Jordan (313)

Jordan covers approximately 89,000 km² in the Near East, with a population exceeding 11.5 million. The country holds seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Petra, a Nabataean city carved into rock and founded around the fourth century BCE, voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, as well as the baptismal site of Bethany Beyond the Jordan. Amman, the capital, concentrates most of the kingdom's political and economic life. A parliamentary monarchy led by King Abdullah II, Jordan is also home to the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, at 424 meters below sea level, and hosts a significant refugee population within the region. 

Lebanon (1077)

Lebanon covers approximately 10,450 km² on the eastern Mediterranean coast, with a population approaching 5.9 million. The country holds seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Baalbek, a complex of monumental Roman temples in the Bekaa Valley, and Byblos, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Beirut, the capital, is the country's main port and cultural center. A parliamentary republic built on a confessional balance among eighteen recognized communities, Lebanon has inherited from its Phoenician past and its role as a crossroads between East and West an exceptional gastronomic and architectural heritage, while hosting a significant refugee population within the region for decades. 

Palestinian refugees (358)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli conflict, registers approximately 5.9 million Palestinian refugees across the Near East. These populations, mostly descendants of people displaced during the events of 1948 and later 1967, live in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, spread between urban areas and 58 camps administered by UNRWA. Living conditions there are marked by high density, often limited infrastructure, and, depending on the country, unequal access to citizenship and public services. This long-standing displacement, among the oldest and largest recorded by the United Nations, has shaped Palestinian identity and collective memory for more than seven decades. 

Syria (8)

Syria covers approximately 185,000 km² in the Near East, with a population estimated at 26.5 million after a decade of civil war that severely affected the country between 2011 and the fall of the regime in December 2024. The country holds six UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Palmyra, an ancient caravan city listed as endangered during the conflict, and the old city of Damascus, one of the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in the world. Damascus, the capital, and Aleppo rank among the country's major historic centers. A crossroads of civilizations since antiquity — Aramaean, Roman, Byzantine and later Umayyad — Syria retains an archaeological heritage of exceptional density, now undergoing reconstruction. 

Turkey (31)

Turkey spans approximately 770,000 km² across Europe and Asia, with a population exceeding 87.9 million. The country holds 21 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the historic areas of Istanbul, former Constantinople and capital of three successive empires, and Göreme National Park with its sculpted rock formations in Cappadocia. Istanbul, the world's only metropolis built on two continents, concentrates the country's economic life, while Ankara serves as its political capital. Rich in Hittite, Greco-Roman, Byzantine and later Ottoman heritage, Turkey owes its singular position to this historic role as a crossroads between East and West, between the Aegean, Black and Mediterranean seas.