MIDDLE EAST: PATTERNS OF
LIFE AND MORE
 Objective: Students will be able to
describe several aspects of life in the
Middle East and analyze/evaluate the
positive or negative impact of
modernization within each aspect of life.
Closure

Write a brief justification for the group’s rating of
social change and decide if the change or lack of
change for the assigned aspect of life is positive or
negative for the people of Middle East. Cite at least
3 pieces of evidence to support your answer.
Rate amount of Social Change: (circle one for your
assigned aspect of life)
Groups:
1. Village Life:
2. Nomadic/Desert Life:
3. City Life:
4. Family Life:
5. Women:
6. Children:
Least
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
Greatest
5
5
5
5
5
5
Village Life
 Most people in small farming villages near
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water
Small houses –sundried bricks - timber
Self-sufficient
Farming or herding depending on water
supply
Division of labor based on gender
Included mosques, stores, and houses
Did not like outsiders
Traditional economy, extended families
Village Changes
 Changes slow
 Green Revolution
 Use of machines but still agriculture
 New water supplies – desalination
 Land reform
 Some electricity
 Move to cities for better life
 New jobs
 Money economy
 Connection to outside world
Middle East Village
Nomadic Life
 Highland nomads/Bedouins (desert nomads)
 Areas unsuitable for farming-moved with seasonal
rains
 Highland nomads: in Northern Tier (present day
Turkey and Iran)
 Bedouins: in Arabian Peninsula “People of the Tent”
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Small tightly knit tribal group
camel essential for survival
success of group depended on behavior of each individual
Gained power because they could cross the desert
Values: land, honor/honesty, hospitality, generosity
Bedouin
Camel beauty pageant in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Al Dhafra festival link
CNN Bedouin Festival Article & Video
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/263949
Camel Beauty Pageant CNN Picture
Basic Info
Video
Camel Survival
Camel Racing
The Dromedary Camel…
lives in the deserts of
North Africa and the
Middle East,
is also known as the
Arabian Camel, or Ship
of the Desert,
and is a single humped
camel, unlike the Bactrian
Camel, which has 2 humps.
Camels
Nomad Changes
 Settled down
 Money economy
 New jobs
 Losing numbers
 Bedouin values remain strong
Bedouin
CNN Bedouin Festival Article & Video
Bedouins in the UAE Video 8mins
Bedouin Settlement
Camel Beauty Contest
 The United Arab Emirates is hosting a large camel
beauty pageant during the Mazayin Dhafra Camel
Festival 2008, to be held in Abu Dhabi from April 2 to
April 10. The now-modernized region seeks to honor
its nomadic Bedouin heritage, which relied heavily
upon the camel for both transportation and food
production. The festival will be held in remembrance,
and revolves around the camel beauty pageant,
which has attracted a reported 10,000 camels from
across the UAE. An expert panel of judges will single
out the prize-winning camels based on features such
as the size of eyes and lashes, shape and placement
of the hump, and the neck length, among other
standards.
 Developed as:
Cities
 Political centers
 Trading centers
 Religious centers
 Traditional cities
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High walls
Narrow streets
Homes close together
Mosques and suq
Traditional City
Narrow Allies, Plain External Design
Traditional City
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Privacy
Open space is located within the traditional house.
All Houses look alike form outside – no decoration.
Court yard is located inside the house.
Damascus
Suq Video
Traditional City
▲ Umayyad Mosque built 705-715 AD.
◄ Suq (Shopping Mall) Al-Hamiddiyyah.
City Changes
 Urbanization – limited land; more
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opportunities; technology; education
Nuclear family
Strains on resources
Shantytowns
“New City” grows connected to “Old City”
 Oil money = growth
 Still mosque, suq, residential areas
 Generational conflicts
Modern City
Modern Dubai Video
Modern Cairo
Ski Video
• Multi-Story apartment buildings is the new residential pattern.
Turkey
Gecekondu
Turkey
Gecekondu
Morocco
Cairo, Egypt
City of the Dead
Family
Family Life
 Patriarchal (male dominated)
 Most important feature of culture
 Family life guided by Qur’an
 Qur’an supports authority of parents
 Arranged marriages
 Up to four wives
 Divorce legal but looked down upon
Family (Children)
 Obey their parents
 Economic part of family
 Birth is celebration
 More boys go to school than girls –at
mosque
 Tradition is best taught through
observation – given adult responsibilities
 Son to follow father’s footsteps
 Preserve family honor- respect male
authority
Family Changes
 Nuclear family – still most important
 Generational conflicts
 Breakdown of extended family
 Less arranged marriages
 urbanization
Children Changes
 varies
 More education and literacy – training for
modern economy
 Public education
 Adoption of western values and culture
 Generational conflicts
Women
 Tradition made women subordinate to men--NOT religion
 Gave women security
 Lots of influence within the family
 Lost rights as time passes because of
traditions/customs NOT religion
 Men managed women’s affairs
 In charge of household and children
 More likely to bring dishonor to the family
modesty, seclusion
Women
 Traditional Rights:
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Outlawed killing baby girls
Education
Inherit property
Equal under eyes of god
Middle Eastern Women
Middle Eastern Women
Women Changes
 Varies – based on history and tradition
 Urban more freedoms – education
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essential
More education
Entering workforce
Some choose own spouse
Some return to tradition in response to
westernization
 Suq Haggling A Broad Abroad Video 6:00
Closure

Write a brief justification for the group’s rating of
social change and decide if the change or lack of
change for the assigned aspect of life is positive or
negative for the people of Middle East. Cite at least
3 pieces of evidence to support your answer.
Rate amount of Social Change: (circle one for your
assigned aspect of life)
Groups:
1. Village Life:
2. Nomadic/Desert Life:
3. City Life:
4. Family Life:
5. Women:
6. Children:
Least
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
Greatest
5
5
5
5
5
5
Closure
 In general have these changes been
more positive or negative for the
people of the Middle East.