Hardest Country Quiz - With A Theme | What Country?

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Located on the southeastern edge of the Arabian peninsula, this country was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Answer: Oman

Apologies - an unhelpful hint reminiscent of a British cryptic crossword. "Necromancy" is, of course, another word for witchcraft and the string o-m-a-n can be found within the word. As for the country in question, Oman is a sultanate - a monarchy ruled by a sultan. Like the US, Oman's borders is non-contiguous.

Besides the area described in the question, Oman is also composed of the tiny Musandam Peninsula on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic position in the movement of crude oil.

2. This South American country's official languages are Spanish and Quechua.

Answer: Peru

Once the heart of the Incan empire, this country's capital (Lima - thus the "bean" clue) is home to the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, reported to be the oldest university in the Americas. It shares control with Bolivia of the highest navigable lake in the world (Lago Titicaca) and is the location of the ultimate source of the Amazon River.

3. Located in the interior of Western Africa, this country's capital is Bamako.

Answer: Mali

Landlocked Mali (whose name, so far as I know, does not derive from the Latin root mal- to which I allude in the clue) was once ruled by the French and connected to the Atlantic Ocean through other territorial holdings. Imperial domination left a permanent stamp on the nation.

Not only is French the country's official language but the Malian legal system derives from French civil law as well.

4. This nation on an island to the west of continental Europe, is more famously known by its seven-letter English name. Please provide the country's four-letter name in the local language.

Answer: Eire

Eire is Ireland's Gaelic name and an assertion of national pride. The proud and independent Irish have struggled periodically under the dominion of foreign powers. Long before the English subdued the island, King Brian Boru successfully drove the Danish from Ireland's shores, ending over two centuries of Norse rule. And it's no doubt the feeble pun of a clue provoked the ire of some players.

5. Its primary border with Libya is known as the Aozou Strip.

Answer: Chad

Though its arid landscape would seem forbidding, Chad's location in northern Central Africa has made it something of a crossroads. The country is home to over 200 distinct ethnic groups and over 120 languages and dialects are spoken here. Chad Lowe is sometimes seen in film and screen roles but is more famous for being the younger brother of Rob Lowe and the husband of Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank.

The pun also alludes to an area thousands of miles away in Europe known as the Low Countries - specifically, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

6. Much longer than it is wide, this country in western Africa stretches through six distinct geographic regions along the eastern border of Ghana.

Answer: Togo

Diminutive Togo's coastline occupies just 56km - about 35 miles - along the Bight of Benin. A "bight" is an open bay formed by a slight bend in a coastline. In the US, fast food can be prepared "for here" (dine-in/eat-in) or "to go" (take-out/take-away.)

7. This island nation is the largest in the Caribbean and the westernmost of the island group known as the Greater Antilles.

Answer: Cuba

Cuba's proximity to the US - it's just 150 km (about 93 miles) from Key West, Fla. - made it a strategic location during the Cold War between the US and the USSR. By the way, the remaining Greater Antilles islands are Hispaniola - home to both the Dominican Republic and Haiti - Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. Cuba Gooding, Jr. appeared in the film "Jerry Maguire" as Rod Tidwell - a role for which he won an Academy Award - and bellowed the now-famous line "Show me the money!"

8. Part of a diverse and widespread group of islands known as Oceania, this tiny, placid nation was once called Savage Island.

Answer: Niue

Niue relies on New Zealand for conducting external affairs and defense but is independent and self-governing despite its smallness and its remote location. Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands. Re: the clue - just a phonetic rendering of the name of an obscure little country.

9. Occupying the land between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, this country was the heart of an empire during the 6th - 4th centuries BC.

Answer: Iran

Though the people of Iran have embraced Islam over the centuries with varying degrees of fervency, they are not Arabic. The country's ethnic majority is Persian and Farsi is the most popular of the native dialects. In 1982, the English pop band A Flock of Seagulls scored a Top 10 hit in the US with a song called "I Ran (So Far Away)."

10. A four-letter bonanza, this country's capital Suva is located on the island of Viti Levu.

Answer: Fiji

As a result of the British importation of labor during the colonial period, Indian is the island's major ethnic minority though Fiji is far from the Asian subcontinent of India. Abel Tasman, the Dutch explorer, discovered Fiji for the West in 1643. There's a brand of bottled water called Fiji Water.

It's alleged to come from springs on the island and to be among the finest in the waters in the world.

Source: Author alhcip

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Country Quiz - With A Theme

The idea is simple - based on the descriptions and the clues, fill in the country names. Remember, all of the answers have exactly four letters.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>