1. South West Asia and North Africa: An Introduction Algeria

2. Oasis, Sinai Peninsula

3. Bedouin People, Lebanon

4. Qatar

5. Nile River at Aswan, Egypt photo: Mark Chickering

6. Medinet Habu Temple, Egypt Photo: Mark Chickering

7. Rub al Khali Desert, Yemen

8. Yemen

9. White Desert, Sahara, Egypt Photos by Amira Bakr

10. White Desert, Sahara

11. “Magic Well, White Desert

12. White Desert

13. View of the Nile

14. Red Sea

15. Sinai Mtns

16. Physiographic Regions There are diverse features interspersed across the Middle East and North Africa: Mountain Ranges Coastal Lowlands Highland Plateaus Floodplains Deserts Two Crucial River Systems: Tigris-Euphrates in Fertile Crescent Nile (White Nile/Blue Nile) in North Africa

17. Middle East and North Africa Elevations

18. Generalized Tectonics of the Middle East

19. Climate Variable Orographic Rainfall Largely Arid- consider it’s location around 20-30N

20. Climate in Middle East and North Africa

21. Domestication of plants and animals led to: Agricultural Mini-Systems a.Development of villages b.Extended family systems, reorganization of land, resources c.Specialization in non-agriculture crafts d.Trade Networks Turkey Photo: Hadi Arslan, Trek Earth Rich Cultural Heritage

22. Ancient Sites of Fertile Crescent

23. Trade Routes in Greco-Roman World

24. Recent Empires in the Middle East Ottoman European Mandates and Colonies, 1914- post World War II

25. Colonial Regimes in 1914 Figure 6.11

26. Family Importance of kinship and tribe Family as physical space and functional group Gendered architecture

27. Women at a mosque, Saudi Arabia Photo: Sherine Abdel Rassoul, Trek Earth Gender Roles and Gender Spaces public vs private male vs female role of chador or veil

28. Restrictions on Women Figure 6.24

29. Contemporary Issues Most contemporary problems stem from two things: 1. Boundaries and borders created by colonial powers Examples: Israel and Palestine Iraq Sudan – Darfur and South Sudan 2. Strategic importance of region to political and economic interests of core countries Israel and Palestine Iraq, Iran

30. North Yemen- independent of Ottoman Empire in 1918 South Yemen- independent of British in 1967 North and South join in 1990 after 2 decades of fighting Socioeconomic protests in 2008 and in 2011, fueled by ‘Arab Spring’ Elections in Feb 2012, Pres. Salih transferred power to his VP, Hadi Case Study: Yemen and the Rise of Al-Qaeda

31. Yemen – Economic Information: Low income country Reliant on dwindling oil supplies IMF grant to support economic and political reform GDP – growth rate -2.5 (211 country in world) (2011) GDP per cap PPP - $2500 (181 in world) Unemployment: 35% Poverty rate: 45.2% Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.9% highest 10%: 30.8% (2005) Frontline Video: Al-Qaeda in Yemen http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/al-qaeda-in-yemen/