Middle east

Pakistan

Capital: Islamabad. South Asian nation featuring the Indus River basin and K2, the world's second-highest peak.

Afghanistan

Capital: Kabul. Landlocked South and Central Asian nation dominated by the Hindu Kush mountain range.

Tajikistan

Capital: Dushanbe. Mountainous Central Asian country covered largely by the Pamir Mountains.

Kyrgyzstan

Capital: Bishkek. Central Asian nation known for the Tian Shan mountain range and alpine Lake Issyk-Kul.

Uzbekistan

Capital: Tashkent. Doubly landlocked Central Asian nation famous for historic Silk Road cities like Samarkand and Bukhara.

Turkmenistan

Capital: Ashgabat. Central Asian country mostly covered by the Karakum Desert, known for the Darvaza gas crater.

Iran

Capital: Tehran. Middle Eastern nation historically known as Persia, situated between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Kuwait

Capital: Kuwait City. Small, oil-rich nation located at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain

Capital: Manama. An island kingdom in the Persian Gulf connected to Saudi Arabia via the King Fahd Causeway.

Qatar

Capital: Doha. Peninsular Middle Eastern nation extending into the Persian Gulf, possessing vast reserves of natural gas.

U.A.E.

Capital: Abu Dhabi. Federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, including the global economic hub Dubai.

Oman

Capital: Muscat. Nation occupying the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula at the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

Yemen

Capital: Sana'a. Country located on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula along the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

Saudi Arabia

Capital: Riyadh. The largest nation on the Arabian Peninsula, housing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Iraq

Capital: Baghdad. Middle Eastern nation located in historic Mesopotamia along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Jordan

Capital: Amman. Levantine nation containing the ancient rock-cut city of Petra and coastline along the Dead Sea.

Israel

Capital: Jerusalem. Eastern Mediterranean nation serving as a major holy land for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Lebanon

Capital: Beirut. Eastern Mediterranean nation known for its cedar trees and historic Phoenician port cities.

Syria

Capital: Damascus. Levantine nation home to one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited capital cities.

Turkiye

Capital: Ankara. Transcontinental country spanning Southeastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the Bosporus Strait.