Part of the Near East (4)
I believe the answer is:
area
'part' is the definition.
(area is a kind of part)
'of the near east' is the wordplay.
'of' indicates a hidden word.
'AREA' is hidden in the letters of 'near east'.
(Other definitions for area that I've seen before include "Region, space" , "Surface measurement" , "Extent of a 2-dimensional surface" , "Region; extent of a surface" , "Expanse of a surface" .)