1School fire
In 2002, a fire at a girls' school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia killed 15 girls. It has been strongly suggested that their deaths occurred due to the involvement of the "religious police," who prevented them from leaving the building because the girls were not wearing correct Islamic dress.
2. 3 men from Yemen tried to sue NASA for invading Mars, claiming they had inherited it from their ancestors 3,000 years ago.
3. In the village of Kuskoy in Turkey, people talk to each other using a whistled language that can be heard from up to half a mile away.
4. In 1993, the golden covering of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was refurbished following a donation of $8.2 million by King Hussein of Jordan who sold one of his houses in London to fund the 80 kilograms of gold required.
5. In 1983, Saudi Arabian developers tore down Ajyad Fortress, a centuries-old Turkish fortress that was once used to protect Mecca and the Kaaba from invaders and bandits, to build a Megahotel complex.
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6Dubai license plates
In Dubai, license plates are bought and sold for upwards of $14 million in order to show status, with 1 being the most desired, then 2, then so on.
7. As a man, you can be arrested in Iran for wearing shorts.
8. In 1168.AD., Fustat, the then-capital of Egypt was ordered to be burnt to the ground by its own vizier to stop it falling into the hands of the crusaders.
9. A natural gas vent in Iraq known as The Eternal Fire has been burning continuously for over 4,000 years and is mentioned by Herodotus, Plutarch, and in the Old Testament's Book of Daniel.
10. 350 million years ago, there existed a species of 20-foot tall mushroom in Saudi Arabia. It was likely the largest living thing on dry land at that time.
