The Saudi Arab Kingdom Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arabian Peninsula

Because the land borders between Saudi Arabia and several of its neighbors (Oman and the United Arab Emirates) are ill-defined, it is difficult to give an authoritative statement as to its exact size, but it is around two million square kilometers (800,000 square miles), occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula. Most authorities rank Saudi Arabia as the 14th largest country in the world, and it is the largest in the region referred to as the Middle East.

Answer: Gulf of Aqaba

The Gulf of Aqaba (also called the Gulf of Eilat) is an extension of the Red Sea, which forms the western boundary of Saudi Arabia. If most of your knowledge of the area is based on the film "Lawrence of Arabia", you may recall that Aqaba was the destination which they approached across the desert, because the guns were all pointed towards the sea, and could not defend an attack from inland. The city of Aqaba lies at the end of the gulf, and is currently in the country of Jordan, for which it functions as the country's only seaport.

The gulf is labeled on the map, but you probably can't read it. However, the other three options are labeled clearly (as long as you read French).

Answer: Bahrain

Starting in the north and moving clockwise, the countries that have land borders with Saudi Arabia are Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. The island nation of Bahrain is located in the Persian Gulf, north of Qatar. In 1986, after twenty years of planning and construction, the King Fahd Causeway was opened by King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz and Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the leaders at the time of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, respectively.

Answer: Empty Quarter

The desert called 'the Empty Quarter' covers almost a third of the Arabian peninsula, including most of southern Saudi Arabia and parts of Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It is composed mostly of red-orange sand dunes, whose color is due to the presence of feldspar particles.

These dunes can be up to 250 m (800 ft) in height. There are also areas of gravel plains, and some salt flats on the edges.

Answer: Phoenix palm

The Phoenix palm, also called the date palm, has been part of the Saudi national emblem since it was first designed in 1950. The two crossed swords represent the two kingdoms, Hijaz and Nejd, which were united by King Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia, commonly known as Ibn Saud, to form the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd in 1925.

This was the core of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, established in 1932.

Answer: Shahada

The Shahada is the Islamic declaration of faith, which translates into English as "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God." To become a Muslim it is necessary to make a single honest statement of the Shahada. The definition of 'honest' is a tad more complex than this sounds - there are at least seven concomitant requirements that must be met in order for the recitation to be considered honest.

The Saudi Arabian flag is constructed so that the words can be correctly read from either side. Unusually, it is hoisted on the right side of the flag when viewed from the front, rather than the left as is usual. This is because the script is read from right to left, starting near the flagpole.

The Koran, Torah and Vedas are sacred texts (for Islam, Judaism and Hinduism), all of them far too long to fit onto the flag!

Answer: Mecca

These are the four largest cities in Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh being its current capital. It was in Mecca that Muhammad first proclaimed the Islamic faith, and where pilgrims annually complete the hajj. Actually, some of the rituals are performed in the nearby desert, but Mecca is the focus of the journey. The hajj is thought to date back to well before the time of Muhammad, as many of the rituals involved symbolize events in the life of Abraham. In earlier times, the hajj was undertaken by members of a number of faiths, but it has come to be associated in modern times with Islam.

The Kaaba is located inside the Masjid al-Haram (Sacred Mosque), and is considered the holiest site in the Islamic faith. It is towards the Kaaba that Muslims around the world face for their prayer sessions. Also known as the Grand Mosque, this is the largest in the world - and it needs to be, to accommodate the crowds during hajj!

Answer: Medina

The Masjid al-Nabawi (Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina is the site of Muhammad's tomb, and is considered the second-holiest spot in Islam. The mosque was built on the grounds of Muhammad's house after his flight from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE; he participated in the construction of the original building himself.

The Green Dome, also called the Dome of the Prophet, stands over the actual tomb.

Answer: Quba Mosque

The Quba mosque was built in the grounds of the house of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law. While waiting there for Ali's arrival, Muhammad laid the first stones for the mosque, and his companions completed the construction. After spending three weeks there, Muhammad proceeded to Medina and the location where he would build the mosque that later housed his remains.

The picture is of the current mosque on the site, built during the 20th century. Despite the architect's desire to construct a renovated mosque that incorporated the original building, it was in fact torn down and completely replaced.

Answer: 280 km by 30 km

While I have trouble seeing exactly where on the map the measurements need to be made to give this figure, the scale makes it clear that only 280 km by 30 km (170 miles by 19 miles) could be the official size of the Ghawar field. The oil field, owned and operated by the Saudi government, was discovered in 1948, and began producing oil in 1951. Almost two-thirds of the Saudi oil produced in the second half of the 20th century came from the Ghawar field.

At the start of the 21st century, it was producing about 800,000 cubic metres (5 million barrels) of oil a day, along with 57 million cubic metres (2 billion cubic feet) of natural gas.