NORTH AFRICA & SOUTHWEST ASIA Map Test 2 Geography Conference North Africa/Southwest Asia

Andean countries

WDCAG – March 11-13, 2005 The Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers. Annual conference is in Lethbridge. For details see the Geography website (http://www.uleth.ca/fas/geo). Reduced rates for students ($30). Includes: Conference registration, Banquet, Field trips (nominal fee), Curling Funspiel, Free entrance to Friday night social.

Friday Night Social. Held at the Zoo. Live Band (Southern Flyer playing from 8 pm-midnight). Pizza by the slice. Lots of Geographers from Western Canada (Manitoba to BC). Come and meet other students and professors. You don’t have to register for the conference to come and join us ($5/cover).

NORTH AFRICA & SOUTHWEST ASIA Defining the realm Naming the realm Orient and Orientalism Culture Hearths Early civilizations Holy Land: Judaism, Christianity, Islam Water and aridity An Arab Realm?? An Islamic Realm?? Oil and wealth

Defining the Realm

Naming the Realm Traditional (ethnocentric) Regionalization Near East Balkan Peninsula, Turkey to Egypt (Old Ottoman Empire) Middle East Persia (Iran) to Burma Far East China, Indo-China, Japan Levant=Holy Land Modern “Middle East” All of realm except Turkestan Not really eastern or in the middle!

Orient … and Orientalism

Orientalism Edward Said and Orientalism A Western (Occidental) ethnocentric invention Exotic, mysterious, haunting, uncivilized, backward Yet it defines the west! Do these understandings persist? Israeli occupation of Palestine/West Bank Critical of Orientalist bias in colonial discourses

REGIONS OF THE REALM

Two Early Culture Hearths

The Dry World ? Arid climate prevails Exceptions: Coastal Turkey Northwestern Iran Great river valleys Oases

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION

E.J. PALKA NEGEV DESERT

E.J. PALKA NEGEV DESERT

Water - A Renewable Or Finite Resource? Water is contested resource. Imminent water-shortages in many regions (the most concentrated region of scarcity in the world). Rates of natural increase > 2.0% in North Africa increase stress on water sources.

E.J. PALKA ISRAEL-SYRIA BORDER

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION Water sources determine population distribution. - The Nile - Mediterranean Sea - Euphrates and Tigris Basin (Hydraulic Civilizations) - Lower slopes of Zagros Mountains, south of the Caspian

AN ARAB REALM ? Relates to language as a cultural feature of this realm Arabic is the dominant language in 16 States of the realm. Non-Arab States: Turkey – Turkish Iran – Farsi Israel – Hebrew Niger - French

ISLAMIC REALM? Muhammed (571- 632 CE) Five Pillars Of Islam Hejira 622 CE = 0 Five Pillars Of Islam Recitation of creed like Christianity Daily Prayer (like Christianity) Month Of Daylight Fasting during Ramadan (like RC Lent (40 days) until World War II) Alms-giving (like every religion!) Pilgrimage to Mecca (like RC, Judaism, Shintoism) Abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, gambling like LDS (polygamy OK until 1890) Dietary rules prohibit Pork, require ritual slaughter like Judaism Sabbath day (Friday - 7 day week) like Judaism and Christianity) Sunni (85%) and Shi’ite (15%) sects