Middle East patterns : places, peoples, and politics / Colbert C. Held, with the assistance of Mildred McDonald Held ; cartography by John V. Cotter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Held, Colbert C.

Contributor:

Held, Mildred M.

Cotter, John V.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle East.

Middle East Region.

Physical Description:

xix, 484 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 1994.

Summary:

This Second Edition includes 39 new, updated, or otherwise revised maps and 55 new photographs, most taken during the author's field trip to the Middle East in 1990. The bibliography and the notes have been expanded to provide more detailed source information and background comments.

Contents:

Part 1 Physical and Cultural Geography

1 Tricontinental Junction: An Introduction 3

Middle East Preview 3

The Middle East: Definition 7

Regional Unity of Empires 9

Aims and Concepts: A Glance 10

2 Patterns of Time: Historical-Geographical Foundations 12

Persistence of Patterns 12

Early Patterns 13

Historical-Political Evolution 16

Some Inferences 28

3 The Lands and the Waters 31

Survey of Landforms 34

Middle East Seas 39

Middle East Lakes 42

Major River Systems 42

Groundwater 45

4 The Skies and the Winds: Climate 47

Middle East Climate Factors 47

Elements of Middle East Climate 49

Climate Regions 55

5 Soils, Vegetation, and Animal Life 59

Ecological Relationships and Soils 59

Middle East Soil Patterns 60

Vegetation 64

Middle East Vegetation Patterns 64

Animal Life 67

6 Patterns of Peoples and Cultures 70

Patterns: Population 71

Patterns of Peoples 76

Patterns: Languages 76

Patterns: Religions 80

Patterns: Ethnic Groups 89

7 The Desert and the Sown: Land Use 99

Agriculture 99

Landholdings and Land Reform 103

Rainfed Crop Farming 104

Water in the Desert: Irrigation 107

Role of Animals 110

Forest Products 113

Fishing 114

8 Riches Beneath the Earth 115

Underground Resources 115

Petroleum: Historical Development 115

Patterns of Reserves 119

Petroleum Production 124

Major Oil Facilities 127

Markets and Marketing 131

OPEC: Pricing and Participation 132

Other Minerals 134

9 Manufacturing and Transportation 138

Preliminary View 138

Cooperation and Aid 140

Regional Development Problems 141

Patterns of Industry 143

Transportation 147

Trade 154

10 Where People Congregate 157

Settlers and Settlements 157

Overall Settlement Pattern 160

Urbanization 161

Internal Structures of Cities 161

Urban Problems and Prospects 165

11 The Earth and the State: Geopolitics 169

Hub and Heartland 169

The State in the Middle East 170

Peace Treaties and Mandates 171

Present Basic Patterns 173

Regional Linkages 175

Regional Conflicts 177

The Arab-Israeli Problem 182

The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 191

The Gulf Crisis, 1990-1991 193

Strategic Straits 195

Great-Power Rivalry 198

Part 2 Regional Geography

12 Syria: Middle East Heartland 203

Regional Keystone 203

The Physical Challenge 203

The Imprint of Time 206

The Syrian Mixture 208

Evolving Economic Patterns 210

Transportation and Trade 216

Political Geography 216

13 Lebanon and Cyprus: A Mountain and an Island 220

Lebanon 220

The Character of Lebanon 220

Rich Past, Complex Evolution 220

Lebanon and the Lebanese 221

Disrupted Economic Patterns 224

A Subregional Perspective 227

Factions and Territories 230

Cyprus 233

Two Mountains, Three Plains 233

Mediterranean Climate, Mediterranean Crops 235

Nonagricultural Economy 235

Before Division 235

Divided Cyprus 237

14 Jordan: The Land Beyond 238

Historical Evolution 239

Peoples: Arabs, Minorities, Refugees 242

Problems of Population 243

Physical Resource Base 244

International Relations 250

15 Israel and Occupied Territories: "Palestine" or "Eretz Yisrael"? 252

Israel 252

Historical Background: A Brief Summary 252

Varied Landscapes 252

Population and Peoples 256

Settlements 260

Economic Patterns 261

Commerce and Services 265

Relations 265

Occupied Territories 268

West Bank 268

Gaza 271

Golan 272

16 Iraq: Modern Mesopotamia 274

Iraq and Its Antecedents 274

Regional Patterns 277

Population and Peoples 281

Economic Patterns and Problems 283

Relations 288

17 Saudi Arabia: Development in the Desert 291

Saudi Arabia: A Preview 291

Historical-Political Geography 292

Physical Patterns 294

Population and Peoples 297

Settlements 299

Economic Patterns 300

Relations 307

18 The Gulf and Its Oil States 310

A Glance at History 310

A Glance at Gulf Oil 311

A Geopolitical Perspective 311

Kuwait 312

Kuwait Fort and Port 312

Oil and Oil Industry 315

Other Industry and Trade 317

Society and Settlements 318

Relations 321

Bahrain 321

People and Population 322

Economic Patterns 324

Relations 325

Qatar 325

Peninsula State 325

From Poverty to Prosperity 327

United Arab Emirates (UAE) 328

A Survey 328

Population 329

Economic Development 331

Relations 334

Sketches of Individual Amirates 334

19 Oman and Yemen: The Southern Fringe 336

Oman 336

Physical Regions 337

A Historical Sketch 340

The Omanis 341

Economy 342

Relations 343

Yemen 344

Five Regions 344

Historical Sketch 348

Republic of Yemen 351

The Yemenis 351

Merged Emerging Economy 352

Relations 355

20 Egypt: A River and a People 356

A View of Egypt 356

A Rich History 357

River, Delta, and Deserts 359

The Egyptians 364

Changing Economic Patterns 367

Relations 373

21 Turkey: Bridgeland in Anatolia 375

Between Europe and Middle East 375

Complex Regional Patterns 376

A Historical Tapestry 381

The Turkish Population 382

Village and City 384

Economic Development 384

Relations 393

22 Iran: New Republic on the Plateau 396

New State, Ancient Land 396

Plateau Palimpsest 397

A Theocratic Republic 398

A Mountain-Rimmed Plateau 399

People: Demography and Ethnography 403

Iranian Economic Patterns 408

Regional and Global Relations 415

Geological Time Chart 438.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0813382203

0813382211

OCLC:

28112051