Q 01/05

Which line of latitude crosses northern Oman, passing just south of the capital?

A) The Equator

B) The Tropic of Cancer

C) The Tropic of Capricorn

D) The Arctic Circle

Answer · why

B) The Tropic of Cancer

The Tropic of Cancer runs just south of Oman's capital, so around 21 June the midday sun stands almost directly overhead there.

Q 02/05

Oman shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and which other country?

A) Qatar

B) Yemen

C) Kuwait

D) Iraq

Answer · why

B) Yemen

Yemen meets Oman in the far southwest; during the Cold War, Marxist South Yemen backed a rebellion across that border in Oman's Dhofar province.

Q 03/05

Which Omani exclave sits on the Strait of Hormuz, cut off from the rest of the country by the UAE?

A) Madha

B) Al Batinah

C) Musandam

D) Masirah

Answer · why

C) Musandam

Musandam's deep, fjord-like inlets line the strait's southern shore, giving Oman a share of control over a channel that carried over 25 percent of the...

Q 04/05

Which young republic in the Americas signed a treaty with Oman's ruler in 1833?

A) Argentina

B) United States

C) Venezuela

D) Colombia

Answer · why

B) United States

The United States first opened relations with Oman through the 1833 treaty, struck when the sultanate was the most powerful state in Arabia.

Q 05/05

Which dynasty, founded in the 1740s, still rules Oman?

A) Al Saud

B) Al Bu Said

C) Al Nahyan

D) Al Khalifa

Answer · why

B) Al Bu Said

The Al Bu Said dynasty began with Ahmad bin Said, a governor of the port of Sohar who displaced the previous ruling house in the 1740s; his descendant...