the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century
"the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization"
The region located south of Eastern Europe, comprising Anatolia, Transcaucasia, the Levant, and Mesopotamia.