Synonyms for Near East (same or very similar meaning)
WordNet sense 1 (the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century):
Mideast, Middle EastFrom the ODE community, based on WordNetadd/edit