ErebusFact library / Countries
15 countries in Middle East, each with a picture to fix its place, shape or name in your memory.
Turkey straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus, and its capital is Ankara, not Istanbul.
Picture it
A giant TURKEY stands with one foot in Europe and one in Asia, the Bosphorus flowing between its toes. Everyone assumes it nests in Istanbul, but it actually lives inland, in ANKARA, where it's dropped ANCHOR.
Memory hooks
Jordan, home to the ancient city of Petra, has its capital at Amman and only a short coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba.
Picture it
A man named JORDAN carves a rose-red city, Petra, into a cliff. He calls out to his friend, "A MAN!" (AMMAN), and points to his tiny sliver of beach on the Gulf of Aqaba.
Memory hooks
Lebanon, on the eastern Mediterranean coast, has a cedar tree on its flag and its capital at Beirut.
Picture it
A huge green CEDAR tree grows in the middle of a red-and-white flag, leaning on ("LEAN-on") the eastern Mediterranean shore. Under it a beekeeper says: "BAY RUT? No: BEE-ROOT!"
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Oman occupies the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, with its capital at Muscat and an exclave on the Strait of Hormuz.
Picture it
At the southeastern corner of Arabia, a holy man chants "OH-MAN" while a MUSKETEER ("MUS-cat") guards the harbour. A little piece of his land is cut off to the north, guarding the Strait of Hormuz.
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Qatar is a small peninsula sticking into the Persian Gulf, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia; its capital is Doha.
Picture it
A thumb of desert pokes north into the Persian Gulf, attached to the mainland only where it touches Saudi Arabia. On the tip, someone plays a GUITAR ("CUT-ar") and sings "DOE, a deer": DOHA.
Memory hooks
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Bahrain is a small island country in the Persian Gulf, linked to Saudi Arabia by a causeway, with its capital at Manama.
Picture it
A small island in the Gulf gets BARE RAIN ("bah-RAIN") once a year. Its people walk along a long causeway to Saudi Arabia, and shout "MAN, A MA!" at the end: MANAMA.
Memory hooks
Kuwait sits at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Iraq to the north and west and Saudi Arabia to the south.
Picture it
At the very top of the Persian Gulf, a shopkeeper squeezed between two giant neighbours tells customers "QUEUE, WAIT!" To the north and west looms IRAQ; to the south, Saudi Arabia.
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Yemen occupies the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, guarding the entrance to the Red Sea, with its capital at Sanaa.
Picture it
At the southwestern corner of Arabia, a sailor shouts "YEAH, MAN!" ("YEM-en") as he guards the narrow gate where the Red Sea meets the ocean. High in the mountains, he lives in a tower house in SANAA ("sah-NAH").
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The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates on the Persian Gulf; its capital is Abu Dhabi, and Dubai has the world's tallest building.
Picture it
On the Persian Gulf, seven emirs hold hands around the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on Earth. The eldest emir has an ABU-DAB-y of perfume behind his ears, because he rules the capital: Abu Dhabi.
Memory hooks
Syria lies on the eastern Mediterranean, and its capital Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Picture it
On the eastern Mediterranean, an old weaver sits at a loom that has been running for thousands of years. He's making DAMASK cloth, named after his city, Damascus, one of the oldest continuously lived-in cities on Earth.
Memory hooks
Saudi Arabia covers most of the Arabian Peninsula and has no permanent rivers; its capital is Riyadh, and it is home to Mecca and Medina.
Picture it
The Arabian Peninsula is one huge sandy kingdom, and not one permanent river runs through it. A thirsty camel searches the desert and finally finds water in the capital: "REE-YAD! I'm saved!" in Riyadh.
Memory hooks
Israel lies on the eastern Mediterranean and borders the Dead Sea, the lowest point on land; it names Jerusalem as its capital, a status most countries don't recognise.
Picture it
On the eastern Mediterranean, a holidaymaker lies back in a sea so salty he floats like a cork, reading a newspaper. He's at the lowest place on dry land, the Dead Sea, over 400 m below sea level.
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Palestine is a UN observer state made up of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which lies on the Mediterranean coast.
Picture it
On the map of the eastern Mediterranean, one country comes in two separate pieces: a bigger one west of the Jordan River, the West Bank, and a narrow strip of beach on the coast, the Gaza Strip.
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Iraq covers most of ancient Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and its capital Baghdad is on the Tigris.
Picture it
Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the first cities on Earth rise out of the mud. A traveller on the Tigris drops his luggage in the water and shouts "BAG! DAD!" in Baghdad.
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Iran, known abroad as Persia until 1935, lies between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, and its capital is Tehran.
Picture it
A fluffy Persian cat lives between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. In 1935 she gets a new name tag, IRAN, and celebrates by tearing up a rug: "TEAR-RAN!" in Tehran.
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