1. Most of North Africa/Southwest Asia lies in which climate region:
A. A *B. B C. C
D. D E. H
2. Which of the following languages is not spoken in North Africa/Southwest Asia?
A. Hebrew B. Berber *C. Fulani
D. Farsi E. C and D
3. Which of the following countries would least likely be characterized as Islamic?
A. Pakistan B. Indonesia *C. Ethiopia
D. Iran E. Saudi Arabia
4. The religion most closely associated with Southwest Asia is:
*A. Islam B. Roman Catholicism C. Fellaheen
D. Shiism E. Coptic Christianity
5. Which of the following associations is incorrect?
A. Egypt-Coptic Christian B. Israel-Jewish C. Iran-Shiite Muslim
*D. Lebanon-Hindu E. All of the above are correct
Defining the Realm
6. Which of the following is not included in North Africa/Southwest Asia?
*A. Pakistan B. Iran C. Iraq
D. Israel E. Turkey
7. The three largest countries in population size in North Africa/Southwest Asia are:
A. Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon B. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran
C. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen
D. Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan *E. Egypt, Iran, and Turkey
8. Which of the following areas was never conquered by Islam?
*A. Ukraine B. Bosnia C. Spain
D. Sudan E. A and B above
9. Turkestan includes all of the following, except:
A. Kazakhstan *B. Azerbaijan C. Uzbekistan
D. Turkmenistan E. Tajikistan
Hearths of Culture
10. _____ is the land between the rivers.
A. Levant *B. Mesopotamia C. Cataracts
D. Indus E. The Nile delta
11. Which of the following does not lie in the Fertile Crescent?
A. Syria *B. Oman C. Iraq
D. Lebanon E. Ancient Babylon
12. Hydraulic civilization theory holds that:
A. water is the key to survival in the desert
*B. cities able to control irrigated farming over large hinterlands hold power over other cities C. irrigation is the key to the advancement of agriculture
D. cities on islands will always dominate those on the nearby mainland
E. none of the above
13. Rapids on the Nile River are known as:
*A. cataracts B. rapidismos C. fellahin
D. indus E. deltas
14. Which of the following is false?
*A. There was no interaction between the hearth in Mesopotamia and the Indus River Valley.
B. The hydraulic civilization theory holds that cities able to control irrigated farming over large
hinterlands held power over others and thrived as they expanded their spheres of influence.
C. The Nile Valley and the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys were important cultural hearths.
D. The focus of the civilization in the Nile was between the first cataract and the Nile Delta.
E. All of the above are true.
15. Which of the following is not an Old World culture hearth?
A. the Indus Valley B. the Ganges Delta C. Mesopotamia
*D. the Mecca area of the Arabian Peninsula E. the lower Nile Valley
Stage For Islam
16. Which of the following dates occurred during the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad?
A. 250 B.C. B. 1 A.D. *C. 600 A.D.
D. 1250 A.D. E. 1875 A.D.
17. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A. The precepts of Islam, in many ways, constitute a revision and embellishment of Judaic and
Christian beliefs and traditions.
B. Muslims believe that there is only one God.
*C. The Islamic faith holds that Jesus was a “false” prophet.
D. The primary prophet in Islam is Muhammad.
E. Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
18. Which of the following did not pre-date Islam?
A. Judaism B. Christianity *C. The Ottoman Empire
D. Zoroastrianism E. All of the above developed prior to Islam
19. The month of daytime fasting in Islam is called:
A. Fellahin B. Alms *C. Ramadan
D. Mosques E. Pillars
20. Which area was least influenced by the spread of Islam?
A. Yemen B. Bosnia *C. Northern Italy
D. Bulgaria E. Turkestan
21. Which of the following is not one of the “five pillars of Islam?”
*A. the sanctity of polygamy B. almsgiving
C. at least one pilgrimage to Mecca D. daily prayer
E. a month of daytime fasting
22. What is the difference between expansion diffusion and relocation diffusion?
*A. In the case of expansion diffusion, a phenomenon originates in an area, remains strong there, and spreads outward; in relocation diffusion, the phenomenon is carried to a distant location and diffuses from there.
B. In the case of relocation diffusion, a phenomenon originates in an area, remains strong there, and spreads outward; in expansion diffusion, the phenomenon is carried to a distant location and diffuses from there.
C. Expansion diffusion involves direct contact; relocation diffusion requires a mobile host that transmits the diffused items at different locales.
D. Expansion diffusion continues endlessly; relocation diffusion is a staged process affecting an even larger area in periodic waves.
E. Relocation diffusion requires an agent such as radio or television; expansion diffusion takes place by direct contact.
Islam Divided
23. A successor is known as a:
A. Sharia B. Sunni C. Ramadan
D. Imam *E. Caliph
24. One who leads the prayer service at a mosque is a(n):
A. Sharia *B. Imam C. Ramadan
D. Sunni E. Caliph
25. Shiite Muslims constitute the great majority of the population of:
A. Egypt B. Israel C. Saudi Arabia
D. Turkey *E. Iran
26. Shiite Muslims were followers of:
A. Sunni B. The shah C. Mullah
D. Abdul *E. Ali
27. 85 percent of Muslims are:
A. Imams B. Shiite C. Mullah
D. Sharia *E. Sunni
28. The split between the Shiites and the Sunnis developed over:
*A. who should succeed Muhammad
B. differences in religious practice
C. differing moral interpretations of some of the hadiths, or saying of Muhammad
D. the sanctity of polygamy
E. the proper status of the shah
29. Which of the following are currently officially Islamic republics?
A. Sudan B. Pakistan C. Iran
D. A and C above *E. All of the above
30. Islamic law is known as the:
A. imam B. ayatollah C. mullah
D. hadith *E. sharia
31. Islamic fundamentalism is strongest in:
A. Egypt B. Jordan C. Lebanon
D. Israel *E. Iran
32. A country that recently almost developed into an Islamic state under the Islamic Salvation Front is:
A. Egypt B. Jordan C. Sudan
D. Iraq *E. Algeria
33. The area from eastern Greece to Egypt is known as the:
A. Palestine *B. Levant C. Maghreb
D. Turkestan E. none of the above
The Power and Peril of Oil
34. The Empire that ruled over much of Southwest Asia prior to World War I was:
*A. Ottoman B. Persian C. Byzantine
D. Crusader Kingdom E. Maghreb Empire
35. Which of the following areas has few, if any, oil reserves?
A. Kuwait B. Azerbaijan C. Iraq
D. Iran *E. Turkey
36. In terms of oil production, the world’s leaders are:
*A. The United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia
B. Iran and Iraq C. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia D. United Arab Emirates and Qatar E. Mexico and the North Sea
37. The North Africa/Southwest Asia realm contains about __________ percent of the world’s oil reserves.
A. 10 B. 90 *C. 65
D. 30 E. 3
38. OPEC is a(n):
*A. oil cartel
B. Organization of Public Economics
C. common market of Andean nations
D. insurgent state in Peru
E. Islamic fundamentalist group
39. All of the following are impacts of the oil industry except:
*A. migration of Arabs to Europe B. increasing incomes
C. modernization D. intraregional migration
E. increases in regional disparities
Egypt and the Lower Nile Basin
40. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A. The overwhelming majority of Egypt’s people live within a dozen miles of the Nile.
B. The Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia.
C. The largest of all Nile River control projects is the Aswan High Dam.
*D. Egypt’s largest city, Cairo, is located on the shores of Lake Nasser in Upper Egypt.
E. The White Nile originates in East Africa.
41. The city of __________ is located at the confluence of the White and Blue Nile and serves as the capital of __________ .
*A. Khartoum/Sudan B. Addis Ababa/Ethiopia C. Cairo/Egypt
D. Kabul/Afghanistan E. Baghdad/Iraq
42. The Aswan High Dam is located on the:
A. Shatt-al-Arab *B. Nile River C. Persian Gulf
D. Suez Canal E. The Tigris River
43. The type of irrigation used in ancient Egypt was known as:
*A. basin B. fertigation C. qanat
D. sharia E. Aswan
44. Egypt’s peasant farmers are known as:
A. Shatt-al-Arabs *B. fellaheen C. Shiites
D. mestizos E. bedouins
45. The country most often viewed as the leader of the Arab world is:
A. Iraq *B. Egypt C. Turkey
D. Libya E. none of the above
46. Which of the following statements about Cairo is false?
A. It is the primate city in Egypt.
B. It is at the base of a delta.
C. People live in a sprawling cemetery known as the City of the Dead.
D. The population is about 10 million.
*E. All of the above are true.
47. Two new major water project in Egypt are:
A. Suez and Sinai dams
*B. Al-Salam canal to Sinai and a canal to the western desert
C. The Qattara Depression lake and the Aswan Dam
D. the canal to Libya and the joint project with Israel to provide electricity to the SudanE. none of the above
48. The country that could control the flow of the Nile River into Egypt is:
A. Iraq *B. Sudan C. Libya
D. Turkey E. none of the above
49. The country with a long standing civil war between an Arab, Muslim north and a black, African south is:
A. Egypt *B. Sudan C. Libya
D. Turkey E. none of the above
The Maghreb and Libya
50. Which of the following is not located within the Maghreb region?
A. the Atlas Mountains B. Casablanca C. the countries that were once called the Barbary states
*D. the Mecca area of the Arabian Peninsula E. the city of Tunis
51. The western North African countries of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco are called:
*A. the Maghreb B. African Transition Zone C. the Middle East
D. the Sahel E. the Levant
52. The countries of the Maghreb:
A. are collectively referred to as the Barbary states
B. are Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia
C. derive their sustenance from the slopes and life-giving rains drawn from the Atlas Mountains
D. were all drawn into the French colonial sphere
*E. all of the above
53. Which of the following oil producers does not border the Persian Gulf?
*A. Libya B. Kuwait C. Iran
D. Saudi Arabia E. Oman
54. The major mountain range in North Africa is the:
A. Hejaz Highlands *B. Atlas Mountains C. Alps
D. Algerian E. Zagros
55. The Mediterranean coast of Africa is known as a:
*A. tell B. qanat C. fertigation
D. avia E. none of the above
56. Which of the following never influenced North Africa?
A. Phoenicians B. Romans C. Arabs
*D. Persians E. French
57. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Morocco became embroiled in a territorial dispute when it annexed Western Sahara.
*B. Algeria has been a nation into which many peoples have been migrating in the past 10 years.
C. In Algeria, oil revenues have replaced farm produce as the major export.
D. Phosphates are found in all three Maghreb states.
E. All of the above are true.
58. Libya's longtime ruler is named:
A. Mubarak *B. Gadhafi C. Peres
D. Sadat E. Chad
59. The Gulf of Sidra is associated with which country?
A. Egypt B. Tunisia C. Persia
*D. Libya E. Israel
The African Transition Zone
60. Which of the following is located in the African Transition Zone?
A. Mesopotamia B. Maghreb *C. The Sahel
D. Israel E. Anatolian Plateau
61. Which of the following countries is not in The African Transition Zone?
A. Mauritania B. Mali C. Niger
D. Nigeria *E. Egypt
62. The newest independent country in northern Africa is:
A. Ethiopia B. Somalia *C. Eritrea
D. Addis Ababa E. Chad
63. Most countries in the African Transition Zone have a ____ population in the north and a _____ population in the south.
A. Muslim/Jewish B. Muslim/Christian *C. Muslim/non-Muslim
D. African/non-African E. Semitic/Berber
64. The African Transition Zone is sometimes called the:
A. Islamic Diffusion area B. Ethiopian playground C. Eritrean Transition Zone
D. Djibouti Region *E. Muslim Front
The Middle East
65. Which of the following flows through Iraq?
*A. Euphrates B. Jordan C. Nile
D. Indus E. Bosporus
66. In Iraq, the Shiite population is concentrated in:
A. the north B. the capital C. the border area near Jordan
*D. the south E. the Kurdish area
67. In 1990, Iraq invaded which of its neighbors?
A. Jordan *B. Kuwait C. Iran
D. Saudi Arabia E. Turkey
68. A minority group in Northern Iraq that has expressed its desire for an independent state is:
*A. Kurds B. Iranians C. Shiites
D. Armenians E. Azeris
69. The Syrians have lost which piece of territory to the Israelis?
A. Lebanon B. Bratislava C. Palestine
*D. Golan E. Kurdistan
70. Which of the following does not lie in Syria?
A. Damascus *B. Iskenderun C. Aleppo
D. Orontes River E. Euphrates River
71. The most important Syrian export is:
A. golans B. cedar C. grapes
*D. cotton E. wheat
72. Jordan has absorbed large numbers of:
A. Lebanese B. Iraqis C. Kurds
D. South Syrians *E. Palestinians
73. Jordan:
*A. lost the use of the port at Haifa after the creation of Israel
B. is a potentially rich country
C. gained its full independence in 1922
D. fought a war against Israel in 1973
E. all of the above are false
74. Which of the following statements about Lebanon is false?
*A. All the various religious denominations have come to an accommodation that has provided
peace in the country for the past five decades.
B. The population is about 25 percent Christian.
C. The country fell apart in 1975 when a civil war broke out.
D. By the end of the 1980s, only 150,000 persons remained in Beirut.
E. A and B are false.
75. Which of the following groups has played no role in the Lebanese civil war?
A. Israelis *B. Kurds C. Syrians
D. Palestinians E. Druze
76. The modern state of Israel was created in:
A. 1923 B. 1937 *C. 1948
D. 1959 E. 1967
77. The country that controlled the West Bank of the Jordan River between 1948 and 1967 is:
A. Israel *B. Jordan C. the PLO
D. Lebanon E. Syria
78. The country that controlled the West Bank of the Jordan River at the beginning of the 1990s is:
*A. Israel B. Jordan C. the PLO
D. Lebanon E. Iraq
79. Jews comprise about ____ percent of the population of the West Bank.
*A. 10 B. 50 C. 90
D. 5 E. 0
80. Israel regards which city as its capital?
A. Tel Aviv B. Haifa C. Beirut
*D. Jerusalem E. Acre
81. About ____ percent of Israel’s population lives in cities.
A. 10 B. 40 C. 50
*D. 90 E. 100
82. The State of Israel:
A. was settled by people fleeing the Zionist policies of Nazi Germany
*B. was created from territory that was formerly administered by the British
C. was part of the Ottoman Empire and ceded to the Israelis in 1923
D. was created out of the country of Palestine that previously had no Jewish population
E. was founded after World War I
83. Which of the following countries does not share a common border with Israel?
*A. Iran B. Egypt C. Jordan
D. Lebanon E. Syria
A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century
84. Which of the following statements is false?
A. The first Temple of the Jews was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.
B. The second Temple of the Jews was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.
C. Christianity began as a messianic religion under the Romans
*D. The United Nations gave Jerusalem to the Israelis under the 1947 partition resolution
E. The Palestinians and the Israelis both desire Jerusalem as their capital.
85. Israel regards which city as its capital?
A. Tel Aviv B. Haifa C. Beirut
*D. Jerusalem E. Acre
86. From about 1948 until 1967, West Jerusalem was controlled by
A. Jordan B. Palestine C. Lebanon
*D. Israel E. the United Nations
87. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Over 30 percent of Israel’s water supply comes from aquifers under the West Bank.
B. Israel’s standard of living is 20 times that of Egypt.
C. Israeli settlements in eastern Jerusalem have complicated the peace process
*D. Israel agreed, as part of the 1993 Oslo accords, to make Tel Aviv its capital
E. Israel has received massive U.S. foreign aid.
The Arabian Peninsula
88. The largest oil reserves in the Middle East are in:
A. Israel B. Libya C. Kuwait
*D. Saudi Arabia E. Yemen
89. In Saudi Arabia:
A. petroleum reserves are concentrated in the west
*B. annual rainfall is almost everywhere under 10 inches
C. non-fuel mineral deposits are unknown
D. a wide belt across the “waist”of the peninsula is devoid of human activity
E. Shiites outnumber Sunni Muslims
90. Saudi Arabia was established in:
A. 1650 *B. the 1920s C. 1948
D. 1900 E. 1850
91. Which of the following countries is not on the Arabian Peninsula?
*A. Libya B. Kuwait C. Oman
D. Qatar E. Bahrain
92. Nomadism is:
A. an aimless wandering by people and their livestock across plains and political boundaries
*B. a cyclic or seasonal movement of people and livestock along routes travel led repeatedly
C. a migratory process from dry to moist zones, where they set up permanent settlements
D. a continuous movement by groups of people and their livestock
E. a form of relocation diffusion in dry areas, in which camels play a crucial role
93. Which association is incorrect?
A. Oman and Strait of Hormuz *B. Qatar and Bab el Mandeb
C. Yemen and Shiite D. Saudi Arabia and Jubail E. Saudi Arabia and Mecca
94. Two countries that recently united to form one are:
A. Oman and Muscat B. North and South Arabia *C. North and South Yemen
D. Lebanon and Syria E. Israel and Palestine
95. Between Yemen and Djibouti is the choke point known as:
A. Hormuz B. Tiran *C. Bab el Mandeb
D. Suez E. Gibraltar
The Empire States
96. The Ottoman Empire was headquartered in the city of :
*A. Constantinople B. Mecca C. Jerusalem
D. Berlin E. Alexandria
97. Turks originally derive from:
A. Turkey *B. Turkestan C. southern Europe
D. north Africa E. the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia
98. Which of the following is not a Turkish minority group?
A. Kurds B. Alevis C. Armenians
*D. Coptics E. All of the above are large groups in Turkey
99. Kemal Atatürk is most closely identified with the city of:
A. Cairo B. Mecca C. Tehran
*D. Ankara E. Baghdad
100. Which of the following was not a reason why the capital of Turkey was moved to Ankara?
A. The site would remind the Turks that they were Anatolians.
*B. The site of the city is on the beautiful south shore of the Black Sea.
C. It is near the center of the country.
D. Istanbul is too near the Bosporus and thus lies open to attack.
E. Ankara is not the capital.
101. Which two minority groups have complaints about their treatment by the Turks?
A. Kurds and Azeris B. Jews and Arabs C. Assyrians and Georgians
*D. Armenians and Kurds E. Iranians and Syrians
102. Which of the following does not represent a problem in Turkey?
*A. The almost total absence of raw materials B. Kurds
C. Cyprus D. Islamic fundamentalism E. Relations with Iraq and Syria
103. Iran fought a major war during the 1980s with:
*A. Iraq B. Israel C. Kuwait
D. Turkey E. Azerbaijan
104. For Iran, border conflicts or potential border conflicts have taken place with all of the following except:
A. Iraq *B. Israel C. Kuwait
D. Border conflicts have occurred with all of the above
E. Border conflicts are not an issue with any of the above
105. Iran differs from most of the North African/Southwest Asian realm in that:
A. it is non-Islamic B. its population is nearly 100 percent Arabic
*C. it is dominantly Shiite D. it is ruled by a monarchy E. as a nation it is very young
106. Which of the following are not located in Iran?
A. Elburz Mountains *B. Kirkuk C. Zagros Mountains
D. Baluchistan E. an Azeri province
107. The capital of Iran, at the foothills of the Elburz Mountains is:
A. Khomeini City *B. Tehran C. Kabul
D. Persepolis E. Baghdad
108. An irrigation system used to bring water from the Elburz mountains to Tehran is:
A. Fertigation *B. Qanats C. Basin irrigation
D. Mullahs E. Caspian tunnels
109. The country in which an ayatollah took over from a shah in 1979 is:
A. Iraq *B. Iran C. Syria
D. Kuwait E. Turkey
110. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Egypt was suspended from the Arab League (1979-1990) for making peace with Israel.
B. In the 1970s the Syrians entered Lebanon in an effort to end its civil war.
*C. Iran is a member of the Arab League.
D. Egypt lost the entire Sinai territory to Israel in the 1967, Six-Day War.
E. Now the Arab League headquarters is once again located in Cairo.
Turkestan
111. Which of the following is not one of the republics of Turkestan?
A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan C. Turkmenistan
*D. Azerbaijan E. Kirghizstan
112. The largest of the republics of Turkestan (in area) is:
A. Uzbekistan *B. Kazakhstan C. Turkmenistan
D. Azerbaijan E. Iran
113. The majority population in the north of Kazakhstan is:
A. Kazakhstan *B. Russian C. Uzbek
D. Armenian E. Ukrainian
114. The Kazakh people are united by:
A. common descent *B. Turkic language C. Sunni Islam
D. being in a country that is almost all Kazakh peoples E. all but D above
115. The capital of Kazakhstan was recently moved to:
A. Almaty *B. Alma Ata C. Kazakh City
D. Astana E. Toshkent
116. The economic future of Kazakhstan lies in the ______ supplies found near the _________
A. fish, Black Sea B. mineral salt, Aral Sea *C. oil, Caspian Sea
D. silver, Lake Balkhash E. natural gas, Sea of Azov
117. The body of water destroyed by Soviet irrigation schemes is the:
A. Black Sea *B. Aral Sea C. Caspian Sea
D. Lake Balkhash E. Sea of Azov
118. Which of the following republics is the site of the Garagum (Kara Kum) Canal?
A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan *C. Turkmenistan
D. Azerbaijan E. Kyrgyzstan
119. Which of the following republics of Turkestan is a desert republic with a population of less than 5 million, and significant new oil supplies that will need extensive pipelines to bring the oil to market?
A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan *C. Turkmenistan
D. Azerbaijan E. Kyrgyzstan
120. Although a great environmental price has been paid, this republic in Turkestan is the world’s third largest cotton producer.
A. Kazakhstan *B. Uzbekistan C. Turkmenistan
D. Azerbaijan E. Kirghizia
121. The Qoraqal-Poghiston (Karakalpak) area is located in:
A. Kazakhstan B. Russian *C. Uzbekistan D. Armenian E. Ukrainian
122. The ______ form about 75 percent of the population in their own republic as well as significant minorities in surrounding republics, with irredentist movements.
A. Kazakhs *B. Uzbeks C. Turkmen
D. Azeris E. Georgians
123. A form of Saudi fundamentalism that has taken hold in a number of Turkestan republics is: A. Wahhabism *B. Sunni C. Shiite
D. Twelvers E. Ali followers
124. The republic in the Tian Shan Mountains which has many members of their ethnic group in neighboring Afghanistan is:
A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan C. Turkmenistan
D. Azerbaijan *E. Kyrgyzstan
125. Which of the following republics of Turkestan has a people of Persian origin?
A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan C. Turkmenistan
*D. Tajikistan E. Kyrgyzstan
126. The republic which fought a civil war to avoid an Islamic fundamentalist government is:
A. Kazakhstan B. Uzbekistan C. Turkmenistan
*D. Tajikistan E. Kyrgyzstan
127. The republics of Turkestan declared their independence around:
A. 1996 B. 1897 *C. 1991
D. 1950 E. 1960
128. Contesting for influence in Turkestan are all but which of the following?
A. Turkey B. Iran C. India
D. Russia *E. All of the above
129. The country that is identified as a buffer state is:
A. Iran B. Iraq C. Lebanon
*D. Afghanistan E. Azerbaijan
130. The most important ethnic group in Afghanistan is the:
*A. Pathans B. Turkmen C. Azeris
D. Kurds E. Baluchis
131. The former Soviet Union invaded which of the following countries in 1979?
A. Iran *B. Afghanistan C. Uzbekistan
D. Pakistan E. B and D above
132. The Wakhan Corridor is found within the country of:
A. Sudan B. Saudi Arabia *C. Afghanistan
D. Somalia E. Pakistan
133. The country in which the Taliban now rule with a very strict interpretation of Islamic law and severe restrictions on women is:
A. Sudan B. Saudi Arabia *C. Afghanistan
D. Somalia E. Pakistan
Chapter 6
North Africa/Southwest Asia
True-False
Introduction
1. Berber is a language spoken in North Africa. (T)
2. Hebrew and Arabic come from the same roots. (T)
3. Arabic is spoken by the peoples of all the countries of the North African/Southwest Asian realm. (F)
4. Qanats are tunnels dug into water-bearing rock strata for irrigation purposes. (T)
5. Turkey is the largest country in the Arab World. (F)
6. The Islamic faith has more than 1 billion followers worldwide. (T)
7. “Muslim” and “Islamic” are identical in meaning. (T)
Defining the Realm
8. Cultural revival is the regeneration of a long-dormant culture through internal renewal and external infusion. (T)
9. At one time, the Ottoman Empire controlled large parts of Eastern Europe. (T)
Hearths of Culture
10. Mesopotamia, that ancient culture hearth and crossroads, was the “land between the rivers,” between the Nile and the Euphrates. (F)
11. The hydraulic civilization theory holds that cities that control the water upstream can maintain control over downstream cities. (F)
12. The Fertile Crescent was one of the world source areas of agricultural techniques. (T)
13. The Nile Valley was an integral part of the Fertile Crescent, anchoring its eastern end. (F)
14. Rapids on the Nile River are called cataracts. (T)
15. First the Persians, then the Greeks, and later the Romans established empires in the Middle East. (T)
16. At one time, Babylon was the largest city in the world. (T)
17. An alternative to hydraulic civilization theory is that of climate change. (T)
18. Egypt’s ancient culture hearth lay above the delta and below the Nile’s first cataract. (T)
Stage for Islam
19. Muhammad was born in Medina. (F)
20. Islam spread into central Asia, but had disappeared in the region by the 1800s. (F)
21. Islam spread throughout Eastern Europe in the fifth century. (F)
22. The month of daytime fasting in Islam is called Ramadan. (T)
23. In Islam, both Moses and Jesus are considered prophets. (T)
24. Islam was founded before Judaism and Christianity. (F)
25. Muhammad lived in what is now Iran in the sixth century B.C. (F)
26. In Islam, the term “Allah” refers to the “messenger of God.” (F)
27. One of the “five pillars of Islam” is at least one pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (F)
28. Through the teachings of Muhammad, the Arab world was mobilized into an extensive empire whose strength lay in Islam. (T)
29. The spread of Islam provides an example of expansion diffusion. (T)
30. Contagious diffusion is strongly associated with local distance effects, whereas hierarchical diffusion often involves the leapfrogging of innovations among widely separated places. (T)
31. In the process of relocation diffusion, whatever is being diffused enters an area when adopting individuals move and carry innovations with them. (T)
Islam Divided
32. The major division in Islam is between Shiites and Sunnis. (T)
33. The Sunnis supported Ali as the successor to Muhammad. (F)
34. Today, about 85 percent of all Muslims are Sunnis. (T)
35. Iran is today the most important Shiite state. (T)
36. The Arab-Berber alliance became known as the Moors. (T)
37. Islamic fundamentalism has been welcomed by most Arab states because of its dedication to an ethical way of life. (F)
38. Sudan is an Islamic fundamentalist state. (T)
39. Islamic law is known as the sharia. (T)
40. In addition to Islam, Judaism and Christianity are two important Middle Eastern religions. (T)
41. The Ottoman Empire cast its shadow over Venice and Vienna. (T)
42. In all the countries of North Africa/Southwest Asia, 90 percent or more of the people adhere to Islam. (F)
43. The Ottoman Empire met its demise at the conclusion of World War I. (T)
The Power and Peril of Oil
44. Oil is found in North Africa, around the Persian Gulf, and in Turkestan. (T)
45. Egypt’s small oil supplies are found in the Sinai Peninsula. (T)
46. Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world. (T)
47. The Persian Gulf area contains a large percentage of the world’s oil reserves. (T)
48. OPEC is an example of supranationalism in the Middle East. (T)
49. Libya is an oil-poor country. (F)
50. To preserve their Islamic character, Middle Eastern countries do not allow guest workers to enter from non-Islamic countries. (F)
51. While Middle Eastern countries have earned much income from oil, they have invested it only in developing domestic infrastructure, rather than in foreign countries. (F)
52. The wealth from oil income has been distributed evenly among different regions of Saudi Arabia. (F)
Egypt and the Lower Nile Basin
53. The Blue Nile and the White Nile converge at Cairo. (F)
54. About 50% of Egypt’s population lives in the Nile River Valley. (F)
55. Basin irrigation was practiced in the lower Nile River Valley for centuries before the appearance of perennial irrigation. (T)
56. Egypt is considered to be the leader of the Arab World. (T)
57. Flood irrigation is correctly referred to as perennial irrigation. (F)
58. The Aswan High Dam supplies Egypt with about 40 percent of its energy requirements. (T)
59. Egypt’s Aswan High Dam was built to hold back the waters of the Nile Delta. (F)
60. The fellaheen are Egypt’s peasant farmers. (T)
61. Cotton, oil, and tourism are all important sectors of the Egyptian economy. (T)
62. Cairo is one of the twenty largest urban centers in the world. (T)
The Maghreb and Libya
63. The Maghreb is the western part of the North African/Southwest Asian realm. (T)
64. Libya is one of the five countries that constitutes the Maghreb region. (F)
65. Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. (T)
66. The tell is the slopes of the Atlas Mountains and the narrow coastal plain. (T)
67. Casablanca, Algiers, and Tunis all grew because of an influx of Europeans. (T)
68. In colonial times, a large European settler population was located in the Maghreb. (T)
69. The Atlas Mountains are structurally an extension of the European Alpine system which includes Switzerland's Alps and Italy’s Apennines. (T)
70. Many persons from the Maghreb have moved to West Africa because of population pressure created by a lack of agricultural lands. (F)
71. The Gulf of Sidra is claimed by Libya as territorial waters. (T)
72. Libya claims part of the country of Chad. (T)
The African Transition Zone
73. The region known as the Sahel is most correctly located in the African Transition Zone. (T)
74. The Sahel is a semiarid transition zone located imme¬diately south of the Sahara Desert. (T)
75. Senegal is a country in the Horn of Africa. (F)
76. Sudan and Chad both have an Arab, Muslim north and a non-Muslim, black south. (T)
77. Eritrea is a region located in Sudan that has been fighting a war of independence since 1956. (F)
The Middle East
78. Iraq fought against Iran in the 1980s and Kuwait in the 1990s. (T)
79. The Iran-Iraq war began in 1982 and concluded with Iran’s victory in 1985. (F)
80. Much of the population of southern Iraq is Shiite. (T)
81. About 10 of the 23 million Iraqis are Shiites (T)
82. The Iran-Iraq war closed the Iranian port of Basra. (F)
83. The Tigris and Euphrates join to form the Shatt al Arab River, which is a disputed boundary between Iran and Iraq. (T)
84. The peoples of northern Iraq are Kurdish. (T)
85. The Golan Heights, Baghdad, and the upper Euphrates Valley are all located in Syria. (F)
86. The European colonial power involved in Lebanon was France. (T)
87. Indirectly, Israel was the product of the collapse of the Maghreb Empire. (F)
88. Zionism is associated with the migration of Jews to Israel. (T)
89. Syria has a Mediterranean coastline where unirrigated agriculture is possible. (T)
90. While 75% of the Syrian population is Sunni Muslim, the leaders are Alawites. (T)
91. Eastern Syria is helped by the Euphrates River, while western Syria is helped by the Orontes. (T)
92. Jordan has survived with aid from the U.S. and Britain. (T)
93. Palestinians are not the majority of the population in any state. (F)
94. Jordan lost its West Bank in the 1967 war with Israel. (T)
95. Jordan has little oil, little farmland, and is overwhelmed with refugees. (T)
96. Lebanon has undergone a major civil war since 1975. (T)
97. Syria has taken no role in the problems of Lebanon. (F)
98. About 25% of the population of Lebanon is Christian. (T)
99. Britain was the Mandatory Power that took control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. (T)
100. Israel was established in 1948 as a result of a UN partition of the western part of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. (T)
101. Israel took the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt in the 1967 war. (T)
102. Despite massive aid from the U.S. and from Jews in other countries, Israel remains a low-income society. (F)
103. Only 50% of Israelis live in urban areas. (F)
104. Israel controls the Golan Heights, West Bank, and Tel Aviv. (T)
105. The Ogaden region was hotly contested by Israel and Syria in the early 1990s. (F)
106. Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel within weeks of its defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. (F)
107. Israel has a small steel plant built for strategic purposes. (T)
The Arabian Peninsula
108. Saudi Arabia, largest country on the Arabian Peninsula, is home to perhaps 20 million people. (T)
109. Saudi Arabia was put together by King Hussein in the 1940s. (F)
110. Yanbu is on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia and is the terminus of an oil pipeline. (T)
111. Saudi Arabia will soon attain self-sufficiency in food production. (F)
112. Qatar is an oil rich island state in the Red Sea. (F)
113. Saudi Arabia and Yemen may have a border conflict because oil has been found near the border. (T)
114. Yemen was formed by the merger of North Yemen and Oman. (F)
115. The Bab el Mandeb Strait is a choke point on the periphery of the Arabian Peninsula. (T)
116. Of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have most of the oil reserves. (T)
The Empire States
117. Greece and Turkey have a dispute over the island of Cyprus. (T)
118. The Turks are an Arabic people whose origins lie in the Syria-Egypt border area. (F)
119. Large numbers of Kurds were uprooted and brutally forced out of Turkey and as many as 600,000 were killed during World War I. (F)
120. The Kurdish minority in eastern Turkey has often suffered discrimination at the hands of the Turkish government. (F)
121. Kemal Atatürk was chiefly responsible for moving Turkey’s capital from the interior Anatolian Plateau to the southern Mediterranean coast. (F)
122. Atatürk, in post-Ottoman times, sought to Westernize the Turkish state. (T)
123. Much of Turkey is mountainous. (T)
124. Islamic fundamentalists in Turkey have recruited many Kurds into their ranks. (T)
125. Greece and human rights issues may keep Turkey from being admitted to the European Union. (T)
126. The ancient name of Iran was Persia, whose pre-1979 monarchy was more than 2,500 years old. (T)
127. The ancient capital of Turkey was Ankara. (F)
128. The “problem of Cyprus” began as a result of the migration of Greeks to southern Turkey (F)
129. Both the Zagros and the Elburz Mountains surround the Iranian Plateau. (T)
130. Across the border from Iran, in Pakistan, is the state of Azerbaijan. (F)
131. Qanats are underground tunnels that provide irrigation in Iran. (T)
132. The regime of the Shah was corrupt and much waste of oil revenues occurred. (T)
133. The wealth generated by petroleum has never really transformed the lives of the vast majority
of Iranians. (T)
134. Nomads are generally aimless wanderers, particularly in Iran. (F)
135. Only about 50% of Iran’s income comes from oil (F)
136. Iran has the most modern westernized government in the whole region. (F)
Turkestan
137. In Kazakstan, the north is Russian and the South is Kazak. (T)
138. The Kazakhs are a Russian Slavic people who have resisted invasions by ethnic Uzbeks. (F)
139. The Aral Sea is the largest water body east of the Caspian Sea in Turkestan. (T)
140. The Aral Sea is a good example of environmental preservation. (F)
141. Uzbekistan is at the center of Turkestan. (T)
142. The Qoraqal-Poghiston (Karakalpak) area is in Azerbaijan. (F)
143. The (Garagum) Kara Kum Canal project is irrigating large parts of Turkmenistan. (T)
144. Tajiks, like most other Muslims of Turkestan, are Sunnis. (T)
145. The people of Tajikistan are of Persian origin. (T)
146. Kyrgyzstan has a mostly pastoral economy. (T)
147. The Turks and the Indians are both vying for influence in Turkestan. (T)
148. The Wakhan Corridor has the effect of making China one of Afghanistan’s neighbors. (T)
149. The largest minority in Afghanistan is the Pathans (Pushtuns). (T)
150. Urbanization approaches 90 percent in Afghanistan. (F)
151. Afghanistan was created in the 19th century as a buffer zone between Russian and British spheres of influence. (T)
Matching
152. A semiarid zone across most of Africa between the arid Sahara and a moister zone (A)
153. Underground tunnels leading from the mountains which supply water for many Iranians (E)
154. Islamic law (C)
155. The English translation of “Rub al Khali,” an area in Saudi Arabia (B)
156. Rapids on the Nile (D)
A. Sahel
B. Empty Quarter
C. sharia
D. Cataracts
E. Qanats
157. The lower slopes and narrow coastal plains along the Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa where the majority of the Maghreb’s population is clustered (D)
158. The Arab term meaning “western isle” (A)
159. An Egyptian farmer (B)
160. The largest of the United Arab Emirates (E)
161. A sect of Islam (C)
A. Maghreb
B. Fellaheen
C. Shiites
D. Tell
E. Abu Dhabi
162. Home of the fellaheen (D)
163. Maghreb (C)
164. North Africa's most radical state (B)
165. Headquarters of Ottoman Empire (E)
166. White and Blue Nile convergence (A)
A. Khartoum
B. Libya
C. Morocco
D. Egypt
E. Constantinople
167. Christian-Muslim turmoil (B)
168. Horn of Africa (E)
169. North African Country (A)
170. Oil exports (C)
171. Stronghold of Kurds (D)
A. Tunisia
B. Lebanon
C. Saudi Arabia
D. Iraq
E. Somalia
172. Zionist movement (E)
173. Tell Atlas (B)
174. Former Russian-British buffer (C)
175. Lost West Bank to Israel (D)
176. Lost Golan Heights to Israel (A)
A. Syria
B. Algeria
C. Afghanistan
D. Jordan
E. Israel
Fill Ins
177. The land between the lower Tigris and Euphrates Rivers comprises the world culture hearth known as __________. (Mesopotamia)
178. Islam’s holiest city, to which a Muslim must make at least one pilgrimage, is ______ . (Mecca)
179. The OPEC cartel is concerned with the setting of policies and prices for the sale of _______ . (oil)
180. __________ irrigation is the name given to the Nile valley’s water-control system of the past century, wherein flood waters are trapped behind dams for distribution during drier periods. (Basin)
181. The western North African countries of Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco constitute a region known as __________. (Maghreb)
182. The __________ region is the semiarid transition zone located just south of the Sahara Desert. (Sahel)
183. The Tigris-Euphrates plain, once the source of great civilizations, is located within the modern-day country of __________ . (Iraq)
184. The country located to the north of Israel, which in recent years has experienced catastrophic civil war and the near-total destruction of its historic capital of Beirut, is __________ . (Lebanon)
185. The Muslim sect that dominates life in Iran today is the __________. (Shiite)
186. The religion that is most widely observed in the Southwest Asia/North Africa realm is ______. (Islam, Muslim)
187. The dominant religion of the largest country in the realm called South Asia is _____. (Hinduism)
188. Turkey and Greece bitterly contest the control of the large eastern Mediterranean island of __________ which was granted independence by the British in 1960. (Cyprus)