WG Module 9 cont- egypt/ north africa

The Arab Invasion

A dramatic change occurred in Libya and the Maghreb during the mid-600s A.D., when Arab armies invaded North Africa. The Arabs' impact upon the region was tremendous. They brought with them a new religion, Islam, and a new language, Arabic. This Arab conquest was the start of a long, golden age for North Africa when the region became a vital center of trade between Europe, Africa, and Asia and an important center of learning and scholarship. Today, Arabs form the majority of the population in North Africa, and the Berbers are a substantial minority. Berbers in Algeria, for example, make up about 17 percent of the population.

Egypt and Israel

After World War II, Egypt developed closer links with the Arab Middle East. The main cause of this trend was the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The Arabs were united in their opposition to the existence of Israel. Egypt took a major role in the 1948, 1967, and 1973 wars with Israel but suffered defeat in all three. In 1967 it lost control of the Sinai Peninsula to Israel. When Egypt was defeated for the third time in 1973, Sadat decided to seek a permanent peace with Israel. In 1979 Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel's right to exist, and Israel agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982. Sadat's peace treaty with Israel was harshly criticized by other Arab nations who believed that it betrayed the Arab cause. In 1981 Sadat was assassinated, but his successor, Hosni Mubarak, continued to honor the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty.

Libya: Oil

After years of Italian control, newly independent Libya was one of the poorest nations in Africa in 1951 . Its revenues came almost entirely from foreign aid and rent from British and American military bases. That situation changed abruptly with the discovery of oil. By 1961 Libya's first oil wells were in production, and today oil makes up 99 percent of Libya's exports. Money from oil paid for roads, schools, housing, hospitals, and airports. It also brought electricity and new water wells to rural villages. Oil money provided farmers with modern machinery and dramatically increased the income of many Libyans, especially those who found jobs in construction and the new oil industry.

Population Growth

As you have read, a key trend in Egypt today is urbanization--the movement of rural people to the nation's cities. For at least the last forty years, the urban population has been growing at a rate of 4 percent annually. Cairo, for example, grew from 2.1 million in 1947 to more than 6.8 million in the mid-1990s. A second key trend is rapid population growth throughout the nation. Egypt's overall population is growing at an annual rate of 1.7 percent, lower than in previous years, but still faster than other countries in the Arab world. Feeding, housing, educating, and providing other services for this fast-growing population has strained the economy. But stemming population growth is not easy. Many Egyptians need the labor and income of every member of their large families, and so they resist government efforts to limit family size. One of the major problems of Egypt's population growth is that it is outstripping the country's food supply. In 1960 Egypt produced nearly all its own food. Today, it imports more than one-half of the food its people eat. The fertile land along the Nile is already intensively farmed, and the Egyptian government has plans to increase the amount of arable land by irrigating farther into the desert, but this land will not be as naturally fertile as the soil in the Nile River valley. Large amounts of money will have to be spent on chemical fertilizers.

European Intervention

By the late 1700s, the Ottoman Turks' power was in decline, and European nations began to intervene in Egyptian affairs. The Suez Canal, which linked the Mediterranean and Red seas, opened in 1869 and made Egypt a vital link between Britain and its eastern colonies in Asia. In 1875, when Egypt's ruler faced heavy debts, Great Britain gladly purchased Egypt's share of ownership in the Suez Canal. In 1879 Egyptian nationalists revolted, determined to regain control of the canal. Nationalists are people who want to form an independent nation to protect their common culture and interests. Britain responded by invading Egypt and defeating the new government in 1882. British troops remained in Egypt for decades. Following World War I, Egyptian nationalists again pushed for independence, and in 1922, Britain agreed to their demands. But, in effect, the British continued to control Egypt, and Egyptian rulers had little power.

Ancient Egypt

Cities and their attractions have been a part of Egyptian life for well over 5,000 years. The civilization of the ancient Egyptians was unique and long lasting. They were among the first people in the world to set up an organized government and religion and to invent a written language. Among the accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians was the building of the world-famous pyramids located southwest of Cairo. The pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs, the rulers of ancient Egypt. Egyptians believed that a person's spirit might need to return to its body after death. Therefore, they preserved the bodies of the pharaohs in a process known as mummification. Egyptians also believed that a person's spirit might need nourishment and assistance in the afterlife. This belief led them to place many useful objects, including food, furniture, jewelry, and gold, in the pharaohs' tombs.

Camels

During the period of Roman rule, camels imported from Central Asia were introduced to North Africa. Camels have been called "ships of the desert" because they are well adapted to desert conditions. Even in very hot weather, they can travel for several days without water. Their large, flat feet allow them to walk over sand dunes much as snowshoes allow people to walk over snow. Camels changed perceptions of the geography of North Africa. For the first time, North Africans established regular trade with the people living south of the Sahara. They crossed the desert in caravans, large groups of merchants who joined together to travel in safety. Southbound caravans carried salt, which was very valuable to people in tropical climates, and northbound caravans carried enslaved people, as well as cargoes of ivory, gold, and feathers. They also transported wild animals, such as hippopotamuses and elephants, for contests in Roman amphitheaters.

The Gift of the Nile

Egypt is a land of wide, forbidding deserts divided by a single large river, the Nile. Without that river, all of Egypt would be desert. For this reason, Egypt is sometimes referred to as "the Gift of the Nile." The Nile is the world's longest river. It begins in Central Africa and flows northward for 4,160 miles (6,695 km) before it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. On its way, it runs through Egypt from south to north. As it nears the end of its course, the Nile forks into two major branches. Between these two branches is an area known as the Nile Delta. A delta is land formed by soil in the water that is dropped as the river slows and enters the sea. The delta, which has been enriched by the Nile for centuries, is astoundingly fertile.

Rural Life

Farmers living in Libya and the Maghreb still live in small, rural villages in mud or stone houses that may have only one room. For the sake of privacy, these houses usually do not have windows that face the street; instead, windows face the family's open courtyard. Water often comes not from a tap, but from a goatskin bag that hangs on a wall of the house, and the family's supply of water must be carried from the village well each day. People rise at dawn to begin their work. In the middle of the day, when temperatures are hottest, North Africans rest for several hours. Even in the cities, a three-hour midday break is the custom. When the sun's glare begins to lessen, people return to work until dusk. Some farmers own or rent small plots of land, raising wheat, barley, and livestock. The tools they use are often the same kinds as their ancestors used centuries ago. For example, wooden plows drawn by camels are not uncommon. Other villagers hire themselves out to work for owners of larger, more modern farms.

Egypt: Independence

In 1952 a group of nationalist army officers overthrew the government of Egypt, and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser emerged as the new ruler. Nasser was determined to end Western domination of Egypt, modernize the country, and make it a major influence in world politics. In 1956 Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal, creating an international crisis. Israel, Britain, and France jointly invaded Egypt in an attempt to retake the waterway. But both the United States and the Soviet Union supported a United Nations resolution demanding a cease-fire and the withdrawal of outside forces from Egyptian territory. This action forced the Western nations to call off the attack. Nasser held the canal, and the British left Egypt in 1957. For the first time in more than two thousand years, Egypt was ruled solely by Egyptians. Nasser formed close ties with the Soviet Union, the major Communist nation at that time. Helped by Soviet money and experts, the Egyptians implemented Nasser's many modernization projects. Under Nasser, industry was developed, and Egypt's dependence on cotton, its main export crop, was reduced. Nasser also sought to modernize Egyptian society. Watch the video to see him speak about women's clothing. When Nasser died in 1970, Anwar Sadat became the president of Egypt. Sadat ended Egypt's alliance with the Soviet Union and forged new ties with the West.

Physical Geography of North Africa

In the coastal areas of North Africa, the climate is Mediterranean with hot, sunny summers and cool, rainy winters. Away from the seacoast, the extremely dry climate of the Sahara prevails. But the landscape of the desert varies from area to area—sandy dunes flow into gravel and bare rock deserts. Dry riverbeds and sharp gullies, known as wadis, cut across the land, catching and temporarily holding water from sudden downpours. Low basins gradually rise to meet high, windswept plateaus and then mountains. People who lived along the coast of North Africa found it easier to have contact with other countries than with interior regions of their own country. Additionally, the people of the interior had limited contact with one another or with the outside world. To add to the isolation, no navigable rivers connected these places, and the mountains and desert were formidable barriers to travel and communication. For these reasons, the people of the interior regions have tended to maintain traditional ways.

European Influence

In the nineteenth century, some European powers sought to control North Africa. One such country was France, which invaded Algeria in 1830. Although Algerian rebels battled French rule for more than seventy years, they were eventually defeated. During the late 1800s, France extended its empire to Tunisia. European conquest of the area was completed in 1912 when France gained control of Morocco, and Italy conquered Libya. Following Italy's defeat in World War II in 1951, the United Nations declared Libya an independent nation. However, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco had to fight for their independence. Finally, in 1956 Morocco and Tunisia gained their freedom, followed by Algeria in 1962.

Egypt's Economic Future

In the past, Egypt's economy depended on a single export: cotton. When international cotton prices were high, Egypt's economy prospered; when they fell, Egypt faced potential economic disaster. Now oil and petroleum products have taken first place among Egypt's exports. This change in exports has not solved Egypt's economic problems because the country is still dependent on the export of raw materials rather than manufactured goods. Most experts agree that to prosper, Egypt needs an industrial base that will provide much-needed jobs and produce goods for sale abroad. Efforts to promote industrialization began in the late 1950s and increased in the 1960s, but several factors have limited the growth of industries. One factor is the country's limited number of skilled workers. Although Egypt has the largest pool of educated people in the Arab world, it frequently loses these professionals to wealthier countries where salaries are much higher. A second major challenge facing Egypt is lack of capital—money that is invested in building and supporting new industries. Average annual per capita GDP in Egypt is about $1,250, compared with about $7,000 in Saudi Arabia or $33,900 in the United States. With relatively low incomes, few Egyptians have money left over after paying for their basic needs of food and housing. This makes them unable to invest in new factories or industries. Lacking the oil reserves of some of its more fortunate neighbors, Egypt depends heavily on aid from Western and other Arab nations.

Libya: Qaddafi

It is hard to say which has changed Libya more, oil wealth or the government of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. In 1969 Qaddafi led a military coup that overthrew the pro-Western king and abolished the monarchy. Qaddafi established a unique form of socialism that combined strict adherence to Islamic traditions with some modern economic and political reforms. One of Qaddafi's goals was a more equal distribution of wealth in Libya. For example, he ordered that no Libyan could have more than one house or more than 1,000 dinar (about $3,400) in savings. The government seized the property of anyone who had more than it allowed. Another of Qaddafi's goals was to root out Western influences, which he thought were unhealthy. His government closed bars and nightclubs and banned blue jeans for men and any kind of pants or short skirts for women. In addition, Qaddafi established Islamic law as the law of the land to bring the country back to its Islamic traditions. In foreign policy, Qaddafi clashed both with Western nations and with Libya's neighbors. Libya used its oil revenues to buy billions of dollars worth of Soviet military equipment, which it then used in brief wars with Chad and Egypt during the 1970s and 1980s. The country also supported terrorist groups around the world, and in 1986 the United States launched an air strike against Libya in response to a terrorist bombing; then, in 1992, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions against Libya. These sanctions were lifted in 1999 when Libya turned over two suspects to the United Nations. At that time, Qaddafi abandoned terrorism and presented himself as a leader of Africa. Many Libyans wondered why life did not improve since the sanctions had been lifted. During the 1990s, rising oil prices should have brought increased wealth to Libya, but instead, people's incomes declined.

Urban Life

Like Egypt, the rest of North Africa is undergoing rapid urbanization. Recent estimates show that half or more of the populations of Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia live in urban areas. The older Arab sections of North African cities, called medinas, usually are centered around a great mosque. Souks, or market areas, wind out from the mosque in a maze of narrow streets and alleyways lined with shops and workrooms. One visitor recently described the streets of a medina: "You walk past endless walls shiny from having been polished by generations of human beings wedged into narrow alleys. . . . Exquisite and often sumptuous houses are hiding behind these walls amid scented gardens filled with the murmur of fountains." Like Cairo, the major cities of Libya and the Maghreb attract more rural people than they can absorb; therefore, housing and jobs for unskilled laborers are scarce. Since the 1950s, when European control of North Africa ended and oil wealth began, modern parts of cities have grown rapidly. Modern sections of North African cities look much like cities in Europe or the United States with broad avenues, modern skyscrapers, internationally known stores, and corporate offices.

Early Cultures of the Region

Located on the southern coast of the much-traveled Mediterranean Sea, coastal regions of North Africa have been influenced by centuries of contact with other peoples. Today, the region has a distinctive culture that is a blend of African, European, and Asian influences. Sometime after 5000 B.C. the Berbers—the original inhabitants of North Africa—became farmers and herders instead of nomads. They settled in villages along the Mediterranean coast and on the northern mountain slopes. Only a small portion of the population lived near oases. Over time, other groups came to power in the region, including the Carthaginians and the Romans.

Algeria: Independence

Nearly all the French colonists left Algeria after it became independent, but this flight had disastrous consequences for the Algerians. With no educational opportunities of their own, Algerians had relied on French settlers to serve as professionals and government administrators. As a result, the new government began massive training and education programs to enable Algerians to fill the newly emptied positions. Oil and natural gas, which were first discovered in the 1950s, make up about 96 percent of the value of all Algerian exports. Like Libya, Algeria's oil revenues have raised the country's general standard of living, but Algeria still faces severe economic problems. Although the oil industry produces most of Algeria's revenues, it employs few of the country's workers. With the population growing rapidly, too few jobs are available, and many Algerians have emigrated to Europe to work, especially to France. The Algerian government is trying to encourage rural Algerians to continue farming instead of flocking to the cities. If it is successful in its efforts, it will accomplish three goals. First, fewer Algerians will be unemployed because agricultural workers are in great demand. Second, Algeria will be able to reduce its expensive dependence on food imports. Today, the country has to import more than one-third of its food. And third, the severe problems of overcrowding in Algeria's coastal cities will be reduced. At present, two-room apartments house an average of nine occupants.

Desert Regions

On either side of the Nile Valley are harsh wastelands. On the west is the Libyan Desert, and on the east is a continuation of the Arabian Desert. The Sinai (SY ny) Peninsula, located in Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, is part of Egypt's eastern desert region. Strong winds blow constantly across the Sahara. In the early summer a special wind, known in Egypt as the khamsin (kam SEEN), creates sandstorms that blow hot air, dust, and grit into the Nile Valley. In bad years the khamsin blows so hard that the Egyptian sky turns orange with flying sand. Oases, due to the presence of water, are the only arable land in the desert. But the desert does hold some resources. Phosphates, for example, which are used to make fertilizer, are extracted from the desert, as is some oil.

Village and City Life

Over half of Egypt's population lives in rural areas, yet Egypt's urban areas have grown in recent decades as more and more people have moved from rural villages to cities. In some respects, village life in Egypt has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. The fellaheen live in small, low houses made of sun-dried mud bricks. These houses are often formed of rooms clustered around a central courtyard. If rural families can afford to, they keep domestic animals, such as chickens, goats, and donkeys, which provide food and transportation. Life in the cities, however, has changed rapidly in recent times. After all, Cairo and Alexandria offer millions of people opportunities for jobs, schooling, culture, and entertainment. These opportunities constantly attract people from rural communities, but unfortunately, the cities cannot comfortably hold all the people who move there. New arrivals from the countryside are often unable to find jobs or housing. Unwilling to return to their villages, they live in tents and other makeshift shelters. Cairo in particular has become a striking blend of new and old, rich and poor. Only blocks away from modem department stores that display the latest Paris fashions are the traditional Arab open-air markets, or bazaars.

Desert Nomads

Some North Africans have always followed a nomadic way of life. One of the most distinctive nomadic groups is the Tuareg (TWAR ehg), who live in small groups throughout the central and southern Sahara. The Tuareg speak their own language—the only Berber language that has a written form, and they practice a unique form of Islam that preserves many elements of their previous religion. The Tuareg's name for themselves means "free men." They have resisted giving up their nomadic ways and coming under the control of any government. Recently, severe droughts in the Sahara have forced many to settle in villages and work on farms to survive. It is possible that their ancient way of life—and that of other remaining North African nomads—will soon disappear.

Algeria: Challenges

The Algerian government has faced a number of problems in the last few years. In 1988 economic discontent led to antigovernment riots, and Algerians began to demand an end to the one-party rule that had controlled the government since independence. In time, new local and national elections were scheduled. In 1992 an Islamist party nearly won the national elections. Many Algerians were alarmed that this party would impose on them a government similar to the Islamic government in Iran. They were afraid that they would never attain the democratic freedoms for which they hoped. To prevent radical Islamists from coming to power, the army took over the government and postponed the elections. The radical Islamists responded with a wave of assassinations and other terrorist attacks to undermine the army-run government.

Egypt: Location, Size, and Population

The Arab nation of Egypt has a vital location: It is situated in the northeast corner of Africa where travelers and goods pass between two continents. Besides having an ideal location, Egypt is large—about one-and-a-half times the size of Texas, and it is also one of the most populous countries in the Arab world. These three factors—strategic location, size, and population—make Egypt a power to be respected in world affairs.

North Africa and the Maghreb

The North African countries west of Egypt are Libya and the Maghreb nations—Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The word Maghreb comes from an Arabic term meaning "land farthest west." For a thousand years, these countries were the western-most outposts of an Islamic empire that stretched across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and into Europe. Today, they retain close ties to other Islamic countries, especially those of the Middle East. The North African nations are similar in many respects. The majority of the people are Arabic-speaking Muslims who live along the Mediterranean coast. Away from this narrow coast, their lands are arid, forming the northern margins of the Sahara. The shared presence of the desert and their similar histories give the cultures of these four countries many things in common. There are, however, important differences among these nations. For example, Libya is a large country with rich oil reserves and very little arable land. Tunisia is small and much more agricultural, but it lacks oil.

Crops and Cities

The fellaheen, as Egyptian peasants are called, grow impressive crops without the aid of modern machinery. Like other Egyptian farmers, they rarely even use plows. With a population of 68 million people, Egypt relies on human labor rather than on machines to farm. About 99 percent of Egypt's people live either in the Nile Valley or the delta region. Along the Nile's cultivated banks, population density averages about 2,700 people per square mile (1,100 per sq km). Egypt's two largest cities are Cairo, the capital, which straddles the Nile, and Alexandria, a major seaport and resort on the Mediterranean Sea.

Invaders and Cultural Change

The location of this rich kingdom at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe made it a tempting target for waves of invaders. Over the centuries, Egypt was ruled by Greek, as well as Roman, conquerors. They brought the Greek language and Roman customs to this ancient land. When the Arabs conquered Egypt in A.D. 642, Arabic became Egypt's official language and Islam its official religion. Today, more than 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim. Most of the remaining minority are Copts, a very old Christian sect. For more than one thousand years, Egypt was ruled as part of various Muslim empires. The last of these empires was that of the Ottoman Turks.

Tunisia and Morocco

Tunisia and Morocco do not have large oil reserves, which some inhabitants view as a blessing. As one Tunisian business leader stated, "We are lucky we didn't find much oil. Otherwise, we wouldn't have worked so hard to develop our people." Tunisia spends more than 15 percent of its money on education, and education is free from the primary grades through the universities. One recent visitor to the Tunisian desert observed: "It is very touching to see groups of tiny children . . . trudging sturdily to classes across a wide, dusty landscape in which, as far as the eye can see, there is no obvious sign of home or school." Aside from developing their human resources, Tunisia and Morocco have also begun to develop their manufacturing base. Recently, both countries have increased their revenues by manufacturing clothing for export. Another important resource for Tunisia and Morocco is minerals: Both countries export phosphates. Tunisia and Morocco have also built up their chemical industries to process phosphates before exporting them. As in other parts of the region, rural areas are declining in population as new industrial projects lure workers from the countryside to the cities.

The Nile, Again

Until recently, the Nile River flooded every year, refreshing the fields with water and silt that formed a rich, fertile soil. Egypt's farmers have long built walls around their fields to trap this water and silt. This form of irrigation, basin irrigation, was good for growing crops, but it did not work year-round. Additionally, nothing had been done to control heavy flooding, which often brought disaster. During the 1960s, President Nasser undertook an enormous new water project. He began work on a dam that would store the Nile floodwaters in a vast reservoir—a natural or artificial lake used to store water for human needs. The waters of Lake Nasser, as the reservoir was called, would be the basis of a perennial irrigation system—one that provides water for agriculture all year long. The reservoir could also be tapped to provide extra water for Cairo and to generate electricity for modern industries. The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970. It promptly ended flooding of the Nile and permitted Egyptian farmers to plant two or three crops every year. Lake Nasser's irrigation water has also allowed more and more desert to be reclaimed for farming. In spite of all of its benefits, the dam has also caused some problems. Floodwaters no longer carry silt to fertilize the land on the banks of the Nile. Farmers are now forced to use chemical fertilizers to make up for the lack of natural fertilization. Another problem caused by the dam is that perennial irrigation causes salt to build up in the soil. Some 35 percent of Egyptian farmlands now suffer from a high salt content. Solving this new problem would involve installing huge drainage systems and would cost a large amount of money.