The "Middle East" refers to the region spanning the eastern and southern Mediterranean-a vast area stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf-and geographically constitutes a sub-region connecting Africa and Eurasia.
While the Middle East largely overlaps with Western Asia, it differs in the following ways:
1. It excludes Afghanistan; 2. It includes the African nation of Egypt; 3. It includes the European portion of Turkey.
The Middle East is a region situated at the crossroads of three continents (Asia, Europe, and Africa) and serves as a pivotal link between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The "three continents" refer to Asia, Europe, and Africa, while the "five seas" refer to the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea.
"Middle East" is not a formal geographical term. Generally, it encompasses Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Palestine, the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia), as well as Sudan, Mauritania, and Somalia, are also typically considered Middle Eastern due to historical and cultural ties. Although Turkey and Cyprus are geographically part of the Middle East, they identify themselves as European; Afghanistan, located to the north, is also sometimes closely associated with the region.