Talk:Middle East

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palestine[change source]

I don't think that Palestine should be listed under the list of countries, because it is not generally considered to be a country per se. Any suggestions on how best to incorporate this fact while not downplaying the controversy? Kansan (talk) 05:48, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Palestinian territories" or the official name "Palestinian Authority" might be acceptable and as close to neutral as one might be able to get in this area. Chefallen (talk) 20:37, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
eveything I said is correct I read it in a book

India on map[change source]

@GPinkerton: You made an image showing India as part of the middle east in the 19th and 20th centuries. Was it really considered part of the Middle East? Lights and freedom (talk) 07:18, 7 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Lights and freedom Yes, that's correct. Sources cited in the article mention things like "everything between the Tigris and Bangladesh". The OED quotes a Telegraph article from as late as the 1980s that fusses about the Middle East being the subcontinent. From the perspective of the seafaring imperial powers, the "Middle East" was that part of Asia approached from the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf/Red Sea, the "Far East" was the Pacific, and the "Near East" the Eastern Mediterranean/Black Sea. The Middle East has since shifted westwards enormously (to overlap with the Near East, or even include parts of Africa), contracted, and then erratically expanded in various directions according to need/audience/political persuasion/geographic competence. GPinkerton (talk) 17:06, 7 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]