The traditional definition of the Middle East extends from Egypt to Iran, stretching north to Turkey and south to Yemen. More casual uses throw in North Africa as far west as Morocco and (more rarely) even Afghanistan and Pakistan. Some defintions dont include Iraq in Middle East and some doesnt include Turkey. Also known as Near East, mainly in texts originating in Europe (both English and foreign texts) and Middle East is then area around Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and all those other -stans. And Iraq. This can cause translators mess aswell. So better always make sure what is the authors definition of the term and preferably attach your own definition if writing about it yourself.