What countries comprise the Middle East today?

Geographically the following countries are located in the
Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.  Egypt is also
considered part of the Middle East even though it actually is located in North Africa. 
There are other countries that are often considered part of the Middle East due to the
similarity in culture, ethnicity and religion but that are not located within the Middle
East such as Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Algeria which are North African
countries.  Afghanistan and Pakistan are in Central Asia and are often confused as being
in the Middle East because they are primarily Islamic countries.