Plates
This dessert often has a thick, paste-like texture and can be made with flour or sesame paste, often with pistachios.
Halva
The Anglo-Persian Petroleum Company, founded in 1909 to harvest oil from Iran, was later rebranded to this modern day company.
British Petroleum (BP)
This famous actress, having been in three of the highest grossing films of all time, has some Lebanese heritage.
Zoe Saldana
This city is the most populous city in the Middle East.
Cairo, Egypt
Despite its wide deserts, this country has imported sand and camels from Australia.
Saudi Arabia
This grilled carp dish is the national dish of Iraq.
Masgouf
This ancient language, spoken in what is now Iraq, developed the first written language in human history
Sumerian
This Egyptian-American woman is the host of a popular morning talk show.
Hoda Kotb (host of the Today show)
This body of water in the Middle East is the lowest land-based elevation on earth.
Dead Sea
This popular action-adventure video game based some of its characters off of real warriors in ancient Persia and Syria called the “hashishiyyin.”
Assassins’ Creed
This cow or sheep’s milk cheese is often rolled in a spice mix like za’atar and patted into a ball.
Shanklish
This ancient Semitic language spoken in the Middle East was the predecessor to Arabic.
Aramaic
Daughter of a Palestinian-Jordanian real estate mogul, this famous model claims some Arab heritage.
Gigi Hadid
One of the best preserved Roman temples in the world is located in this country.
Lebanon
Three men from this country tried to sue NASA for trespassing on Mars, claiming that they had inherited it from their ancestors.
Yemen
This dish often consists of chicken baked with onions, pine nuts, and a variety of herbs and spices.
Musakhan
After World War II, this Middle Eastern state was the first to gain independence from colonial rule
Lebanon
This famous singer, with hits such as “Grace Kelly,” has Lebanese heritage on his mother’s side.
Mika
The word “mocha” is derived from the name of a port city in this country.
Yemen
This country is home to one of the biggest solar power plants in the world.
Morocco
Pounded wheat, ground meat, and spices are mixed together and fried to make this dish.
Kibbeh
This Arab president became extremely popular following the Suez crisis and nationalization, and was an early supporter of pan-Arabism.
Gamal Abdel Nasser
This Lebanese actor has won three Emmys for his portrayal of a homicide detective with severe OCD.
Tony Shalhoub
This nation is so dry that it lacks any permanent riverbeds.
Saudi Arabia
This term refers to riverbeds that only hold water when rain occurs, and it translates to “valley” in Arabic.
Wadi