a rigid circular band of metal or wood or other material used for holding or fastening or hanging or pulling; "there was still a rusty iron hoop for tying a horse"
the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century; "the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization"