CDS (I) 2024 General Knowledge · Question 40 of 120

Correct — C, Jordan. Kuwait, Oman and Yemen all lie wholly on the Arabian Peninsula, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain — seven states in all. Jordan does not belong to that set. The peninsula is bounded by Mesopotamia and the Levant to the north and north-west, and Jordan is a Levantine country, grouped with Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine rather than with the Gulf states. Only its southern desert, reaching down to Aqaba, extends onto the peninsular landmass, which is why careful geographies describe the southern half of Jordan, and of Iraq, as lying on the peninsula while counting neither as a peninsular state.

• (a)Kuwait — Kuwait sits at the head of the Persian Gulf on the north-eastern edge of the peninsula and is one of its seven states, as well as a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
• (b)Oman — Oman occupies the south-eastern corner of the peninsula, facing the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, and its Musandam exclave commands the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz.
• (d)Yemen — Yemen occupies the south-western corner of the peninsula, facing the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is peninsular but not a Gulf Cooperation Council member, which is a separate distinction worth keeping straight.

The Arabian Peninsula is the great block of land between the Red Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to the east, bounded by Mesopotamia and the Levant to the north and north-west. Seven states lie on it — Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Six of those seven are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council; Yemen is not. Jordan and Iraq border the peninsula and their southern portions extend onto it, but both are counted with the Levant and Mesopotamia respectively.

This item is decided by the odd-one-out rather than by a formal definition, and that is the honest way to teach it. The strict geographical position is not a clean yes or no for Jordan — its southern desert is physically continuous with the peninsular platform, and one careful description of the region counts nine countries as located on the peninsula, listing the seven outright plus 'the southern halves of Iraq and Jordan'. But the other three options are wholly peninsular states with no such qualification, so Jordan is unambiguously the least peninsular of the four and the examiner's intent is clear. The list to memorise is the seven, and the useful cross-check is the Gulf Cooperation Council's six, which is the same list minus Yemen.

• Seven states lie wholly on the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
• The peninsula is bounded by Mesopotamia and the Levant to the north and north-west.
• Jordan is a Levantine country; only its southern portion extends onto the peninsular landmass.
• The Gulf Cooperation Council has six members — the seven peninsular states minus Yemen.
• Iraq is in the same position as Jordan: its southern half lies on the peninsula but it is not counted a peninsular state.

• Assuming every Arab country of West Asia is peninsular; Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq are not counted among the seven.
• Equating the Arabian Peninsula with the Gulf Cooperation Council — Yemen is peninsular but not a member.
• Overlooking that southern Jordan and southern Iraq do physically extend onto the peninsula, which is why the question says 'not part of' rather than 'does not touch'.

Asked as an odd-one-out item in which three wholly peninsular states are set against one Levantine or Mesopotamian neighbour.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following peninsular states is NOT a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council?

  • (a)Bahrain
  • (b)Qatar
  • (c)Yemen
  • (d)Oman

  Answer(c) Yemen — the GCC's six members are the seven peninsular states minus Yemen.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Arabian Peninsula is separated from Africa by which water body?

  • (a)The Persian Gulf
  • (b)The Red Sea
  • (c)The Caspian Sea
  • (d)The Gulf of Oman

  Answer(b) The Red Sea — with the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman lying on the peninsula's eastern side.