Middle East Research Paper

The Middle East is also called "The Crossroads" because it was a place where people, goods, and ideas came together. It is in the middle of Southwest Asia which made it a crossroad for trade. Goods from Southwest Asia reached China and India. From there, it traveled all the way to East Africa.

Often called “The Crossroads of the World”, the Middle East stands between three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. Over thousands of years, migrating traders and conquerors crossed this region and spread the ideas, inventions, and achievements of many civilizations. It is an incredibly important part of the world with rich history, important resources, and deep religious and cultural traditions. However, in the past decades up to today, the Middle East has been consumed by conflict and chaos. Although different circumstances surround each issue, religion, terrorism, disputes over the control of natural resources, and weak governance primarily allow conflict to persist in the Middle East.

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.

The Middle East is made up of many different countries including Turkey, Syria, Iran (formally known as Persia), Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. For the most part their culture, religion and cuisine is similar due to generations of outside influences. Countries such as Russia, India, America, Spain and even their Middle Eastern neighbours have influenced their cuisine over the years with the introduction of foods such as tomatoes, yoghurt, dates and figs that were introduced to the Persian diet during the Arab invasion, and olive oil (Food in Every Country, 2010).

The Middle East was under the control of the Ottoman Empire for many centuries. It was declining but still in control until World War 1. World War 1 impacted the modern Middle East a tremendous amount. Who controlled the Middle East changed because of oil, resources, and the relationships between Israelis and Palestinians also changed drastically.

The Middle East is very important to the US. Many events have happened since our involvement with the Middle East such as the Cold War, the OPEC oil embargo, the Camp David Accords, the Persian Gulf War, and the 9/11 attacks. Over time, the US has went from focusing on containment to natural resources and then defense and safety in the Middle East and America.

In the Middle East, each country has it’s own form of government. These forms of governments have been consistently changing throughout time. Throughout all the revolutions and overthrows, the national identity of the Middle East has slowly changed, some parts more than others. Over many years, overthrows in countries such as Egypt and Libya have led to a more democratic government. However, many other countries such as Iran and Iraq have remained more oppressive. The Middle East is still changing to this day. For example, Egypt recently overthrew their president Hosni Mubarak. There are also many protests currently going on in Libya.

The Middle East is known for their notorious empires that impacted how our society is constructed up to date. Two of the most famous empires are the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. Both empires have characteristics that both famously led to the success of each empire and infamous characteristics which ultimately led to the demise of the empire.

Southwest Asia is the term geographers’ use when referring to the Middle East. "Middle East" is a political term coined by the British in the 1930's to distinguish the region from both the Far East, which included China, Japan and Indochina, and the Near East, which included portions of Western Europe. All of these areas are truly only "east" of Europe. In order to emphasize a more global perspective, geographers prefer to use the politically neutral term "Southwest Asia" because it does not connote a Western European bias.

All throughout history from the from the pre-modern period all the way to the contemporary period, there have been major events both inside and outside of the middle east that have had an impact on the middle eastern communities. While some were more drastic than others, they all had an impact one way or another that helped shape the society we know of today.

The Middle East is a beautiful region it consists of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen. There are many things about the Middle East that is so intriguing, but in this paper I am only going to focus on religion in the Middle East. The Middle East is an extremely diverse region in so many ways, culture, language, literature, art, etc., but most of all it is diverse because of its religions. There are hundreds of religions but the three religions that make up the foundation of religion in the Middle East; Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

Early civilizations in the Middle East began with the Sumerians in the Tigris- Euphrates delta. This civilization evolved into the Persian Empire through many other groups of people. Civilizations of the Middle East changed over time politically, socially, and culturally. The change occurred through types of government, economic class, and religion. Middle Eastern government began with rule by priests, but became a dynasty. Economic class began as a system based on how much property one owned, and became based on bloodline. Religion started out polytheistic, but the idea of monotheism grew more popular over time. The civilizations of the Middle East changed politically through systems of government.

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

1. What is the Middle East like? What is it like compared to the U.S. or Europe? Road to Morocco depicts the Middle East, as a vast sandy desert, home to few settlements (Karameesh is shown to be the only city in a vast empty desert) and only partially inhabited by people, as well as camels.

     In the heart of the Middle East is a country known by many Westerners for its oil production and, often, extremist beliefs of groups within the country. The country is Saudi Arabia, and though it is thought of by many as a rather backward country, Saudi Arabia has a rich history and culture, and it is a country that revolves around Islam and the worship of Allah as the one true God.