The
Mashriq (, also
Mashreq,
Mashrek) is the region of
Arab countries to the east of
Egypt. This comprises the countries of
Lebanon,
Palestine,
Jordan,
Syria and
Iraq. Poetically the ‘place of sunrise’, the name is derived from the verb
sharaqa ( ‘to shine, illuminate, radiate’ and ‘to rise’), referring to the direction where the sun rises, namely, the east.