While there is some truth in the view
of the Middle East as a region of vast sandy deserts and political
unrest this is selling it somewhat short. Iraq and Afganistan are still
to be avoided, however the magical deserts, mountains and coastline,
incredible archaeology and overwhelming hospitality of the people from
Egypt to Iran have inspired travellers for centuries. The Middle East
features the rock carved city of Petra, the Pyramids of Giza, Abu
Simbel on the banks of the fabled River Nile, the coral reefs of the
Red Sea and the architectural splendour and exquisite beauty of Isfahan
and Shiraz. If Africa is accepted as the birthplace of humanity then
the Middle East has a good case for being the ‘cradle of civilisation’,
with archeological evidence of a fairly sophisticated society in what
is now Egypt, dating back to 3000BC.
Geography
At the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe the region is bounded by
the Caucasus Mountains, the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, Arabian and
Red Seas and encompasses Turkey, Egypt, Iran, the Arabian peninsula and
the Levant. With the sandy deserts restricted to Egypt and Saudi
Arabia, the region comprises great rocky plains and numerous
mountainous areas (Mt Ararat 5165m in Turkey) traversed by life
sustaining rivers such as the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris.
Climate
With the majority of the land mass receiving less than 100mm rainfall
per annum variations are restricted to the mountains and the coast.
Temperatures vary with the seasons and altitude; snow-capped peaks
signal low winter temperatures however, the generally hot and arid
climate of the lower interior gives way to 70% humidity and 40-50
centigrade summer temperatures along the coast in the Gulf and on the
Red Sea.
Culture
Dissected by ancient trade routes, including the Silk Road and dotted
with caravanserais and oases, the Middle East is the birthplace of
three world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is Islam
that has prevailed, despite the best efforts of the crusaders and it
was the Arabs who in their turn spread the word of the Koran converting
societies to Islam and thus into Arabs. There now exists a strong sense
of an ‘Arab Nation’ from Egypt to Oman but the most ‘typical’ Arabs are
the Bedouin, the camel driving nomads who still adhere to their ancient
way of life not least their famed hospitality to strangers. Though both
Persia and Turkey succumbed to the law of Islam, both managed to retain
their own languages, with the Farsis (or Persians) adopting the Arabic
script for written Persian.