There has been a lot in the news lately about the Middle East. But what about our directional references that really don't make sense? If we start from Europe, which is the West, and travel eastward the term "Near East" isn't used much anymore. When we get to Israel and Syria we are already in the "Middle East". But then it is a very long way to the "Far East", which is East Asia.
Does this really make sense? And why are there two Easts, the Middle East and the Far East, but only one West?
It seems to me that this reference system is based not on geography but on the difficulty and time involved in transportation. It is from the days before the Suez Canal and air travel. Cultural geography is also part of it, with the West being the domain of Christianity, the Middle East of Islam, and the Far East of Buddhism and Hinduism. There is a geopolitics element also, with Japan and Australia often being included in"The West".
The present directional references favor land transportation, with the vast Pacific Ocean being the starting and ending point so that North America is the West while Japan is the Far East. Since the earth rotates around the north and south poles, north and south is fixed but east and west is a matter of perspective. Since nowadays it is no more difficult to travel or transport goods over water than over land, North America could just as easily be the Far East and the present Middle East could be the West.
Considering that it might be better to keep the momentum of the present system, which seems to be influenced by the Prime Meridian and International Date Line, east and west could each be divided into Near, Middle and, Far. The present Middle East would become the Near East. The Indian Subcontinent would become the Middle East. East Asia would remain the Far East.
Eastern Europe would be the Near West. Western Europe would be the Middle West, and North America would be the Far West. Most of the world's population lives in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, South America would be the Far Southwest, west Africa would be the Middle Southwest, middle Africa would be the Near Southwest, east Africa would be the Near Southeast and, Australia would be the Far Southeast.
Wouldn't this make more sense than the present arrangement?
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