(n) the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century, Syn. Near East, Mideast, Example:the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization
[坎儿井 / 坎兒井, kǎn ér jǐngㄎㄢˇ ㄦˊ ㄐㄧㄥˇ] karez, qanat or "horizontal well" (irrigation and water management system used in Xinjiang, Central Asia and Middle East)#80775