Some Descriptive Geography • 9tive isolation; invading "barbarians" were first tamed and then absorbed
into China's political system. British subjects lived for centuries in what
they smugly called "splendid isolation" and viewed foreign affairs as "some¬
thing, usually unpleasant, that happens to someone else." The US long saw
itself separate from the outside world. As Americans, who may at times
question the political attitudes and actions of Middle Eastern peoples, let
us ask ourselves these questions: When did we last fight a war on US soil?
When did we last experience a foreign military occupation? Middle East¬
erners have, by contrast, known conquest, outside domination, and a con¬
tinuing exchange of people and animals (but also of goods and ideas) with
both the East and the West throughout their history.
Natural Resources
Nature did not endow the Middle East as lavishly as North America or Eu¬
rope. There are no more grassy plains. Nearly all the forests have been cut
down. Partly as a result of deforestation, drinkable water is scarce almost
everywhere and has become so precious that wars have been fought over
it. Some coal and lignite are mined in Anatolia. A few mountainous areas
harbor deposits of copper, iron, and other metals; in many instances they
have been worked since ancient times. These resources are meager. More
plentiful are sand and limestone, other building materials, and sunlight (a
blessing if solar energy becomes the main source of power).
But what about oil? It is true that some areas, especially those around the
Persian Gulf, have huge petroleum deposits, more than half of the world's
known reserves. Oil has magnified the Middle East's importance. Its bless¬
ings, though, are showered on but few countries, mainly Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. Exploitation of Middle Eastern
oil did not start until the twentieth century; it assumed large-scale propor¬
tions only after 1945. For most of history, crude petroleum was a medicine,
a pitch for caulking riverboats, or the cause of mysterious fires that were ob¬
jects of religious veneration, but not the source of wealth and power that it
has now become. And who knows how long it will last?
Human Diversity
The Middle East's geography has contributed to the diversity of its inhabi¬
tants. On the one hand, varied landscapes—mountains and plains, river
valleys and deserts—require differing lifestyles. Relatively inaccessible
mountains, further isolated in winter and spring by fast-flowing streams,
have shielded religious and ethnic minorities in such countries as Lebanon,