What do Israel, Mongolia, and Arizona have in common?

At first glance, not much.

Mongolia ruled over most of the world 800 years ago.

On the other hand, Israel didn’t became a political nation until 1948.

And Arizona didn’t become a US state until 1912 – the last one to do so of the continental US states.

What these three proud places have in common is geography. Because they’re all predominantly deserts.

A large part of Mongolia is dominated by the Gobi, a vast desert, mostly in the southern part of the country.

And while Israel was known in biblical times as a land “flowing with milk and honey” it’s not as lush now. It’s likewise a mostly harsh desert.

Same with Arizona. I’m vacationing there this week, and the beauty is spectacular, with the Grand Canyon and the red rocks around Sedona. But the state is almost entirely desert.

All of which makes these very differing locations look very similar. In an almost eerie way.

Architecture shapes us on the level of human constructs. But geography shapes us on a primal level, and deserts make for hardy, tough, independent minded people who learn quickly how to deal with an often unforgiving place. And because geography is usually an unrecognized influence on us, almost a kind of hidden operating system,we don’t realize how much where we live makes us who we are.