Greater Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Greater Middle East - Essay Example This unique geography is one that has caused the regions of Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria to have a direct linkage to trade. Due to the fact that this region serves as a conduit between Asia, Africa, and Europe, the level and amount of trade that has historically flowed through this region is profound and has affected the cultural and economic development of these regions to a high degree. By means of contrast, the desert areas of the Arabian Peninsula have historically not held a great level of importance; however, with the discovery of vast oil resources within these areas, the economic power of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States has grown astronomically. By means of comparison and measurement, the region of Egypt has historically held a profoundly powerful dynamic in the region not only as a result of the water resource of the Nile that it controls but also the powerful conduit between Africa, Asia, and Eurasia (Taguem, 2010). By much the same level of measurement, the sustenance and developmental power that the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have been able to provide the area known as the Fertile Crescent has allowed the region that is defined by the modern day state of Iraq to develop in a manner that other Middle Eastern states were envious of over the past several hundred, and even thousands, of years (Mahmood, 2013). At the time that European powers came to colonize parts of the Middle East, they were surprised by the level of development and military strength that the Arabs living within the Fertile Crescent were able to engage. This was no doubt the result of the fact that geography had played a powerful role in providing this particular region with the much needed resource of water; subsequently allowing this particular area to develop to an extent that other areas throughout the Middle East could only dream of