The location of some areas are used rather loosely, so we like to point out some specific areas that you will find mentioned in our..and most all…travel websites.
Asia:
The largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 16,988,494 square miles (9,7644 square kilometers), about 30% of Earth’s total land area and 8% of Earth’s total surface area.
The Far East:
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term.
The Holy Land:
Although many people consider Israel the holy land….and it is the Holy Land; however, we include not only Israel, but Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, all of which are mentioned in the Bible.
The Levant:
Here is where things can get a bit confusing. You will find this term used in some travel articles, so we provide a brief listing of countries here. The Levant encompasses several countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region; including Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Occasionally you will find Palestine added to that list, but Palestine is not a country, so we do not include it. Some definitions of The Levant also include Cyprus, Turkey (Hatay Province), and even parts of Iraq, It is sometimes called by the political term, Middle East (below).
The Middle East:
The Middle East 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 the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East. Some of these countries are also included in the descriptions listed individually above.
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