There is something with arid desertic/mountainous areas that makes you wander, something unique is there. In extreme cold, you play mouse and cat with death, in nice weather with lots of green, you just have fun, a bit superficial, that is life, but in huge dry mountains as well as deserts, there is something that makes you think about mystery of life, no wonder almost all prophets as we knew them are from these kind of geographical areas.
I think the mystery of life has been so huge that the human being could not handle it raw and pure, as it was, there was something in the air, he was so confused by the immensity of the Divine secret that he decided to explain it, or even better justify it, in another words he modeled it into a simple, familiar and understandable system.