Middle East Travel Guide

Emirates Holiday offering you idea about Middle East Travel Guides. The Middle East is a world region in south-western Asia that is skirted by South-Eastern Europe and North Africa.

As one of the wellsprings of human civilization in the ancient and medieval worlds, the birthplace of several world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahai) and an area of much modern economic and political importance, the Middle East remains a popular destination for travelers.

Arabic is the primary language of the region, and the main language in all Middle Eastern countries except Iran, Turkey (Turkish) and Israel (Hebrew). Even in those countries, Arabic is the first language for some people and fairly common as a second language.

Ethnically, the region is extremely mixed. Arabs, Persians and Turks are the largest groups, but there are several substantial minorities - Kurds, Armenians and others -with their own languages, customs and sometimes their own countries. Every invading army - from Alexander and the Romans through Genghis Khan to the 19th century colonial powers - has left descendants behind.

A great majority of people throughout the region are Muslim - with Iran mainly Shia, other areas mainly Sunni, and both with minorities of the other - and the legal systems in most of these countries are influenced by Islamic Law; a few are entirely based on it.