Middle East

The Middle East is a historical and cultural region of Africa-Eurasia with no clear definition; it traditionally includes countries or regions in Southwest Asia and parts of North Africa. more...

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Characteristics

In the Western world, the Middle East is generally thought of as a predominantly Arabic community, although this is not necessarily true of all states in the region. The ethnic groups in the region may include Africans, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, Azeris, Berbers, Chaldeans, Druze, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, Maronites, Persians, Tajiks, Turks and Turkmen. The main language, by far the most widely-spoken, is Arabic in its numerous varieties; other languages spoken in the region include Armenian, Assyrian (a form of Aramaic), Azeri, the Berber languages, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Greek, and Urdu (Greater Middle East). The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner.

Many Western definitions of the "Middle East" — in both established reference books and common usage — define the region as 'nations in Southwest Asia, from Iran 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 Algeria, are increasingly being called North African — as opposed to Middle Eastern (Iran to Egypt-Asia) — by international media outlets. However, North African countries can also be considered part of the Middle East. Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, is also considered part of the "Greater Middle East".

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, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza strip), 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.

History

The Middle East (spefically, the Fertile Crescent) was one of the first centers of agriculture (see history of agriculture), and therefore of civilization. It lies at the juncture of Eurasia and Africa and of the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is the birthplace and spiritual center of the Bahá'í Faith, Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Thus, throughout its history it has been a major center of world affairs; a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area. Starting in the 20th century, its significant stocks of crude oil gave it new strategic and economic importance. The region has experienced both periods of relative peace and tolerance and periods of conflict and war. After the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire the modern Middle East was formed.

Read more at Wikipedia.org