CHAP 7: SOUTHWEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA

1. BOUNDARIES
- This vast region extends from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Caspian Sea. Within its
boundaries, major culture differences and globally important petroleum reserves have
contributed to recent political tensions.

- Climate, culture and oil help define Southwest Asia and North Africa. Located where Europe,
Asia and Africa meet, the region includes thousands of square miles of parched deserts, rugged
plateaus and oasis-like river valleys.

- This is a picture of the West Bank city of Hebron, an important location for trade and industry.

2. CULTURAL HEARTH AND GLOBALIZATION

- No world region has better exemplified the theme of globalization throughout history than
Southwest Asia and North Africa. The region is a key global culture hearth, producing religions
and civilizations of global significance.

- As an early center of agriculture, several great civilizations and three major world religions,
the region has been a key human crossroads for thousand of years. Important trade routes
have connected North Africa with the Mediterranean and Sub-Sahara Africa. Southwest Asia
also has had historical ties to Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and Central Asia. As a result,
innovations within the region have often spread far beyond its bounds.

- Global demand for oil and natural gas has powered rapid industrial change within the region,
defining its pivotal role in world trade. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) was established, influenced global prices and production targets for petroleum.

- Saudi Arabian Oil Refinery: links the oil rich country to the world beyond. Huge foreign and
domestic investments since 1960 have dramatically transformed many other settings in the
religions.

- Islamic fundamentalism: advocated a return across the religion to more traditional practices
within the Muslim religion. A related political movement within Islam, known as Islamism,
challenges the encroachment of global popular culture and blames colonial, imperial and
Western elements for the region’s political, economic and social problems.

3. Environmental Issues
- Fragile environment: shown in topography and climate. Its landscape varies greatly from rocky
plateaus to mountain ranges, and the climate is aridity. But, interestingly, this region is also
vulnerable due to the unique natural and cultural history in Socatra - an isolated island. Despite
the hot and dry landscape, trees, especially exotic dragon’s blood trees, and offshore, coral
reefs and unusual fish still survive and grow in population, which caught the world’s attention.
However, because of a lengthy legacy of human settlement, the entire region will be faced with
increasingly daunting ecological problems such as deforestation, soil salinization, erosion and
depleting water resources.

- Deforestation and Overgrazing: this is an ancient problem in Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Growing demands for agricultural land caused upland forests to be removed and replaced with
grain fields, orchards and pastures. Combined with overgrazing, especially goats, they are
resulted in a millennium long deterioration of the region’s water supplies and in accelerated
soil erosion.

- Salinization: or the buildup of toxic salts in the soil, is another ancient environmental issue in
the region. All fresh water contains a small amount of dissolved salt, and when water is
diverted from streams into fields, salt remains in the soil after the moisture is absorbed by the
plants and evaporated by the sun, leading to lower crop yields and eventually to land
abandonment, which means the farmland have been destroyed.

- Water Managing: this is one of the driest portions of Earth so residents of the region are
continually challenged by many other problems related to managing water. We will have a
closer look to this problem by mentioning about the hydropolitics - the interplay of water
resources and politics.

• Aswan High Dam: was completed in 1970 on the Nile River south of Cairo. The most
significant benefit of this dam is to increase storage capacity in the upstream reservoir
promoted more year-round cropping and and expansion of cultivated lands along the
Nile. It also generates large amount of clean electricity for the environment. But, in
contrast, it brings salinization and incidence of schistosomiasis.
• Peace Corridor: was designed to stimulate the regional economy and brought Red Sea
water north into the Dead Sea. The water could be desalinated, generate
hydroelectricity.
• Tekeze Dam: on the Nile, built by Ethiopia, a controversial project threatens to disrupt
downstream fishers and irrigation in North Africa.

- Hydropilitics causes potential conflicts. For examples, in Southwest Asia. Turkey’s growing
development of the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers has raised issues with Iraq and Syria, who
argue that capturing “their” water might be considered a provocative political act. Another
example: Palestinian authorities argue that the Israelis have used water as a weapon on control
and the Palestinians settlements are often left high and dry because of Israelis discriminatory
policies. On the other hand, Israelis argue that the Palestinians often waste water of fail to
utilize it fully and that they have no right to complain about Israel’s own brand of
“hydropolitics”.

- Gaza Strip: basic water storage and delivery systems are often heavily damaged or destroyed
in recent military operations. In a 2009 report, Amnesty International observed that most Gaza
residents survived on only 20-70 liters of water per day, compared to the Israelis average of 300
liters. Both of the area’s water and sewage systems had reached “crisis point”, “totally chaos”.

• Saudi Arabian Irrigation: these irrigated fields in the Saudi Dessert draw from wells over
4000 deep feet. While significantly expanding the country’s food productions, such
efforts are rapidly depleting underground supplies of fossil water.

4. Regional Landscape
- Atlas Mountains: dominates the Maghreb region includes the nations of Morocco, Algeria and
Tunisia.

- Satellite view of Turkey: this image of Turkey suggests the varied, quaked- prone terrain
encountered across the Anatolian Plateau. The Black Sea coastline is visible near the top of
image, and the island-studded Aegean Sea boarders Turkey on the west.

- Arid Iran: only spare vegetation dots this arid scene from central Iran, a landscape
characterized by isolated mountain ranges and dry interior plateaus.

5. Climate

- Generally, Southwest Asia and North Africa’s climate are arid, although the region’s diverse
physical geography causes precipitation to vary considerably
- North Africa is found to have the driest condition
- You can see the climographs for Cairo, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Tehran in Figure 7.11, aridity
dominates large portions of the region, from western Morocco to eastern Iran.
- Across the Red sea, desert also dominates Southwest Asia
- Elsewhere, maltitude and latitude dramatically alter the desert enviroment and produce a
surprising amount of climate variety
6. Population and Settlement
Population and Settlement
- The geography of human population across Southwest Asia and North Africa demonstrates
the intimate tie between water and life in this part of the world.
- 7.15: The striking contrasts are clearly evident between large, sparsely occupied desert
zones and much more densely settled regions where water is available. The Nile Valley and
the Maghreb region contain most of North Africa’s people, whereas Southwest Asian
populations cluster in the highlands and along the better-watered shores of the
Mediterranean.
- Although the overall population density in such countries appears modest, the
physiological density, which is the number of people per unit of arable land, is among the
highest on Earth (7.15)

Demographic Diversity
- Table 7.1: Today, about 450 million people live in Southwest Asia and North America.
- The distribution of that population is strikingly varied
- Although the overall population density in such countries appears modest, the
physiological density, which is the number of people per unit of arable land, is among the
highest on Earth

Settlement Patterns – Rural

- Much of the early agricultural activity focused on the Fertile Crescent, an ecologically
diverse zone stretching from the Levant inland through the fertile hill country of northern
Syria into Iraq. (14)
- In the drier portions of the region, pastoral nomadism, where people move livestock
seasonally, is a traditional form of subsistence agriculture
- A type of settlement appeared – Oasis settlement.Permanent oases exist where high
groundwater levels or modern deep-water wells provide reliable water
- Figure 7.18: This view of Morocco’s Tinghir Oasis features small cultivated fields and date
palms in the foreground.
- For centuries, the densest rural settlement of Southwest Asia and North Africa has been tied
to its great irrigated river valleys and their seasonal floods of water and fertile nutrients
- In such settings, exotic rivers transport much-needed water from more humid areas to drier
regions suffering from long-term moisture deficits: Nile, Tigris, Euphrates
- Farming in such localities support much higher population densities than is the case with
pastoral normadism or traditional desert oases

Agricultural regions:
- Mediterranean climate in portion of the region permit varied forms of dryland agriculture
- Important agricultural zones include oases and irrigated farming where water is available.
Elsewhere, dry farming supplemented with irrigation is practiced in midlatitude settings

Agricultural Lanscape
- Dryland agriculture includes the better-watered valleys and coastal low land of the
northern Maghreb, lands along the shore of the eastern Mediterranean, uplands across
the Anatolian and Iranean plateaus , terraced highlands

Settlement Patterns – Urban

- Cities have played a pivotal role in the region’s human geography. Indeed, some of the
world’s oldest urban places are located in the region. Today enduring political, religious, and
economic ties link the city and countryside.
- Patterns of urban geography also are highly uneven
- Urbanization in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) began by 3500 bce, Egypt by 3000 bce.
- cities such as Eridu and Ur reached populations of 25,000 to 35,000 residents.
- These ancient cities functioned as centers of political and religious control
- By the 8th century, Baghdad had emerged as a religious center, followed soon thereafter by
the appearance of Cairo as a seat of religious authority and expansion
- Islam’s impact on the settlement landscape merged with older urban traditions across the
region and established a characteristic Islamic cityscape that exists to this day

Urban Landscape
- Temples, palaces, tombs, and public buildings dominated the urban landscapes of such
settlements, and surrounding walls (particularly in Mesopotamia) offered protection from
outside invasion
- local and long-distance trade play important role in creating urban landscape
- Since 1950, dramatic new forces have transformed the urban landscape. Cities have
become key gateways to the global economy
- Before the 20th century, urban traditions were relatively weak in the area. All that changed,
however, as the global economy’s demand for petroleum mushroomed, grew in size and
took on modern Western characteristics, including futuristic architecture and new
transportation infrastructure.

Migration and Population Patterns

- The rural-to-urban shift seen widely in the less developed world is reworking population
patterns across Southwest Asia and North Africa in-migration from rural areas
- Foreign workers have also migrated to areas within the region that have large labor
demands
- More recent political instability has provoked other refugee movements. Syria’s civil war
and sectarian conflicts produced a massive refugee crisis that has displaced over half the
country’s population

7. CULTURAL COHERENCE AND DIVERSITY

Patterns of Religion

First, about the Hearth of Judeo – Christian Traditional:

- Both Jews and Christians trace their religious roots to the eastern Mediterranean, and while
neither group is numerically dominant across the area, each plays a key cultural role.
- From Jewish history springs a rich religious heritage called Monotheism which means belief
in one God. This is a strong code of ethical conduct, and a powerful ethnic identity that
continues to present. There are 3 monotheistic religions namely Judaism, Chritianity and
Islam

Diffusion of Islam

- Islam means “submission to the will of God”

- Islam originated in Southwest Asia in 622 CE, forming yet another cultural hearth of global
significance. Muslims can be found today from North America to the southern Philippines;
however, the Islamic world is still centered on its Southwest Asian origins.
- This picture is about the rapid expansion of Islam. As you can see, from Spain to Southeast
Asia, Islam’s legacy remains strongest nearest its Southwest Asian hearth. In some settings,
its influence has come into conflict with other religions.
- A major religious schism divided Islam early on, and still exists:
 • One group, now called the Shiites – group that favored passing power on to Ali,
Muhammad’s son-in-law (mostly in Iran today)
• Second group is Sunnis – group that favored passing power through established energy;
emerged victorious
• And the last one is Ottoman Empire – this group was created by the Turkish and had
considerable legacy
- Today, Muslims form the majority population in all of the countries of the Southwest Asia
and North Africa except Israel, where Judaism is dominant religion. While most of the
region is dominated by Sunni Muslims, the Shiites remain an important element in the
contemporary cultural mix with 23%
- Within the Middle East, the city of Jerusalem (now the Israeli capital) holds special religious
significance for several groups. And because of this religious diversity, Jerusalem also stands
at the core of the region’s political problems.
- This is a picture about Old Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s historic center reflects its varied religious
legacy. Sacred sites for Jews (the purple quarter), Christians (pink quarter), and Muslims
(green quarter) all cluster within the Old City.

Linguistic diversity

- This map shows the major language families of the region. Arabic is a Semitic Afro – Asiatic
language, and it dominates the region’s cultural geography. Turkish, Persian, and Kurdish,
however, remain important exceptions, and such differences within the region often have
had lasting political consequences. Israel’s more recent reintroduction of Hebrew further
complicates the region’s linguistic geography.

8. IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION

- The global movie–making industry has carved out a unique niche in the North African
desert. Filmmakers have been drawn to Morocco for over a century. In the early days of
cinematography it was Morocco’s fabulous light and dry desert climate that attracted
filmmakers dependent upon outdoor locations and natural lightning. For directors who
want to set their films in desert environments, other countries in North Africa and
Southwest Asia (such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Libya) are off limits to Western production
companies. In contrast, the Moroccan government has courted them and created
government agencies that facilitate logistics. Over the years, Morocco has financially
supported its own burgeoning film industry and film schools.
- Furthermore, access to satellite TV, cell phones, the internet brings global cultural to the
region.
• For example, Just as urban African Americans used rap to vent frustraion and offer
commentary on their lives.
• Or a new trend among young women particularly on campuses is to wear western –
style baggy trousers and short haircuts. Althought their “deviant behavior” has been
seen as a menace to society
- In terms of finance, much of the oil wealth accumulated by many Islamic nations is used to
sustain and promote the religion. Investment in Islamic banks and econmic ventures go to
finance Islamic cultural causes colleges and hospital worldwide. Unlike dominant banks and
financial institutions based in Europe or North Amercica, the Islamic financial services sector
operates on religious principles that are consistent with the Quran and the Muslim region.
The innovative use of network analysis offered these geographers a fresh way to look at
how the world city-system works and it provides a reminder how a cultural lens can often
inform traditional economic analysis.
- Next, geopolitical tensions remain high in Southwest Asia and North Africa. Some of the
tensions surround the struggle of different ethnic, religious, and linguistic group. Ongoing
geopolitical issues have plagued this region for some time now as shown in the map. Many
countries are members of the Arab League a regional organization focused on Arab political
and economic unity. The Arab Spring rebellions and Syria’s violent civil war have shaped
recent political changes. The Israeli – Palestinian conflict also remains pivotal.
- European colonization was less involved and later in this region mainly due to the power of
the Ottoman Empire which dominated the region for much of the earlier time. However, a
few major legacy still remained, most notably in the old French capital of Algiers as shown
in the photo. By the 1820, French moved more directly into Algeria and the landscape of
modern Algiers still reflects the colonial connections to France
- The other legacy and most controversial was the evolution of Israel. Now we’ll a few minute
to watch a video which explain the evolution of Isreal and the orgins of conflict between
Isreal and Palestine.
- The map on the right shows the area called the West Bank. Portions of the West Bank were
returned to Arab Palestinian control in the 1990s. But Israel has partially reasserted its
authority in some of these areas since 2000, citing the increased violence in the region.
• The photo on the left shows a Jewish settlement in the West Bank

- According to the tensions of the area, Israel has continued to construct secure barriers
around West Bank settlements as shown in the photo on the right. Israel supporters of the
barrier (to be more than 400 miles long when completed) see it as the only way they can do
to protect their citizens from suicide bombings and more terriorist attacks. However,
 Palestinians see it as a land grab, an “apartheid wall” designed to socially and economically
isolate many of their settlements along the Israeli border.
- The barrier has serious implications on everyday life in the West Bank as rural communities
are cut off from land and water resources. Palestinians must obtain limited permits to pass
through barrier gates with restricted opening times. Access to East Jerusalem to reach
medical services, work, education and family members is restricted. Israel is allowed under
international law to restrict the right to freedom of movement of Palestinians to address
legitimate security needs. But in 2004, the UN’s International Court of Justice found sections
of the barrier violated the country’s obligations.
- Iraq is another multinational state born during the colonial era that was carved out of the
British Empire in 1932. Iraq is cultural complex today with a mix of shiites, sunnis and kurds.
The Kurds are a group of people have had their own ethnic identity and political aspirations.
They are considered a nation without a state. The map shows that Shiites dominate the
area south of Baghdad. Sunnis dominate in the Western triangle zone. And Kurds are most
numerous in the north near oil-rich Kirkuk and Mosul.
• In 2013, growing violence between Shiites and Sunnis factions appeared to be
heightened by Sufi extremists and by Al-Qaeda (anti American group) terrorists within
the country
• Complicating matters further the politically and culturally distinct Kurdish alliance
remains dominant in the north

9. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Lands of Wealth and Poverty

- Southwest Asia and North Africa is a region of both incredible wealth and depressing
poverty. While a few of its countries enjoy great prosperity, due mainly to natural resources
such as petroleum and natural gas; other nations in the region are among the least
developed in the world. As you can see in this table, let’s just pay attention to the GDP
AVERAGE ANNUAL PERCENTAGE GROWTH (2000-2008). Wealthy countries such as Kuwait,
Qatar and United Arab Emirates, they all have high rate of average GDP. Qatar reached
9.0%, Kuwait reached 8.4% and United Arab Emirates reached 7.8%. They are all desirable
numbers, aren’t they? However, this number in Iraq was -11.4%, in Gaza and West Bank
was -0.9%,
- The global recession of 2008-2010 has had profound social consequences: Investments in
education, health care, and new employment opportunities have slowed considerably in
many countries.
- Petroleum will play an important role in region’s future economic relationships with the rest
of the world. Many countries in the area also have focused on developing agriculture
 output, investing in new industries and promoting tourism to broaden the regional
economic base. In addition, access to information and the connection between the region
and the rest of the world will shape the development within the region too.
- Example:
 Low % of cellphone technology in some nations such as Egypt, Sudan, and Iran suggests
basic investments remain lacking, while areas like Israel and many Persian Gulf states
with very high cellphone usage are related with greater affluence.
 Internet use varied highly, ranging from 1% (Yemen) to more than 50% of the
population in United Arab Emirates

The Geography of Fossil Fuels

- Saudi Arabia is one of the major producers of petroleum in the world. Iran, the United Arab
Emirates, Libya, and Algeria also contribute significantly.
- Overall, with only 7% of the world’s population, this region holds up to 60% of the world’s
proven oil reserves
- The world’s largest concentration of petroleum lies within the Arabian-Inranian
sedimentary basin, a geological formation that extends from northern Iraq and western Iran
to Oman and the lower Persian Gulf. And it’s not surprising that the world’s densest
concentration of OPEC members is found in this area.
- Even with all these riches, the geography of fossil fuels is strikingly uneven across the
region. Some states – even those with tiny populations (Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait for
example) – contain incredible fossil fuels reserves, while many countries with millions of
regional inhabitants reap relatively few benefits from the oil and gas economy.

Regional Economic Patterns

- Some oil-rich countries have prospered greatly since the early 1970s, but in many cases
fluctuating oil prices, political disruptions, and rapidly growing populations have reduced
prospects for economic growth.
- Other nations, although poor in oil and gas reserves, have seen brighter prospects through
moves toward greater economic diversification.
- Some coutries in the region are subject to persistent poverty, where rapid population
growth and the basic challenges of economic development combine with political instability
to produce very low standards of living.
Higher-Income Oil Exporters

- Nations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates benefit
from fossil fuel production, as well as from their relatively small populations. Investments in
transportation networks, urban centers, other petroleum-related industries, new schools,
medical facilities, lowcost housing, and modernized agriculture have reshaped the cultural
landscape and significantly raised the standard of living in the past 40 years.
- But problems still remain: Such fluctuations in world oil market like the recent economic
downturn (2008-2010) will inevitably continue in the future.
- In addition, countries such as Bahrain and Oman are faced with the problem of depleting
their reserves over the next 20 to 30 years.

Lower-Income Oil Exporters

- In North Africa, Algerian oil and natural gas overwhelmingly dominate its exports, but the
past 15 years have also brought political instability and increasing shortages of consumer
goods. The mismanagement of the economy was one of the reasons that pushed ppl to
protest. Youth unemployment in particular is a cause for concern.
- In Southwest Asia, Iraq faces huge economic and political challenges such as war. Therefore,
Iraq suffers from extremely high unemployment, more than 20% of the population remains
malnourished (suy dinh duong), only 25% of the country is served by dependable electricity

Prospering Without Oil

- Some countries, while lacking petroleum resources, still have found paths to increasing
economic prosperity.
- Ex: Israel supports one of the highest standards of living in the region, even with its political
challenges thanks to large amount of investments to productive agriculture, industrial base,
high tech computer and telecommunications products.

Regional Patterns of Poverty (Sudan, Egypt, Yemen)

- Sudan: political problems. Civil war has resulted in major food shortages. No investment
into transportation and communications systems
- Egypt: many Egyptians live in poverty. Gap between rich and poor widened (Cairo Slums).
Widespread illiteracy. Brain drain phenomenon
- Yemen: poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula. High unemployment and marginal
subsistence farming remain widespread across the country.

Impact of Globalization: Resources

- While the initiative also includes wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric
components, the key source in the green energy network will be thousands of
concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) collectors that will be built across vast portions of
North Africa and the Middle East
- This plan calls for a major axis of collecting panels to extend through Morocco with other
portions of the network gathering energy from Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
- Eventually, the network might be extended further into the Sahara Desrt as well as across
the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Once in Europe, the electricity will be targeted to consumers in settings such as Germany,
Spain, Italy, France, and Great Britain.

Development of Dubai

- Early in 2010, the Burj Dubai was officially completed in the United Arab Emirates, became
the world’s tallest free-standing structure in the world at over 2,625 feet (800m) with 160
stories. After booming for years, the city witnessed a spectacular crash in real estate values
that threatened the stability of regional banks and governments.
- Before the crash, Dubai was not only famous for eye-popping skyscrapers but also for its
fabricated (artificial) islands in the shapes of palm trees and the world map.
- Its leader, the ruling al-Maktoum family, still aspire to make it a global city that competes
with London, Tokyo, NY, and HK.
- Burj al Arab, a seven-star hotel in the shape of a sail, is one of the most dramatic visual
symbols of affluence in the region, and also the first seven-star hotel in the world.

A Woman’s Changing World

- The role of women in the largely Islamic region also remains a major social issue: Female
labor rates in the workforce are among the lowest in the world; large gaps exist between
male and female literacy; few women are allowed to work outside the home; (Saudi Arabia)
women are not allowed to drive; (Iran), full veiling remains mandatory when women appear
in the public.
- Yet in some places women’s roles are changing, many young Algerian women demonstrate
the pattern. Today, 70% of Algeria’s lawyers and 60% of its judges of women. In Sudan and
Saudi Arabia, a growing number of women pursue high-level careers. In the Western
Sahara, Sahawari women play a leading role in the country’s political fight for independence
from Morocco and social freedoms (including the right to divorce their husbands)

- THE END -