Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
Sixty years ago the countries of the Arabian Peninsula were a collection of impover-
ished, disparate states, more easily defined by tribe than by nation. Any sense of the
former glory days of incense routes and East African empires was lost in the sands of
time. So how did the region suddenly reinvent itself as a major economic powerhouse
with a strong sense of regional identity? This chapter answers that question by look-
ing at the region's inheritance of trading excellence and social coherence.
