As a child of the east and the west, I always wondered why half of my family always shook hands and the other half bowed. So does anyone have a reason why one half the world has no problem touching strangers and the half refrains?

Edit: I think that the impression I got for bowing in the Middle East is because of watching the news, where people in official capacities are meeting, thus a bow being a more formal greeting.

Edit 2: everyone is focusing on the Middle East, I did also say Far East where it was super common when I lived there (Japan and Korea) to bow rather than shake hands. This was 30 odd years ago, so handshakes are probably more common in the Far East now, but my question still hasn't been addressed. Thanks