The Middle East

The Middle East is located 'at the tricontinental hub of Europe, Asia, and Africa', but there are always differences in the definitions of the Middle East depending on an author or a researcher. Some definitions include all North African countries in the region, whereas others consider only some North African countries, such as Egypt, as a core part of the Middle East. To make the conceptualization of the Middle East easier, the region is usually divided into smaller regions. The division is made not only based on the geography, but also based on the culture. The regions are called the Persian Gulf, the Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa. The Eastern Mediterranean (also called Mashriq and Levant) includes countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Turkey, and Egypt. North Africa (also called Maghreb) consists of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Mauritania. The Persian Gulf (also called Arabian Gulf) includes countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, and Iran. Sometimes, also Afghanistan, Pakistan, central Asia, and the Caucasus are associated with the larger Middle East.