Trade Routes

Sailing ships and wheeled carts helped spread ideas and goods through the Middle East and beyond. Caravans, though, were the major method of travel through this region of sand and sun.

Camels are called "ships of the desert" because when they walk, they move their two right feet, then their two left feet (unlike a horse or dog). This creates a swaying motion similar to a ship and can cause people riding on top of the camel to feel sick! Click Here and discover how fast a camel can walk. Also find out and how many gallons of water a camel can drink in ten minutes (optional).

Along major trade routes in the Middle East, cities eventually sprang up.

These cities were major trading posts for goods from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. To view the ancient city of Petra (in Jordan) Click Here (optional)

While most people just passed through the Arabian Peninsula (today, it is Saudi Arabia and its smaller coastal neighbors) due to its extremely arid environment, there were, at one point, some lucrative trading goods that prompted humans to stay in the area (even before the oil). The cultivation of two gum resins-- frankencense and myrrh-- caused a significant population boom in Arabia around 1500 B.C. and again in 1200 B.C. Frankincense was a valued incense burned in religious services; especially at cremation services. Myrrh was a foundation for cosmetics, perfumes and medicine that was in high demand even though it was very expensive.

Dangerous wind conditions on the Red Sea made sailing great distances difficult, so items were transferred from ships to camel caravans. The towns of Mecca and Medina were established on this route.

Traders in Mecca and Medina often misled people to believe that treasures from India were produced locally. This drew more people to the region. Eventually, the Greeks learned to sail the Red Sea, bypassing Mecca, and discovered that some of the valuable merchandise was really from India. Early Christians were prohibited from cremating bodies, so demand for frankincense declined. Business in Mecca and Medina went into a huge slump.