Geographical Definitions of the Middle East

Study Notes

Arab Countries excludes non-Arab groups and countries
Islamic World/Islamic Countries excludes non-Muslim groups and leaves out other regions of the Muslim world with different sociocultural characteristics.
Near East, Middle East, “Levant” Implies a Eurocentrist view of the world and was used during World War I by the English. "Proche-Orient" is the French equivalent.
Maghreb-Mashreq refers to the West and East in Arabic respectively.
Southwestern Asia y North Africa A term coined to eliminate the Eurocentrist background of the Middle East or Near East.

Ranges from Morocco’s Atlantic Coast to Pakistan (broader definition)
Includes Arab countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, Israel, and Iran
Excludes the Maghreb in some definitions as it is not considered Arab
Turkey’s Muslim population shares the Kurdish problem with Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

Western Sahara contains 25% of the world’s phosphate reserves.
The region is rich in natural gas, zinc, coal, copper, potassium, iron, manganese, lead/plumb and oil.

Countries have young populations and, until recently, high rates of fertility and birth rates that have declined in recent decades.
Some countries experience labor surplus and workers migrate to other regions, mainly the Gulf States and Europe - especially qualified or semi-qualified labor.

Crossroad among three continents with important land and sea communication routes that have linked it to the rest of the world.
Important routes include the Bosphorus (north) and Dardanelles Straits (South), the Suez Canal, Bab el Mandeb Strait, and Strait of Hormuz.
Russian expansionism to the south and east during the 17th and 19th centuries, provoked an interest in the northern part of the region, particularly around the control of the Bosphorus straits and Iran.
During the Cold War, it became another stage of bipolar confrontation.
Growing need of industrialized countries to access their resources led to the establishment of military bases.
The region serves as containment zones for Europe.

Aridity/Dryness and lack of water.
Includes Wadis, Sahara, Libyan, and Arabian Deserts.
Some of the largest mountain ranges in the world: Atlas Mountains, Zagros mountains, and Taurus mountains.
Historical rivers: the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates
Zone of contrasts and extremes: intense colds and heats, deserts, and forests, fertile plains and arid mountains, temperate coasts, and hot inlands.

Crossroads of three continents, and therefore very important for Athenian, Roman, and Byzantine empires.
Known as the “Bread basket of Europe”.
Low in agriculture but with very productive areas due to its Mediterranean climate.
The Nile Valley, the Fertile Crescent, the Mediterranean coasts, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea are the main productive areas.
Main crops; wheat, rice, lentils, barley, citrus, vine, olives, figs, dates and nuts, apples, peaches, apricots, watermelons, and melons.
Industrial crops: Egyptian, Syrian, and Sudanese cotton; the linen, and hemp from the Fertile Crescent; Yemen coffee, and tea from Iran, and Turkey.
Fish is little consumed, but Caspian Sea caviar, Black Sea tuna, and Persian Gulf sardines are famous.
In terms of food, the region is a net importer.

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