Leco2007
The region of southwest Asia, also called the Middle East contains 23 countries and territories. Among these we can find vary important countries in the 21st century such like Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel. A major part of the world’s petroleum concentrates on the country of Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East. Here are the descriptions of the most important countries located there.
Afghanistan
This is a landlocked country that has experienced crisscross of invasions from several people. It has not yet completed a century of independence. In the 90’s, the US used its military power to fight Russian Soviets in Afghanistan. The US has returned to deal with this country in the year of 2002 in the search of Osama Bin Laden.
Iran
This country was firstly occupied by the Iranian people but was later dominated by the Persian Empire and later by Alexander the Great. Many dynasties have ruled Iran over its 4000 years of existence. Iraq
Iraq’s most important time was during the rule of Sadam Hussein where the people was repressed but in 2003, the US, as an initiative of president Bush fought the absolute regime in this country. Israel
Israel has been fighting the nearby nation of Palestine over the sacred land for centuries. Their endless efforts to maintain their land has caused the low levels of development and health care in this country. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is important to the world of commerce. It contains the major part of petroleum in the world. It has been receiving money for the rights of exploring oil and this has enriched many people. There has been observed severe changes in many aspects of life in this region. For one, cities that were once mere trade centers for passing caravans to commerce became huge cities with millions of city dwellers. The major religion in the region is the Islam, which consists of a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of Muhammad. The strong implementation of a unique religion was a very good unifying factor. In performing the five pillars or five teachings of this religion, one becomes a Muslim.
Religion was also strongly involved with politics because there were many theocratic governments in the region. A religious person like the case of Iran controls a theocratic government. In the end of the 16th century though, these theocratic governments fell into the power of two colonialist nations. Britain and France established a powerful influence over Arabic countries especially after WWI. These countries were after two important things: the use of the Suez Canal and the abundance in oil.
A local force opposed colonial rule. Abdul al-Aziz dominated, in the name of his family, a major part of the Arabian Gulf and the nations of Saudi Arabia were formed on this land in 1932.
The major export of the region is oil due to its abundance. The success of the management in oil selling in Saudi Arabia, for example, has provided the conditions for it to develop, using the money form the oil, its water projects. The region has had global acknowledgment especially after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also called OPEC. This organization was formed to interact oil-producing countries in order to regulate the oil price.
The life of the people has also changed. The most dramatic difference is the leaning toward modernization. This came to exist when western machinery undermined the ancient ways of doing things. The bazaars or outside markets no longer exist in large amounts as it did; supermarkets have replaced them. Due to these advances, urbanization increased drastically. Millions of people abandoned their farms to look for jobs in cities making the percentage of city livers rise to 83%. These advances also brought in more foreign investment and the number of non-Arabic workers in the Peninsula has doubled since 1960.
One of the areas that needed more improvement was education. Although education levels are still below good, and it is best to have the trouble of moving outward into a European nation, it has improved since the mid 50s. In fact, one of the reasons that moved so many foreigners to this place was the need for alphabetized labor, which was poor in Arabs.
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