The Syrian Desert spans 500,000 km2 of the Middle East.
The Middle East (Arabic:  , ISO 233: ash-Sharq al-Awsat) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Ash-Shm and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen)
 To the south it borders and merges into the Arabian Desert

