Can you find the Levant, Anatolia, or the Maghreb on a World Map? Maybe it's because they aren't usually marked, just mentioned...
My latest article talks about some of the regions of the Middle East that are used in history books and other discussions of the Middle East but don't usually show up on a map.
Middle Eastern Places You Aren't Likely to Find on a MapJulie
PS If nothing else, my article is worth reading to look at the great picture of Anatolia from space I got from NASA.