Sanaa - Quiz
Sanaa
  • 1. In which city do most theatre performances in Yemen take place?
A) Sanaa
B) Al Hudaydah
C) Aden
D) Taiz
  • 2. What was the Cultural Center in Sanaa originally designed to be?
A) A cinema
B) A sports arena
C) A library
D) An auditorium
  • 3. Who is mentioned as one of the most popular female playwrights/directors in Yemen?
A) Fatima Al-Zahra
B) Nargis Abbad
C) Mohammad Khaled
D) Katherine Hennessey
  • 4. On what date is World Theatre Day held?
A) April 15
B) December 20
C) March 27
D) January 1
  • 5. Which organizations sponsored the national theatre competition in 2012?
A) The Yemen Tourism Board
B) The Houthi Ministry of Culture
C) Equal Access Yemen and Future Partners for Development
D) The Sanaa University Art Department
  • 6. In what year did the Houthis gain control of Sanaa?
A) 2012
B) 2010
C) 2014
D) 2020
  • 7. Who directed the theatre performance held in Sanaa in December 2020?
A) Nargis Abbad
B) Katherine Hennessey
C) Mohammad Khaled
D) Ali Muhesen
  • 8. What is the most popular sport in Sanaa?
A) Basketball
B) Football
C) Volleyball
D) Wrestling
  • 9. What is the seating capacity of the Ali Muhesen Stadium?
A) 10,000
B) 50,000
C) 25,000
D) 5,000
  • 10. Where were the lions at the Sanaa zoo actually from, based on genetic testing?
A) Ethiopia
B) Eastern and Southern Africa
C) India
D) Yemen
  • 11. How did Katherine Hennessey contrast Sanaa's theatre scene with Qatar or Saudi Arabia?
A) Sanaa has a stronger theatrical tradition and less gender segregation
B) Sanaa has no women participating in plays
C) Sanaa has fancier facilities and more resources
D) Sanaa has strictly segregated audiences
  • 12. How many rounds did the 2012 national theatre competition have?
A) Three
B) One
C) Two
D) Four
  • 13. How many stories can a traditional Sanaa tower house reach?
A) Up to 8 stories
B) Up to 3 stories
C) Up to 15 stories
D) Up to 20 stories
  • 14. What is the name of the uppermost story in a traditional tower house?
A) Al-Jadid
B) Souk
C) Mafraj
D) Al-Qadeemah
  • 15. What is the primary function of the mafraj in a Sanaa tower house?
A) Hosting afternoon qat chewing sessions
B) Retail shop space
C) Housing livestock
D) Grain storage
  • 16. Why do many modern homeowners in the Old City face conflict with building inspectors?
A) Because they set up shops on the ground floor
B) Because they use forbidden building materials
C) Because they build too many stories
D) Because they renovate the exterior without permits
  • 17. What material is typically used for 'Egyptian-style' houses in Sanaa?
A) Reinforced concrete
B) Fired brick
C) Cut stone
D) Traditional mud bricks
  • 18. When did the significant development of the new city ('al-Jadid') begin?
A) The 1960s
B) The 1920s
C) The 1940s
D) The 1980s
  • 19. How is the development of newer districts and suburbs in Sanaa generally characterized?
A) Built entirely by the national military
B) Unplanned by central authorities
C) Strictly zoned by government planners
D) Designed primarily for tourism
  • 20. What has been an especially important factor in the development of new hubs in Sanaa?
A) Railway stations
B) Souks
C) Public parks
D) Government administrative offices
  • 21. What is the primary source of employment in Sanaa?
A) Oil extraction
B) Governmental civil service
C) Agricultural farming
D) Tourism
  • 22. Which organization named Sanaa the 2004 Arab Cultural Capital?
A) United Nations
B) UNESCO
C) Arab League
D) World Health Organization
  • 23. What major event occurred in Sanaa in 2011 involving Ali Abdullah Saleh?
A) He was elected president
B) He was ousted from power
C) He signed a peace treaty
D) He retired voluntarily
  • 24. Which mountain is located to the east of Sanaa?
A) Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb
B) Jabal Din
C) Jabal Nuqum
D) Jabal Barash
  • 25. What is Yemen's tallest mountain?
A) Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb
B) Jabal Din
C) Jabal Barash
D) Jabal Nuqum
  • 26. What natural hazard has caused significant infrastructure strain in modern Sanaa?
A) Frequent earthquakes
B) Tsunamis
C) Wildfires
D) Water shortages
  • 27. Who is leading the UNESCO restoration project in Sanaa?
A) Harbia Al Himiary
B) Ali Abdullah Saleh
C) Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih
D) Radhya Al-Mutawakel
  • 28. What was the cause of the 115 deaths in Sanaa in May 2017?
A) Suicide bombing
B) Cholera outbreak
C) Airstrikes
D) A massive flood
  • 29. In what direction has Sanaa primarily expanded in recent decades?
A) East-west axis
B) Exclusively toward the mountains
C) North-south axis
D) Toward the coast
  • 30. What commodity did the 10th-century writer Al-Hamdani claim came from Jabal Nuqum?
A) Gold
B) Onyx
C) Coal
D) Silver
  • 31. How many years had it been since a commercial flight took off from Sanaa before May 2022?
A) One year
B) Six years
C) Two years
D) Ten years
  • 32. What body of water drains the northern part of the Sanaa plain?
A) Yemeni Tihama
B) Wadi al-Kharid
C) Wadi Siham
D) Al-Jawf
  • 33. In what year did the Ottoman Empire first enter Yemen?
A) 1547
B) 1835
C) 1538
D) 1602
  • 34. Who was the Sultan when the Ottomans first entered Yemen?
A) Imam Yahya
B) Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
C) Imam al-Mu'ayyad
D) Suleiman the Magnificent
  • 35. Who led the Ottoman conquest of Sanaa in 1547?
A) Özdemir Pasha
B) Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim
C) Suleiman the Magnificent
D) Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
  • 36. In what year were Ottoman troops forced out of Sanaa by Zaydi imams?
A) 1547
B) 1629
C) 1962
D) 1904
  • 37. Which leader was responsible for significantly weakening the Ottoman army before the 1629 retreat?
A) Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
B) al-Mu'ayyad
C) al-Mansur al-Qasim
D) Imam Yahya
  • 38. In what year did Ottoman troops capture Sanaa for the second time?
A) 1904
B) 1835
C) 1538
D) 1872
  • 39. Which Ottoman leader entered Sanaa in 1872?
A) Muhammad Ali
B) Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
C) Suleiman the Magnificent
D) Özdemir Pasha
  • 40. What reforms did the Ottoman Empire implement to solidify control in Sanaa?
A) Republican reforms
B) Agricultural reforms
C) Tanzimat reforms
D) Isolationist reforms
  • 41. Who took power in Sanaa in 1904?
A) Imam Ahmad
B) Özdemir Pasha
C) Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
D) Imam Yahya
  • 42. What policy did Imam Yahya embark on to secure independence?
A) Modernization
B) Isolationism
C) Expansionism
D) Westernization
  • 43. Which school did Imam Yahya close down?
A) The Fulayhi Madrasa
B) The military academy
C) The Ottoman girls' school
D) The royal medical school
  • 44. What was the name of the group of scholars based in Sanaa's Fulayhi Madrasa?
A) Shabab al-Amr
B) Fatat al-Fulayhi
C) Hait al-Nidal
D) Republican Committee
  • 45. Which city replaced Sanaa as the capital in 1948?
A) Taiz
B) Mocha
C) Djibouti
D) Aden
  • 46. In what year was the Imamate government overthrown in a coup?
A) 1970
B) 1936
C) 1962
D) 1948
  • 47. Which country supported the rural tribes against the republicans in Sanaa?
A) Saudi Arabia
B) Italy
C) Egypt
D) France
  • 48. When did the North Yemen Civil War end?
A) 1970
B) 1968
C) 1979
D) 1962
  • 49. What was built on the grounds of the former imam's palace?
A) A military base
B) Tahrir Square
C) A parliament building
D) A new hospital
  • 50. What caused the collapse of many buildings in the old city in the late 1970s?
A) Earthquakes
B) Warfare damage
C) Overcrowding
D) Groundwater accumulation
  • 51. Which dynasty took over Sanaa in 1062?
A) Ayyubid dynasty
B) Rasulid dynasty
C) Sulayhid dynasty
D) Hamdanid dynasty
  • 52. Who was the leader of the Sulayhid dynasty that captured Sanaa in 1062?
A) Turan-Shah
B) Saladin
C) Ali al-Sulayhi
D) Tughtekin ibn Ayyub
  • 53. To which city did Arwa al-Sulayhi move the capital in 1067?
A) Taiz
B) Aden
C) Jibla
D) Baghdad
  • 54. Which dynasty took control of Sanaa after the Sulayhids departed?
A) Hamdanid dynasty
B) Najahid dynasty
C) Mameluke dynasty
D) Ayyubid dynasty
  • 55. Who sent an expedition to conquer Yemen in 1173?
A) Ibn Rustah
B) Imam Al-Shafi'i
C) Saladin
D) Ali al-Sulayhi
  • 56. What was the name of the Ayyubid emir who improved Sanaa?
A) Ali al-Sulayhi
B) Turan-Shah
C) Tughtekin ibn Ayyub
D) Najah
  • 57. What was the garden area on the western bank of the Sa'ilah called?
A) Zabid
B) Haraz Mountains
C) Mikhlaf Sanaʽa
D) Bustan al-Sultan
  • 58. Which city was the principal income-producing city for the Ayyubids?
A) Aden
B) Taiz
C) Zabid
D) Sanaa
  • 59. During which period did Sanaa remain in the political orbit of the Zaydi imams?
A) 1067–1138
B) 1517–1600
C) 1323–1454
D) 1175–1200
  • 60. When did the Mamelukes arrive in Yemen?
A) 1062
B) 1517
C) 1173
D) 1323
  • 61. The Sulayhids were aligned with which caliphate?
A) Zaydi Caliphate
B) Fatimid Caliphate
C) Najahid Caliphate
D) Abbasid Caliphate
  • 62. Who assassinated Ali al-Sulayhi?
A) The Mamelukes
B) The Hamdanids
C) The Najahids
D) The Ayyubids
  • 63. Which Persian geographer praised Sanaa in the 10th century?
A) Ibn Rustah
B) Al-Shafi'i
C) Turan-Shah
D) Ali al-Sulayhi
  • 64. Which mountains surround Sanaa?
A) Atlas Mountains
B) Zagros Mountains
C) Himalayan Mountains
D) Sarawat Mountains
  • 65. What is the largest mosque in Yemen, located on the southern outskirts of Sanaa?
A) Al-Azhar Mosque
B) The Great Mosque of Sanaa
C) The Himyarite Mosque
D) Al-Saleh Mosque
  • 66. What is the origin of the word 'Sanaa' according to the Musnad script mentions from the 5th century BCE?
A) Maṣna'a (fortress)
B) Uzal (Biblical)
C) Azāl (ancient)
D) Aṣnaʿ (excellence)
  • 67. What does the Sabaic root 'ṣnʿ' mean?
A) Beautiful city
B) Well-fortified
C) High mountain
D) Trade hub
  • 68. Which famous palace is mentioned in Sabaean inscriptions?
A) Ghumdan Palace
B) The Axumite Palace
C) Queen of Sheba Palace
D) Al-Saleh Palace
  • 69. What was the ancient name of Sanaa according to the historian al-Hamdani?
A) Jabal Nuqum
B) Azāl
C) Saba
D) Maṣna'a
  • 70. Who was the Sabaean ruler credited with walling the city of Sanaa?
A) Dhu Nuwas
B) Shem
C) Sha'r Awtar
D) Abrahah
  • 71. What percentage of Yemen's population lived in the greater Sanaa urban area as of 2020?
A) 5%
B) 10%
C) 50%
D) 25%
  • 72. In what year was the Old City of Sanaa declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
A) 1980
B) 1976
C) 1996
D) 1986
  • 73. How high are the ancient clay walls surrounding the Old City?
A) 20–25 metres
B) 5–8 metres
C) 15–20 metres
D) 9–14 metres
  • 74. What is the name of the salt market in Sanaa?
A) Bāb al-Yaman
B) Samsarh
C) Suq al-Milh
D) Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr
  • 75. How many hammams are located in the Old City?
A) 100
B) 8
C) 20
D) 12
  • 76. What was used as fuel for the bathhouses in the Old City?
A) Oil
B) Firewood
C) Dried human waste
D) Coal
  • 77. How many mosques are in the Old City of Sanaa?
A) More than 500
B) Exactly 50
C) Exactly 12
D) More than 100
  • 78. What is the Arabic term for the quarters of the Old City?
A) Samsarh
B) Hara
C) Suq
D) Maqshama
  • 79. What is the status of economic activity in Al-Tahrir today?
A) Very high
B) Relatively low
C) Booming
D) Non-existent
  • 80. What is the literal meaning of the name Bi'r al-Azab?
A) The Single's Well
B) The New City
C) The Western Wall
D) The Golden Garden
  • 81. When was the Jewish Quarter in Sanaa established?
A) 1983
B) 1680
C) 1960
D) 1627
  • 82. What was the original name of the Bi'r al-Azab area?
A) The Turkish Quarter
B) The Old City
C) The Administrative Zone
D) The Southern District
  • 83. In which historical source was Bi'r al-Azab first mentioned in 1627?
A) Presidential Decree No. 13
B) Al-Tahrir Records
C) Ghayat al-amanni
D) The Sanaa Chronicles
  • 84. Which major administrative office is located in the Bi'r al-Azab district today?
A) Prime Minister
B) Supreme Court
C) President
D) Minister of Defense
  • 85. When did significant development begin in the Bi'r al-Azab area?
A) 1960s
B) 1990s
C) 2001
D) 1970s
  • 86. Where is the Al-Hasabah district located?
A) In the west
B) In the east
C) In the south
D) In the north
  • 87. Which area of Sanaa is known for being affluent with reliable utilities?
A) Old City
B) Haddah Road area
C) Shumayla
D) Al-Hasabah
  • 88. When did the influx of residents moving from Aden to the Haddah Road area primarily begin?
A) After 1960
B) After 1990
C) After 1983
D) After 2001
  • 89. What type of construction has been developed in the Haddah Road area since the 1990s?
A) Low-density villas
B) High-rise buildings
C) Traditional mud-brick houses
D) Industrial factories
  • 90. What is the name of the governorate created for Sanaa in 1983?
A) The Capital Secretariat
B) Bani Al Harith Governorate
C) Amanat al-Asimah
D) Sanaa Central
  • 91. Which Presidential Decree established Amanat al-Asimah?
A) No. 2001
B) No. 13
C) No. 1983
D) No. 2
  • 92. Which district is mentioned as being in the south?
A) Hayil
B) Bani Al Harith
C) Al-Hasabah
D) Shumayla
  • 93. What is the Köppen climate classification for Sanaa?
A) Af
B) BWk
C) Cwa
D) BSh
  • 94. What is the average annual precipitation in Sanaa?
A) 500 mm
B) 400 mm
C) 150 mm
D) 265 mm
  • 95. Which month is the coolest in Sanaa?
A) February
B) January
C) December
D) July
  • 96. Which month is the warmest in Sanaa?
A) June
B) July
C) August
D) January
  • 97. What is the approximate nighttime low temperature in Sanaa?
A) 3–4 °C
B) −9 °C
C) 10–12 °C
D) 15–18 °C
  • 98. In what year was al-Ghina al-San'ani designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage?
A) 2003
B) 1938
C) 2010
D) 1998
  • 99. What is the qanbus used in Sanaani music?
A) A copper tray
B) A small drum
C) A Yemeni lute
D) A wooden flute
  • 100. Who was the most popular early Sanaani recording star according to the text?
A) Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Makkawi
B) 'Ali Abu Bakr Ba Sharahil
C) Ibrahim al-Mas
D) Ahmad 'Awad al-Jarrash
Created with That Quiz — where test making and test taking are made easy for math and other subject areas.