Mashriq
The Mashriq (), sometimes spelled Mashreq or Mashrek, is a term used by Arabs to refer to the eastern part of the Arab world, located in Western Asia and eastern North Africa. This includes the Arab states of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, but excludes the non-Arab states of Somalia, Djibouti and the Comoros, which are also members of the Arab League. According to sources such as the Encyclopædia Britannica and the Oxford's Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names, Israel is included in definition , although, it is neither an Arab State nor part of the Arab League. Poetically the "Place of Sunrise", the name is derived from the verb "sharaqa" ( "to shine, illuminate, radiate" and "to rise"), from sh-r-q root (ش-ر-ق), referring to the east, where the sun rises. Geography. As the word "Mashriq" refers to Arab countries located between the Mediterranean Sea and Iran, it is the companion term to "Maghreb" (), the western part of North Africa. Libya may be regarded as straddling the two regions, receiving influences from both the Maghreb and the Mashriq, with its eastern part  (Cyrenaica) being linked more to Egypt and the Mashriq. These geographical terms date from the early Islamic expansion. The Mashriq corresponds to the Bilad al-Sham and Mesopotamian regions combined. , the Mashriq is home to 1.7% of the global population. Cooperation. All of the countries located in the Arab Mashreq area are members of the Arab League (although Syria's membership is currently suspended), the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, and the United Nations. The region cooperates in several projects including the Arab Mashreq International Road Network and the Arab Mashreq International Railway. Several nations are also members of the  GCC and others have tried to achieve political unity in the past, such as the United Arab Republic in the 1960s and 1970s, which originally included both Egypt and Syria.