|
The Middle East, a region also known as “West Asia,” comprises the 21 Asian countries that are located east of the Red Sea, south of Kazakhstan, and west of China and India (Click for map). People sometimes mistakenly think that Egypt is a Middle East country too, but that’s probably because of Egypt’s close proximity to the Middle East and its close social ties to Israel, Jordan, Syria and other nearby countries in the region.
Although the Mid East is extremely unstable now, the region’s people, however, have historically experienced far less instability and regional conflict 
than people living in other world regions over the past 500 years. While the region was repeatedly invaded by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and other empires from 3000 BC to 140 AD,
and then later subjugated to England and France’s control after World War I, the region’s people, however, have never been warmongers, at least never to the degree that Europeans have during the past 5 centuries. In fact, most Middle East countries rarely experienced any social unrest or internal warfare until the early 20th Century.
A Brief History
The Middle East is indeed the “Cradle of Civilization.” The world’s first farming techniques were developed along the watershed areas of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers about 10,000 years ago which, in turn, led to the development of the world’s first human settlements in the Mesopotamia region. Over the period from 3,000 BC to 150 AD, a variety of cultures evolved in different areas of the Middle East primarily because the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans imposed their cultures and customs on the region’s people.
In more recent times, from roughly 1300 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the Middle East, except Iran and parts of Turkey, which were temporally ruled by the Safavid Empire. After World War I, which marked the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and again at the end of World War II, portions of the Middle East were either realigned or sectioned into new countries by the victorious Allied Powers. These territorial land dissections, unfortunately, have caused of much of the conflict that continues to divide some of region’s social groups, including the Israelis and Palestinians.
Geographical and Sociological Profile
The following information was provided by the World Resource Institute, the Library of Congress the United Nations, and the Arab League. For more current information please click here.
Land Area: 3,312,168 Square Miles (8,578,460 Square Kilometers)
Population: 453,337,000 (Estimated, 2003)
Languages: Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Turkish, English, French, and local dialects
Religions: Muslim, Judaism, Christian Orthodox
Literacy: Urban, 85%; Rural, from 30% to 70%, depending on country
Large Cities: Karachi, Istanbul, Tehran, Baghdad, Riyadh, Ankara, Beirut
Mountains: Hindu Kush, Pamir, Tien Shan, Elburz, Caucasus
Major Lakes: Karun, Van Golu, Tuz, Beysehir, Egridir, Burdur
Major Rivers: Euphrates, Tigris, Amu Darya, Indus
Travel Desirability Code
To help you identify those countries that offer the most desirable attractions, cultural experiences, and travel accommodations, we have assigned a Travel Desirability Code to each country based on the following rating scale: Good  Fair  Poor 
|
