The Middle East is a region that includes parts of southwest Asia and northeast Africa. It’s at an intersection of trade routes between Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The region dates back to the beginning of civilization and is the root of 3 of the world’s major religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

The Middle East is a western term for the region. It consists of many countries, with a variety of religions, languages, ethnic groups, and climates. As many as 17 languages are spoken in the Middle East, including: Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew and Turkish.

The following countries are generally included in the Middle East region: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

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Text: Shawna Irish; Image: CIA Factbook