Levant Region

The Levant Region (Arabic: بلاد الشام bilād ash-shām; lit. "Land of the North") is one of the four informal regions of the Arab Union. Traditionally, it consists of four of the union's 20 republics, namely Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine; all four speak the Levantine Arabic dialects, which can vary quite a lot but are nevertheless distinct from other dialects of spoken Arabic, such as the Egyptian or Gulf dialects. The region's English-language namesake is a result of its location at the eastern part of the Arab world, where the sun rises (levant being French for "rising" or "risen"). Compare the Maghreb Region, the westernmost region, where the sun sets.

The Levant is considered to be the most fertile region of the Arab Union, as well as the mildest in terms of weather. It is the only region of the union which periodically experiences light snowfall during the winter months. Its landscape is also the most diverse, consisting of some sandy and scrub deserts, but also rolling hills, pastures, expanses of farmland, dense subtropical and temperate forests, snow-covered mountains with winter ski resorts, and some of the best beach resorts in the world. The region also has the highest standard of living in the Arab Union compared to the other three regions, as well as higher-than-average rates of post-secondary education and civil society engagement.