Middle East Word Search Printable

Middle East word search, free printable: 15 words from Egypt and Qatar to the Nile, with an answer key.

Easy: words go across and down.

More options

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

How it works

This Middle East word search opens with Jordan, Turkey, Oman, Cairo, Oasis, Camel, Hummus and eight more favorites. Eight lists go further: countries, capitals and cities, deserts and seas, animals and plants, food, markets and crafts, landmarks, and words English borrowed.

Read the full guide

Seventeen countries, with Emirates for the longest name

Middle East Countries has 17 countries, from Egypt and Turkey to Iran and Yemen, and five region names such as Levant and Anatolia. United Arab Emirates has 18 letters, four more than an entry may hold, so it hides as EMIRATES. Lists of the region differ; this one follows the table in Wikipedia's Middle East article.

Checkmate, algebra and other borrowed words

Middle East Languages and Loanwords pairs six languages of the region with words English took from them. Algebra, Zero and Magazine came from Arabic; Checkmate, Pajamas and Shawl from Persian; Yogurt from Turkish.

  • Easy Middle East runs to 79 words, because so many names are short: Iran, Iraq, Oman, Doha, Nile, Wadi, Oud.
  • No clue describes a border: Israel and Palestine are each clued by where they lie, and Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem as West Bank cities.
  • Spaces and hyphens drop out of the grid: Rub al Khali hides as RUBALKHALI and Bab-el-Mandeb as BABELMANDEB.

Questions and answers

Is this Middle East word search a free printable?

Yes. Print or save as PDF gives the puzzle with a Name and Date line, then the answer key on its own page. Press New puzzle between prints and each table gets its own draw of 15 from the same list.

Can I print a Middle East word search with only countries and capitals?

Yes. Under Start from a list, pick Middle East Countries, or Middle East Capitals and Cities for 46 places from Cairo and Istanbul to Muscat and Sanaa.

Can the Middle East word search be a geography quiz?

Open More options and tick Show clues, not words. A fact stands in for each word: Qatar becomes a small country on a peninsula that sticks out into the Persian Gulf, with Doha as its capital.

Is there a harder Middle East word search for middle school?

Pick Hard Middle East: 81 entries of 8 letters or more, such as Strait of Hormuz, Caravanserai and Frankincense. Then press Hard, and words also run diagonally and backward.