the middle east

A term which originated in the west to pack up a group of regions and nations which have different languages, history, and culture. People there do not think of themselves as "middle eastern". They think of themselves as either Arabs, Turks, Persians .... and I can keep naming ethnicities for a long time. Another misconception is that what is called the middle east is mainly a desert. Most countries in the so-called middle east have only a limited desert area and others do not have deserts at all. Most countries in the so-called middle east have a lot of problems because of past or present western colonialism occupation or intervention.