As I left the Sinai pennisula and headed for Jordan, I was still in the middle of one of the most contentious areas of the world. The Arab-Israeli conflict can be partially traced to WWI when the Turks occupied much of the Middle East. They were allied with Germany and, to try to unseat them, Britain's TE Lawrence joined forces with the Arabs. In return, the British promised to support the establishment of a pan-Arab state.
Waging a terrifying guerilla campaign, Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab militias forced the Turks to retreat. Over 10,000 Arabs died out of a force of 100,000. Of course, at the end of the day, the British reneged on their promise and carved up the Arab world, sharing it with the French. A patchwork of nations were created, including 'Palestine' where the British kept watch. The need for a Jewish state became more pressing through the next decades and, at the end of WWII, the West forced the partition of Palestine (through the UN of all places) and Israel was formed. This was the ultimate treachery to the Arabs and they immediately attacked but Israel prevailed. This was 1948.
Meanwhile, in 1952, the Egyptians rose up and won independence from Britain. For the first time in many millennia, Egypt was to be ruled by the Egyptians and not the Pharaohs or a foreign power. They haven't done the best job though. Their firebrand leader, Gamal Nasser, had some big plans: dam the Nile to stop nasty floods that often swept over the valley. The West promised financing but this was withdrawn with his erratic style. Nasser was furious and nationalized the Suez Canal, threatening world shipping trade and sending the British into a tizzy. The 1956 Suez Crisis ensued. The Soviets responded with Aswan Dam funding.
Nasser liked to drum up public support by slamming Israel. In 1967, he got a bit more active and blockaded the Straits of Tiran, cutting off the only Israeli port on the Red Sea. Nasser also massed a huge force near the Sinai and then ejected the Pearson-inspired international peacekeepers. Its hard to imagine now, but Egypt actually had an organized, semi-effective military. Israel wasted no time and, one evening, wiped out the Egyptian air force in a surprise attack. This was the start of the Six Day War: Israel captured the whole of Sinai (from Egypt), the Golan Heights (from Syria), and the West Bank and east Jerusalem (from Jordan). Israel defeated these troops, plus the extras sent by Saudi, Iraq, Kuwait and Algeria.
In 1973, Egypt attacked the Sinai again and made some headway before the Israelis pushed back. The 1973 conflict, however, galvanized the Arab-controlled OPEC and it embargoed the US which lead to crazy inflation, the loss of the 'gold standard', spiraling interest rates and a major economic downturn. North America was forced to do everything with a lot less: prices soared and sub-standard housing was built with cheap materials. Combine that with the dubious tastes of the time and the result: we grew up in houses with orange shag carpet and bathrooms covered in gold-streaked mirrors.
Egypt made peace with Israel and got the Sinai Pennisula back but it cost Anwar Sadat his life. Today, the Arab world still feels betrayed that Israel exists within their midst. Too bad Lawrence's disgust with his government was not heeded. On the flip side, what would the world be like today if one Arab nation existed instead of the 11-plus (Saudi, Oman, Yemen, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Egypt). Chances are we would be focused on learning Arabic instead of Mandarin.
