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Yemen: west Asia instead of middle east?

5 replies

Rollercoaster1920 · 23/01/2024 12:20

I was a bit surprised listening to BBC news this morning by Yemen being described as West Asia instead of the middle East. Is this now the correct way to describe Yemen? I've not heard west Asia as a geographical descriptor before but can see the logic in it.

What about other countries in that region? Is middle east an historic term now?

OP posts:
bilbodog · 23/01/2024 12:24

I havent heard this but i would always think it is middle east as its on the arabian peninsular along with oman, UAE, saudi etc. wierd!

bilbodog · 23/01/2024 12:27

Just found this on-line so looks like it can be called west asia - im sticking to middle east!

The southwestern part of Asia is called by many names: West Asia, Western Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East or Near East. The southwestern-most part of Asia is a region at the crossroads between Asia, Africa, and Europe. The terms have to some extent a similar notion as 'Middle East'.

Western Asia is bounded in the west by the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, in the north by the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and the Caspian Sea, on the east by the fringing mountains of Iran, and in the south by the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The various regions of Western Asia include Asia Minor, aka Anatolia (peninsula), the Caucasus region, the Eastern Mediterranean or Levant, the historical region of Mesopotamia, the Armenian Highlands, the historical region of Syria, the geographical and historical region of Palestine, the Sinai Peninsula, the Arabian Peninsula with the Arabian desert ecoregion, and the Iranian Highlands (see maps below).

wheresmymojo · 23/01/2024 12:31

I guess Western Asia removes the definition of a region based on where it is compared to Europe.

Middle East only makes sense if you're European (it's East of us, but not as far East as the Far East...).

Referring to Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Asia makes sense irrespective of your own location.

It's just removing something based on the old colonial view of the world (which I'm in favour of, words matter IMO).

Sauerkrautsandwich · 23/01/2024 12:32

I actually laughed with DH when we were chatting few weeks ago and I joked that he is basically West Asian (he is ME), or if you look at it from East he should be Middle West and kept referring to him as West Asian/Mid western for a day. It just didn't sound right🙈 but it's not wrong really... By his demand I am back to ME.

wheresmymojo · 23/01/2024 12:33

I think we've all got used to using terms like South-East Asia and I don't hear people saying the 'Far East' that often any more to describe China or Japan.

That means we'll get used to saying Western Asia too over time...language is always evolving.

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