"And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness, the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us. But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief. "

Khalil Gibran (How I Became a Madman)

Lübnan Marunîleri / Yasin Atlıoğlu

NEWS AND ARTICLES / HABERLER VE MAKALELER

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Suriye Fransa İle Teması Kesti- VOA

My Favourite Movies

O Jerusalem (Trailer)

Movies /Filmler







Syria


Lebanon

Michel Suleiman







Iraq









Jalal Talabani


Nouri al-Maliki

Hoshyar Zebari

Saddam Hussein

Ibrahim al-Jaafari

Iyad Allawi

Ahmed Chalabi

Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim

Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim

Muqtada al-Sadr

Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr

Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sādiq as-Sadr

Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsin al-Tabataba'i al-Hakim

Massoud Barzani

Mustafa Barzani

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr

Abd al-Karim Qasim

Faisal II of Iraq

Ghazi ibn Faisal

Faisal I of Iraq

Israel

Shimon Peres

Ehud Olmert

Tzipi Livni

Amir Peretz

Ariel Sharon

Ehud Barak

Benjamin Netanyahu

Yitzhak Rabin

Yitzhak Shamir

Menachem Begin

Golda Meir

David Ben-Gurion

Palestine

Mahmoud Abbas

Ismail Haniyeh

Khaled Mashal

Marwan Barghouti













Yasser Arafat

George Habash

Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi













Ahmed Yassin

Ahmed Jibril

Abu Nidal

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Military (Links)

Global Security

MSI

Global Defense Information (GDI)

World Defense Review

Defense World

Space War

Lebanese Army

Egyptian Armed Forces

Jordanian Armed Forces

Israeli-Weapons.com

Israel Defence Force (IDF)

Israeli Air Force (IAF)

Israeli Special Forces

Iran Defence Forum

The United States Army

The United States Air Force (USAF)

The United States Navy

Bu dosya aydınlanırsa yer yerinden oynar! (İbrahim Karagül-Yeni Şafak)

Arabic Music

SINGERS

Um Kalthoum (Ümmü Gülsüm)-1 (Egpty)
Um Kalthoum (Ümmü Gülsüm)-2 (Egpty)

Abdel Halim Ismail Shabana (Egpty)

Asmahan (Syria)

Fairuz (Fairouz, Fayrouz, Feyrouz Feiruz) (Lebanon)

Elissar M. Khoury (Lebanon)

Nancy Ajram (Lebanon)

Haifa Wehbe (Lebanon)

Myriam Fares (Lebanon)

Nicole Saba (Lebanon)

Nawal Al Zoghbi (Lebanon)

George Wassouf (Syria)

Asalah Nasri ( Syria)

Noura Rahal (Syria)

Rachid Taha (Algeria)

SONGS

Um Kalthoum / Fatma
Um Kalthoum / Inta Omri
Um Kalthoum / Lessa Faker
Um Kalthoum / Taleal Bdre Aleyna
Fairuz / Tik Tik Ya Em Slaiman
Fairuz / Ya Hawa Beirut
Fairuz / Kan Ena Tahoun
Fairuz /Natarouna Ktir Ktir
Fairuz / Ya Mirssal Al Marassil
Fairuz / Nassam Alayna Al Hawa
Fairuz / Qadeesh Kan Fi Nas
Fairuz / Al Bosta
Fairuz / Bahibak Ya Libnan
Fairuz / Habaytak Bisayf
Asmahan
Laila Mourad / Ana Albi Dalili
Abdel Halim / Hobak Nar
Abdel Halim / Sawah
Abdel Halim / Ahwak
Elissa / Ayshalak
Elissa / Bastannak
Nancy Ajram / Ehsas Jdeed
Nancy Ajram / Lawn Eiounak
Nancy Ajram / Enta Eih
Nancy Ajram / Ana Yali Bahibak
Haifa Wehbe / Wa Wa
Haifa Webhe and Shaggy / Sexy Lady
Haifa Wehbe / Mesh Adra Astana
Noura Rahal / Ala Fekra
Mariam Fares / Rahtak
Mariam Fares / Ana Wel Syouk
Nawal Al Zoghbi / Aghla El Habayeb
Nawal Al Zoghbi / Albi Es'alo
George Wassouf / Salaf wdain
Nicole Saba / Ya Shagelni Beek
Nicole Saba / Bahebak Awy
Sherine / Mashribtish Min Nilha
Asalah Nasri / Alqbla Al Olaa
Rachid Taha / Ya Rayah..

Experts

Ammar Abdulhamid

Bassam Tibi

















Others

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran)

Manouchehr Mottaki (Iran)

Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hossayni Khamene’i (Iran)

Mohammad Khatami (Iran)

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (Iran)

Grand Ayatullah Sayid Ruhullah Musawi Khomeini (Iran)

Mohammed Hosni Mübarek (Egypt)

Gamal Mubarak (Egypt)

Ahmed Nazif (Egypt)

Anwar Al Sadat (Egypt)

Muhammad Naguib (Egypt)

Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt)

King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein (Jordan)

King Hussein I bin Talal (Jordan)

Sayyid Abdullah bin al-Husayn (Jordan)

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (Saudi Arabia)

Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (Bahrain)

Ali Abdullah Saleh (Yemen)

Qaboos bin Sa’id Al ‘Bu Sa’id (Oman)

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (Qatar)

Famous Arabs in History

Majida El Roumi (1956- )

Mohamed Mounir (1954- )

Amin Maalouf (1949- )

My Library

"You see, this is a library. We don't have cookies! We only have books. Just books, no cookies"






Book List / Kitap Listesi



A

A.J Racy- Arap Dünyasında Müzik

Abdülaziz Duri- The Historical Formation of the Arab Nation

Aptülahat Akşin- Atatürk’ün Dış Politika İlkeleri ve Diplomasisi

Adid Davişa- Arap Milliyetçiliği

Adonis- Arap Poetikası

Alan George- Syria: Neither Bread nor Freedom

Albert Hourani- History of Arab Peoples
Albert Hourani- Arap Halkları Tarihi
Albert Hourani- Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age (1798-1939)

Ali Fuad Erden- Birinci Dünya Harbi'nde Suriye Hatıraları

Ali Nar- Çağdaş Arap Hikayesinden Seçmeler


Alim Arlı- Oryantalizm-Oksidentalizm ve Şerif Mardin

Alişan Akpınar,Eugene L. Rogan- Aşiret Mektep Devlet

Ahmet Davutoğlu- Stratejik Derinlik

Andre Raymond - Osmanlı Döneminde Arap Kentleri

Amin Maalouf- Arapların Gözüyle Haçlı Seferleri
Amin Maalouf- Semerkant
Amin Maalouf- Doğunun Limanları
Amin Maalouf- Tanios Kayası
Amin Maalouf- Yüzüncü Ad

Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Raymond A.Hinnebusch- Syria and Iran: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System


Arthur Koestler- Onüçüncü Kabile (Hazar İmparatorluğu ve Mirası)

Asaf Hüseyin- Ortadoğu'da Devlet ve Terör

Augustus Richard Norton- Hezbollah: A Short History

B

B. J. Odeh- Lübnan'da İç Savaş

Barry Rubin- The Truth about Syria

Bernard Lewis- Arabs in History
Bernard Lewis- Tarihte Araplar
Bernard Lewis- Ortadoğu
Bernard Lewis- Ortadoğu'da Irk ve Kölelik
Bernard Lewis- İslam'ın Krizi

Bassam Tibi- Arap Mİlliyetçiliği

Beydeba- Kelile ve Dimne

Bilâl N. Şimşir- Türk - Irak İlişkilerinde Türkmenler
Bilâl N. Şimşir- Doğunun Kahramanı Atatürk
Bilâl N. Şimşir- Kürtçülük 1787 - 1923

Bilge Yavuz- Kurtuluş Savaşı Döneminde Türk-Fransız İlişkileri (Fransız Arşiv Belgeleri Açısından) 1919–1922

Bülent Aras- Turkey and the Greater Middle East

C

C. J. Edmonds- Kürtler, Türkler ve Araplar Kuzey-Doğu Irak'ta Siyaset, Seyahat ve İnceleme (1919-1925)

Carsten Wieland- Syria: Ballots or Bullets? : Democracy, Islamism, and Secularism in the Levant
Charles Lindholm- İslami Ortadoğu
Charles Lindholm- İslam Toplumlarında Gelenek Ve Değişim

Claude Levi- Strauss- Irk, Tarih ve Kültür

Cynthia Weber- International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction

D

Daniel Pipes- Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition
Daniel Pipes - The Long Shadow: Culture and Politics in the Middle East

David Dean Commins- Islamic Reform: Politics and Social Change in Late Ottoman Syria


David Fromkin- A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of ...

David W. Lesch- The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria

Davut Dursun- Ortadoğu Neresi


Dror Ze'evi- Kudüs

E

E. Albay Muzaffer- Birinci Dünya Savaşı'nda Mısır Seferi Çerçevesinde Birinci Kanal Akını

Eberhard Kienle (Editor)- Contemporary Syria: Liberalization Between Cold War and Peace

Edward W. Said- Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient

Elias Canetti- Kitle ve İktidar

Elisabeth Özdalga- Sivil Toplum, Demokrasi ve İslam Dünyası

Elie Kedourie- Arabic Political Memoirs and Other Studies

Eliezer Tabuber, The Arab Movements in World War I ve The Emergence of the Arab Movements

Emir Şekip Arslan- İttihatçı Bir Arap Aydınının Anıları Arapların Gözüyle Osmanlı

Eşref Kuşçubaşı- Hayber'de Türk Cengi

Eyal Zisser- Commanding Syria: Bashar Al-Asad and the First Years in Power
Eyal Zisser- Lebanon: The Challenge of Independence
Eyal Zisser and Paul Rivlin- Syria: Domestic Political Stress and Globalization
Eyal Zisser- Asad's Legacy: Syria in Transition


F

Faleh A. Cabar- Irak'ta Şii Hareketi ve Direniş

Fawaz Husen- Amidabad



Fehmi Şinnavi- Hilafet: Modern Arap Düşüncesinin Eleştirisi

Ferhad İbrahim- Ortadoğu'da Sivil Toplumun Sorunları


Feroz Ahmad- İttihat ve Terakki
Feroz Ahmad- Modern Türkiye´nin Oluşumu

Flynt Leverett- Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial by Fire

G

Ghassan Salame- Democracy Without Democrats?: The Renewal of Politics in the Muslim World

George Anntonious- The Arab Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement

H

Halil Cibran- Ermiş
Halil Cibran- Kum ve Köpük Avare/ Aforizmalar ve Meseller
Halil Cibran- Asi Ruhlar
Halil Cibran- Deli
Halil Cibran, Mihail Nuayme- Gözlerin Fısıltısı

Harriet Montgomery- Suriye Kürtleri

Hasan Kaya- Jön Türkler ve Araplar Osmanlıcılık, Erken Arap Milliyetçiliği ve İslamcılık (1908-1918)

Heba Dabbagh- Just Five Minutes Nine Years in The Prisons of Syria

I/İ

Itamar Rabinovich- Waging Peace: Israel and the Arabs, 1948-2003
Itamar Rabinovich- Syria Under the Ba'ath, 1963-66: The Army-Party Symbiosis

İbn Abdirabbih- Hükümdar ve Siyaset Kitabı

İbrahim M. Ebû-Rabi- Çağdaş Arap Düşüncesi -1967 Sonrası Arap Entelektüel Tarihi Araştırmaları

İlber Ortaylı, İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı

İhsan D. Dağı- Ortadoğu'da İslam ve Siyaset

J

Jacob M. Landau- The Arab Minority in Israel, 1967-1991: Political Aspects


Joseph V. Hammer- Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Tarihi


James Nicolson- The Hejaz Railway

Jubin Goodarzi- Syria and Iran: Diplomatic Alliance and Power Politics in the Middle East

K

Kadir Albayrak- Keldaniler ve Nasturiler

Kemal H. Karpat- Ortadoğu'da Osmanlı Mirası ve Ulusçuluk

Kemal H. Karpat- Osmanlı Modernleşmesi (Toplum, Kuramsal Değişim ve Nüfus)


Kemal Kirişçi/ Gareth M. Winrow- Kürt Sorunu (Kökeni ve Gelişimi)

Kenan Makiya- Kaya Bir Yedinci Yüzyıl Kudüs Hikayesi


Kınalızade Ali Çelebi - Ahlak- ı Alai

Kirsten E. Schulze, Martin Stokes- Ortadoğu'da Azınlıklar

M

Marius Deeb- Syria's Terrorist War on Lebanon and the Peace Process



Martin van Bruinessen- Ağa, Şeyh, Devlet
Martin van Bruinessen- Kürtlük, Türklük, Alevilik



Mary Wortley Montagu- Şark Mektupları

Maurice Harari- Government and the Politics of the Middle East

Mazlum Uyar- Şii Ulemanın Otoritesinin Temelleri

Mehmed Niyazi- Yemen! Ah! Yemen!


Mehmet Sait Çakar- Yezidilik (Tarih ve Metinler, Kürtçe ve Arapça Nüshalar)



Michel Foucault- Deliliğin Tarihi

Mohumed Zayani- El-Cezire Olayı 'Yeni Arap Medyası Üzerine Eleştirel Perspektifler




Montgomery Watt- İslami Hareketler ve Modernlik


Moshe Ma'oz- Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East
Moshe Ma'oz- Syria and Israel: From War to Peacemaking
Moshe Ma'oz, Avner Yaniv- Syria Under Assad
Moshe Ma'oz- Asad: The Sphinx of Damascus : a Political Biography

Muhammed Emîn Gâlip et-Tavîl- Arap Alevîlerinin Tarihi -Nusayrîler




Muhammed Kutub- Batıcı Söylemler ve İslam

Muhammed Kürd Ali- Bir Osmanlı-Arap Gazetecinin Anıları

Murat Özyüksel- Hicaz Demiryolu

Mustafa Lütfi Menfeluti- Acılar Kitabı

Mustafa Kılıçlı- Arap Edebiyatında Şuubiyye

N

Nadim Shehadi, Dana Haffar Mills- Lebanon: A History of Conflict and Consensus


Naem Qasam- Hizbullah


Narcisse Bouron- Druze History


Nissim Dana- The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status




Nazih Ayubi- Arap Dünyasında Din ve Siyaset

Neval El Saddavi- Kahire Saçlarımı Geri Ver

Nikolaos Van Dam- The Struggle for Power in Syria: Politics and Society Under Asad and the Ba'th Party
Nikolaos van Dam- Suriye'de İktidar Mücadelesi

Nora Bensahel- The Future Security Environment in the Middle East: Conflict, Stability, and Political Change

O/Ö

Orhan Koloğlu- Arap Kaymakam

Ömer Kürkçüoğlu- Osmanlı Devleti'ne Karşı Arap Bağımsızlık Hareketi (1908-1918)
Ömer Kürkçüoğlu- Türkiye’nin Arap Orta Doğusu’na Karşı Politikası (1945–1970)
Ömer Kürkçüoğlu- Mondros’tan Musul’a Türk-İngiliz İlişkileri

Ömer Uluçay- Tarihte Nusayrilik

P

Patrick Seale- Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East

Peter Mansfield- Osmanlı Sonrası Türkiye ve Arap Dünyası

Philip K. Hitti- Arap Tarihinin Mimarları
Philip K. Hitti- Origins of the Druze People and Religion

Philip S. Khoury- Syria and the French Mandate: Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920-45

R

Rana Kabbani- Europe's Myths of Orient


Raymond Aron- Sosyolojik Düşüncenin Evreleri

Raymond A. Hinnebusch- Syria (Contemporary Middle East)
Raymond A. Hinnebusch, Anoushiravan Ehteshami- The Foreign Policies of Middle East States
Raymond A. Hinnebusch- Syria Revolution from Above
Raymond A. Hinnebusch, Rick Fawn- The Iraq War: Causes And Consequences
Raymond A. Hinnebusch, Alasdair Drysdale- Syria and the Middle East Peace Process


Rene Guenon- Doğu Düşüncesi


Rifa'at Ali Abou-El-Hac- Modern Devletin Doğası

Riyad N. Er-Reyyis- Osmanlının Çöküş Döneminde Arap Casusları


Robert Fisk- Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War

Robert G. Rabil- Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East

Roger Lescot- Yezidiler Din Tarih ve Toplumsal Hayat Cebel Sincar ve Suriye Yezidileri

S/Ş

Sabahattin Şen- Ortadoğu'da İdeolojik Bunalım: Suriye Baas Partisi ve İdeolojisi

Sadi-i Şirazi- Gülistan

Sami M. Moubayed- Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship
Sami Moubayed- Steel & Silk: Men & Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000

Samuel Henry Hooke- Ortadoğu Mitolojisi

Selahattin Günay- Bizi Kimlere Bırakıp Gidiyorsun Türk? / Suriye ve Filistin Anıları

Selim Ali Selam- Beyrut Şehremininin Anıları (1908-1918) Arapların Gözüyle Osmanlı

Selim Deringil- The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire (1876–1909)
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Slavoj Zizek, İdeolojinin Yüce Nesnesi

Şerif Güralp- 1918 Yılında Türk Ordusunun Filistin ve Suriye'den Çekilişinde 3 ncü Süvari Tümeninin Harekatı

Şibli Numani- Anadolu - Suriye - Mısır Seyahatnamesi

T

T. E. Lawrence- The Diary Kept by T. E. Lawrence While Travelling in Arabia During 1911
T.E. Lawrence- Bilgeliğin Yedi Sütunu 1 / Çölde İsyan
T.E. Lawrence- Bilgeliğin Yedi Sütunu 2 / Akabe'ye Yolculuk
T.E. Lawrence- Bilgeliğin Yedi Sütunu 3 / Ve Zafer

Tarık Y. İsmail- Arap Dünyasında Komünist Hareket

Tevfik El Hakim- Asa İle Sohbetler

Timurçin Mert- Atatürk'ün Yanındaki Mehdi (Osmanlı Uluslarının KurtuluşMücadelesi)


Umut Özkırımlı- Milliyetçilik Kuramları (Eleştirel Bİr Bakış)

Ussama Samir Makdisi- The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon

V

Volker Perthes- The Political Economy of Syria Under Asad
Volker Perthes- Arab Elites: Negotiating the Politics of Change
Volker Perthes- Syria Under Bashar Al-Asad -- Modernisation and the Limits of Change

W

William Ewing- Arab and Druze at Home: A Record of Travel and Intercourse with the Peoples ...

Y

Yasin Atlıoğlu- Beşşar Esad Suriyesi'nde Reform

Yücal Bulut- Oryantalizmin Eleştirel Kısa Tarihi

Z

Zekeriya Kurşun- Yol Ayrımında Türk - Arap İlişkileri
Zekeriya Kurşun- Basra Körfezi'nde Osmanlı - İngiliz Çekişmesi: Katar'da Osmanlılar 1871-1916
Zekeriya Kurşun- Necid ve Ahsa'da Osmanlı Hâkimiyeti Vehhabî Hareketi ve Suud Devleti'nin Ortaya Çıkışı

Zeidan Atashi- Druze And Jews In Israel: A Shared Destiny?

Zeine N. Zeine- Türk-Arap İlişkileri ve Arap Milliyetçiliğinin Doğuşu

The Universities of The Middle East

Damascus University (Syria)

University of Aleppo (Syria)

Syrian Virtual University (Syria)

Wadi German Syrian University (Syria)

Private University of Science and Arts (Syria)

The University of Balamand (Syria- Lebanon)

Beirut Arab University (Lebanon)

Lebanese University (Lebanon)

Lebanese American University (Lebanon)

American University of Beirut (Lebanon)

Notre Dame University (Lebanon)

The Near East School of Theology (Lebanon)

Al-Quds University (Palestine)

An-Najah National University (Palestine)

Bethlehem University (Palestine)

Tel Aviv University (Israel)

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel)

Bar-Ilan University (Israel)

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel)

Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel)

University of Haifa (Israel)

Baghdad University (Iraq)

Salahaddin University (Iraq)

American University of Iraq (Iraq)

American University in Cairo (Egypt)

University of Jordan (Jordan)

The Middle East Studies Programs

The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (Tel Aviv University- Israel)

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (Harvard University- USA)

The Middle East Institute - SIPA (Columbia University- USA)

Department of Near Eastern Studies (Princeton University- USA)

Middle East Center (The University of Utah- USA)

Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization-NELC (University of Washington- USA)

The Middle East Center (University of Pennsylvania- USA)

Center for Near Eastern Studies (University of California- USA)

School of Oriental and African Studies- SOAS (University of London- UK)

The London School of Economics and Political Science- LSE ((University of London- UK)

The Faculty of Oriental Studies (University of Oxford- UK)

the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (University of Cambridge- UK)

Centre for Islamic Studies (University of Wales- UK Wales)

Centre for Syrian Studies-CSS (University of St. Andrews- UK Scotland)

The Institute for Languages and Cultures of the Middle East (Leiden University- Netherlands)

Research Centers





2) BİLGESAM

3) Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

4) Center for Strategic Studies Research& Documentation (CSSRD)

5) Chatham House

6) Council on Foreign Relations

7) German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)

8) International Assessment and Strategy Center (IASC)

9) İslami Araştırmalar Merkezi (İSAM)

10) Ortadoğu ve Balkan İncelemeleri Vakfı (OBİV)

11) Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA)

12) Saban Center for Middle East Policy

13) St Andrews Center for Syrian Studies

14) Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC)
15) The Ariel Center for Policy Research (ACPR)

16) The Begin-Sadat Center For Strategic Studies (BESA)

17) The Cato Institute

18) The Centre for Defence & International Security Studies (CDISS)

19) The Crisis States Research Centre (LSE- Universitiy of London)

20) The Heinrich Böll Foundation

21) The Heritage Foundation

22) The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

23) The Middle East Forum

24) The Nixon Center

25) Turkish Historical Society

26) Türk Asya Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi (TASAM)

27) Ulusal Güvenlik Stratejileri Araştırma Merkezi (TUSAM)

28) Uluslararası Stratejik Araştırmalar Kurumu (USAK)

Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs)

1) AFRICAN UNION (AU)

2) ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC)

3) ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)

4) COOPERATION COUNCIL FOR THE ARAB OF THE GULF

5) COUNCIL OF EUROPE (CE)

6) ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS)

7) EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

8) GROUP OF 77 (G-77)

9) INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)

10) LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES

11) NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)

12) ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)

13) ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE)

14) ORGANIZATION OF ARAB PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES (OAPEC)

15) ORGANISATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE (OIC)

16) ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTIRES (OPEC)

17) UNITED NATIONS (UN)

18) WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)

Maps





BBC Country Profiles

The Syrian Arab Republic

Once the centre of the Islamic Empire, Syria covers an area that has seen invasions and occupations over the ages, from Romans and Mongols to Crusaders and Turks.

The Republic of Lebanon

One of the most complex and divided countries in the region, Lebanon has been on the fringes, and at times at the heart, of the Middle East conflict surrounding the creation of Israel.

Israel and Palestinian Territories

The division of the former British mandate of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel in the years after the end of World War II have been at the heart of Middle Eastern conflicts for the past half century.

The Republic of Iraq

Iraq, in an area once home to some of the earliest civilisations, is now the battleground of several forces competing for control.

The deadly power struggle was triggered when foreign forces, led by the United States, invaded to topple the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a small country with few natural resources, but it has played a pivotal role in the struggle for power in the Middle East.

The Arab Republic of Egypt

While best known for its pyramids and ancient civilisations, Egypt has played a central role in Middle East politics in modern times.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

One of the most devout and insular countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has emerged from being an underdeveloped desert kingdom to become one of the wealthiest nations in the region thanks to vast oil resources.

The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states formed in 1971 by the then Trucial States after independence from Britain.

The Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain - whose name means "two seas" - was once viewed by the ancient Sumerians as an island paradise to which the wise and the brave were taken to enjoy eternal life.

The State of Qatar

Qatar, a former pearl-fishing centre and once one of the poorest Gulf states, is now one of the richest countries in the region, thanks to the exploitation of large oil and gas fields since the 1940s.

The State of Kuwait

Kuwait is a small, oil-rich country nestling at the top of the Gulf, flanked by large or powerful neighbours - Saudi Arabia to the south, Iraq to the north and Iran to the east.

The Sultanate of Oman

The oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman is one of the more traditional countries in the Gulf region and was, until the 1970s, one of the most isolated.

The Republic of Yemen

The reputed home of the Queen of Sheba, Yemen has been at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years thanks to its position on the ancient spice routes.