Is the Middle East a part of Africa or Asia?

BRY2K

There is an argument that the Middle East is part of both continents and a part of neither as well. 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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East Feb 04 08, 6:22 PM

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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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East According to this site, though, the Middle East is all in Asia, excluding Egypt. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/me.htm Here is another definition: Middle East: The countries of Southwest Asia and North Africa - usually considered as including the countries extending from Libya on the West to Afghanistan on the East. http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/curriculums/film-vocabulary-pc.cfm Feb 04 08, 9:55 PM