Middle East Geography Quiz
Deserts, straits, rivers and Gulf states: 15 questions on the geography of the Middle East.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are cities in which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
UAE
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai is its largest city. The UAE is a federation of seven emirates formed in 1971 when Britain withdrew from the Gulf.
The other five emirates are Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.
Which Turkish city is famous for standing on two continents, Europe and Asia?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Istanbul
Istanbul is split by the Bosporus strait, with its historic core and most of its population on the European side and large districts across the water in Asia. Ankara, the capital, lies entirely in Asia.
The city was Byzantium, then Constantinople, capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, before officially becoming Istanbul in 1930.
What is the capital of Saudi Arabia?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Riyadh
Riyadh in the central Najd region is the Saudi capital and largest city. It was the home base of the Al Saud family, who conquered and united the kingdom from there in the early twentieth century.
Mecca and Medina are Islam's two holiest cities, and non Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca.
Which river flows through the centre of Baghdad?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Tigris
Baghdad was founded on the banks of the Tigris in 762 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. The Euphrates runs roughly parallel to the west and the two rivers meet in southern Iraq.
The land between the Tigris and Euphrates was Mesopotamia, literally the land between the rivers, where writing and the first cities emerged.
Which peninsula, part of Egypt, lies between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and borders Israel?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sinai
The Sinai Peninsula is the land bridge between Africa and Asia, cut off from the rest of Egypt by the Suez Canal. Israel occupied it from 1967 until returning it under the 1979 peace treaty.
Mount Sinai, traditionally identified as the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments, stands in the peninsula's rugged south.
Beirut is the capital of which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lebanon
Beirut sits on a peninsula on Lebanon's Mediterranean coast and has been the country's capital since independence from France in 1943. Before the civil war of 1975 to 1990 it was nicknamed the Paris of the Middle East.
Beirut is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with settlement going back more than 5,000 years.
Which strait divides Istanbul and connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bosporus
The Bosporus is a narrow 31 kilometre (19 mile) channel that separates the European and Asian halves of Istanbul. Ships from the Black Sea pass through it, then the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles to reach the Aegean.
Three suspension bridges and two tunnels now cross the Bosporus, the first bridge having opened in 1973.
Which desert, known in English as the Empty Quarter, covers much of the southern Arabian Peninsula?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Rub' al Khali
The Rub' al Khali covers about 650,000 square km (250,000 square miles) across Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, with sand dunes that rise as high as 250 metres (820 feet).
The British explorer Wilfred Thesiger crossed the Empty Quarter twice with Bedouin companions in the late 1940s and described it in Arabian Sands.
Which country occupies a peninsula that juts north into the Persian Gulf and has Doha as its capital?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Qatar
Qatar is a thumb shaped peninsula about 160 km (100 miles) long attached to Saudi Arabia, its only land neighbour. Doha, on the east coast, hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar is one of the world's biggest exporters of liquefied natural gas, drawn from the offshore North Field it shares with Iran.
Which island nation is linked to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bahrain
The 25 km (15.5 mile) King Fahd Causeway opened in 1986 and connects Khobar in Saudi Arabia with Bahrain, an archipelago of more than 30 islands in the Persian Gulf.
Bahrain was the first Gulf state to strike oil, in 1932, and has hosted the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix since 2004.
Which river flows south from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Jordan
The Jordan River runs about 250 km (155 miles) from the slopes of Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, forming the border between Israel and the West Bank on one side and Jordan on the other.
So much water is now taken from the river for irrigation that the Dead Sea's level is falling by around a metre a year.
Which mountain range runs through western Iran, roughly parallel to the border with Iraq?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Zagros
The Zagros Mountains stretch about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) from northwestern Iran down to the Strait of Hormuz, separating the Mesopotamian plain from the Iranian plateau. Several peaks top 4,000 metres (13,000 feet).
The Zagros foothills are where some of the earliest farming villages in the world appeared around 10,000 years ago.
The Euphrates River rises in which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Turkey
The Euphrates begins in the highlands of eastern Turkey where the Karasu and Murat rivers meet, then flows through Syria and Iraq for about 2,800 km (1,740 miles) before joining the Tigris near Basra.
Turkey's Atatürk Dam on the Euphrates is one of the largest in the world and a long running source of tension with Syria and Iraq downstream.
Mount Damavand, a volcano about 5,610 metres (18,400 feet) high, is the highest peak in which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Iran
Damavand rises in the Alborz range northeast of Tehran and is the highest volcano in Asia as well as the highest peak in Iran and western Asia. On clear days it is visible from the capital.
Damavand plays a role in Persian mythology similar to Olympus in Greece and appears on Iran's 10,000 rial banknote.
The Musandam Peninsula, which juts into the Strait of Hormuz, is an exclave of which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Oman
Musandam belongs to Oman but is cut off from the rest of the country by the territory of the United Arab Emirates. Its position gives Oman shared control of the strait with Iran across the water.
The peninsula's drowned valleys have earned it the nickname the Norway of Arabia, and dhow cruises run through its fjord like inlets from Khasab.
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All Geography quizzes →About the Middle East Geography Quiz
The Middle East is where three continents meet. Istanbul sits on two of them, the Tigris and Euphrates watered the first cities in history, and the Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, fills the southern Arabian Peninsula with sand dunes the size of hills.
These 15 questions move from the easy wins, such as which country Dubai belongs to, through the region's rivers, deserts, mountain ranges and strategic straits, to a tricky finish on an Omani exclave that watches over the Strait of Hormuz. It suits students, travellers heading for the Gulf and news readers who want to put the places they hear about every day firmly on the map.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Hard. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
Which countries are counted as the Middle East?
Most definitions include Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, with Cyprus and Palestine often added.
What are the main rivers of the Middle East?
The Tigris and Euphrates, which both rise in Turkey and flow through Iraq, the Nile in Egypt and the Jordan, which flows from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea.
Does this quiz include the Dead Sea and the Strait of Hormuz?
Those are already covered in the Asia Geography and Oceans and Seas quizzes, so this round focuses on fresh questions about the rest of the region.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Dubai and Abu Dhabi are cities in which country?
UAE Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai is its largest city. The UAE is a federation of seven emirates formed in 1971 when Britain withdrew from the Gulf. The other five emirates are Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. - Which Turkish city is famous for standing on two continents, Europe and Asia?
Istanbul Istanbul is split by the Bosporus strait, with its historic core and most of its population on the European side and large districts across the water in Asia. Ankara, the capital, lies entirely in Asia. The city was Byzantium, then Constantinople, capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, before officially becoming Istanbul in 1930. - What is the capital of Saudi Arabia?
Riyadh Riyadh in the central Najd region is the Saudi capital and largest city. It was the home base of the Al Saud family, who conquered and united the kingdom from there in the early twentieth century. Mecca and Medina are Islam's two holiest cities, and non Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca. - Which river flows through the centre of Baghdad?
Tigris Baghdad was founded on the banks of the Tigris in 762 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur. The Euphrates runs roughly parallel to the west and the two rivers meet in southern Iraq. The land between the Tigris and Euphrates was Mesopotamia, literally the land between the rivers, where writing and the first cities emerged. - Which peninsula, part of Egypt, lies between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and borders Israel?
Sinai The Sinai Peninsula is the land bridge between Africa and Asia, cut off from the rest of Egypt by the Suez Canal. Israel occupied it from 1967 until returning it under the 1979 peace treaty. Mount Sinai, traditionally identified as the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments, stands in the peninsula's rugged south. - Beirut is the capital of which country?
Lebanon Beirut sits on a peninsula on Lebanon's Mediterranean coast and has been the country's capital since independence from France in 1943. Before the civil war of 1975 to 1990 it was nicknamed the Paris of the Middle East. Beirut is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with settlement going back more than 5,000 years. - Which strait divides Istanbul and connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara?
Bosporus The Bosporus is a narrow 31 kilometre (19 mile) channel that separates the European and Asian halves of Istanbul. Ships from the Black Sea pass through it, then the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles to reach the Aegean. Three suspension bridges and two tunnels now cross the Bosporus, the first bridge having opened in 1973. - Which desert, known in English as the Empty Quarter, covers much of the southern Arabian Peninsula?
Rub' al Khali The Rub' al Khali covers about 650,000 square km (250,000 square miles) across Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, with sand dunes that rise as high as 250 metres (820 feet). The British explorer Wilfred Thesiger crossed the Empty Quarter twice with Bedouin companions in the late 1940s and described it in Arabian Sands. - Which country occupies a peninsula that juts north into the Persian Gulf and has Doha as its capital?
Qatar Qatar is a thumb shaped peninsula about 160 km (100 miles) long attached to Saudi Arabia, its only land neighbour. Doha, on the east coast, hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar is one of the world's biggest exporters of liquefied natural gas, drawn from the offshore North Field it shares with Iran. - Which island nation is linked to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway?
Bahrain The 25 km (15.5 mile) King Fahd Causeway opened in 1986 and connects Khobar in Saudi Arabia with Bahrain, an archipelago of more than 30 islands in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain was the first Gulf state to strike oil, in 1932, and has hosted the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix since 2004. - Which river flows south from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea?
Jordan The Jordan River runs about 250 km (155 miles) from the slopes of Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, forming the border between Israel and the West Bank on one side and Jordan on the other. So much water is now taken from the river for irrigation that the Dead Sea's level is falling by around a metre a year. - Which mountain range runs through western Iran, roughly parallel to the border with Iraq?
Zagros The Zagros Mountains stretch about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) from northwestern Iran down to the Strait of Hormuz, separating the Mesopotamian plain from the Iranian plateau. Several peaks top 4,000 metres (13,000 feet). The Zagros foothills are where some of the earliest farming villages in the world appeared around 10,000 years ago. - The Euphrates River rises in which country?
Turkey The Euphrates begins in the highlands of eastern Turkey where the Karasu and Murat rivers meet, then flows through Syria and Iraq for about 2,800 km (1,740 miles) before joining the Tigris near Basra. Turkey's Atatürk Dam on the Euphrates is one of the largest in the world and a long running source of tension with Syria and Iraq downstream. - Mount Damavand, a volcano about 5,610 metres (18,400 feet) high, is the highest peak in which country?
Iran Damavand rises in the Alborz range northeast of Tehran and is the highest volcano in Asia as well as the highest peak in Iran and western Asia. On clear days it is visible from the capital. Damavand plays a role in Persian mythology similar to Olympus in Greece and appears on Iran's 10,000 rial banknote. - The Musandam Peninsula, which juts into the Strait of Hormuz, is an exclave of which country?
Oman Musandam belongs to Oman but is cut off from the rest of the country by the territory of the United Arab Emirates. Its position gives Oman shared control of the strait with Iran across the water. The peninsula's drowned valleys have earned it the nickname the Norway of Arabia, and dhow cruises run through its fjord like inlets from Khasab.
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