After reading “God Dies By The Nile” by Nawal El Saadawi one can begin to
realize how much different life in the Middle East is in comparison to areas
such as China and India which we have studied. The term Middle East refers to
South Western Asia and North Eastern Africa The Middle east has many very
interesting features and aspects about it such as the way there economy is
organized, the type of religion that they practice, the various geographical
aspects of the land, and the way that society is in general. The economy of the
Middle East is somewhat similar to the economy of India. The Middle East mainly
imports everything and anything this is part of the reason why they are so poor
because everything is so expensive. The main reason for a lot of the importing
of products such as a pencil is because they’re a no factories. The Middle
East is a very highly taxed, which makes the economy also very week and poor.
Because the economy is so poor a lot of the people in the Middle East live in
mud homes along rivers, and have very little food and clothing. Since the land
is not that great in the Middle east very little agriculture can be grown so
therefore people cant make much money from farming and can just get enough food
to feed there family. Some of there agriculture includes: Cotton, corn, rice,
wheat, beans, fruits, and vegetables. They also raise cattle, water buffalo,
sheep, and goats. There main industry includes: textiles, tourism, food
processing, petroleum, cement and construction. Like most underdeveloped and
poor countries there is people who have a lot of money and don’t live in
poverty these people live in nicer homes and have a lot more than the average
peasant. People who have a higher economic status usually are working for the
government. Because of the fact that everyone is so poor there is a lot of crime
and most of it is mainly people stealing from other people. “All peasants
steal. Theft runs in there blood like the Bilharzia worm. They put on an
innocent air, pretend to be dull, kneel down before Allah as they would never
think of disobeying him, but all the time, deep inside, they are nothing but
accursed, cunning, unbelieving, impious sons of heretics. A man will prostrate
himself in prayer behind me, but once he has left the mosque, and gone to the
field, he will steal from his neighbor, and poison the man’s buffalo without
batting an eyelid.” The climate in the Middle East is very different from
anything that we have ever experienced in the United States. Temperatures in the
Middle East seem to be very extreme and unbearable to what we are used to. In
the summer temperatures often exceed 100 degrees and in the winter they range
from 70-80 degrees. In countries such as Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and
Northwest Africa the climate is considered to be a mediate climate. These areas
are often characterized by rainfall and heavy droughts, which come for long
periods of time and are very unpredictable. The crops that are grown in this
area are olives and grapes because they can survive the heavy rains and
droughts. The Middle East also has land, which is desert such as the northern
part of Sudan and the Egyptian desert, which are very dry and hot, and the
average temperature during the summer is around one hundred and seventeen
degrees Fahrenheit. During the spring months there are the possibilities of
sandstorms in certain region, which can last for up to four days. During the
winter season the desert often receives about one to eight inches of rain on
average. Vegetation in these areas is very sparse and is often limited to desert
like plants such as a cactus witch retains water to survive during the dry
season. The Middle East has many rivers the most popularly known the Nile has
two different climates. The southern portion of the river has very heavy
rainfall during the summer months. The southern portion of the river is
considered the Ethiopian Plateau. The northern part of the river, which is the
Sudan and Egypt area hardly, gets any rain at all during the summer. Between
October and May both areas usually receive little to no rainfall and are very
dry. The reason for this period of dry time is said to be the northeast
tradewinds. As you can see the climate of the Middle East is mainly dry and hot
and sometimes very wet in seasons of heavy rainfall. In the Middle East people
are very different from the people in the United States they are somewhat
similar to people in China. In the Middle East men are given a lot of respect as
compared to women who are looked down upon and given no respect. In no way are
men and women in the Middle East treated as being equal to each other. Women are
treated so unequal to men it is almost like they are slaves or servants. “And
every she carried an earthenware jar on her head, and walked along the river
band to the bend in the Nile where the girls filled up the empty jars with
water.” Like the job of filling up the water jars and many other jobs
described in the book show how women did a lot of hard work and were told they
had to obey and do the work. Women were even unequal to men when it came to
religion. “Prayer is built on certain well defined movements of the body
namely: kneeling, prostrating yourself twice each time you kneel and then
sitting up with you feet under the body to recite the testimonial. In addition,
there are certain conditions, which must be strictly adhered to. In males the
body must be covered from the waist downwards to a point below the knees. In
females, the whole body should be covered with the exception of the palms of the
hands, and the face.” After reading this book I feel as if I have advanced my
learning in the area of the Middle East and now have a better understanding of
the society and geographical aspects of this area. As one can see the climate is
very different than the climate we live in. The climate almost seems unbearable
to me. The society is also very different in that the way that women are treated
and how they are given no respect.