Middle east348
Abu DhAbi
The rulers of many Middle East states invested income from
sales of oil to improve the living conditions of their people and
to develop the economies of their nations. in the 1960s, the
city of Abu Dhabi was just a fishing village on the Persian Gulf.
Today, it is the capital city of the Abu Dhabi sheikdom in the
united Arab Emirates, complete with an international airport
and high-rise downtown area. Abu Dhabi’s revenues from oil
royalties give it one of the world’s highest per capita incomes.MiDDlE EAsT wArs
bitter wars have caused much suffering and death in the Middle
East. israel and its Arab neighbors have fought four wars over
the last 60 years. iran and iraq were constantly at war throughout
the 1980s, and in 1991, NATO and Arab forces defeated iraq
after the iraqis invaded Kuwait. in 2003, American and british
forces invaded iraq and overthrew the dictator saddam hussein.
since 2011, a civil war in syria has killed over 220,000 people.uNiTED ArAb EMirATEs
like many Middle East nations,
the united Arab Emirates has no
democratic government. instead,
the country is ruled by a group
of wealthy emirs (kings) who have
absolute power over their people.
Each emir controls his individual
emirate, or king dom, but they
meet in the Federal supreme
Council of rulers to make
decisions that affect the whole
country. Today, oil provides
most of the country’s wealth, but
shipping has traditionally been
important, and there are major
ports at Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
and sharjah.The port at Sharjah is built to
accommodate the most
modern container ships.A statue of the former Iraqi dictator
Saddam Hussein is toppled in a square in
central Baghdad after the 2003 invasion.Rebel fighters
in SyriaDubai, part of the federation of the
United Arab Emirates, is generally flat.suEz CANAl
More than 100 miles (160 km) in length, the suez Canal links the
Mediterranean sea and the red sea. The canal took ten years to
build, and, when completed in 1869, it cut more than 7,000 miles
(11,000 km) from the distance that sailing ships traveled to reach the
Far East. Today, more than 1,400 ships pass through the canal each
month. The suez Canal is an important trade route and has often
been at the center of conflict in the Middle East. The waterway has
been closed by war and political disagreements several times, most
recently by the Arab-israeli six Day war of 1967. in 2015, a second
lane was completed, which would allow more ships to pass through.DubAi
The city-state of Dubai on the
Persian Gulf has a modern center,
but on the outskirts it merges into
the surrounding desert. rainfall
on the Arabian Peninsula where
Dubai stands averages less than 4 in
(100 mm) a year, and in most places
the only natural water comes from
underground springs. Desalination
plants turn salt water from the
Persian Gulf into a supply
of drinking water for the city.The Suez Canal is not wide
enough for ships traveling in
opposite directions to pass
each other. Vessels must travel
in convoy (above), passing only
at bypasses, where stretches
of the canal has been doubled.Splendid architecture, financed by
revenue from oil, can be found in
Abu Dhabi, such as the
Aldar headquarters
building (right).Find out more
Desert wildlife
iran
islam
israel
OilUS_348_Middle_East_2.indd 348 12/02/16 11:18 am