General trivia
This desert, the largest in the world, covers much of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Arabian Desert?
This Middle Eastern country is the only one in the world without a river.
Saudi Arabia
This Marvel superhero has a shield made of vibranium and is known as the “First Avenger.”
Captain America
In Arabic, the word "salaam" means this.
peace
This empire, centered in modern-day Turkey, lasted from the 13th century until the end of World War I.
The Ottoman Empire
This body of water separates Saudi Arabia from Africa.
The Red Sea.
This famous Middle Eastern spice blend, often sprinkled on bread with olive oil, is made of thyme, sesame seeds, and sumac.
za’atar
This Netflix series, set in the 1980s, features a group of kids fighting supernatural creatures in Hawkins, Indiana.
Stranger Things
In this writing system, used by Arabic and Hebrew, letters mostly represent consonants and vowels are often omitted.
An abjad
The ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians all lived in this historical region, often called the “cradle of civilization.”
Mesopotamia
This country is famous for cedar trees.
Lebanon.
This Jordanian site, carved into rose-red rock cliffs, is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Petra
In soccer, this player is awarded for being the best in the world by FIFA each year.
What is the Ballon d’Or?
Aramaic, once the lingua franca of the Near East, is still spoken by small communities today in parts of this country.
Syria or Iraq
The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement secretly divided the Ottoman Empire territories between these two European powers.
Britain and France
This Middle Eastern country straddles two continents, Asia and Europe.
Turkey.
The camel is nicknamed this because of its importance in desert travel.
the “ship of the desert”
This director is famous for Jurassic Park, E.T., and Jaws.
Steven Spielberg
Known as the “language of the Persians,” this language has influenced Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, and Arabic vocabulary.
Farsi.
What is the name of the leader of the opposition to the Shah? (Hint: he came to power after the Shah fled Iran)
Khomeini
This Middle Eastern city, one of the oldest continuously inhabited in the world, is nicknamed the “Pearl of the East.”
Damascus.
What is the only island country that is geographically in the Middle East?
Bahrain
This artist painted the famous 1931 artwork The Persistence of Memory, featuring melting clocks.
Salvador Dalí
This ancient language, used for official documents in the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, was written in wedge-shaped characters on clay tablets.
Akkadian
This ancient Mesopotamian city, capital of Assyria, housed a library containing tens of thousands of clay tablets, including royal archives and literary texts.
Nineveh