Deserts in the Middle East

Welcome back to LOJ blog! The main issue about the Middle East is the sheer amount of deserts! The Rub al-Khali was hot (Olivia shared her theory of why with you, didn't she?) but after a while you get tired of freezing cold nights and burning hot days!

There are about a thousand oil drills here. I asked if I could try some sweet oil and they just looked at me funny. "Sours fine,too," I said kindly, but noooooooo. Olivia was crying behind me- I guess she wanted the sweet oil, too! Then again, she may have been laughing...

Anyway, back to deserts. The sand is really beautiful, but the person who sent us here told us not to take a camera. It was something about "mental pictures", I really wasn't paying attention.

God, I keep getting off-topic, don't I? Sorry.

Anyway, about 2/3 of the Middle East is desert. Did you know that Antarctica is a desert?

To get water in the desert, you can turn up rocks right before the sun's up to get dew. You can also look for mosquitoes and other bugs to know about oasis. The major trick, though, is the same as if zombies are chasing you-keep your water bottle full so it doesn't slosh! Then you don't have to worry about getting dehydrated (or the zombies finding you!). If you're a nomad, all your food needs to be on legs, so you eat a lot of dairy and animals. In case you were wondering, we spent a week with a Nomadic group, so I know all the tricks. We were with the Bedouin. I think our complete weakness freaked them out a little, but we were hard workers.

Well, I got heatstroke a couple days ago, so if you call that helpful, I am the most helpful person ever. I was feeling all crappy and you can guess dairy didn't help all that much! But, seeing as I was lying down the whole time, I learned a lot about navigation. For example, if you have to go around something, you take three 90 degree turns around it so you're back to where you start. Smart, huh?

For more information on survival of the Bedouin, go here

Mountains and Plateaus of the Middle East

Welcome back to LOJ blog! A few days ago, our guide decided that we needed to hike all the major mountain ranges of the Middle East for "Experience". This was okay with Leah but Olivia and I got really tired after the Zagros Mountains! We had to hike up the highest peak, Zard Kuh. It was, in fact, 4,548 miles to the top and the guide wouldn't let us stop a lot!

Then, we took the fastest jet EVER to the Elburz from the top of the mountain! I swear, we did not get a single chance to rest in between. We then hiked up to the top of Mt. Damavand, 5,670 miles high! I was sure I was going to pass out near the top, but I am extremely thankful for Olivia! Well, according to her, she twisted her ankle, but whatever happened she got us a nice long rest! Thank you, Olivia!!! I found it slightly interesting (but I was too frickin' tired to be really interested in anything but water!) that we were in the Iranian Plateau!

Anyway, we then took a plane to the Anatolian Plateau. We camped there for the night and then walked around during the day. That was easier, seeing as there wasn't up-mountain hiking! We saw a lot of crops like sugar beets, fruits, barley, etc.

Okay, now that we're off the mountains, I think I'm going to go to sleep for 1,000 years.

If you want a map of mountains and plateaus in the Middle East(with a bit of information, too) go Here

Climate in the Middle East

Hey, it's Olivia again, and just looking back at all the places I've been in the Middle East, I would have to say it is probably the driest place I have ever been to. And that heat isn't helping. I mean every time I would check the temp it would be between 95 and 102 degress farenhiet! But I think it's me thats making the climate hot!




go here to find the climate of the Middle East

Lack of water and Land Use in the Middle East

Welcome back to LOJ blog! The problem with being in the Middle East is we're constantly thirsty. Ever since leaving the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, we just can't seem to get enough to drink. The main problem is, the locals and shops don't have much to spare!

But we need to use the water here for agriculture, which is actually what 90% of the water here is used for. The people have to eat, I guess... Waaaaaaait,what? The food's exported? Hmmmmm...

But I won't dis Middle Eastern culture. I will only state the facts. In the Middle East, including Africa, there are going to be 18 waterless countries. The countries will be- Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Algeria, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tunisia, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Libya, Morocco, Oman, and Syria. Personally, though, I don't know what Bahrain is whining about. I mean, it's a freaking island! I'm sure they have a reason, though...

I heard that Olivia was going on about the lack of Tigers on the Tigris river. Is that true? *Sigh* Olivia. Anyway, I miss the rivers. It's so dry here!

You know, maybe the reason Bahrain is waterless is because the water it's around is salty? I don't know.

One major issue about the water, or lack thereof, is that people will fight wars over the water. Yup, you heard that right- wars. I mean, kindergarten, people... SHARE??? I suppose that there's just not enough water, but still...

The rivers we were just at, the Tigris and Euphrates, have almost caused wars between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Turkey is all like, "We own this water 'cause it starts here!" so Iraq and Syria get all mad and are like "We need some water too! It runs through our countries!" SO Turkey goes, "Alright, I'll share" when it really has no intentions whatsoever to share so Syria says, "We'll call in the extremists!" so Turkey says, "Then we'll have a complete blockage! The Kurdish Worker's Party, AKA your extremist group, are insurgents against us!" Basically the whole Syrian/Turkey fight, summed up in one conversation. I love doing that, don't you?

If you want more information on the fights and water-dry countries, go here

The Tigris and Euphrates River

Hello, this is Olivia posting. The LOJ have arrived in Turkey where the Tigris and Euphrates River start. I am so surprised that being so close to the Tigris River I have not seen any tigers here. We're so happy to be by water considering how hot and dry it is here in this dreadful desert land. I have heard from the the natives that when the rivers come together they are called the Mesopotamia. Thank God we got here when we did though because Julianna keeps complaining about the lack of water here.

The Tigris river looks about 1,150 miles long on the map. It runs through 3 other countries besides Turkey before it reaches the Shatt al-Arab(the mouth of the river). The 3 countries are Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

The Euphrates river looks about 1,728 miles long on the map ending at the Shatt al-Arab which is where the Tigris and Euphrates meet and the rivers end.



go here to get information on the Euphrates river, you will also find a link going to the Tigris river

Petroleum in the Middle East

Welcome back to LOJ blog! Today, by the command of our guide, we need to learn about petroleum. The Persian Gulf is a place where a lot of petroleum mining (Digging? Farming? Drilling?)is happening.

Just as a fun fact, petroleum no only comes in heavy and light, it also comes in sour and sweet! And no, we did not get to taste any petroleum (I wouldn't even if it was the only thing we could eat for a month!!!!!) Light petroleum has low density and heavy petroleum has high density. Sour petroleum has a lot of sulfur and sweet has just a little (I bet they tasted it).

In case you didn't know, petroleum is also known as rock oil and is used as fuel. It is also, sadly, a non-renewable resource, so whenever you drive your car YOU ARE WAISTING THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE MONEY!!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then again, if you never drive your car, you don't make them money at all...

Anyway, by non-renewable resource, I mean that if we use it up, it is GONE. LOST. NEVER COMING BACK. Well, I guess it will come back, but that will be in a long, long, LONG time.

Saudi Arabia has the most oil reserves in all of the Middle East and a TON more than the U.S. They have 262.3 oil reserves which makes you feel kinda sad for Jordan and Israel, places that are oil-dry!!!! I think that they need a hug. Poor countries! They have no thick money-making delicious (Hey, who doesn't want to drink sweet stuff? They didn't let us when we learned about the oil, though. Must be too expensive to spare on tourists.) brown oil!!!!!!!

Okay, before I go completely crazy on you I'd probably better go. I think Olivia will be posting next, so be nice to her!!!

If you want less weird view on petroleum, go Here

The Rub al-Khali desert

Welcome back to LOJ blog! Today we begin our journey through the Middle East and my God, it is hot.

Alright, I'll admit it, we may kind of be in the Rub al-Khali desert. It seems entirely desert-ed (Ha, ha, that was a bad pun) which makes sense, seeing as Rub al-Khali actually means "Empty Quarter". If you look to the right, sand. If you look to the left, sand. And guess what you see if you look straight ahead? You guessed it, TREES! No, actually, you see sand.

Okay, that's kind of understandable if you realize that LOJ is standing right in the middle of the largest sand desert in the world. That means that there's not a lot of boulders, dirt, or even people. There's sand. And it's hot. Extremely hot.

When we parachuted in, (and DON'T listen to Olivia I DIDN'T scream! Well, maybe just a little, but not much at all, really!!!!!!!) I was annoyed by all the stupid guides that were telling us how hot it was! I mean, they said that the temperature was low there at night (When we parachuted in), but it was in the low 40s! We were all shivering and talking about fires and coats. We were told to pack for hot weather and we had scoffed at the suggestion to bring heavy blankets after we read the accounts of people that traveled through the desert. "It'll be too hot for them anyway," we said, "And it'll just be heavy."

We. Were. So. Wrong.

Trust me, if you're ever going to travel through the Empty Quarter, bring something warm for the night. It was rather cold when we got in, but in the morning...

We had slept under every heavy thing we could get and were in a small tent. Meaning, of course, when we woke up to 125 degree weather, we were all drenched in sweat.

That's what you get when you go to the Middle East. Why couldn't I have signed up for Antarctica where at least the temperature is stable???

If you want to learn more about the Rub al-Khali, go Here