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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World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Ministry Assails U.N. Vote on War Conduct http://bit.ly/EI2BJ
nytimesworld (NYTimes World) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:46:29 -0000
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Ministry Assails U.N. Vote on War Conduct http://bit.ly/EI2BJ
Will I be in the Middle East for the Iran-Israel mother of all battles? My heart hopes no but my rapidly relaxing bladder says, hmm
Bro_Pair (Ignatius) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:36:25 -0000
Will I be in the Middle East for the Iran-Israel mother of all battles? My heart hopes no but my rapidly relaxing bladder says, hmm
also i'm in love with the band the middle east right now http://awe.sm/7RD2
kristenboxx (Kristen Blomgren) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:36:02 -0000
also i'm in love with the band the middle east right now http://awe.sm/7RD2
[Middle East News] Hizbullah: We will join Hariri's unity government http://bit.ly/1Lx3xL
MidEastNews (Middle East News) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:33:59 -0000
[Middle East News] Hizbullah: We will join Hariri's unity government http://bit.ly/1Lx3xL
RT @ayogist: raise funds to bring peace in middle east w/ yoga SAT 7pm @yogaglo - music, poetry, performance art! http://bit.ly/1vTZ7V
yogaglo (Derik Mills) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:32:14 -0000
RT @ayogist: raise funds to bring peace in middle east w/ yoga SAT 7pm @yogaglo - music, poetry, performance art! http://bit.ly/1vTZ7V
@narawr tampol nih , buat orang middle east kaya kamu emang keliatan pesek , buat indo kaya aku itu wow banget :P
riftrcks (rizky hani) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:21:25 -0000
@narawr tampol nih , buat orang middle east kaya kamu emang keliatan pesek , buat indo kaya aku itu wow banget :P

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