Middle East 14.

1 Important Region

• A region is an area has certain characteristics in common

• The Middle East is a region it is not a continent.

• A region is an area that has certain common characteristics. 


(There is no single de nition)

• Middle East is also known as Southwest Asia, where the continents of

Asia, Europe and Africa meet.

• Burj Khalifa the tallest building in the world - United Arab Emirates.

• Ankara is the capital of Turkey. (Turkey is in the Middle East and is the
only country that is from both Asia and Europe)

• Crude oil is the most abundant natural resource in the Middle East.

• Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula

Peninsula = a piece of land that sticks out from a larger area of land
into the sea or a lake (e.g. Arabian Peninsula)

What is the place where crude oil gets cleaned up and processed
called? Answer: Oil Re nery

An oil re nery is where crude oil is re ned into petroleum products

such as diesel, gasoline, and heating oils.
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Middle East 14.2 Physical Geography

• In the north are the Pontic and Taurus Mountains of Turkey, and the
Zargros and Elburz Mountains of Iran.

• Other regions are made up of lowland areas of desert.

• The dominant feature of the region is the Arabian Peninsula, mainly

covered by the Arabian Desert, the Rub’ Al Khali or Empty Quarter.

• Western and southern parts of the Peninsula are fringed by upland

areas. There are three major river basins in the north and west:

The Nile, Euphrates and Tigris.

How does plate movement a ect the Middle East?

• The earths are the result of the plate movement. The Arabian Plate was
part of the African Plate about 500 million years ago. (convergent and
divergent boundaries)

• The two plates have slowly spread apart, leading to the formation of the
Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Persian Gulf.

• The Arabian Plate has been moving causing the collision of fold
mountains in the north of the Middle East.

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Middle East 14.3 / Problems of Climate

• Two Main Climate zones: Desert to the south and a Mediterranean

climate to the north

• The South: The Arabian Peninsula is predominantly desert. Rain comes

between May and September. At night the deserts are cool or cold.

• The North: A mediterranean climate has two distinct seasons: Hot dry
summers, the weather is similar to a desert; warm and wetter winters.

• Conclusion : Desert  (Arabian peninsula) /  Mediterranean  climate

(North) / Steppe (Grassland)
• The Mediterranean climate (Hot, dry summers & Cool, wet winters)
• The  North  (Mediterranean climate) has more water than
the South (Desert climate)

• Desalination - the process of removing salt from seawater

What do we call a full body of underground/ground water found in

rocks, sand, or gravel? Answer: Underground Aquifer
• Aquifers - Underground reservoirs of water in rock, sand and gravel

• The Arabian Sea is part of which ocean? Indian Ocean


Middle East 14.4 / Population of the Middle East

• In which parts of the Middle East is the population more dense?


Answer: The North(Turkey, Iran); Along the coast; Along the Nile River.

• The Population of Middle East - 410 million people

Why is the population so diverse?

• The Middle East has been at the junction of the trade routes that have
existed for over 5000 years connecting Europe, Asia and Africa.

• The majority of the region speak Arabic.

• The three major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

• 40 percent of the population of Lebanon are Christians, and in Israel 70

percent are Jewish.

• Islam is the most practiced religion in the region / Two sects of Islamic

faith - Sunni & Shia. (Majority of Sunnis are in Saudi Arabia)
• The great majority of the world's more than 1.5 billion Muslims are Sunnis -
between 85% and 90%. (Majority of Shias are in Iran)

14.5 Middle East / Major Economic Region

• The Middle East is the source of the world’s most important reserves of crude,
petroleum, fossil fuel. Fossil Fuel: Coal, gas, oil.

• Step 1: Years ago marine organisms died and settled on the ocean oor.

• Step 2: Due to the absence of oxygen these fossils change to a substance

called Kerogen.

• Step 3: Under heat and pressure kerogen gradually change into heat or gas.
Oil and gas are hydrocarbon made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms.

• Step 4: The constant and pressure of the movement of the earth’s crusts
squeezes through the pores within rocks.

• Step 5: Within the crust, oil or gas deposits build up and form reservoirs.

• The Arabian plate currently holds 48 percent of the world’s oil reserves and 43
percent of the world’s natural gas.

• This is because of the slow continual movement of the Arabian plate.


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 14.6 The Middle East / Development of United Arab Emirates

Problems

• The Middle East is mostly depending on a single commodity export, therefore,

there is lack of range and maturity of other economic sectors. To stop these
problems you can diversify the economy.

• Diversify(Diversi cation) - Shift an economy away from a single income source

toward multiple sources.

• They have an arid environment that can lead to water scarcity; high
unemployment mostly among a growing population of young people; unrest
and con ict among ethnic groups in the region

• Population of UAE - 10 million, Dubai - the top 5 most visited cities

Unite Arab Emirates 


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14.7 Middle East / Yemen the poorest country

• Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East; located under Saudi Arabia
with Oman to the right.

• 45% of Yemen’s population is malnourished.

• IN 2017, the latest civil war in Yemen has created a humanitarian crisis.

• This war is the result of extreme poverty and the political instability and
corruption that has hindered any possibility of economic development.

• The ancient, modern trade routes ancient romans called it the ‘Arabian Felix’

• Frankincense and Myrrh are used for perfume and incense, it comes from
trees. Yemen used to be a wealthy country with perfume exportation.

• Yemen’s capital city: Sanaa


14.8 The Middle East / Ongoing Con ict

• One of the reasons is due to borders: Tensions arose when the France and
Britain were trying to colonize the region.

• Israel was created in 1948 as Jewish homeland. This led to the division of the
Palestine and has caused ongoing tension and con ict in this region.

• Main reason is due to The Arab Spring in 2011: Protests for change in
Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria and more failed to bring
change in countries. (Series of protests).

• The war in Syria is 11 years on. 350 k civilians got killed and 2 million were
injured or disabled. More than half of Syria/s population got displaced.

• There are ongoing con icts in the Middle East because: Nationalism/Balance
of Power, Religion/Ideology Divisions, Interest in Oil, Territorial Borders,
Discontentment in government’s.

The Arab Spring 2011 : a series of protests to demand political and economic

changes in the Middle East --> civil wars & struggle for power till now in some
countries.

• Tunisia, December 2010 --> Brought down a longtime leader (Ben Ali)-->
today, back to discontentment

• Egypt, January 2011 —> Brought down a longtime leader(Mubarak) —>

Military rule till now

• Yemen, January 2011 —> Ousted a leader(Saleh) —> Civil war till now

• Bahrain, February 2011 —> no change

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 • Bahrain, February 2011 --> no change

• Libya, February 2011 --> Brought down a longtime leader (Gadda ) --> civil
war till now

• Syria, March 2011 —> Civil ear till now (A longtime leader Bashar AI-Assad still
in power)

• The war has led to the mass migration of people from Syria. This is a forced
migration, where people have little or no choice but to escape the war.

Reasons for con ict in The Middle East:

Reason 1. Discontent with governments

The Arab Spring 2011: a series of protests to demand political and economic
changes in the Middl East —> civil wars & struggle for power till now in some
countries

Reason 2. Territorial Disputes

Disagreements and claims between nations over territories; colonial powers

dividing up the Ottoman Empire (Middle East today) territories after WW1.

Kurds (people who live in Israel (25030 million people) have no territory —>
con ict

Reason 3. Dominance over Oil Supply

To acquire or control large oil reserves/To stabilize global oil prices

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 Reason 4. Religious Division

A religious division between Islamic states - Sunni(red) vs. Shia(blue) muslims

proxy wars - to protect powerful and in uence in the region. (example: Yemen)
*not direct; indirect wars*

Began as a civil war but grew bigger with Saudi Arabia backing one side of the
civil war (Hadi- president in power), while Iran backing the other side (Houthis-
opposition)

Another example: Syria

Began as a civil war, but grew much BIGGER with hundreds of domestic groups
with di erent ideologies and visions for the future of Syria ghting for power,
backed by di erent international parties.

A civil war - a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country.

The majority 90% of muslims in the world are Sunnis

Proxy wars - Con icts between between major powers fought out on the soil of
a third country.

The Ottoman empire's territory was divided up between Britain, France, Russia
and others at WWI.

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 A displaced/refugee person is someone who was forced to leave his or her
home due to wars or disasters.

Gadda was a leader of which country? Libya

Bashar Al-Assad is a president of which country? Syria


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