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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Middle East - Twitter Search

i love egypt.... always thought india was the best country to travel but i changed my mind, it's the middle east...
teamturboboost (teamturbo boost) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:27:42 -0000
i love egypt.... always thought india was the best country to travel but i changed my mind, it's the middle east...
Twitter hacked http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1218/Twitter-hacked-Iranian-Cyber-Army-signs-off-with-poem-to-Khamenei
ARCICTRADOC (ARCIC) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:27:14 -0000
Twitter hacked http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2009/1218/Twitter-hacked-Iranian-Cyber-Army-signs-off-with-poem-to-Khamenei
Security Market Overview - Middle East | SecurityMiddleEast.com: http://bit.ly/54Oz6M via @addthis
SecurityMedia (Security Media Pub.) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:27:13 -0000
Security Market Overview - Middle East | SecurityMiddleEast.com: http://bit.ly/54Oz6M via @addthis
Turkish government to up Middle East diplomacy efforts http://bit.ly/4OGow6
dayaz02 (Day Az (Official)) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:20:29 -0000
Turkish government to up Middle East diplomacy efforts http://bit.ly/4OGow6
Report: Middle East to invest USD 86bn in aviation industry until 2015. http://bit.ly/5r8o1e
FlyU2TheMoon (Fred Taylor) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:13:48 -0000
Report: Middle East to invest USD 86bn in aviation industry until 2015. http://bit.ly/5r8o1e
[Middle East News] PM Netanyahu delays scheduled meeting with Livni http://bit.ly/7q22uF
MidEastNews (Middle East News) Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:13:11 -0000
[Middle East News] PM Netanyahu delays scheduled meeting with Livni http://bit.ly/7q22uF

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