On Thursday we had a talk from Jane Woodford about a Middle East Scene Investigation.  She had lived in Israel herself, among Jewish and Arab communities, so was able to talk to us from her own perspective.

We learnt about five main factors of the investigation: the place; which entailed a look at the sights of different Middle Eastern countries (the snowy mountains in Iran, like Mount Damavand, for example) and the contrast between beautiful natural landscapes and built up cities.

The Middle East produces over half of the world's oil and gas resources, as well as playing a crucial part in the production of cotton (Egypt, more specifically)

Interestingly, Israel does not produce any oil but makes its money from ground-breaking technological discoveries, research and development.  an impressive example would be the Israeli students who wrote the algorithm for instant messaging, something that has become so embedded in our day to day lives.

An important part of the Middle East's past is the number of Empires that controlled so many areas of it. We were shown a video of how the area looked over time, and it was interesting to see how the past has shaped the future: in the late 20th and 21st Century, the world had certainly come to see it as volatile and a hive of political unrest.

It was very kind of Jane to educate us on this area of the world, as it is becoming an increasingly important topic in today's world.

Zelfa U6