The Middle East is a region that is located in Southwest Asia.
It occupies an area of about 5,207,538 square kilometers.
It is characterized by common cultural and geographical features, but also with striking contrasts.
In the Middle East there are countries which are a symbol of economic and political stability, but also others, suffering of endless conflicts.
The region includes the following countries: Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen, and the not fully independent territories of Gaza and Palestine.
The Middle East stretches between the Caspian Sea and Turkey to the north and the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south.
To the west reaches the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea and to the east reaches the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In the central parts of the region is located the notorious Persian Gulf.
Most of the Middle East is occupied by deserts, inaccessible mountains and high plateaus.
Deserts occupy most of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Iranian plateau, comprising also a large part of Pakistan, is the largest in the region, and extends over a huge area between the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf.
Most of the Middle East falls within the tropics and therefore has a dry and hot tropical climate, subtropical in the northern regions.
The Middle East‘s high mountains and plateaus have their own micro climate with high summer and very low winter temperatures.
The most fertile areas in the Middle East occupy to the northwest of the region, along the coasts of the Mediterranean as well as large territories along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The warm tropical waters in the region are extremely rich in life.
In the Red Sea, for example, you can see some of the most exciting underwater ecosystems in the world with an amazing variety of coral reefs and colorful marine life.
Oil is the greatest wealth of the Middle East.
It is assumed that approximately one third of the world’s oil reserves are located in this part of the world.
For this reason, some countries such as the UAE are enjoying an unprecedented economic boom and cities such as Dubai are a miracle of human genius.
Black Gold ensures to many countries in the region the opportunity to build the necessary infrastructure to turn into an attractive tourist and financial centers.
Date palm grows very well in the Middle East and the region is the largest exporter of dates in the world.
The Middle East’s population is total about 220 million people.
The most populous country is Iran, and the smallest country in terms of population is Bahrain.
Three of the world‘s most popular religions in the world – Christianity, Islam and Judaism, arose in the Middle East.
Here are Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Mecca and Medina, which are some of the most important religious centers in the world.
The Muslim population in the region is most numerous.
Christians and Jews are relatively few and live mostly in countries around and near the Eastern Mediterranean (Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan).
Arabs are the most numerous ethnic group in the Middle East, followed by the Persians, who inhabit the territory of present-day Iran.