North Africa/Southwest Asia
This is the Realm of the world’s civilization

Defining the realm
The dry world?
It contains the Sahara and the Arabian desert. It has the world's highest population concentration. The source of three world religion: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Dry/arid climate prevails throughout the realm
There are Exceptions: Ex Peripheral regions of Turkey, the Northwestern section of Iran, Oases, Several great river valleys
9 out of 14 Southwest Asian states face water-short conditions

The North African states all have rates of natural increase above 2.0%, increasing the stress on water sources.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
Population concentration near water resources; The Nile, Mediterranean Sea, Euphrates and Tigris Basin (Hydraulic Civilization), Lower mountain slopes of Iran, south of the Caspian Sea

An Arab world?
Those who occupy the Arabian peninsula. Countries which use Arabic as the language of government and domestic usage. The Arabs spread out from the Arabian peninsula in the time of the Prophet Mohammed, 1300 years ago. Even though Arabic is the dominant language in 16 States of the realm, there are non-Arab countries in the realm where indigenous language dominates
Turkey - Turkish
Iran - Farsi
Israel - Hebrew
Niger - French

An Islamic world?
The realm also have Judaism, Christianity ( Egypt and Lebanon) and other faiths.

Source of civilization
Indo-European language, Plant and animal domestication, Source of the major world religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism

Key terms
Culture hearth- the sources of ideas, innovations and ideologies that change regions and realms
Cultural diffusion: is the spread of ideas and innovations to other areas
Cultural ecology is a branch of geography which studies the relation between human societies and natural environment

Spatial Diffusion
The process by which a concept, practice, or substance spreads from its point of origin to new territories is termed as spatial diffusion.

Types of Diffusion
Expansion diffusion
Relocation diffusion

Expansion Diffusion
The spreading of an innovation or idea through a fixed population in such a way that the number of those adopting grows continuously larger, resulting in an expanded area of dissemination

Two types
Contagious Expansion
Hierarchical Expansion

Contagious Diffusion
The distance-controlled spreading of an idea, innovation, or some other item through a local population by contact from person to person.Analogous to the communication of a contagious disease

Hierarchical Diffusion
A form of diffusion in which an idea or innovation spreads by “trickling down” from larger to smaller adopting units. Ex. An urban hierarchy is usually involved, encouraging the leapfrogging of innovations over wider areas, with geographic distance a less important factor.

RELOCATION DIFFUSION
Sequential diffusion is a process in which items being diffused are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas & relocate to new areas. The most common form of relocation diffusion involves the spreading of innovations by a migrating population.

Islamic world
Islamic faith
Five Pillars of Islam
Sahadah ( Profession of faith in Allah)
Salat, prayer
Sawm, fasting
Zakah, Alms givin
Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca

Islam divided
The earliest division of Islam arose after prophet Muhammad's death. Who should be his legitimate successor?
Blood relative?
Devout follower?

Islam divided
The First chosen successor was Muhammad’s wife father ( not a blood relation). Others wanted Ali, Mohammed’s cousin to be his successor (caliph)
Shi’ites became Ali’s followers
The Sunni’s are those who do not see blood relations neccessary as Muhammad successor. Today 85% of Muslims are Sunnis

Muslim Shi’ite Domain
The Royal house of Persia( modern day Iran),
Mesopotamia ( modern day Iraq)
Azerbaijan
Western Afghanistan

Shiism
Iran remain centre of Muslim Shiism

The Mesopotamia and the Nile
This is the world’s earliest cultural hearth. Mesopotamia means “land amidst rivers”. Fertile crescent- southern Turkey, Syria and Mediterranean coast. Irrigation was the key to prosperity and power in Mesopotamia

What determines success?
Hydraulic civilization theory- cities that could control irrigated farming over large hinterlands, used food as a weapon is deemed as a powerful soceity. Babylon on the Euphrates River endured for nearly 4000 years for that reason. Egypt, Indus valley
Europe was the greatest beneficiary of these legacies of Mesopotamia

Location and Dimension of known Oil reserves
Five out the world’s oil rich countries are located in the North Africa/Southwest Asia realm
These five countries together contained 77% of the world’s oil reserves as at 2003
Saudi Arabia (264 billion barrels
Iraq 117%
United Arab Emirate 99%
Kuwait 97%
Iran 90%

World oil rich countries
Russia below 60 billion barrels
United States below 40 billion barrels
Libya, Mexico, Nigeria, China, and Ecuador below 25 billion barrels
No other country’s known reserves approached 20 billion barrels as of 2004

Oil exporting countries
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of oil
Russia is the second largest oil exporter
United States is the leading oil importer

The Impact of Oil in the Middle East
HIGH INCOMES
MODERNIZATION
INDUSTRIALIZATION
INTRA-REALM MIGRATION
INTER-REALM MIGRATION
REGIONAL DISPARITIES
FOREIGN INVESTMENT

High Income
Virtually all petroleum export countries are in the middle income categories
Modernization
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
United Arab Emirate

Industrialization
Petrochemical industries
Plastics fabrication
Desalination plants

Intra-Realm Migration
Migration within
Migrants from less favored part of the realm migrate to work in the oil fields, in the ports etc
Saudi Arabia with a population of 25.4 million has more than 5 million foreign workers

Inter realm migration
Migration between regions
Workers from countries such as Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka migrate to work in the oil rich countries in the realm

Regional Disparities
There are serious regional disparities in oil reach countries; Example east coast of Saudi Arabia is highly urbanized while a large part of the interior is under developed

Foreign investment
The oil richness of the realm has also attracted many foreign investments

Class Assignment
What is OPEC?
What countries constitute OPEC?
What are the main objectives of OPEC?
Use a map to locate the Political units of the regions of North/Southwest Asia

Regions of the realm
Egypt and the lower Nile Basin
This region constitutes the heart of the realm as a whole
Egypt, Iran and Turkey are the most populous countries in the realm.

Egypt
Population: 78,887,007 (July 2006) total
Life expectancy population: 71.29 years Male: 68.77 years Female: 73.93 years (2006 est.)
CONTINUOUS CIVILIZATION > 5,000 YEARS
95% OF EGYPT’S 74.1 MILLION PEOPLE LIVE WITHIN 12 MILES (20 KMS) OF THE NILE
BASIN IRRIGATION-Ancient Egypt
PERENNIAL IRRIGATION - MID 1800s
ASWAN HIGH DAM – 1968 one of the world’s largest artificial lakes
INCREASED AGRICULTURAL LAND BY 50%
PROVIDES 40% OF ELECTRICITY

What are some of the challenges of the Aswan dam?
Snail-carried schistosomiasis
Widespread use of artificial fertilizers costly to small scale farmers and damaging to the natural environment
Destruction of fish fauna and eventual depletion of fish in the lake

The Maghreb and Its neighbors
Countries are north western Africa are collectively called Maghreb
The countries are: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya

The Maghreb
This region is dominated by the atlas mountain. It extends about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through Morocco Algeria, and Tunisia . The atlas produces a rain shadow effects in the area

Colonial era
Colonization of the Maghreb began in Algeria in 1830 and lasted until the 1960s. It led to an influx of over a million European settlers, particularly, the French. These immigrants dominated the regions commercial life

Morocco
Politics
The Kingdom of Morocco gained independence from France on March 2, 1956 and on April 7of that year France officially relinquished its protectorate in Morocco. Morocco is only eight miles from Europe

The kingdom
Morocco is the last of North African kingdom. It is a constitutional monarchy with a popularly-elected parliament. The King of Morocco, has vast executive powers, and can dissolve government and deploy the military. The current King is known as Mohammed IV

Territory
Morocco claims ownership of Western Sahara and has administered most of the territory since 1975. A rebel group, the Polisario Front, has fought against Morocco since 1976 for the independence of Western Sahara on behalf of the indigenous Saharawis. The Polisario and Morocco agreed in Sept. UN-negotiated cease-fire, which was contingent on a referendum regarding independence., in 1991. For the past decade, however, Morocco has opposed the referendum. In 2002, King Muhammed VI reasserted that he “will not renounce an inch of” Western Sahara.

Economy
Morocco has signed Free Trade Agreements with the European Union (to take effect 2010) and the United States of America. The United States Senate approved on July 22, 2004 the Free trade agreement with Morocco, which will allow for 98% of the two-way trade of consumer and industrial products to be without tariffs. The agreement entered into force in January 2006.
Major mineral exports are Phosphate. Its second largest source of income is from nationals living abroad who transfer money to relatives living in Morocco. The country's third largest source of revenue is tourism. Morocco ranks among the world’s largest producers and exporters of cannabis, and its cultivation and sale provide the economic base for much of the population of northern Morocco.

Demography
Morocco is the fourth most populous Arab country, after Egypt, Sudan and Algeria. Population (2006 ): 33,241,259 (growth rate: 1.6%); Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Morocco's official language is classical Arabic. The country's distinctive Arabic dialect is called Moroccan Arabic. Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the country from the Sahara Desert.
Casablanca is the center of commerce and industry and the leading port; Rabat is the seat of government

Education
Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children --particularly girls in rural areas-- still do not attend school

Current Affairs
On May 16, 2003, terrorists believed to be associated with al-Qaeda killed 33 people in several simultaneous attacks. Four bombs targeted Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian buildings in Casablanca. In the 2004 terrorist bombings in Madrid, Spain, numerous Moroccans were implicated.

Algeria
After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962.Algiers is Algeria’s primate city with a population of 3.3 million
Total population is 32.4 million. There are more Algerian’s in France than the capital
Major conflict: supporters of Islamic republic and the military

Libya
Population 5.7 million. Capital is Tripoli. Oil is what drives the economy of Libya. It is a highly urbanized country.
Muammar Qaddafi, was an army colonel, who came to power through a military coup d’tate.
He is a strong sympathizer of a Palestinian state. He expelled Jewish’s community when he came into power in 1970. In 1980 Libya was involved in a state sponsored terrorism and UN placed economic sanctions on Libya Quaddafi’s refused to turn over the suspects in the bombing of French and American civilian Airlines

The Middle East
Five countries form the middle east
Iraq-the largest in population and territory
Syria
Jordan
Lebanon
Israel

Iraq
Population 24.8 million. Constitute 60% of the total area of the middle east. It has 40% of the regions population. It has the world’s second largest oil reserves. It is heir to the former Mesopotamia states and empires that emerged in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin
Bagdad is the capital and core area
The Shiites constitute between 60% and 65% of Iraqi's population. Sunni’s constitute 22% of the population.

The Kurds constitute 16% of Iraqi’s population. The Kurds are a largely Sunni muslim people with their own language and culture. Most Kurds live in the generally contiguous areas of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia and Syria – a mountainous region of southwest Asia generally known as Kurdistan ("Land of the Kurds").

Israel
Is the Jewish state the lies at the heart of the Arab world. Before then, the British who had colonize the area in the post-Ottoman times, granted independence to what was then called “Transjordan”
In 1948 Israel was created as a home land which included part of the Arab land, for the Jewish people on the recommendation of a United Nations commission. The Arab world attacked Israel after proclaiming Its independence. In 1967 Israel produced a major victory: Israel took the Golan Height from Syria, The West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza strip from Egypt

UN PARTITION PLAN FOR PALESTINE. DIVISION INTO JEWISH AND ARAB AREAS
BRITISH EVACUATE PALESTINE IN 1948. PROCLAMATION OF ISRAEL AS A STATE (14 May 1948). 1948: ARAB INVASION (WAR OF INDEPENDENCE). EGYPTIAN, IRAQI, JORDANIAN, & SYRIAN FORCES ISRAEL SEIZES MORE LAND THAN PRESCRIBED UNDER UN MANDATE 900,000 PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

Write a short note on the following;
The Gaza strip
The Golan Height
The West Bank
Jerusalem

Jerusalem
It is a holy city of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem is the capital of the modern State of Israel; until 1967, this was comprised only of western Jerusalem. The status of the eastern part of Jerusalem, administered by Israel since 1967, as part of the Israeli capital or a capital for a future Palestinian state, and the control over that part of the city and its holy places, are subjects of international controversy. The Palestinian National Authority asserts that the capital of a future Palestinian state will be situated in Jerusalem

Demography
When it first appears in historical records, Jerusalem was inhabited by a Canaanite tribe.
The Bible specifies them as the Jebusites, and says they ruled it until its conquest by King David. After taking control of the city from the Canaanites, Jews formed the majority of the population until Jerusalem's destruction by Rome in the second century. United nations intended Tel Aviv to be Israel Capital and Jerusalem an International city.

Jerusalem Boundary
The Arab attack and the 1948-1949 war allowed Israel to drive toward Jerusalem
By the time of a cease fire was arranged, Israel held the western part of the city and Arab forces the eastern part
The Eastern part lay major Jewish historical sites, including the western wall
The site of this wall is claimed by both Muslims and Jews as their holy site
The Jews, attributed it to a promise made by God that some part of the holy Temple would be left standing as a sign of God's unbroken bond with the Jewish people in spite of the catastrophes which had befallen them. The site is also holy to Muslims who believe Solomon to be a prophet. Muslims believe that Muhammad made a spiritual journey to Jerusalem on a winged horse, al-Buraq, in 620 AD.

Creation of Palestinian State
In 2003 US government announced its intention to support the creation of a Palestinian state
Israel objected and began building an anti terrorist “security fence” along the northern West Banks border, which cut about 10% of the West Bank’s territory and annexed it to Israel.

The Arabian Peninsula
Is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia consisting mainly of desert. The Arabian peninsula is an important part of the greater Middle East, and plays a critically important geopolitical role due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas.
The following countries are considered part of the peninsula:
Bahrain — technically an island just off the coast of the Peninsula
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

The Arabian Peninsula
Population 25. 4 million
Includes 5 million expatriate workers
The Arabian peninsula contains the earth’s largest concentration of known petroleum reserves
Saudi Arabia occupies most of the area and contains a quarter of the world’s oil deposits
il reserves lie in the eastern part of the country along the Persian Gulf coast and the Rub al Khali.It is A desert region in the southeast interior of the Arabian Peninsula. Virtually without water and uninhabited, it was first visited by an English explorer in 1932 but has not yet been completely explored.