How to learn the countries of the Middle East

The three that frame it

Turkey across the top, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Iran down the right side, from the Caspian Sea to the Gulf. Egypt at the bottom left, in Africa, with the Sinai reaching over into Asia. Saudi Arabia fills the middle of what is left.

Down the Mediterranean shore

From Turkey southwards along the sea: Syria, then Lebanon, a short strip of coast, then Israel. Palestine is in two parts, the West Bank inland and Gaza on the coast. Jordan lies behind them, almost without a coast of its own. Cyprus is the island out in the sea, south of Turkey.

Iraq is the country between that group and Iran, with Kuwait at its foot, where the Gulf begins.

Round the Arabian Peninsula

Start at Kuwait and follow the Gulf coast: Bahrain, an island; Qatar, the thumb that sticks out just past it; the United Arab Emirates; and Oman, which takes the corner and the coast beyond it. Yemen is the south-west corner, where the Red Sea opens.

• Iraq and Iran. Iraq is the western one. Iran is the far larger one to the east.
• Oman and Yemen. They share the south of the peninsula: Oman on the right, Yemen on the left.
• Bahrain and Qatar. Bahrain is the island, Qatar the peninsula, and Bahrain comes first as you go down the coast.

Practise it

Take one group at a time. Play it on Name it until the names come without thinking, then switch to Find it, which asks the harder question: given only the name, where is it? What you miss comes back sooner in Review, and what you know comes back less often, so a few minutes a day is enough.

• Countries of the Middle East: all 17.
• The 25 largest cities in the Middle East, for the next layer.
• The rest of the continent: how to learn the countries of Asia.