A Near Eastern landscape stretching from the Anatolian highlands to the Persian Gulf between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (hence "Mesopotamia") with an area of around 350,000 km². Today, most of it belongs to Iraq, with smaller parts in the north and northwest belonging to Armenia, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. In the north lies Transcaucasia, which, together with Mesopotamia, is considered to be the possible origin of cultivated grapevines and wine culture. According to the latest research, however, the origin should be in the north bordering Turkish Southeast Anatolia (arrow). This is near Mount Ararat, where, according to the Bible, Noah landed and became the first wine grower. The first wine, however, was probably made from dates and mainly beer was drunk. Beer is probably the oldest alcoholic beverage produced by humans, even before wine. In the 1st millennium BC, wine was regularly drunk by the higher classes in this area, and one variety is referred to as the "king's drink". A found designation "wine of the mountains" indicates that wine probably originated mainly in the mountainous north (northern Iraq and northern Syria).
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