Geography Of The Middle East

Ancient Egypt was one of the most powerful and innovative civilizations. As one of the six civilizations to arise independently, Egypt eventually became one of the most influential nations that lasted over three thousand years, from 3000 B.C to around 30 B.C Egypt boasted of strong leaders, a rich culture, a hierarchical society, and the source of much of it’s wealth, the Nile. The Nile provided the Egyptians with necessities like food, water, transportation, building supplies, and more. Using the resources they were provided with and their knowledge, the Egyptians were able to create a unique civilization that has been able to be preserved and acknowledged as one of the most powerful civilizations to ever exist on Earth.

Middle East had familiarized itself with farming, which in turn made it possible for people to advance in agriculture which gave them large amounts of food. They were able to spend less time gathering the food as it was farmed close to their homes. Another important aspect is that planting the wheat and barley was very simple, all it took was to spread the seed around the field. New Guineans learned about farming as well but they were not as fortunate as Middle East to have plants that grew from seeds, instead they had to dig an individual hole for each plant and then plant each plant separate. Once again they were not as efficient as Middle East. Middle East started to develop large communities and build cities and had great advantages. They were economically stable and had build militaries first for self defense and later to be used to conquer and expand. For thousands of years Middle East was booming but it all came to a stop. They had over used their land and water resources and followed by a drought they were forced to migrate and find a new place. They migrated towards west and east and stayed in the same latitudinal region, therefore the

Egypt is a land of rich culture, society, religion, customs, and prosperity. Tourists flock over in floods to marvel at the wonders of Egypt: the pyramids, the temples, the Sphinx, and the fortresses. But if the Egyptians hadn’t been lucky to stumble upon the land of Egypt, there would not be much left to see. Egypt’s unique geography separates it from other lands. Each of the five themes of geography, which are location, region, place, interaction, and movement, are distinctly different from the others and have shaped Egypt’s environment throughout the ages.

The two most important resources in this region are oil and water. The huge oil “deposits there and in the neighboring countries around the Persian Gulf (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain) established these countries as some of the richest in the world” (Document F). Nevertheless, the countries who do not have as much access to oil are weak economically. Oil is the biggest export in the Middle East, and in a way, the amount of oil a country has determines how wealthy that country will be. Another component of oil is that countries and ethnic groups are disputing for the control of prices of this economic resource. It has gone to the far extent of foreign countries attempting to control the oil price and also the use of weapons for this (Document E). In addition, it is impossible for each country to have equal access to water due to the unbalanced distribution of these essential resources. As a result of this, these countries are fighting for as much control of water sources they can get. Radically, there are many countries in the Middle East that are striving to obtain as many natural resources to strengthen their economy and lifestyle, and it seems most obvious that the scarcity of these resources is a significant problem in the region

The Middle East is a region centered on Western Asia and Egypt the region has generally been a major center of world affairs as the major religions of Islam and Christianity and Judaism were also established within the region. The region is made up of 18 countries and has vast reserves of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.

Geography can alter many facets of history. It can determine the prosperity of the people in the civilization and the development of culture. Rivers and Mountains are two examples of geographic features that effect prosperity and culture. Many early civilizations developed near rivers.

The location of a civilization is crucial for agriculture and security. While Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India consisted of rivers, Egypt’s was the most profitable. In Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates River would harmfully flood the valleys creating a need for irrigation systems. Similarly, the Harappans often encountered floods until walls were built. In Egypt, the water flowed the banks from the Nile River replenishing the land with fertilized soil. As a result, the Egyptians had a stable supply of wheat and barley while the supplies of other civilizations were unsteady. Moreover, the Egyptians had natural

From the 1800’s to present day, the Middle East has undergone many changes and continuities causing formation of their national identity, main factors that contributed were social aspects on society, government structure, and the strong religious roots they possess. The majority of changes occurred through the society aspects with the treatment of women and the discovery of oil. In Middle Eastern history women have had limited rights and have always been unequal to men. Women have always remained very conservative; being sheltered from other men not being able to go in public being covered from head to toe. The discovery of oil has also created many opportunities for the Middle East giving them a national identity and increasing economy.

The geography of where the Anasazis lived was raised areas of land with flat tops called plateaus, different from mountains that have a jagged top. The area where the Toltecs lived was very similar to the Anasazi. It was semi-arid meaning that there was very little rain. The Anasazis lived on the Colorado Plateau and goes through the four corner regions- Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. For the Anasazis, the summer was very hot, very dry, and it barely rained.

The lust for territory seems to be the real source of conflict, and until one group is satisfied, the appearance of religious conflict will exist in the Middle East. It seems as if the real truth needs to be portrayed to the rest of the world about the true reason for the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is geography and ultimately water. The lack of water stems from the Great Syrian Rift Zone, and causes damage to Israeli land which ultimately decreases the amount of water that flows into the Red Sea. This lack of water causes Israel and other surrounding countries (Jordan, Lebanon, and the Occupied Territories) to only have one source of surface water, which is from Lake Kinnaret, or the Sea of Galilee that flows into the Jordan River.

This economic modernization in the Middle East, could only be a short term success which does not guarantee the successful and stable economic development of oil rich states and the region as a whole in the long term. The Middle East, despite its vast reserves of oil, is still considered a developing region due to the high reliance on oil revenues and rather weak production sector of the economy as well as due to some political factors such as lack of democracy, corruption, reluctance to the reforms and other issues. There are various reasons as to why the Middle East is still considered a developing region despite its oil wealth. Natural resource revenues have also been linked to slow economic growth rates, inequality, and poverty. One culprit may be "Dutch disease," which was discussed earlier. Other factors may include the volatility associated with commodity prices, which can have especially negative impacts on weak-state economies; and the underdevelopment of agricultural and manufacturing sectors during boom periods in resource-based economies. And even when oil abundance produces high growth, it often benefits only a few corrupt elites rather than translating into higher living standards for most of the population. Corruption is one of the economic deficiencies which can weaken economic growth and development; thus it is considered as an important impediment to economic growth and political stability, particularly in developing countries. The dependence on a

The Middle East is far from monumental and homogenous. Its differences have been a source of both strength and inspiration. The most visible, most pervasive, and the least recognized aspects of

Middle East considers one of the most studied areas in the world due to its rich history of politics, social, economic, and its culture and civilization. Its borders are still arguable geographically, generally in the west it starts from morocco until Iran in the east, however, many scholars don’t agree on including Turkey either as a Middle Eastern or as a European country (Milton-Edwards, 2006. P: 4). The origin of the name was invented by the colonies as a necessity to describe the place geographically, which was the era of bringing “Middle East” the language of academic writings and political scientists. Changes, innovations, and new ideologies create gaps between the transformations of any perspectives to a different

The part of the Middle East being discussed involves the following: Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. All of which were directly impacted by the borders which were set up by European countries in the early 20th century. The borders had benefits of course, but they also brought with them quite a few problems. While the Middle Eastern borders are important to dividing that part of the world into different countries, the borders seem to have brought with them a lot of problems that the people living in this part of the world have had to deal with. There are multiple factors involved with this topic, including a few treaties, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the start of World War I. The different treaties were the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration, both of which involved European countries deciding the future of these countries. All of these factors had a direct impact on the Middle East and had a lasting effect on the people who live in this area of the world.

Many of the states were early signatories to BITs, agreements prepared by capital exporting states. In the early 1980s, the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) which was formed in 1956, published three draft BITs, which provided different models of investment liberalization and protection.(41) In 1980, the United treaties Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital was signed in the Arab States creating an Arab Investment Court and its first decision was given in the case of Tanmiah v. Tunisia, 12 October 2004. In addition, the European Economic Community (EEC) and some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states concluded the Lom? III and Lom? IV Conventions, both of which had sections addressing investment.(42) In 2007, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) embraced an Investment Agreement for the COMESA Common Investment Area. (43) In 1987, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) created the Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments (ASEAN Investment Agreement) applicable to ASEAN investors. The ASEAN Investment Agreement was considered in Yaung Chi Oo Trading Pte. Ltd. v. Myanmar. The ASEAN Investment Agreement was amended by the Jakarta Protocol in 1996. In 1998, the Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Area (Framework Agreement) was concluded.