The Middle East

Ok I am moving away from Africa and venturing into the Middle East, this is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western European nations in the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East.

The Middle East is considered to include countries like Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and others, totalling around 17 countries. Although the exact number depends on the definition used. Some sources include the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and parts of North Africa within the Middle East.

Egypt is traditionally considered to be part of the Middle East. It is a regional power in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Muslim world. I included it in the North African Countries.

However, when you consider that the official language of Egypt is Arabic. And the official religion of Egypt is Islam. As well as the fact that some say the majority of Egyptians today identify as Arabs linguistically, while others say that there is a growing minority reject this.

Roughly 60% of the population in the Middle East is under 25 years old. The term “Arab” generally refers to people who speak Arabic as their first language. The majority of Arabs are Muslims, but the majority of Muslims are not Arabs. The words Islam and Muslim are derived from the Arabic word salam, which means peace.

The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It is, therefore, a region of great diversity. While Arabs compose the majority of the Middle East’s population, the region is also home to Berbers, Kurds, Jews, Persians, Turks, and a vast array of other ethnic and religious minorities.

The Middle East is about 3.82 million square miles or 9.9 million square kilometres It makes up about 6.2% of the Earth’s land.

The largest country is Saudi Arabia, which is about 800,000 square miles or 2.1 million square kilometres and the smallest country is Bahrain, which is about 295 square miles or 765 square kilometres.

The Middle East is known for its vast deserts, including the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Peninsula’s “Empty Quarter.

The highest point is Mount Damavand in Iran, which is 18,406 feet or 5,610 meters tall and the lowest point is the Dead Sea, which is 1,388 feet or 423 meters below sea level.

Next week we will start looking at different counties.