Q 01/05

Which country is the largest in the Middle East by area?

A) Saudi Arabia

B) Egypt

C) Iran

D) Turkey

Answer · why

A) Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia covers about 2.15 million square kilometres, well ahead of Iran (1.65 million) and Egypt (1.0 million), making it the largest country in ...

Q 02/05

Which three countries are the most populous in the Middle East?

A) Egypt, Iraq and Yemen

B) Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia

C) Turkey, Israel and Jordan

D) Egypt, Iran and Turkey

Answer · why

D) Egypt, Iran and Turkey

Egypt, Iran and Turkey each have well over 80 million people, Egypt topping 105 million; the next most populous, Iraq, has about 45 million.

Q 03/05

Which American naval strategist popularised the term 'Middle East' in 1902?

A) Theodore Roosevelt

B) George Kennan

C) Halford Mackinder

D) Alfred Thayer Mahan

Answer · why

D) Alfred Thayer Mahan

Alfred Thayer Mahan used 'Middle East' in a September 1902 National Review article on the Persian Gulf, for the area between Arabia and India; the Bri...

Q 04/05

Mount Damavand, the highest peak in the Middle East, stands in which country?

A) Turkey

B) Iran

C) Iraq

D) Saudi Arabia

Answer · why

B) Iran

Mount Damavand is a 5,610-metre dormant volcano in Iran's Alborz range north-east of Tehran, the highest peak in the Middle East, above Turkey's Mount...

Q 05/05

Which three religions all originated in the Middle East and have their holiest sites there?

A) Christianity, Islam and Buddhism

B) Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism

C) Judaism, Christianity and Islam

D) Judaism, Islam and Sikhism

Answer · why

C) Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Judaism, Christianity and Islam all arose in the Middle East; Jerusalem is sacred to all three, and its Old City has been a World Heritage Site since ...