How did humanity end up living in deserts? Why didn't these people venture further away?
The parts of ancient Egypt that were occupied were not a desert at all, but an enormously fertile part of Africa. They developed irrigation techniques to draw water from the Nile, and besides, the Nile flooded every year, watering the land and depositing a rich layer of silt upon it. Also, the Nile delta spreads out into a region 150 miles wide. Here's modern Egypt from space:It became so successful because it was so fertile, and because the Nile is navigable by large craft throughout Egypt as far as modern Aswan. This makes trade, even in very heavy goods like stone, easy, fast, and safe.Mesopotamia, too, is watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Most of Iraq may seem like a desert, but these rivers were the source of its wealth in ancient times.As for why people live in deserts more generally -- typically these are people who have been pushed there by someone more powerful and been forced to adapt. For much of their history the Arabs of the Arabian peninsula have been dominated by the Turks.
Do people live in the Sahara desert? If so, what is it like?
Yes people do indeed live in the Sahara desert. They have adapted their customs and culture in order to successfully survive in a desert environment. The primary inhabitants of the desert would be the Tuareg people.Most of the Tuareg people hace ancestry from African countries such as Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Due to so much complexity, they are highly interracial but have their own language.The culture of the Tuareg people is strictly nomadic. They organize themselves in clans, each clan made up of families and lead by an appointed chief. A series of clan often form together to create a confederacy. They are a hierarchical society, all matrilineal, meaning women have high status.Their religion is Islam. Traditionally, the women do not wear the veil, but men do. However, anyone Tuareg can wear the veil if they choose to, it is not necessarily forbidden.More specifically, a type of turban called the Tagelmust is used by both sexes covering their hair, neck, mouth a and nose. This his highly useful to prevent dirt and sand from entering the body in every-day activities. It was originated from the belief that it also wards off evil energy and spirits, but due to modern influence from Islam, this belief is not as prevalent anymore.The Tuareg people traditionally wear robe-like clothes that cover their entire bodies. This is again, to protect themselves from sand, insects, dirt and filth. The traditional clothes tend to be indigo. This is why sometimes the Tuareg people are referred as the “Indigo people” or the “Blue people.” This is how traditional Tuareg clothes look like:Within clans or confederacies, members look out for each other. Each individual chooses or is assigned a different job. It largely depends on the clans’ or family’s needs.Confederacies and clans have been known to have gone through armed conflicts with each other. Government policies from surrounding conflicts conflicts that have affected the Tuaregs have become armed conflicts as well.The Tuaregs are known for having lots of games, and producing various types of arts such as amulets, accessories and jewelry inspires by Islamic art.I hope I was of any help.
Why did humans settle in Arabia when it was a desert?
They don’t just settle in any pure barren deserts. There must be at least some form of water, plants and hills or mountains to make the area habitable.Humans are amazing creatures. They can adapt pretty much any environment.
Should an American, working in Saudi Arabia, have facial hair as a sign of respecting Saudi culture?
I am going to be working in Riyadh in an official capacity and want to be best prepared to "fit in" to my new host culture. What are the tips to make this transition? I want to remove barriers between me and others with simplicity and honesty so I can begin work after doing my cultural homework.
What is an oasis? How do oases support people in a desert?
All oasis in deserts are formed by water. In most deserts, you indeed can find water, as already stated, usually coming from underground sources. Deserts in their natural form are not devoid of vegetation. Some dune fields and salt flats are, but even the Sahara only is 14% sand-covered. Most is covered in so-called desert scrub, or is semidesertic, specially towards the Sahel. So there is always seeds. If water is present, an otherwise small, scrawny shrub can grow into a sizeable tree and other plants find suitable conditions. In North America’s deserts, this frequently can be seen on mezquite. In the open desert they barely form a clump of spiny twigs and a huge root, near water they will grow to more than 20 ft in height. Usually, such oasis can be seen as green spots from dozens of miles away and attract people. In the Sahara and Arabian Deserts, these people would then plant date-palm offshoots there. Date palms grown from seeds are half males, and the females usually give low quality fruit. So you plant high-quality offshoots. Once established, they will multiply as long as they can reach the water.The largest oasis in deserts are created by rivers. In Egypt, there is the largest one in the world. One can irrigate, and the water table along the Nile is close to the surface. Similar oasis are formed along the Indus in Pakistan and Euphrates in Syria and Irak. Even along the Rio Grande you find a long, narrow oasis. In the U.S. Southwest, this is called riparian vegetation or in Spanish: “bosques”, meaning woodlands. In New Mexico, you can see a ribbon of green stretching from Albuquerque towards El Paso, separating vast expanses of dry desert scrub.A nice example of a natural oasis can be found in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, named Quitobaquito Springs. A lush grove of trees and grasses with all sorts of animals. This is the last water until the Colorado River, some 120 miles to the West, allegedly the longest stretch without water in the North American Desert. In Death Valley, one is never more than 20 miles away from drinkable water.
How does a cactus survive in the desert?
have many adaptations that allow them to live in dry areas; these adaptations let the plant collect water efficiently, store it for long periods of time, and conserve it (minimizing water loss from evaporation).Cacti have a thick, hard-walled, succulent stem - when it rains, water is stored in the stem. The stems are photosynthetic, green, and fleshy. The inside of the stem is either spongy or hollow (depending on the cactus). A thick, waxy coating keeps the water inside the cactus from evaporating.Prickly Pear cactus (genus Opuntia)Many cacti have very long, fibrous roots, which absorb moisture from the soil. Some, like ball cacti, have shorter, more compact roots that absorb dew water that falls off the cactus.Instead of leaves, most cacti have spines or scales (which are modified leaves). These spines and scales do not lose water through evaporation (unlike regular leaves, which lose a lot of water). The spines protect the cactus from predators (animals that would like to eat the cactus to obtain food and/or water). Areoles are circular clusters of spines on a cactus. Flowers bud at an areole and new stems branch from an areole.Reproduction:Cacti are flowering plants. The flowers produce seed-bearing fruit. Many cactus species are pollinated by bats. The delicate flowers usually bloom for a short period of time in the Spring.Many cacti can also be grown from broken-off parts of the plant (but the new plant will be genetically identical to the original plant).Habitat and Range:Cacti are native to the Americas (North and South America). They are generally found in dry areas, but can be found in many habitats (temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical), ranging from deserts to tropical rainforests to high in the Andes Mountains.