The Middle East is a historical and cultural subregion of Africa-Eurasia traditionally held to be countries or regions in Southwest Asia together with Egypt. In other contexts, the region can include other parts of North Africa and/or Central Asia.

Characteristics

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In the Western world, the Middle East is generally thought of as a predominantly Islamic Arabic community defined by frequent war. However the area encompasses many distinct cultural and ethnic groups, including the Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Azeris, Berbers, Chaldeans, Druze, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, Maronites, Persians and Turks. The main language groups include: Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian (also known as Aramaic and Syriac), Hebrew, Persian, Kurdish and Turkish. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner.

Most Western definitions of the "Middle East" — in both established reference books and common usage — define the region as 'nations in Southwest Asia, from Iran (Persia) to Egypt'. Egypt, with its Sinai Peninsula in Asia, is often considered part of the 'Middle East', although most of the country lies geographically in North Africa. North African nations without Asian links, such as Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, are increasingly being called North African — as opposed to Middle Eastern (Iran (Persia) to Egypt-Asia) — by international media outlets.

One widely used definition of "Middle East" is that of the airline industry, maintained by the IATA standards organization. This definition — as of early 2006 — includes Bahrain, Egypt, Iran (Persia), Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian Territory, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. ^* This definition is used in world-wide airfare and tax calculations for passengers and cargo.

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Mosaic News – 9/2/09: World News From The Middle East http://bit.ly/2ScLGv
AnnuityPayments (Annuity Payments) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:40:54 -0000
Mosaic News – 9/2/09: World News From The Middle East http://bit.ly/2ScLGv
Gameloft Announces Q3 Results, Expands Into Southeast Asia And The Middle East http://bit.ly/3pCL2L
stockrate (stockrate) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:40:24 -0000
Gameloft Announces Q3 Results, Expands Into Southeast Asia And The Middle East http://bit.ly/3pCL2L
Emerging Space Powers: The New Space Programs of Asia, the Middle East and South-America (Sprin… - by Brian Harvey et al. http://j.mp/1eheCi
science_book (New Science Books) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:36:08 -0000
Emerging Space Powers: The New Space Programs of Asia, the Middle East and South-America (Sprin… - by Brian Harvey et al. http://j.mp/1eheCi
AFP: Clinton says peace talks must include Jerusalem: CAIRO (AFP) - Middle East peace talks must include th.. http://bit.ly/1NMRQN
headlinenews (Headline News) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:35:07 -0000
AFP: Clinton says peace talks must include Jerusalem: CAIRO (AFP) - Middle East peace talks must include th.. http://bit.ly/1NMRQN
RT @VisionWrangler Bloomberg Television in London UK is looking for a Europe, Middle East & Africa Producer - Turkish language preferred
eumagine (Wolfgang Junghans) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:34:41 -0000
RT @VisionWrangler Bloomberg Television in London UK is looking for a Europe, Middle East & Africa Producer - Turkish language preferred
Clinton discusses Middle East peace process with Mubarak - Xinhua http://twa.lk/BSjJO http://twa.lk/1rG2s
FlickYaBossAU (FlickYaBoss Aus) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:32:22 -0000
Clinton discusses Middle East peace process with Mubarak - Xinhua http://twa.lk/BSjJO http://twa.lk/1rG2s

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