Why do we call West Asia the Middle East?

The term Middle East originated with the British Foreign Office in the 19th century. Sometimes, socio-cultural and political convergences between the territory covering North Africa and West Asia (which previously covered the region named as Middle East) is collectively called as WANA (West Asia North Africa).

Where does the name Middle East come from?

The term “Middle East” may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office. However, it became more widely known when American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902 to “designate the area between Arabia and India”.

Why is Asia called the Far East?

It became common practice to call this region the Far East because it is the farthest of the 3 Eastern Asian regions, which are the: Near East, the Middle East, and the Far East. During the reign of the British Empire, the term became popular and was used to refer to any area east of British India.

What country is in West Asia?

The West Asia region comprises 12 member countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Is Asia and the Middle East the same?

The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia, Turkey (both Asian and European), and Egypt (which is mostly in North Africa). Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest Middle Eastern nation while Bahrain is the smallest.

What was the original name of the Middle East?

The central part of this general area was formerly called the Near East, a name given to it by some of the first modern Western geographers and historians, who tended to divide what they called the Orient into three regions.

What is the Middle East also called?

/ ˈmɪd l ˈist / PHONETIC RESPELLING. noun. Also called Mideast. (loosely) the area from Libya east to Afghanistan, usually including Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the other countries of Arabia. (formerly) the area including Iran, Afghanistan, India, Tibet, and Burma …

Is Asia called the East?

East Asia, sometimes defined geographically as Northeast Asia and abbreviated as EA or NEA, is along with Southeast Asia located at the far eastern regions of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms….

What continent is the Middle East on?

The Middle East is located at the border of western Asia, northern Africa, and southeastern Europe. Editorial credit: kevin brine / Shutterstock.com. The Middle East is an intercontinental area centered on Egypt, Turkey, and Western Asia. It is on three continents with Asia being the primary.

Is West Asia the same as the Middle East?

Yet, we do not hear West Asia, which the geographically proper term for the region so-called ‘Middle East.’ Here we must say that the United Nations actually started to use the term West Asia but we are not sure if they use it across all of their literature. Once again – why the Middle East? What “East” and why we are in the “Middle” of the East?

How did the Middle East get its name?

The term ‘Middle East’ is actually a political construct, which was coined in the 1850s by staff in the British India Office. During this period, the ‘Orient’ (a term used to describe the East) was split into three distinct areas: the Far East. The Near East included the Ottoman Empire (much of today’s Turkey) and the Balkans.

What are the biggest and smallest countries in Middle East?

The biggest Middle Eastern state by land area in Saudi Arabia (830,000 sq miles) followed by Iran (636,372 sq miles) and then Egypt (390,120 sq miles). The smallest nation in the Middle East is Bahrain which occupies an area of about 257 sq miles.