A few questions to help you understand the Middle East

The answers to these 20 questions on the Middle East which will help explain why this is such an important region of the world today. 1. What three continents border the Middle East?

2. Which product, found in more concentrated quantities here than anywhere else, makes this region so rich?

3. Arab countries have been at war four times with a country which was previously known as Palestine. What is the country?

4. Only one Arab country has since made peace with this country. What is the Arab country?

5. Who was the American President who helped bring the two countries together so they could sign a peace treaty?

6. The language most spoken in the Middle East is ---.

7. Name the three great world religions that were founded in the Middle East.

8. What do these three religions all have in common?

9. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya, Iraq, and Kuwait also have something in common: They are large oil producers. One of these five countries, however, is very different from all the others in one important respect. Do you know which one and why?

10. When Arabs - and all Muslims - pray, they kneel in the direction of Mecca. Where's Mecca?

11. The Knesset is (a) a desert wind; (b) a terrorist weapon; (c) a type of camel; (d) the name for the Israeli Parliament.

12. What is the name of the famous river that flows through Egypt?

13. The meeting place of two other famous rivers is regarded as the ''cradle of civilization.'' The name of one of the rivers is the Tigris. Can you identify the other?

14. The name for the ancient country which was called the cradle of civilization was Mesopotamia. What is that country called today?

15. Identify the modern country which used to be called Persia.

16. There are Seven Wonders of the World. Six of them have been destroyed. What is the sole surviving wonder and where can this wonder be found?

17. Can you connect the following leaders with a specific country or organization: Prime Minister Begin; Colonel Qaddafi; President Mubarak, Yasser Arafat.

18. There are two kings who still rule in the Middle East. Who are they?

19. One of the world's most important man-made waterways is in the Middle East. What is it?

20. The largest city in Turkey is Istanbul. In the past, Istanbul had two other names. What were they?

Answers:

1. Europe (at Turkey); Asia (at Iran and Turkey - Turkey is considered both Europe and Asia) and Africa (Egypt and Libya).

2. Oil.

3. Israel. It has been at war in 1948-49; 1956; 1967; and 1973.

4. Egypt.

5. President Carter. He brought the Israeli and Egyptian leaders together at Camp David, Maryland. Israel and Egypt signed the peace treaty on March 26, 1979 .

6. Arabic.

7. Christianity; Islam ( also known as the Muslim religion. The religion of most Arabs); and Judaism (the Jewish religion).

8. They all worship one god, unlike Hindus who have many deities. Religions that have only one god are called monotheistic.

9. Iran. It is not an Arab country.

10. Saudi Arabia. Mecca is the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad who founded the Muslim religion.

11. (d) The Israeli Parliament.

12. The Nile River. It is the longest river in the world (4,145 miles).

13. The Euphrates River.

14. Iraq.

15. Iran.

16. The Pyramids in Egypt.

17. Israel; Libya; Egypt; the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

18. King Hussein of Jordan and King Khalid of Saudi Arabia. Morocco also has a monarch - King Hassan II - but Morocco is regarded as a North African, not a Middle Eastern country.

19. Suez Canal. French engineers completed it in 1869.

20. Constantinople (from AD 330 until 1930 ); Byzantium (until AD 330).