The Near East region of the Middle East meets Turkey and Iran in the north, the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, Iran in the east and has a coastline facing the Mediterranean Sea in the west. The land area measures 325,460 sq km. The countries that represent the Near East are Gaza, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and West Bank.

The terrain of the Near East is mostly low-lying and develops from being dry desert to more fertile plains further east. Natural features in the far west of the Near East include the Syrian Desert, Anti Lebanon range, the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. The major water features in the east are the Buhayrat ath Tharthar and Buhayrat lakes and the Jabal Makhul and Euphrates rivers. At the delta of the Euphrates River on the Iran border in the east there are a series of salt marshes. The Near East is home to some of the world's oldest civilizations and early Christian origins, especially Israel.

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