Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A fortress that outlived its builders

The Alhambra in Granada is the best-known surviving example of Moorish architecture in Europe, built and expanded over several centuries while much of the Iberian Peninsula was under Muslim rule. After the Christian conquest of Granada in 1492, it became a royal court rather than a ruin, which is a large part of why so much of it survives intact. Its carved stucco, tilework and reflecting pools still draw millions of visitors a year.

Edam and the art of cheese that travels

Edam takes its name from a small town in the Netherlands and has been exported since the Middle Ages, when Dutch traders needed a cheese that would survive long sea voyages. Its lower fat content and wax coating made it far more durable than softer cheeses, and the familiar red or yellow rind became a recognisable brand centuries before branding was a thing. Today it remains one of the country's best-known food exports.

Gambia and the geography of a river

Gambia is mainland Africa's smallest country, a narrow strip of land that follows the Gambia River and is almost entirely surrounded by Senegal. That unusual shape is a legacy of colonial-era border drawing, which left the country with a coastline of only about 80 kilometres. It is also one of the few African states where English is the official language.

A novel written in the shadow of the war

George Orwell wrote 1984 on the island of Jura in Scotland, while seriously ill with tuberculosis, and the book was published in 1949, less than a year before his death. Terms from it, including Big Brother and doublethink, entered everyday language almost immediately and have stayed there. Its vision of surveillance and language manipulation is why it is still read as political commentary rather than just fiction.

Why chemical symbols do not always match the English name

Magnesium's symbol, Mg, follows the same logic as many other elements: the symbol is often derived from Latin or another older source rather than the modern English name. That is why iron is Fe and lead is Pb, from the Latin ferrum and plumbum. Understanding this explains a lot of the apparent oddities in the periodic table.