North Africa and Southwest Asia Past and Present An examination of images of the region during different time periods including photographs, paintings, and pictures ©2012, TESCCC World Geography Unit 8, Lesson 2

Oil gusher spouting, circa 1932 in Kirkuk district (Iraq) ©2012, TESCCC Bahrain was the first country in the Middle East to discover oil, which occurred in Largely due to the country's oil wealth, Bahrain and other oil producing countries are relatively modernized in comparison to other Middle Eastern countries with out oil reserves. Before the discovery of oil, most Middle Eastern countries were primarily agricultural and pastoralism.

Oil refinery in Kuwait Source: Wikimedia Commons ©2012, TESCCC Revenue from oil extraction, production and export have improved infrastructures and agricultural techniques. Growing dependence and unpredictable prices have it difficult for steady economic progress In Western countries.

Bagdad, Iraq. River scenes on the Tigris. ©2012, TESCCC Water has been a valuable resource since life began on earth. To find and secure reliable water supply, nations use both ancient and modern practices. For instance, dams qanats, dams, drip irrigations, desalinization, and fossil water.

The Tigris River on the border between Turkey and Iraq. Scarcity of water is a longstanding source of much tension among many Middle Eastern states. ©2012, TESCCC Contrary to prevailing belief, Turkey is not a water rich country. Turkey’s political concern is to increase the living standards in its southeast region, Kurds. Syria is primarily an agricultural country. Syria has a great need for water in agriculture and hydroelectricity. Syria and Iraq don’t want to be dependent on Turkey for food supply and water flow. Syria fears that Turkey will use water as political weapon.

Remains of pier in Egypt, between 1856 and 1860 in the Aswan area ©2012, TESCCC

Taming The Nile More than virtually any other country, Egypt and its people rely on one single natural resource for their very survival--the waters of the River Nile. As the longest river in the world its delta covers up 3% of Egypt ‘s land. But since the pharaohs first created one of the world's greatest civilizations along the river's banks, it has been a race against time to harness the Nile's finite liquid bounty to meet the increasing demands of a burgeoning population.

The Aswan High Dam is an embankment dam situated across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt Source: WikiCommons ©2012, TESCCC Consider: When the Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970 in Upper Egypt, the country's population stood at 18 million. An estimated 3.5 million feddan (3.62 million acres) of land were under cultivation to feed them. Today, farmers have increased their arable land to 8.4 million feddan (8.7 million acres), but Egypt's population has soared to 72 million and by 2050 it will reach 120 million.

Aswan Dam: Taming The Nile Benefits Aswan Dam provided farmers regular supply of water. By holding the Nile’s floodwaters, water is released for farmers to use for irrigation. By doing so, it increased the arable land to 50% causing 2to 3 harvests a year. Its irrigation canals provide continuous production of artificial fertilizers. Problems During the construction of the dam, many people were relocated. Egypt’s treasures, including temples were moved. It decreased the fertility of soil around Nile, causing farmers to purchase expensive artificial fertilizers. Rates of malaria and other disease have increased due to greater numbers of mosquitos. It loses millions of gallons of fresh water every year to evaporation.