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How much do you know about the region of Middle East?
Test your knowledge with these tidbits from CultureGrams:
- What city, the capital of Syria, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited capitals in the world?
- What nation's government finances Al-Jazeera, a satellite television station popular throughout the Middle East?
- What branch of Islam has been Iran's state religion since the 1500s?
- In what nation do the Tigris and Euphrates rivers converge?
- Saudi Arabia has the world's largest supply of what natural resource?
- What country's national parliament has an equal number of seats reserved for Christians and Muslims?
- What two cities, both located in Saudi Arabia, are considered the most sacred in Islam?
- What country on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has no permanent lakes or rivers?
- What is Iran's official language?
- What nation is a loose federation of seven emirates?
Answers:
1) Damascus. 2) Qatar's. 3) Shi'i (Shi'ite) Islam. 4) Iraq. 5) Oil. 6) Lebanon's. 7) Makkah (Mecca) and Al Madinah (Medina). 8) Yemen. 9) Persian, or Farsi. 10) United Arab Emirates.
Did you know...
- When guests are invited to a Kuwaiti home, the male host takes his male visitors to the diwaniyah. This is a separate part of the house or a separate building in the family compound. There the men relax, converse, eat, and drink tea or coffee. Male teenagers and older children are allowed to sit quietly with their fathers and serve refreshments in the diwaniyah. Younger children remain with their mothers. On separate occasions, a man may hold informal gatherings with business associates in his diwaniyah. The term may also refer to a large gathering, held in a tent, at which a candidate for office outlines his political platform.
- In Iraq, breads such as khubz (flat bread) and samoon (an oval-shaped bread loaf) are staples at every meal. Breakfast typically includes tea and a light item such as cheese, eggs, or khubz soaked in soup. Lunch is a sizeable meal that consists of rice and a vegetable stew made of dried beans, eggplant, okra, zucchini, or green beans. Barbecued lamb, beef, kidney, heart, or liver are favorite dishes, but their expense is prohibitive for many Iraqis today. Side dishes may include salad, pickles, and liquid yogurt. Dinner is usually light and consists of rice and kibba (fried, cracked wheat dough stuffed with meat or vegetables). (Getting hungry? Try our CultureGrams Recipe Collection!)
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