MENA Vocabulary Pretest

1. *A Mesopotamian terraced pyramid in which each terrace is smaller than the one below it.

ziggurat

2. @*A movement that encouraged Jews to return to Palestine, the Jewish homeland, which many Jews call Zion.

Zionism

3. *A famous emperor of ancient Mesopotamia, who ruled from 1792 to 1750 B.C.

Hammurabi

4. *An area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now the country of Iraq.

Mesopotamia

5. @*The founder and prophet of Islam

Muhammad

6. *The removal of salt from sea water to make it usable for drinking and farming.

desalination

7. *A Sumerian system of writing, in which wedge-shaped symbols were used.

Cuneiform

8. *A religion that developed out of Judaism that is based upon the life and teachings of Jesus.

Christianity

9. @*Chemical product derived from petroleum or natural gas.

Petrochemical

10. *People with no fixed home who move about in search of food, water, and grazing land.

Nomads

11. *A region consisting of what is now Iraq, northeast Syria, and part of southeast Turkey.

Fertile Crescent

12. @*A country to the south of Egypt that was a source of the gold the Egyptians used in their pyramids.

Nubia

13. *The monotheistic religion founded by Abraham and whose followers are called Jews.

Judaism

14. Not pertaining to or connected with religion.

secular

15. *A man made water passage in NE Egypt connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Suez Canal (11/17/1869)

16. *The entire body of Jewish religious literature, law, and teaching.

Torah

17. *In Islam, a house of public worship.

Mosque

18. *The Organization which decides the price and amount of oil produced each year in Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, and other countries.

O.P.E.C.

Organizationof

Petroleum ExportingCountries

19. *The sacred text of Islam.

Qur’anor

Koran

20. *Rich in resources and nutrients.

fertile

21. @*One of the first inhabitants of Mesopotamia.

Sumerians

22. *A religion that teaches that there is one god and that Muhammad is his prophet.

Islam

23. *A follower of the religion of Islam.

Muslim

24. @*A pilgrimage to Mecca that most Muslims try to make at least once in a lifetime.

Haj (or hajj)

25. *The collection of sacred writings of the Christian religion.

Bible

26. *A writing system in which pictures and symbols are used to represent words and symbols.

hieroglyphics

27. *The artificial application of water to land to assist in the production of crops.

Irrigation

28. *The founder of Christianity and believed by Christians to be the son of God and the Messiah.

Jesus

29. A structure built in 1956 by the Egyptian leader Nasser to control the flooding of the Nile River.

Aswan High Dam

30. @*A Southwest Asian region often called the Holy Land.

Palestine

X if they’re wrong, and a if they are right.

1. ziggurat 2. Zionism 3. Hammurabi 4. Mesopotamia 5. Muhammad

Check Your Answers Now

6. desalination 7. cuneiform 8. Christianity 9. petrochemical 10. nomads 11. Fertile Crescent 12. Nubia 13. Judaism 14. secular 15. Suez Canal

16. Torah 17. mosque 18. OPEC 19. Qur’an 20. fertile 21. Sumerian 22. Islam 23. Muslim 24. haj 25. Bible

26. hieroglyphics 27. irrigation 28. Jesus 29. Aswan High Dam 30. Palestine