ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates upon recent changes which appear likely to have lasting and far-reaching consequences. The exploitation of oil has undoubtedly been important in shaping the socio-economic patterns of Arabia in recent years, largely through the vast incomes which it has provided to individual states. Change, however, began before the first oil discoveries were made, stimulated partly by local vision and pressing need, and partly by changes taking place. Mecca is set in a particularly sterile part of Arabia, and for centuries it was virtually dependent upon the Pilgrimage for its livelihood. Development started first in Saudi Arabia, but in the last twenty years it has spread throughout the peninsula. The age-old system of agricultural life and the use of traditional techniques continue in many parts of Arabia today. While cultivation is diversifying throughout Arabia and both expansion and contraction are apparent on the local scale, nomadic pastoralism has completely changed its character, particularly in northern Arabia.
