ErebusFact library / Countries
6 countries in North Africa, each with a picture to fix its place, shape or name in your memory.
Egypt, in Africa's northeast corner, is mostly desert cut by the Nile, with its capital at Cairo near the Nile Delta.
Picture it
A square of golden desert in Africa's northeast corner is split by a single green ribbon: the Nile. Where the ribbon fans out into a delta, a CAR pulls up with a ROW of pyramids on its roof: CAI-RO.
Memory hooks
Morocco faces Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar, and its capital is Rabat, not Casablanca or Marrakesh.
Picture it
Just across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain, a band plays MARACAS ("mo-ROCK-o"). Tourists look for the capital in Casablanca or Marrakesh, but it's in RABAT, where a RABBIT is hiding.
Memory hooks
Tunisia is Africa's northernmost country, and its capital Tunis lies near the ruins of ancient Carthage.
Picture it
At the very top of Africa, a TUNA fish sings a TUNE: "TUNE-is!" It's sitting in the ruins of ancient Carthage, just outside the capital.
Memory hooks
Libya is a large, mostly Saharan country on the Mediterranean coast, with its capital at Tripoli.
Picture it
In the middle of the Sahara stands a huge, sandy LIBRARY ("LIB-ya"). A librarian TRIPS over a book on the way to the coast: TRIP-oli.
Memory hooks
Algeria is the largest country in Africa, mostly covered by the Sahara, and its capital is Algiers on the Mediterranean.
Picture it
The biggest country in Africa is mostly Sahara: an endless sandbox. On the Mediterranean coast, a swimmer climbs out covered in green seaweed, "ALGAE", and drips her way into the capital, Algiers.
Memory hooks
Western Sahara is a disputed, mostly desert territory on Africa's Atlantic coast; most of it is controlled by Morocco.
Picture it
South of Morocco, a strip of Atlantic desert has two people pulling it in different directions. One tugs from the north: Morocco, holding most of it. The other, the local Sahrawi, tugs back. The sand goes nowhere.
Memory hooks