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.

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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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Weirdest photo i have ever taken way back in 1988 of an old staircase in oman, middle east. How did it happen?!http://yfrog.com/au36724858j
BigDesignGroup (Nick Burborough) Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:59:29 -0000
Weirdest photo i have ever taken way back in 1988 of an old staircase in oman, middle east. How did it happen?!http://yfrog.com/au36724858j
M-entertainment is the Key Form of VAS in South Asia, Middle East - Voice & Data Online http://url4.eu/pcH3
srilankanews (srilankanews) Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:56:08 -0000
M-entertainment is the Key Form of VAS in South Asia, Middle East - Voice & Data Online http://url4.eu/pcH3
Emaar Hospitality Group takes home four awards at the Middle East Hotel Expansion Congress
DubaiChronicle (Dubai Chronicle) Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:53:28 -0000
Emaar Hospitality Group takes home four awards at the Middle East Hotel Expansion Congress
National Car Rental is One of the Leading Global Car Rental Agencies in the Middle East http://is.gd/53YE3
sudhir_vashist (sudhir_vashist) Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:51:38 -0000
National Car Rental is One of the Leading Global Car Rental Agencies in the Middle East http://is.gd/53YE3
Scratches on Dubai's image - http://tinyurl.com/yetqyvm. And it apperead so immune to crisis effects. What about other Middle East nabobs?
spotter81 (spotter81) Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:51:05 -0000
Scratches on Dubai's image - http://tinyurl.com/yetqyvm. And it apperead so immune to crisis effects. What about other Middle East nabobs?
"Zionist propaganda body seeks volunteers to distort Wikipedia input on Middle East" http://tinyurl.com/ygqc38q
WikipediaNews (WikipediaMonitor.com) Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:45:52 -0000
"Zionist propaganda body seeks volunteers to distort Wikipedia input on Middle East" http://tinyurl.com/ygqc38q

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