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101-645: Camp Doha housed both Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-Kuwait) and Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait (Forward) (C/JTF-KU (Fwd)), making it effectively a nerve center not only for U.S. operations in Iraq, but throughout the Middle East . Camp Doha was used as a major transit point for NATO and United States military personnel while en route to Afghanistan. At its peak, over 2,000 military and civilian personnel were stationed there, with several thousand additional personnel in transit at any given point. In April 2005,

202-418: A 20-article series entitled "The Middle Eastern Question", written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol . During this series, Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of Middle East to include "those regions of Asia which extend to the borders of India or command the approaches to India." After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term. Until World War II , it

303-695: A crop of the Columbian Exchange . Cactus hedges – both intentionally planted and wild garden escapes – formed an important part of defensible positions during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I. Some unfamiliar soldiers even tried eating them, to negative result. Dromedary herding is important here. Trypanosoma evansi is a constant concern and is transmitted by several vectors . Although ticks have not been proven to be among them, Mahmoud and Gray 1980 and El-Kady 1998 experimentally demonstrate survival of T. evansi in camel ticks of

404-719: A few days. In March 1957, Israel withdrew its forces from Sinai, following strong pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union . Thereafter, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was stationed in Sinai to prevent any further conflict in the Sinai. On 16 May 1967, Egypt ordered the UNEF out of Sinai and reoccupied it militarily. Secretary-General U Thant eventually complied and ordered

505-795: A hot, arid climate, especially in the Arabian and Egyptian regions. Several major rivers provide irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas here, such as the Nile Delta in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates watersheds of Mesopotamia , and the basin of the Jordan River that spans most of the Levant. These regions are collectively known as the Fertile Crescent , and comprise

606-557: A large ransom. Under President el-Sisi , Egypt has implemented a rigorous policy of controlling the border to the Gaza Strip , including the dismantling of tunnels between Gaza and Sinai. The two governorates of North Sinai and South Sinai have a total population of 597,000 (January 2013). This figure rises to 1,400,000 by including Western Sinai, the parts of the Port Said , Ismailia and Suez Governorates lying east of

707-532: A population (January 2013) of 597,000. Three more governates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt: Suez (el-Sewais) is on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia (el-Isma'ileyyah) in the centre, and Port Said in the north. The largest city of Sinai is Arish , capital of the North Sinai, with around 160,000 residents. Other larger settlements include Sharm El Sheikh and El-Tor , on

808-456: A seasonal basis for thousands of years. Modern attempts to exploit the deposits have been unprofitable. These may be the first historically attested mines. The fortress Tjaru in western Sinai was a place of banishment for Egyptian criminals. The Way of Horus connected it across northern Sinai with ancient Canaan . At the end of the time of Darius I , the Great (521–486 BCE) Sinai was part of

909-595: A strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area. The region is one of the regions where agriculture was independently discovered, and from the Middle East it was spread, during the Neolithic, to different regions of the world such as Europe, the Indus Valley and Eastern Africa. Prior to the formation of civilizations, advanced cultures formed all over the Middle East during

1010-808: A vital role in the Middle East, and they represent 40.5% of Lebanon, where the Lebanese president , half of the cabinet, and half of the parliament follow one of the various Lebanese Christian rites. There are also important minority religions like the Baháʼí Faith , Yarsanism , Yazidism , Zoroastrianism , Mandaeism , Druze , and Shabakism , and in ancient times the region was home to Mesopotamian religions , Canaanite religions , Manichaeism , Mithraism and various monotheist gnostic sects. The six top languages, in terms of numbers of speakers, are Arabic , Persian , Turkish , Kurdish , Modern Hebrew and Greek . About 20 minority languages are also spoken in

1111-466: A word only known from two occurrences in the Hebrew Bible , in both cases referring to the burning bush . Rabbi Eliezer opines that Mount Horeb only received the name Sinai after God appeared to Moses in the shape of a burning bush. Its modern Arabic name is سِينَاء Sīnāʼ  ( Egyptian Arabic سينا Sīna ; IPA: [ˈsiːnæ] ). The modern Arabic is an adoption of

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1212-493: Is Aramaic and its dialects are spoken mainly by Assyrians and Mandaeans , with Western Aramaic still spoken in two villages near Damascus, Syria. There is also an Oasis Berber -speaking community in Egypt where the language is also known as Siwa . It is a non-Semitic Afro-Asiatic sister language. Persian is the second most spoken language. While it is primarily spoken in Iran and some border areas in neighbouring countries,

1313-631: Is a peninsula in Egypt , and the only part of the country located in Asia . It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa . Sinai has a land area of about 60,000 km (23,000 sq mi) (6 percent of Egypt's total area) and a population of approximately 600,000 people. Administratively, the vast majority of

1414-716: Is also commonly taught and used as a foreign second language, in countries such as Egypt , Jordan , Iran , Iraq , Qatar , Bahrain , United Arab Emirates and Kuwait . It is also a main language in some Emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is also spoken as native language by Jewish immigrants from Anglophone countries (UK, US, Australia) in Israel and understood widely as second language there. Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula , or simply Sinai ( / ˈ s aɪ n aɪ / SY -ny ; Arabic : سِينَاء ; Egyptian Arabic : سينا ; Coptic : Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ ),

1515-561: Is also the capital of the South Sinai Governorate of Egypt . As another Arabic word for "mass of very high land going up to a peak – mountain" is "Ṭūr". The English name came from Latin, ultimately from Hebrew סִינַי‎, pronounced /siˈnái/ ( see- NIGH , in English phonetic spelling). In English , the name is now usually pronounced / ˈ s aɪ n aɪ / . An alternative, now dated pronunciation in English

1616-529: Is more and more common in press texts translated from English sources, albeit having a distinct meaning). In the four Slavic languages, Russian Ближний Восток or Blizhniy Vostok , Bulgarian Близкия Изток , Polish Bliski Wschód or Croatian Bliski istok (terms meaning Near East are the only appropriate ones for the region. However, some European languages do have "Middle East" equivalents, such as French Moyen-Orient , Swedish Mellanöstern , Spanish Oriente Medio or Medio Oriente , Greek

1717-595: Is present in areas in neighboring countries. It is a member of the Turkic languages , which have their origins in East Asia. Another Turkic language, Azerbaijani , is spoken by Azerbaijanis in Iran. The fourth-most widely spoken language, Kurdish , is spoken in the countries of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, Sorani Kurdish is the second official language in Iraq (instated after the 2005 constitution) after Arabic. Hebrew

1818-429: Is the official language of Israel , with Arabic given a special status after the 2018 Basic law lowered its status from an official language prior to 2018. Hebrew is spoken and used by over 80% of Israel's population, the other 20% using Arabic. Modern Hebrew only began being spoken in the 20th century after being revived in the late 19th century by Elizer Ben-Yehuda (Elizer Perlman) and European Jewish settlers, with

1919-419: Is used by a source in a story. Mideast is also acceptable, but Middle East is preferred. European languages have adopted terms similar to Near East and Middle East . Since these are based on a relative description, the meanings depend on the country and are generally different from the English terms. In German the term Naher Osten (Near East) is still in common use (nowadays the term Mittlerer Osten

2020-643: Is Μέση Ανατολή ( Mesi Anatoli ), and Italian Medio Oriente . Perhaps because of the political influence of the United States and Europe, and the prominence of Western press, the Arabic equivalent of Middle East (Arabic: الشرق الأوسط ash-Sharq al-Awsaṭ ) has become standard usage in the mainstream Arabic press. It comprises the same meaning as the term "Middle East" in North American and Western European usage. The designation, Mashriq , also from

2121-451: The 2011 Egyptian revolution , unrest has become more prevalent in the area including the August 2012 Sinai attack in which 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed by militants. (See Sinai insurgency .) Also on the rise are kidnappings of refugees . According to Meron Estifanos, Eritrean refugees are often kidnapped by Bedouin in the northern Sinai, tortured, raped, and only released after paying

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2222-842: The Arabian Peninsula ( Magan , Sheba , Ubar ). The Near East was first largely unified under the Neo Assyrian Empire , then the Achaemenid Empire followed later by the Macedonian Empire and after this to some degree by the Iranian empires (namely the Parthian and Sassanid Empires ), the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire . The region served as the intellectual and economic center of

2323-532: The Central Powers , was defeated by the British Empire and their allies and partitioned into a number of separate nations, initially under British and French Mandates . Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the eventual departure of European powers, notably Britain and France by the end of the 1960s. They were supplanted in some part by

2424-478: The Egyptian 3rd Army , and occupied a section of the Suez Canal's west bank. The war ended following a mutually agreed-upon ceasefire. After the war, as part of the subsequent Sinai Disengagement Agreements , Israel withdrew from immediate proximity with the Suez Canal, with Egypt agreeing to permit passage of Israeli ships. The canal was reopened in 1975, with President Anwar Sadat leading the first convoy through

2525-701: The Gulf of Aqaba . This line has served as the de jure eastern border of Egypt ever since. In 1956, Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal , a waterway marking the boundary between Egyptian territory in Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. Thereafter, Israeli ships were prohibited from using the Canal, owing to the state of war between the two states. Egypt also prohibited ships from using Egyptian territorial waters on

2626-468: The Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea (see also: Indo-Mediterranean ). It is the birthplace and spiritual center of religions such as Christianity , Islam , Judaism , Manichaeism , Yezidi , Druze , Yarsan , and Mandeanism , and in Iran, Mithraism , Zoroastrianism , Manicheanism , and the Baháʼí Faith . Throughout its history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs;

2727-693: The International Organization for Migration , there are 13 million first-generation migrants from Arab nations in the world, of which 5.8 reside in other Arab countries. Expatriates from Arab countries contribute to the circulation of financial and human capital in the region and thus significantly promote regional development. In 2009 Arab countries received a total of US$ 35.1 billion in remittance in-flows and remittances sent to Jordan , Egypt and Lebanon from other Arab countries are 40 to 190 per cent higher than trade revenues between these and other Arab countries. In Somalia ,

2828-496: The Levant (the present-day territories of Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , Israel and Palestine ), which, due largely to its strategic geopolitical location and cultural convergences, has historically been the center of conflict between Egypt and various states of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor . In periods of foreign occupation, the Sinai was, like the rest of Egypt, also occupied and controlled by foreign empires, in more recent history

2929-664: The Maghreb and the Sudan . The term the " Greater Middle East " also includes parts of East Africa , Mauritania , Afghanistan , Pakistan , and sometimes the South Caucasus and Central Asia . The term "Middle East" may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office . However, it became more widely known when United States naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to "designate

3030-934: The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1260 until 1517, when the Ottoman Sultan, Selim the Grim , defeated the Egyptians at the Battles of Marj Dabiq and al-Raydaniyya , and incorporated Egypt into the Ottoman Empire . From then until 1906, Sinai was administered by the Ottoman provincial government of the Pashalik of Egypt , even following the establishment of the Muhammad Ali dynasty 's rule over

3131-665: The Near East , Fertile Crescent , and Levant . These are geographical concepts, which refer to large sections of the modern-day Middle East, with the Near East being the closest to the Middle East in its geographical meaning. Due to it primarily being Arabic speaking, the Maghreb region of North Africa is sometimes included. The countries of the South Caucasus  – Armenia , Azerbaijan , and Georgia  – are occasionally included in definitions of

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3232-847: The Ottoman Empire ( 1517–1867 ) and the United Kingdom ( 1882–1956 ). Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis (known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression due to the simultaneous coordinated attack by the UK, France and Israel) of 1956, and during the Six-Day War of 1967. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the Yom Kippur War , seizing most of the east bank of the Suez Canal and negotiating

3333-517: The Persian province of Abar-Nahra , which means 'beyond the river [Euphrates]'. Cambyses successfully managed the crossing of the hostile Sinai Desert, traditionally Egypt's first and strongest line of defence, and brought the Egyptians under Psamtik III , son and successor of Ahmose , to battle at Pelusium . The Egyptians lost and retired to Memphis ; the city fell to the Persian control and

3434-591: The Roman Empire went on to control all shores of the Mediterranean Sea . The Sinai Peninsula became part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea . Saint Catherine's Monastery on the foot of Mount Sinai was constructed by order of the Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565. Most of the Sinai Peninsula became part of the province of Palaestina Salutaris in the 6th century. During the Crusades it

3535-581: The Sassanid Empire . However, it would be the later Islamic Caliphates of the Middle Ages , or Islamic Golden Age which began with the Islamic conquest of the region in the 7th century AD, that would first unify the entire Middle East as a distinct region and create the dominant Islamic Arab ethnic identity that largely (but not exclusively) persists today. The 4 caliphates that dominated

3636-787: The Somali Civil War has greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora , as many of the best educated Somalis left for Middle Eastern countries as well as Europe and North America . Non-Arab Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey , Israel and Iran are also subject to important migration dynamics. A fair proportion of those migrating from Arab nations are from ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution and are not necessarily ethnic Arabs, Iranians or Turks. Large numbers of Kurds , Jews , Assyrians , Greeks and Armenians as well as many Mandeans have left nations such as Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey for these reasons during

3737-458: The South Caucasus . It also includes all of Egypt (not just the Sinai ) and all of Turkey (including East Thrace ). Most Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world . The most populous countries in the region are Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, while Saudi Arabia is the largest Middle Eastern country by area. The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times , and it

3838-472: The Stone Age . The search for agricultural lands by agriculturalists, and pastoral lands by herdsmen meant different migrations took place within the region and shaped its ethnic and demographic makeup. The Middle East is widely and most famously known as the cradle of civilization . The world's earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia ( Sumer , Akkad , Assyria and Babylonia ), ancient Egypt and Kish in

3939-598: The Yom Kippur War (known in Egypt as the October War ). Egyptian engineering forces built pontoon bridges to cross the Suez Canal, and stormed the Bar Lev Line , Israel's defensive line along the Suez Canal's east bank. Though the Egyptians maintained control of most of the east bank of the Suez Canal, in the later stages of the war, the Israeli military crossed the southern section of the Suez Canal, cutting off

4040-448: The ancient Mesopotamian moon-god Sin . The moon-deity Sin is associated with the area; the ancient Egyptian moon-god Thoth is also associated with Sin, and his worship was widespread throughout the south tip of the Sinai Peninsula. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906) quotes a Rabbinic source , the 8th- or 9th-century Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer , which derives the name from the biblical Hebrew word seneh ( Hebrew : סֶ֫נֶּה ),

4141-491: The first native Hebrew speaker being born in 1882. Greek is one of the two official languages of Cyprus , and the country's main language. Small communities of Greek speakers exist all around the Middle East; until the 20th century it was also widely spoken in Asia Minor (being the second most spoken language there, after Turkish) and Egypt. During the antiquity, Ancient Greek was the lingua franca for many areas of

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4242-422: The Arabian Peninsula in particular have benefitted economically from petroleum exports. Because of the arid climate and dependence on the fossil fuel industry, the Middle East is both a major contributor to climate change and a region that is expected to be severely adversely affected by it. Other concepts of the region exist, including the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which includes states of

4343-422: The Arabic root for East , also denotes a variously defined region around the Levant , the eastern part of the Arabic-speaking world (as opposed to the Maghreb , the western part). Even though the term originated in the West, countries of the Middle East that use languages other than Arabic also use that term in translation. For instance, the Persian equivalent for Middle East is خاورمیانه ( Khāvar-e miyāneh ),

4444-432: The Army announced the closure of the base, saying that the personnel from Camp Doha would be divided between Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan . The base was formally closed in 2006. At approximately 10:20 A.M. on July 11, 1991, a defective heater in an M992 ammunition carrier loaded with 155 mm artillery shells caught on fire. Servicemembers unsuccessfully tried to extinguish the fire before being ordered to evacuate

4545-432: The Asian mainland, is around 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide. The peninsula's eastern shore separates the Arabian Plate from the African Plate . The southernmost tip is the Ras Muhammad National Park . Most of the Sinai Peninsula is divided among the two governorates of Egypt : South Sinai (Ganub Sina) and North Sinai (Shamal Sina). Together, they comprise around 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi) and have

4646-404: The Biblical name; the 19th-century Arabic designation of Sinai was Jebel el-Tūr , and the name of the mountain is derived from the town of El Tor (formerly called "Tur Sinai"), whose name comes from the Arabic term for the mountain where the prophet Moses received the Tablets of the Law from God, thus this mountain is designated as " Jabal Aṭ-Ṭūr ( Arabic : جبل الطّور )", and the town

4747-463: The Gulf was the most important passage for Britain to control in order to keep the Russians from advancing towards British India . Mahan first used the term in his article "The Persian Gulf and International Relations", published in September 1902 in the National Review , a British journal. The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta , as well as its Gibraltar ; it does not follow that either will be in

4848-409: The Hebrew is המזרח התיכון ( hamizrach hatikhon ), and the Turkish is Orta Doğu. Traditionally included within the Middle East are Arabia , Asia Minor , East Thrace , Egypt , Iran , the Levant , Mesopotamia , and the Socotra Archipelago . The region includes 17 UN -recognized countries and one British Overseas Territory . Various concepts are often paralleled to the Middle East, most notably

4949-452: The Israelis had founded as Ofira during their occupation of the Sinai Peninsula) was not dismantled. The Treaty allows monitoring of Sinai by the Multinational Force and Observers , and limits the number of Egyptian military forces in the peninsula. Article 2 of Annex I of the Peace Treaty called for the Sinai Peninsula to be divided into zones. Within these zones, Egypt and Israel were permitted varying degrees of military buildup: Since

5050-410: The Levant, all originated in the Fertile Crescent and Nile Valley regions of the ancient Near East. These were followed by the Hittite , Greek , Hurrian and Urartian civilisations of Asia Minor ; Elam , Persia and Median civilizations in Iran , as well as the civilizations of the Levant (such as Ebla , Mari , Nagar , Ugarit , Canaan , Aramea , Mitanni , Phoenicia and Israel ) and

5151-481: The Middle East for more than 600 years were the Rashidun Caliphate , the Umayyad caliphate , the Abbasid caliphate and the Fatimid caliphate . Additionally, the Mongols would come to dominate the region, the Kingdom of Armenia would incorporate parts of the region to their domain, the Seljuks would rule the region and spread Turko-Persian culture, and the Franks would found the Crusader states that would stand for roughly two centuries. Josiah Russell estimates

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5252-411: The Middle East. " Greater Middle East " is a political term coined by the second Bush administration in the first decade of the 21st century to denote various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world , specifically Afghanistan , Iran , Pakistan , and Turkey . Various Central Asian countries are sometimes also included. The Middle East lies at the juncture of Africa and Eurasia and of

5353-504: The Middle East. Arabic, with all its dialects, is the most widely spoken language in the Middle East, with Literary Arabic being official in all North African and in most West Asian countries. Arabic dialects are also spoken in some adjacent areas in neighbouring Middle Eastern non-Arab countries. It is a member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Several Modern South Arabian languages such as Mehri and Soqotri are also spoken in Yemen and Oman. Another Semitic language

5454-408: The Middle East. For the period between the 1970s and 1990s, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf in particular provided a rich source of employment for workers from Egypt, Yemen and the countries of the Levant, while Europe had attracted young workers from North African countries due both to proximity and the legacy of colonial ties between France and the majority of North African states." According to

5555-400: The North Compound. This evacuation was still under way when the burning M992 exploded at 11:00 AM, scattering artillery submunitions (bomblets) over nearby combat-loaded vehicles and ammunition stocks. This set off an hours-long series of explosions and fires that devastated the vehicles and equipment in the North Compound and scattered unexploded ordnance and debris over much of the remainder of

5656-447: The Persian Gulf. Naval force has the quality of mobility which carries with it the privilege of temporary absences; but it needs to find on every scene of operation established bases of refit, of supply, and in case of disaster, of security. The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden , India, and the Persian Gulf. Mahan's article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by

5757-438: The Pharaoh was carried off in captivity to Susa in Persia. Rhinocorura ( Greek for " Cut-off Noses ") and the eponymous region around it were used by Ptolemaid Egypt as a place of banishment for criminals, today known as Arish . After the death of the last Nabatean king, Rabbel II Soter , in 106, the Roman emperor Trajan faced practically no resistance and conquered the kingdom on 22 March 106. With this conquest,

5858-400: The Roman Empire and played an exceptionally important role due to its periphery on the Sassanid Empire . Thus, the Romans stationed up to five or six of their legions in the region for the sole purpose of defending it from Sassanid and Bedouin raids and invasions. From the 4th century CE onwards, the Middle East became the center of the two main powers at the time, the Byzantine Empire and

5959-433: The Suez Canal. Port Said alone has a population of roughly 500,000 people (January 2013). Portions of the populations of Ismailia and Suez live in west Sinai, while the rest live on the western side of the Suez Canal. The population of Sinai has largely consisted of desert-dwelling Bedouins with their colourful traditional costumes and significant culture. Large numbers of Egyptians from the Nile Valley and Delta moved to

6060-410: The accident site by utilizing an M113 armored personnel carrier (APC) towing a trailer to the disposal site 200 meters from Camp Doha. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was planning to unload the ordnance into the pit. The M113 was located adjacent to a pit. One Explosive Ordnance Disposal tech was in the pit and another was at the rear of the trailer. One round (unknown type) was being transferred from

6161-414: The area between Arabia and India". During this time the British and Russian empires were vying for influence in Central Asia , a rivalry that would become known as the Great Game . Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulf . He labeled the area surrounding the Persian Gulf as the Middle East. He said that, beyond Egypt's Suez Canal ,

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6262-436: The area of the Sinai Peninsula is divided into two governorates : the South Sinai Governorate and the North Sinai Governorate . Three other governorates span the Suez Canal , crossing into African Egypt: Suez Governorate on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia Governorate in the center, and Port Said Governorate in the north. In the classical era, the region was known as Arabia Petraea . The peninsula acquired

6363-506: The area to work in tourism, but development adversely affected the native Bedouin population. In order to help alleviate their problems, various NGOs began to operate in the region, including the Makhad Trust , a UK charity that assists the Bedouin in developing a sustainable income while protecting Sinai's natural environment, heritage and culture. Since the Israeli–Egyptian peace treaty, Sinai's scenic spots (including coral reefs offshore) and religious structures have become important to

6464-406: The camp. The fires produced billowing black and white clouds of smoke that rose hundreds of feet into the air and drifted to the east-southeast, across portions of both the North and South Compounds, in the direction of Kuwait City. The fires died down enough by mid-afternoon to allow a preliminary damage assessment. There were no fatalities; however, 49 US soldiers were injured, 2 seriously. Most of

6565-441: The canal aboard an Egyptian Navy destroyer. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending in 1982. The Israeli pull-out involved dismantling almost all Israeli settlements, including the settlement of Yamit in north-eastern Sinai. The exception was that the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh (which

6666-502: The classificiation of the African country, Egypt, among those counted in the Middle East challenges the usefulness of using such terms. The description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War , "Near East" was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire , while "Middle East" referred to the Caucasus , Persia , and Arabian lands, and sometimes Afghanistan , India and others. In contrast, " Far East " referred to

6767-462: The core of what historians had long referred to as the cradle of civilization (multiple regions of the world have since been classified as also having developed independent, original civilizations). Conversely, the Levantine coast and most of Turkey have relatively temperate climates typical of the Mediterranean , with dry summers and cool, wet winters. Most of the countries that border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of petroleum . Monarchs of

6868-420: The countries of East Asia (e.g. China , Japan , and Korea ). With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, "Near East" largely fell out of common use in English, while "Middle East" came to be applied to the emerging independent countries of the Islamic world . However, the usage "Near East" was retained by a variety of academic disciplines, including archaeology and ancient history . In their usage,

6969-455: The country is one of the region's largest and most populous. It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages . Other Western Iranic languages spoken in the region include Achomi , Daylami , Kurdish dialects, Semmani , Lurish , amongst many others. The close third-most widely spoken language, Turkish , is largely confined to Turkey, which is also one of the region's largest and most populous countries, but it

7070-492: The early 2000s, Sinai has been the site of several terror attacks against tourists , the majority of whom are Egyptian. Investigations have shown that these were mainly motivated by a resentment of the poverty faced by many Bedouin in the area. Attacking the tourist industry was viewed as a method of damaging the industry so that the government would pay more attention to their situation. (See 2004 Sinai bombings , 2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings and 2006 Dahab bombings ). Since

7171-400: The early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East (both were in contrast to the Far East ). The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions. Since the late 20th century, it has been criticized as being too Eurocentric . The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of West Asia , but without

7272-533: The eastern side of the peninsula to travel to and from Israel, effectively imposing a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat . In October 1956, in what is known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression , Israel Defense Forces troops, aided by the United Kingdom and France (which sought to reverse the nationalization and regain control over the Suez Canal), invaded Sinai and occupied much of the peninsula within

7373-652: The economy of the Western world [...] Within this contextual framework, the United States sought to divert the Arab world from Soviet influence. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the region has experienced both periods of relative peace and tolerance and periods of conflict particularly between Sunnis and Shiites . Arabs constitute the largest ethnic group in the Middle East, followed by various Iranian peoples and then by Turkic peoples ( Turkish , Azeris , Syrian Turkmen , and Iraqi Turkmen ). Native ethnic groups of

7474-562: The estimated almost $ 15 million in damaged or destroyed ammunition were 660 M829 120mm depleted uranium sabot rounds. Three members of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were killed on July 23, 1991 during clean-up operations. Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialists, Sergeant First Class Donald T. Murphy Jr., Staff Sergeant Ricky L. Bunch, and Combat Engineer, Private First Class Joshua J. Fleming, were killed during an accidental detonation of unexploded ordnance. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team had transported cleared unexploded ammunition from

7575-466: The highest in the world, and the international oil cartel OPEC is dominated by Middle Eastern countries. During the Cold War, the Middle East was a theater of ideological struggle between the two superpowers and their allies: NATO and the United States on one side, and the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact on the other, as they competed to influence regional allies. Besides the political reasons there

7676-472: The injuries were fractures, sprains, contusions, or lacerations suffered when soldiers scrambled over the 15-foot high perimeter wall to escape the North Compound. In addition, four British soldiers received minor injuries. The fire and explosions damaged or destroyed 102 vehicles, including 4 M1A1 tanks and numerous other combat vehicles. More than two dozen buildings sustained damage as well. Among

7777-522: The last century. In Iran, many religious minorities such as Christians , Baháʼís , Jews and Zoroastrians have left since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 . The Middle East is very diverse when it comes to religions , many of which originated there. Islam is the largest religion in the Middle East, but other faiths that originated there, such as Judaism and Christianity , are also well represented. Christian communities have played

7878-459: The late 20th century, scholars and journalists from the region, such as journalist Louay Khraish and historian Hassan Hanafi have criticized the use of "Middle East" as a Eurocentric and colonialist term. The Associated Press Stylebook of 2004 says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous. It instructs: Use Middle East unless Near East

7979-588: The name Sinai in modern times due to the assumption that a mountain near Saint Catherine's Monastery is the Biblical Mount Sinai . Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in the Abrahamic faiths . The Sinai Peninsula has been a part of Egypt from the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt ( c.  3100 BC). This comes in stark contrast to the region north of it,

8080-453: The population of what he calls "Islamic territory" as roughly 12.5 million in 1000 – Anatolia 8 million, Syria 2 million, and Egypt 1.5 million. From the 16th century onward, the Middle East came to be dominated, once again, by two main powers: the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid dynasty . The modern Middle East began after World War I , when the Ottoman Empire, which was allied with

8181-662: The region include, in addition to Arabs, Arameans , Assyrians , Baloch , Berbers , Copts , Druze , Greek Cypriots , Jews , Kurds , Lurs , Mandaeans , Persians , Samaritans , Shabaks , Tats , and Zazas . European ethnic groups that form a diaspora in the region include Albanians , Bosniaks , Circassians (including Kabardians ), Crimean Tatars , Greeks , Franco-Levantines , Italo-Levantines , and Iraqi Turkmens . Among other migrant populations are Chinese , Filipinos , Indians , Indonesians , Pakistanis , Pashtuns , Romani , and Afro-Arabs . "Migration has always provided an important vent for labor market pressures in

8282-715: The rest of Egypt in 1805. In 1906, the Ottoman Porte formally transferred administration of Sinai to the Khedivate of Egypt , which essentially meant that it fell under the control of the British Empire , who had occupied and largely controlled Egypt since the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War . The border imposed by the British runs in an almost straight line from Rafah on the Mediterranean shore to Taba on

8383-453: The rest of Sinai. In 1982, as a result of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979, Israel withdrew from all of the Sinai Peninsula except the contentious territory of Taba , which was returned after a ruling by a commission of arbitration in 1989. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its natural setting, rich coral reefs , and biblical history. Because the Sinai Peninsula

8484-534: The rising influence of the United States from the 1970s onwards. In the 20th century, the region's significant stocks of crude oil gave it new strategic and economic importance. Mass production of oil began around 1945, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates having large quantities of oil. Estimated oil reserves , especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran, are some of

8585-405: The southern coast. Inland Sinai is arid (effectively a desert), mountainous and sparsely populated, the largest settlements being Saint Catherine and Nekhel . Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinai's cities and towns reach −16 °C (3 °F). A cave with paintings of people and animals

8686-408: The term describes an area identical to the term Middle East , which is not used by these disciplines (see ancient Near East ). The first official use of the term "Middle East" by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine , which pertained to the Suez Crisis . Secretary of State John Foster Dulles defined the Middle East as "the area lying between and including Libya on

8787-656: The tourism industry. The most popular tourist destination in Sinai are Mount Sinai ( Jabal Musa ) and St Catherine's Monastery , which is considered to be the oldest working Christian monastery in the world, and the beach resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh , Dahab , Nuweiba and Taba . Most tourists arrive at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport , through Eilat, Israel and the Taba Border Crossing , by road from Cairo or by ferry from Aqaba in Jordan. Cacti – especially cactus pears – are grown in Sinai. They are

8888-445: The trailer when it detonated. 29°22′04″N 47°48′14″E  /  29.36778°N 47.80389°E  / 29.36778; 47.80389 Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula , the Levant , Turkey , Egypt , Iran , and Iraq . The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western European nations in

8989-523: The west and Pakistan on the east, Syria and Iraq on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudan and Ethiopia ." In 1958, the State Department explained that the terms "Near East" and "Middle East" were interchangeable, and defined the region as including only Egypt , Syria, Israel , Lebanon , Jordan , Iraq, Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , Bahrain , and Qatar . Since

9090-479: The west bank of the canal, led to high civilian casualties (including the virtual destruction of Suez), and contributed to the flight of 700,000 Egyptian internal refugees. Ultimately, the war concluded in 1970 with no change in the front line. On 6 October 1973, Egypt commenced Operation Badr to retake the Sinai, while Syria launched a simultaneous operation to retake the Golan Heights, thereby beginning

9191-640: The western Middle East and until the Muslim expansion it was widely spoken there as well. Until the late 11th century, it was also the main spoken language in Asia Minor ; after that it was gradually replaced by the Turkish language as the Anatolian Turks expanded and the local Greeks were assimilated, especially in the interior. English is one of the official languages of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. It

9292-525: The withdrawal without Security Council authorisation. In the course of the Six-Day War that broke out shortly thereafter, Israel occupied the entire Sinai Peninsula , and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem ) from Jordan (which Jordan had controlled since 1949 ), and the Golan Heights from Syria . The Suez Canal, the east bank of which was now occupied by Israel,

9393-540: Was / ˈ s aɪ n ɪ aɪ / SY -nih-eye . Sinai is triangular in shape, with its northern shore lying on the southern Mediterranean Sea , and its southwest and southeast shores on the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea . It is linked to the African continent by the Isthmus of Suez , 125 kilometres (78 mi) wide strip of land, containing the Suez Canal . The eastern isthmus, linking it to

9494-411: Was also the "ideological conflict" between the two systems. Moreover, as Louise Fawcett argues, among many important areas of contention, or perhaps more accurately of anxiety, were, first, the desires of the superpowers to gain strategic advantage in the region, second, the fact that the region contained some two-thirds of the world's oil reserves in a context where oil was becoming increasingly vital to

9595-683: Was based in Cairo , for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term "Middle East" gained broader usage in Europe and the United States. Following World War II, for example, the Middle East Institute was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1946. The corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner . While non-Eurocentric terms such as "Southwest Asia" or "Swasia" have been sparsely used,

9696-525: Was closed. Israel commenced efforts at large scale Israeli settlement in the Sinai Peninsula. Following the Israeli conquest of Sinai, Egypt launched the War of Attrition (1967–70) aimed at forcing Israel to withdraw from the Sinai. The war saw protracted conflict in the Suez Canal Zone, ranging from limited to large-scale combat. Israeli shelling of the cities of Port Said , Ismailia , and Suez on

9797-590: Was customary to refer to areas centered around Turkey and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean as the " Near East ", while the " Far East " centered on China , India and Japan . The Middle East was then defined as the area from Mesopotamia to Burma , namely, the area between the Near East and the Far East. In the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command , which

9898-535: Was discovered about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Mount Catherine in January 2020, dates back to the Chalcolithic Period, c.  5th –4th millennium BCE. From the time of the First Dynasty or before, the Egyptians mined turquoise in Sinai at two locations, now called by their Egyptian Arabic names Wadi Maghareh and Serabit el-Khadim . The mines were worked intermittently and on

9999-475: Was long considered the "cradle of civilization". The geopolitical importance of the region has been recognized and competed for during millennia. The Abrahamic religions, Judaism , Christianity , and Islam , have their origins in the Middle East. Arabs constitute the main ethnic group in the region, followed by Turks , Persians , Kurds , Azeris , Copts , Jews , Assyrians , Iraqi Turkmen , Yazidis , and Greek Cypriots . The Middle East generally has

10100-467: Was the main region where mining of turquoise was carried out in Ancient Egypt, it was called Biau (the "Mining Country") and Khetiu Mafkat ("Ladders of Turquoise") by the ancient Egyptians. The origin of the modern name is a source of contention (see Biblical Mount Sinai for a fuller discussion). The name Sinai ( Hebrew : סִינַי , Classical Syriac : ܣܝܢܝ ) may have been derived from

10201-486: Was under the control of Fatimid Caliphate . Later, Sultan Saladin abolished the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt and took this region under his control too. It was the military route from Cairo to Damascus during the Crusades. And in order to secure this route, he built a citadel on the island of Pharaoh (near present Taba) known by his name ' Saladin's Citadel '. The peninsula was governed as part of Egypt under

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