Iraq (Arabic: العراق Kurdish: کۆماری عێراق ) is a country in the West of Asia. It lies at the north end of the Persian Gulf and has a small (58km) coastline in the southeast of the country. It is surrounded by Iran to the east, Kuwait to the south, Saudi Arabia to the southwest, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, and Turkey to the north. Iraq was the center of Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. The Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala are located in Iraq.