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GreNME
09-26-2003, 12:01 PM
These are the notes from Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula:

I Egypt / Lower Nile Basin
A 6000 miles long
B Nile River, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea – perfect geographic location
C Northeast corner of Africa
D Foothold of Africa and Asia
E civilization—7000 years old (discuss Nile River)
F Population of 71 million—almost all within 12 miles of the Nile River
G basin irrigation
H tropical flood water, silt
I Aswan High Dam 1968
1 increased farmland in Egypt by 50%
2 increased electricity by 40%
J oasis 15 miles wide – Sahara
K Fellahein—subsistant farmers – millions of people – ancient tools, same landscape
L 1990s Al Salam Canal brings water to Sinai Penninsula
1 They are currently underway building the Toshka Dam in the region within the next 10 years
M most people live in lower Egypt / Middle Cairo
1 Cairo and Alexandria
a Cairo—11.1 million people
b first world university began in 986 AD Al Hazaz
N Main thrust of the economy consists of oil from the Sinai (and cotton & textiles)
O Sudan – South of Egypt
1 controlled Nile before Nasser
2 home of Islamic militants / terrorist nation
3 twice as large as Egypt with a population of 31 million
4 area of colonial conflict – England vs France in 1898 Fashoda
5 Civil war after colonization—4 million refugees
6 economy—predominately cotton producers – exchange for oil from Saudi Arabia

II Maghred / Neighbors (N.W. Africa)
• Called “Isle of the West / Atlas Mts.”
• Four regions
• Rainfall more than 30 inches annually

A Morocco
1 French Posession (since 1908)
2 30 million people
3 very conservative kingdom—revolutionary region – (king Muhammad)
4 no food, little oil
5 four cities in the north – Rabat, Casablanca, Marakesh
6 two Spanish enclaves within Morocco – Cerito, Mililla
7 gained independence in 1956
8 only 8 miles from Spain – Straits of Gibraltar
B Algeria
1 Gained independence in 1962
2 first free elections 1990 – ISF
3 Assasination / army civil war
4 population 33 million
5 3 million Algerians live in France
6 techically / constitutionally a part of France
7 economy—95% consists of oil & natural gas
C Tunsia
1 highest gross national product
2 territorially smallest area with only 10 million people
3 diverse economy: farming, textiles, mineral exports, tourism
4 surprisingly most urban of the countries in the region
D Libya
1 smallest population in region—5.4 million
2 size 4x larger than Texas
3 90% of population lives in the North due to the Sahara
4 Dispute with Chad—Aozou Strip
5 600 mile pipeline – however, oil used to buy weapons (of “mass destruction”)
6 Terrorist nation – Omar K

III African Transition Zone
– Mauritana to Somalia –
A Ethiopia – (buffer zone)
1 Religiously divided state – Muslim (east) vs. Non-Muslim (west)
2 Roman Catholic religion dominates
3 Large ethnic Somali minority
4 One of only two African nations to escape European colonization
5 Addis Ababa – Christian Capitol (large cathedral built there)
B Somalia
1 7.7 Million population – 100% Muslim
2 Economy predominately agricultural
3 Much land in desert
4 Clan warfare – 1993-94 Operation: Restore Hope fails; General Farrah Adid
5 Lack of water – drought epidemic
6 To this day – no existing central government

IV Middle East
A Iraq – handout
1 60% of the land mass of the “Middle East”
2 Iraq controls almost 15% of the world’s oil
3 Created 1921 as a buffer zone by the French—artificial creation
4 Iraq has a large portion of Shi`ites (in the south)—10 million
5 Ba`ath party is the major power
6 Fought 9 years with Iran for the Shat al Arab
7 Kurds are the largest ethic group in the world without a state—25 million total
B Syria—another creation of France
1 Common border with Iraq
2 Only Middle-Eastern country with contact with Israel, due to loss of Golan heights Territory
3 A republic but contributed by a military regime—King Assad
4 17.4 million population – 75% Sunni, some Coptic Christians
a Lebanon was historically part of Syria (by France), but is separate because of the large Christian minority
5 Ruling Elite comes from clan of Alawites (ruthless)
6 King holds lifetime term
7 Majority of population lives on Mediterranean Coast
8 Damascus—historically the oldest consistently-populated city in the world
9 Economy consists of: cotton, wheat, and possible oil
10 Biggest problem: Isolated, needs modernization
C Jordan
1 5.4 million population
2 East of Israel
3 Product of Ottoman Empire
4 Suffered worst when Israel was created
a lost the West Bank & Jerusalem
b 500,000 Palestinian refugees
5 Extremely dependant on Lebanon for resources
6 Domestic problems: refugees outnumber natives
7 Massive US & Great Britain aid to nation
8 Bleak future – little oil
D Lebanon – former French colony
1 Exception to Islamic rule – majority 3.4 million Christians (latest census shows slightly otherwise)
2 Half the size of Israel – 30 miles wide, 125 miles
3 Ancient land, trade goes back to Phoenecia
4 Economy in shambles—only staple crop is wheat
5 Constant civil war since 1975, especially in Beruit; out of 1.5 million, only
E Israel
1 Around the 1200 BCE, the Hebrew tribes came to the land now called Israel
a Canaanites (now called Palestinians) lost the land to Hebrews.
2 In 1917, Secretary of State Balfour and Prime Minister Lloyd George promised the land formerly known as Mesopotamia to Palestine
3 In that same year, the “Balfour Declaration” stated that Israel has title to the land, and that they would have a homeland in that same region
a over the next 20 years, Jewish immigrants began to move into the land en masse
b by the mid-1940’s, over a million Jews lived in the region
c in 1948, the UN created the formal state of Israel
d that same year, other Mid-Eastern nations began to fight with Israel
e in 1967, a major war engulfed Israel and surrounding areas; Israel took the following lands:
1 the Golan Heights (from Syria)—continuing conflict
2 West Bank and Jerusalem (from Jordan)
3 the Gaza Strip (from Egypt)
4 Sinai Peninsula (from Egypt)—later returned
f Israel never formally integrated the lands they took

V Arabian Peninsula
A Saudi Arabia
1 population of 22.9 million
2 Controls 1/3 of world’s oil supply
3 Vast area not consolidated until 1920
a. Unified by ibn Saud by (1902)
b. leading tribe - wahabbi
4 Mostly desert / only 4 inches of rainfall a year
a. Rub al Khali—name for the desert there
b. lots of salt in the land—poor crop lands
5 Mountains abundant in gold, silver, and other precious metals
6 Outside cities, ancient Bedouins (?)
7 Agriculture is increasing despite major salt problem
8 Population doubles every 23 years
9 *Dr John personally believes Saudi Arabia to be one of the true enemies of the US; behind WORLD terrorism despite friendly relations with US

B Kuwait
1 Cuts Iraq off from the sea
2 Thought to be 39th province of Iraq—one of the causes of the 1990 Persian Gulf War
a. 1899 to 1962 was a colony of the British Empire
3 Produces 9.7% of world’s oil
4 Roughly 6000 acres of desert – 2.5 million people

C Bahrain
1 Island state
2 680,000 population – extremely small
3 50% Shi`ite Muslims
4 2/3 of labor force is of foreign origin

D Qutar
1 Peninsula
2 Nothing but wasteland
3 Economy—oil and natural gas
4 Doha, capitol of Qatar, was command center for US and Allied forces in Operation: Iraqi Freedom (Shock and Awe) in 2003

E United Arab Emirates
1 Seven Emirates
2 Type of government: absolute monarchy
3 Unbelievably small amounts of oil – shipping / trade main economy

EOman
1 Absolute Monarchy
2 Strategic position for the US
a. Controls Straits of Hormuz

E Yemen
1 Massive area—203,000 sq. miles
2 Undefined boundary with Saudi Arabia – oil conflict
3 Population—18 million
4 High Shi`ite Muslim population – listed as a terrorist nation (1998 bombing of US ship [USS Cole])
5 Controls Strait near Djibouti Bab el Mandeb
6 Extremely poor and undeveloped