The Mashriq (; ar, ْاَلْمَشْرِق, al-Mashriq, lit=the east), also known as the Arab Mashriq ( ar, اَلْمَشْرِقُ الْعَرَبِيُّ, translit=al-Mashriq al-ʿArabi, lit=the Arab east), sometimes spelled Mashreq or Mashrek, is a term used by Arabs to refer to the eastern part of the Arab world, as opposed to the Maghreb (western) region, and located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa. It is the Arabic equivalent for the term Middle East. Poetically the "Place of Sunrise", the name is derived from the verb ''sharaqa'' (, "to shine, illuminate, radiate" and "to rise"), from the sh-r-q root (), referring to the east, where the sun rises. The region includes the Arab-majority states of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the eastern part of Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, as well as Israel.

Geography

As the word ''Mashriq'' refers to Arab countries located between the Mediterranean Sea and Iran, it is the companion term to '' Maghreb'' ( ar, المغرب), the western half of the Arab world comprising Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and western Libya. Libya may be regarded as straddling the two regions. Cyrenaica in eastern Libya is considered part of the Mashriq, whereas

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

in western Libya is considered part of the Maghreb. Therefore Sirtica or the

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra ( ar, خليج السدرة, Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte ( ar, خليج سرت, Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or ...

is considered the dividing point between the Maghreb and Mashreq within the Arab world. These geographical terms date from the early Islamic expansion. The Mashriq corresponds to the

Bilad al-Sham Bilad al-Sham ( ar, بِلَاد الشَّام, Bilād al-Shām), often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid caliphates. It roughly correspon ...

and Mesopotamian regions combined. , the Mashriq is home to 1.7% of the global population.

Cooperation

All of the countries located in the Arab Mashreq area are members of the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

, the

Greater Arab Free Trade Area The Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) (Arabic: ) was founded by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen on May 30, 1964, following an agreement in 1957 ...

, and the United Nations. The region cooperates in several projects including the

Arab Mashreq International Road Network The Arab Mashreq international Road Network is an international road network between the primarily Arab countries of the Mashriq (Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman and Yemen). In additi ...

and the

Arab Mashreq International Railway The Arab Mashreq International Railway is a proposed railway network in the Mashriq, which is located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa in the eastern part of the Arab world. The planned network has north–south and east–west axes, and 16 ...

. Several nations are also members of the GCC and others have tried to achieve political unity in the past, such as the United Arab Republic in the 1960s and 1970s, which originally included both Egypt and

References

{{Authority control Levant Regions of Asia Geography of the Middle East Geography of West Asia Geography of North Africa Historical regions

Geography

Cooperation

See also

References