

Women at a mosque, Saudi ArabiaPhoto: Sherine Abdel Rassoul, Trek Earth

Gender Roles and Gender Spaces

public vs private male vs female role of chador or veil

Restrictions on Women

Figure 6.24

Contemporary Issues

Most contemporary problems stem from two things:

1. Boundaries and borders created by colonial powersExamples: Israel and Palestine

IraqSudan – Darfur and South Sudan

2. Strategic importance of region to political and economic interests of core countries

Israel and PalestineIraq, Iran

North Yemen- independent of Ottoman Empire in 1918

South Yemen- independent of British in 1967

North and South join in 1990 after 2 decades of fighting

Socioeconomic protests in 2008 and in 2011, fueled by ‘Arab Spring’

Elections in Feb 2012, Pres. Salih transferred power to his VP, Hadi

Case Study: Yemen and the Rise of Al-Qaeda

Yemen – Economic Information:

Low income countryReliant on dwindling oil suppliesIMF grant to support economic and political reform • GDP – growth rate -2.5 (211 country in world) (2011)• GDP per cap PPP - $2500 (181 in world)• Unemployment: 35%• Poverty rate: 45.2%• Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.9%highest 10%: 30.8% (2005)

Frontline Video: Al-Qaeda in Yemenhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/al-qaeda-in-yemen/