Middle East Geography

The Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen) is dominated by vast desert, including the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter), one of the largest continuous sand deserts on Earth, ringed by a long Gulf and Red Sea coastline and, in Oman specifically, dramatic mountains and fjord-like coastal inlets.

The Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel) is geographically compact but varied — Lebanon's own mountains rise directly from the Mediterranean coast, Jordan's desert holds Petra's rock-cut city and the otherworldly landscape of Wadi Rum, and the Dead Sea (bordering Jordan and Israel) is the lowest point on Earth's land surface.

Iran is a large, geographically diverse country spanning the Zagros and Alborz mountain ranges, the Caspian Sea coast, and a substantial arid central plateau. Iraq is defined by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the fertile plain between them. Turkey spans both European and Asian territory across the Bosphorus, ranging from Istanbul's straits to Anatolia's central plateau and Cappadocia's distinctive volcanic rock formations.