Middle East Patterns

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.

Dr. Colbert C. Held is a retired Foreign Service Officer who was with the Department of State for eighteen years. Fifteen years were spent in the Middle East, with postings to embassies in Beirut and Tehran and to the American Consulate General in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He also held lengthy temporary assignments in every country in the Middle East. He has been Retired Diplomat-in-Residence at Baylor University since 1978.

List of Tables	p. IX
List of Illustrations	p. XI
Preface and Acknowledgments to the Second Edition	p. XV
Preface and Acknowledgments to the First Edition	p. XVII
A Note on Transliteration	p. XIX
Physical and Cultural Geography
Tricontinental Junction: An Introduction	p. 3
Middle East Preview	p. 3
The Middle East: Definition	p. 7
Regional Unity of Empires	p. 9
Aims and Concepts: A Glance	p. 10
Patterns of Time: Historical-Geographical Foundations	p. 12
Persistence of Patterns	p. 12
Early Patterns	p. 13
Historical-Political Evolution	p. 16
Some Inferences	p. 28
The Lands and the Waters	p. 31
An Overview	p. 31
Survey of Landforms	p. 34
Middle East Seas	p. 39
Middle East Lakes	p. 42
Major River Systems	p. 42
Groundwater	p. 45
The Skies and the Winds: Climate	p. 47
Middle East Climate Factors	p. 47
Elements of Middle East Climate	p. 49
Climate Regions	p. 55
Soils, Vegetation, and Animal Life	p. 59
Ecological Relationships and Soils	p. 59
Middle East Soil Patterns	p. 60
Vegetation	p. 64
Middle East Vegetation Patterns	p. 64
Animal Life	p. 67
Patterns of Peoples and Cultures	p. 70
Patterns: Population	p. 71
Patterns of Peoples	p. 76
Patterns: Languages	p. 76
Patterns: Religions	p. 80
Patterns: Ethnic Groups	p. 89
The Desert and the Sown: Land Use	p. 99
Agriculture	p. 99
Landholdings and Land Reform	p. 103
Rainfed Crop Farming	p. 104
Water in the Desert: Irrigation	p. 107
Role of Animals	p. 110
Forest Products	p. 113
Fishing	p. 114
Riches Beneath the Earth	p. 115
Underground Resources	p. 115
Petroleum: Historical Development	p. 115
Patterns of Reserves	p. 119
Petroleum Production	p. 124
Major Oil Facilities	p. 127
Markets and Marketing	p. 131
OPEC: Pricing and Participation	p. 132
Other Minerals	p. 134
Manufacturing and Transportation	p. 138
Preliminary View	p. 138
Cooperation and Aid	p. 140
Regional Development Problems	p. 141
Patterns of Industry	p. 143
Transportation	p. 147
Trade	p. 154
Where People Congregate	p. 157
Settlers and Settlements	p. 157
Overall Settlement Pattern	p. 160
Urbanization	p. 161
Internal Structures of Cities	p. 161
Urban Problems and Prospects	p. 165
The Earth and the State: Geopolitics	p. 169
Hub and Heartland	p. 169
The State in the Middle East	p. 170
Peace Treaties and Mandates	p. 171
Present Basic Patterns	p. 173
Regional Linkages	p. 175
Regional Conflicts	p. 177
The Arab-Israeli Problem	p. 182
The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988	p. 191
The Gulf Crisis, 1990-1991	p. 193
Strategic Straits	p. 195
Great-Power Rivalry	p. 198
Regional Geography
Syria: Middle East Heartland	p. 203
Regional Keystone	p. 203
The Physical Challenge	p. 203
The Imprint of Time	p. 206
The Syrian Mixture	p. 208
Evolving Economic Patterns	p. 210
Transportation and Trade	p. 216
Political Geography	p. 216
Lebanon and Cyprus: A Mountain and an Island	p. 220
Lebanon	p. 220
The Character of Lebanon	p. 220
Rich Past, Complex Evolution	p. 220
Lebanon and the Lebanese	p. 221
Disrupted Economic Patterns	p. 224
A Subregional Perspective	p. 227
Factions and Territories	p. 230
Cyprus	p. 233
Two Mountains, Three Plains	p. 233
Mediterranean Climate, Mediterranean Crops	p. 235
Nonagricultural Economy	p. 235
Before Division	p. 235
Divided Cyprus	p. 237
Jordan: The Land Beyond	p. 238
Historical Evolution	p. 239
Peoples: Arabs, Minorities, Refugees	p. 242
Problems of Population	p. 243
Physical Resource Base	p. 244
International Relations	p. 250
Israel and Occupied Territories: "Palestine" or "Eretz Yisrael"?	p. 252
Israel	p. 252
Historical Background: A Brief Summary	p. 252
Varied Landscapes	p. 252
Population and Peoples	p. 256
Settlements	p. 260
Economic Patterns	p. 261
Commerce and Services	p. 265
Relations	p. 265
Occupied Territories	p. 268
West Bank	p. 268
Gaza	p. 271
Golan	p. 272
Iraq: Modern Mesopotamia	p. 274
Iraq and Its Antecedents	p. 274
Regional Patterns	p. 277
Population and Peoples	p. 281
Economic Patterns and Problems	p. 283
Relations	p. 288
Saudi Arabia: Development in the Desert	p. 291
Saudi Arabia: A Preview	p. 291
Historical-Political Geography	p. 292
Physical Patterns	p. 294
Population and Peoples	p. 297
Settlements	p. 299
Economic Patterns	p. 300
Relations	p. 307
The Gulf and Its Oil States	p. 310
A Glance at History	p. 310
A Glance at Gulf Oil	p. 311
A Geopolitical Perspective	p. 311
Kuwait	p. 312
Kuwait Fort and Port	p. 312
Oil and Oil Industry	p. 315
Other Industry and Trade	p. 317
Society and Settlements	p. 318
Relations	p. 321
Bahrain	p. 321
An Overview	p. 321
People and Population	p. 322
Economic Patterns	p. 324
Relations	p. 325
Qatar	p. 325
Peninsula State	p. 325
From Poverty to Prosperity	p. 327
United Arab Emirates (UAE)	p. 328
A Survey	p. 328
Population	p. 329
Economic Development	p. 331
Relations	p. 334
Sketches of Individual Amirates	p. 334
Oman and Yemen: The Southern Fringe	p. 336
Oman	p. 336
Physical Regions	p. 337
A Historical Sketch	p. 340
The Omanis	p. 341
Economy	p. 342
Relations	p. 343
Yemen	p. 344
Five Regions	p. 344
Historical Sketch	p. 348
Republic of Yemen	p. 351
The Yemenis	p. 351
Merged Emerging Economy	p. 352
Relations	p. 355
Egypt: A River and a People	p. 356
A View of Egypt	p. 356
A Rich History	p. 357
River, Delta, and Deserts	p. 359
The Egyptians	p. 364
Changing Economic Patterns	p. 367
Relations	p. 373
Turkey: Bridgeland in Anatolia	p. 375
Between Europe and Middle East	p. 375
Complex Regional Patterns	p. 376
A Historical Tapestry	p. 381
The Turkish Population	p. 382
Village and City	p. 384
Economic Development	p. 384
Relations	p. 393
Iran: New Republic on the Plateau	p. 396
New State, Ancient Land	p. 396
Plateau Palimpsest	p. 397
A Theocratic Republic	p. 398
A Mountain-Rimmed Plateau	p. 399
People: Demography and Ethnography	p. 403
Iranian Economic Patterns	p. 408
Regional and Global Relations	p. 415
Epilogue	p. 418
Notes	p. 423
Glossary	p. 432
Geological Time Chart	p. 438
Bibliography	p. 439
About the Book and Author	p. 453
Index	p. 454
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