South West Asia and North Africa: An Introduction
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Transcript of South West Asia and North Africa: An Introduction
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 Spacespublic 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/