| Potash | a potassium compound often used in agriculture and industry |
| Magnesium | a light silver-white ductile bivalent metallic element |
| Dardanelles | the strait between the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara that separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey |
| Bosporus | a strait connecting the Mediterranean and the Black Sea |
| Jordan River | a river in Palestine that empties into the Dead Sea |
| Dead Sea | a saltwater lake on the border between Israel and Jordan |
| Tigris River | an Asian river; a tributary of the Euphrates River |
| Euphrates River | a river in southwestern Asia; flows into the Persian Gulf; was important in the development of several great civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia |
| Negev | a desert in southern Israel |
| Anatolia | a peninsula in southwestern Asia that forms the Asian part of Turkey |
| Zionism | a policy for establishing and developing a national homeland for Jews in Palestine |
| Kurds | A minority group in Turkey and neighboring countries |
| Holocaust | the Nazi program of exterminating Jews under Hitler |
| Sultan | the ruler of a Muslim country (especially of the former Ottoman Empire) |
| Mandates | Territories placed under another countries control |
| Palestine | an ancient country is southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean |
| Byzantine Empire | a continuation of the Roman Empire in the Middle East after its division in 395 |
| Crusades | A series of military expeditions launched by Christian Europeans to win the Holy land back from Muslim control. |
| Ottoman Empire | a Turkish sultanate of southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa and southeastern Europe |
| Gaza Strip | a coastal region at the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean bordering Israel and Egypt |
| Golan Heights | a fortified hilly area between southern Lebanon and southern Syria |
| Souks | Open-air markets |
| West Bank | an area between Israel and Jordan on the west bank of the Jordan river |
| Plo | a political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine |
| Jerusalem | capital and largest city of the modern state of Israel; a holy city for Jews and Christians and Muslims; was the capital of an ancient kingdom |
| Secular | concerning those not members of the clergy |