Geography Quiz 5 Answers

1. What is the Middle East in the middle of?
16th century, once referred to the Ottoman Empire.

2. Where is the Middle East today?
Egypt, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Iran.

3. Is the Middle East a desert?
No, just a small part has sand dunes and sand storms, but there are other temperate areas; very pleasant and moist Mediterranean climates.

4. What is the Fertile Crescent?
The land between the Persian Gulf and Israel. Along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Mesopotamian Empire.

5. Which religions began in the Middle East?
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Islam is the religion and a Muslim is a person who a follower of Islam).

6. How did Israel become a country?
After World War II, British reduce its number of colonies. Palestine was a controversial territory of the British so United Nations resolve the situation. In 1947, UN divide Palestine into two countries, Jewish and one Arab. Arabs did not agree and civil war erupted.

7. What is the Gaza Strip?
An area of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It is the border of Israel and Egypt. It was part of Egypt until captured by Israel in 1956 and 1967 war. Israel gave it to Palestinian self-rule in the strip in 1994.

8. How has the West Bank caused conflict?
Western bank of the Jordan River, was supposed to become part of an independent Palestine. Arab attacks led Israel to take over the West Bank in 1948. In 1950 Jordan occupied the West Bank, Israel retook it in 1967 in a war against Arabs. Peace talks in the late 1980s led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to agree limited Palestinian self- rule in the West Bank.

9. What was the Persian Gulf War?
Late 1990, Iraq attacked Kuwait, claiming it was long- lost 19th province. Land war lasted 100 hours (air war began January 17, 1991 and ended, on February 28). Most of Kuwait was destroyed.

10. Why is Cyprus divided?
Cyprus became independent from the United Kingdom in 1960. In 1974, a coup overthrew the President, and Turkey invaded it and took control of northern half.

11. What are the largest cities in the middle east?
Cairo in Egypt with 17 million people. Istanbul in Turkey with 10.3 million residents and Tehran in Iran with 14 million people.

12. Who lives in the City of the Dead?
On the outskirts of Cairo it is an old cementery with mausoleums, memorials, mosque – shaped tombs and shrines. Overcrowding in Cairo caused squatters living inside these memorials.

13. What does the suffix “stan” mean and how many countries end in this suffix?
Means nation or land. There are eight, Six former republics of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Turkestan, Turkmenistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the two others.

14. Where is Asia Minor?
Is the term used for the larger part of Turkey, east of the strait of Bosporus, Anatolia.

15. Who are the Kurds?
Middle Eastern people have no country, they live in southeastern Turkey, northern Iran, northern Iraq, persecuted by Iraq. United Nations established for them a security zone.

16. Which country is composed of Seven Sheikdoms?
United Arab Emirates

17. Which Middle Eastern country has the highest per capita GDP and GNP?
Oil-rich Kuwait leads the other countries of the Middle East with a per capita Gross Domestic Product of around $17,000, and Gross National Product of $23,000.

18. Which country has the most Azeri (people Azerbaijan)?
Iran with 15 million Azeri. In Azerbaijan live only six million Azeri .

19. Who are the Bedouin?
Nomadic tribes who graze their goat and camel herds, and travel wide distances and frequently cross international border. Countries are attempting to halt the crossings. If these countries are successful, Bedouin culture will be destroyed.

20. Where does the name Saudi Arabia come from?
Al-Saud family, who have been in control of the country since 1932.