Island Trips Middle East Travel Guide & Island Trips Middle East Hotels Information

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and all of or part of North Africa, depending on the context. The term is considered to be Eurocentric and used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East.

The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner. The largest ethnic group in the middle east are Arabs, with Turks, Turkomans, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Maronites, Assyro-Chaldeans, Circassians, Armenians, Druze and numerous other ethnic groups forming other significant populations.

The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history, the Middle East has been a major centre of world affairs. When discussing ancient history, however, the term Near East is more commonly used. The Middle East is also the historical origin of major religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Middle East generally has an arid and hot climate, with several major rivers providing for irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas. Many countries located around the Persian Gulf have large quantities of crude oil which has resulted in much wealth particularly for nations in the Arabian peninsula. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.

The Middle East is often centered on the Arabian peninsula.
Countries 18–38 (varying definitions)
Languages Middle East: Arabic, Aramaic, Azerbaijani, French, Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish
Greater Middle East: Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Balochi, Dari, French, Greek, Georgian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Somali, Berber, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu
Time Zones UTC +3:30 (Iran) to UTC +2:00 (Egypt) (traditional definition)
Largest Cities In rank order: Istanbul, Cairo, Tehran, Baghdad, Riyadh, Jeddah

Middle East Territories and Regions
Bahrain - a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide

Cyprus - an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon, northwest of Israel and north of Egypt. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, a member state of the European Union.

Egypt - transcontinental country situated mainly within North Africa, with its Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.

Iran
Iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan (not fully sovereign)
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Northern Cyprus (not recognized)
Oman
Palestinian territories (not fully sovereign)
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

Middle East History - Middle East Ethnic Groups - Middle East Migration
Middle East Religions - Middle East Languages - Middle East Economy