In the expansive novel, Cities of Salt, Mudun Al-Milh exemplifies the impact that the discovery of oil has had in the Arabian Peninsula. His outlook is not just limited to the impact on the human landscape in the Arabian Peninsula, but also the physical landscape. The authors take on the environment and the desert in Middle East compares the now and then; now being the period after the discovery of oil and arrival of American and English oil companies and then being the period of simplicity before this vital resource was discovered in the geographical region. From an environmental perspective, the author looks at the transformation of the desert landscape from an immaculate simplicity to a lively metropolis, and the impact this had on the environment.
The take of the author on the environment is seen in his conception of the impact of the foreigners on towns like Wadi. As highlighted earlier, the style of the author incorporates comparisons. For instance, the author looks at the outpouring greenery in Wadi, and compares it to the surrounding obdurate and harsh desert. By drawing this comparison, the author shows the impact that the discovery of oil and the subsequent arrival of foreigners had on the environment. The outpouring greenery at Wadi had no similarity with the surrounding environment. Actually, the author described this situation as something that had fallen from up in the sky or burst from underneath the surface of the earth. The environmental difference between Wadi and the surrounding areas attracted foreigners to settle in the area.
As noted earlier, the author focuses on the impact that the discovery of oil and the foreigners had on the environment. In this regard, the author marvels at the lack of thought or reflection when the foreigners filled the sea with soil in order to enlarge sea ports. The awe of author can be better understood by considering the backdrop in which the author bases his perspective. Inland, there are undulating tracts of land that lie bare and unutilized. These tracts of land lack the life preserving commodity that is water. Yet the foreigners show no remorse when they fill the sea with soil and boulders in order to create more land. As the author writes, “They filled the sea and leveled the land; that did all this without pausing and without reflection.” This also formed part of the confusion that the people from interior suffer during their working tenure in Port Harran.
The perspectives of the author regarding the environment not only relate to the desert, but also the sea in which marine vessels of the foreigners sail. The author is simplistic in his approach. Firstly, Wadi presents a puzzling encounter for the author. The presence of greenery and water, palm vegetation and life in Wadi is contrasted with the wasteland that the surrounding desert. The author depicts this as foreign to the general geographical area by his awe at the sight of water and greenery. Although this is welcome, the activities of the foreigners at Port Harran are not welcome. This is because they represent a destruction of environmental resources that are not common in the geographical area.
This shows the concern of the author that the wake of the discovery of oil and the arrival of foreigners results in negative environmental impacts. There is a feeling by the author, and much like the natives of the geographical region, that physical resources, such as the abundant water at Port Harran, are more abundant where they are not needed and scarce where their presence is life preserving. The natives do not care for the use of water to float the marine vessels of the foreigners. In conclusion, the author depicts confusion, awe and bewilderment, not just at the differences in the physical environment resulting from the presence of water, but also the lack of remorse on the foreigner’s part in the wake of the impact of their activities on the environment.
Works cited
Munīf, Abdelrahman. Cities of Salt. London: Cape, 1988. Print.
