Middle East 1 Middle East
Middle East 1 Middle East Middle East Map of the Middle east. (Green color) Countries 18–38 (varying definitions) Languages Middle East: Arabic, Aramaic, Azerbaijani, French, Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Somali, Turkish Greater Middle East: Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Balochi, Berber, Dari, French, Greek, Georgian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Somali, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu Time Zones UTC +3:30 (Iran) to UTC +2:00 (Egypt) (traditional definition) Largest Cities In rank order: Istanbul, Cairo, Tehran, Baghdad, Riyadh, Jeddah, Ankara The Middle East[1] is a region that roughly encompasses Western Asia. The term is considered to be Eurocentric and used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner. The largest ethnic group in the middle east are Arabs,[2] with Turks, Turkomans, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Maronites, Assyro-Chaldeans, Circassians, Armenians, Druze and numerous other ethnic groups forming other significant populations. The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history, the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs. When discussing ancient history, however, the term Near East is more commonly used. The Middle East is also the historical origin of major religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as the less common Baha'i faith, Mandaeism, Druze faith and others. The Middle East generally has an arid and hot climate, with several major rivers providing for irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas, especially in Mesopotamia and the rest of the Fertile Crescent. Many countries located around the Persian Gulf have large quantities of crude oil, which has resulted in much wealth particularly for nations in the Arabian peninsula.
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