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Is the Middle East a part of Africa or Asia?

Question #91942. Asked by matgreek.
Last updated May 13 2021.

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BRY2K
Answer has 30 votes
Currently Best Answer
BRY2K
16 year member
3707 replies avatar

Answer has 30 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
There is an argument that the Middle East is part of both continents and a part of neither as well. The term transcontinental region might be the best response to this question. The Middle East is a historical and political region of Afro-Eurasia with no clear boundaries. The term "Middle East" was popularized around 1900 in Britain; it has a loose definition traditionally encompassing countries or regions in Western Asia and parts of North Africa. Many have criticized the term Middle East for what they see as Eurocentrism, because it was originally used by Europeans and reflects the geographical position of the region from a European perspective. It is also criticized due to the fact that the term today is often used to only refer to the Arab world, making the situation more confused.
link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East

Geographic explanation:
The Middle East is a geographical and cultural region located primarily in western Asia, but also in parts of northern Africa and southeastern Europe. The western border of the Middle East is defined by the Mediterranean Sea, where Israel, Lebanon, and Syria rest opposite from Greece and Italy in Europe. Egypt in Africa also borders the Mediterranean and is sometimes considered as part of the Middle East, while Turkey and Cyprus literally connect Europe to Asia and oscillate between being called European and Middle Eastern.
link http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/me.htm

Response last updated by gtho4 on May 13 2021.
Feb 04 2008, 6:22 PM
author
Answer has 12 votes
author
22 year member
2834 replies

Answer has 12 votes.
The modern definition of the region includes: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Egypt, with its Sinai Peninsula in Asia, is considered part of the Middle East, although most of the country lies geographically in North Africa. According to international media, North African nations without Asian links, such as Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, are increasingly being called North African.
link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East

According to this site, though, the Middle East is all in Asia, excluding Egypt.
link http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/me.htm

Response last updated by gtho4 on May 13 2021.
Feb 04 2008, 9:55 PM
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