Ankara, Turkey: 39° 55' N, 32° 51' E (the capital city of the region's northernmost country) and Sanaa, Yemen: 15° 21' N, 44° 12' E (the capital city of the region's southernmost country) are the absolute locations of the Middle East region (East, & Long, n.d.).
The Middle East consists of five countries. Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel are among them (Blij, Muller, and Nijman, 2015). The relative location of the Middle East region is: To the North of the region is the Black and Caspian Seas, to the south of the region is the Gulf of Aden to the west of the region is the Red Sea, and to the east of the region is Afghanistan.
The Middle East is greatly connected to the rest of the world particularly through its numerous water bodies. For instance, the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf are very important trade routes that link this region to the rest of the world. The region also has some of the busiest airports in the world such as those in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Additionally, there are numerous roads that connect the cities to each other and the rest of the world.
Physical Characteristics
The Middle East region covers an area of more than 5.0 million square miles. The region’s geography is quite varied. Huge deserts are very common in the region. The two most popular deserts in the region are the Arabian and Syrian deserts (Lewis, 2014). The Syrian Desert is a rocky wasteland that covers Western Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Eastern Jordan just to mention a few places. The Arabian Desert, on the other hand, is known for its red-tinted dunes and colored planes.
The region is also greatly served by rivers such as the Tigris, Euphrates, and Jordan rivers. The Tigris-Euphrates river system is of great significance to this region. The river-system starts in Turkey and runs through Syria then starts to join in Iraq. Most of Middle East’s fertile lands are along these river valleys. Apart from rivers, other significant water bodies in the region include the Suez Canal, Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.
The climate of the Middle East is also greatly varied. In the desert parts, very low rainfall is received (about 4-inches annually) while the temperatures in such regions are very high ("Climate-exodus expected in the Middle East and North Africa", 2016). The temperatures experienced along the coasts of the Mediterranean and Caspian seas are, however, leading to a more moderate climate similar to that in Southern California.
Human Characteristics
This region is relatively densely populated, with Iraq having the highest population density (Blij, Muller, and Nijman, 2015). There are three main ethnic groups in the region; Arabs, Turks, Iranians with Arabs being the main ethnic group. They are found in almost all states in the region apart from Turkey and Iran. Other significant ethnic groups include the Kurds that exist as a minority in countries such as Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. With that mentioned, most of the population speaks Arabic. Other languages that are, however, spoken in the region include Turkish and Persian.
Religion is also a great aspect of cultural identity in the region. The main religion here is Islam; a religion of the Muslims. It’s the major religion in all Middle East states except the Palestinian and Israel areas. There are, however, several different sects within Islam itself with the Sunni sect being the most dominant in the region. Other sects include the Shia, Shafis, and Alawites.
The region is well-known for some of its foods such as the Turkish coffee, and Pita bread. The people’s diet is majorly composed of vegetables and very little meat. Arabian food is popular for their lamb which they make stew out of.
The main source of income in the Middle East region is oil (Askari, 2007). Majority of the world’s oil is in this region. Top oil companies such as the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Bahrain National Oil Company (BANOCO) generate most of Middle East’s income.
Human/Environmental Interactions
In terms of dependency, the people of the Middle East rely on the rivers (such as Tigris and Euphrates) as well as the occasional rains to grow crops. Most of the people are settled farmers and agriculture is a main part of their culture.
In terms of adaptation, due to the very high temperatures experienced in this region, people put on light and loose clothes especially during the day. Additionally, their diet is mainly based on what is locally available.
Lastly, in terms of modification, the people have modified the environment by incorporating air conditioning to their homes to modify the temperatures of their homes for more comfortable living conditions. They also plant trees, which eventually provide both food and shade for them. Dams such as the Atatürk Dam in Turkey have been built for the purpose of generating electricity and irrigation.
Movement
Movement of goods, people, and even ideas in and out of the Middle East region has been facilitated by different features. The Silk Road is one of the main historical trade routes in the region. It refers to both the maritime and the terrestrial routes linking Europe and Asia (Millward, 2013). Majority of the world’s trade passed through this road. Today, the Suez Canal is an important route for both trade as well as military ships. It offers the shortest maritime route between Europe and places around the western Pacific and Indian oceans. What’s more, three of the most followed religions in the world i.e. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam began here and later spread all over the world.
References
Askari, H. (2007). Middle East Oil Exporters (1st ed.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub.
Blij, H. J., Muller, P. O., & Nijman, J. (2015). The World Today: Concepts and Regions in Geography, 7th Edition. John Wiley & Sons.
Climate-exodus expected in the Middle East and North Africa. (2016). Phys.org. Retrieved 30 May 2017, from https://phys.org/news/2016-05-climate-exodus-middle-east-north-africa.html
East, M., & Long. Yemen Latitude, Longitude, Absolute and Relative Locations - World Atlas. Worldatlas.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017, from http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/yemen/yelatlog.htm
Lewis, B. (2014). The middle east (1st ed.). New York: Scribner.
Millward, J. (2013). The silk road (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
