The Orient is a term used in the past to refer to Near and Far Eastern countries by Westerners. The image conveyed was partly reality, and partly a fantasy consisting of an image of seductive women and dangerous men living in a static society with a glorious but long-gone past.
The area is not homogeneous, and the term now refers chiefly to orientalism, the collection of Westerners' fantasies about the Middle East, China, Japan, and India. For discussion of history or current events, more specific words such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, or individual country names should be preferred.
See Orientalism, Orient Express, Orient Watches, Occident (the opposite of Orient).