National Flags: Arab Countries

This page explains the thinking behind the mnemonics that I've come up with to help me remember the flags of the ten Arab countries covered on my main National Flags page.

The Eggheads would have done well to remember that five of these ten flags have red, white and black stripes, reading from top to bottom, which makes this a good combination to go for if you're ever in doubt. Yemen (which is the country that the Eggheads were asked about) acts as a model for these five, as it's the only one of the ten that has three plain stripes with no decoration.

British readers (and as always, I'm guessing that's most of you) may find it helpful to remember that from 2007, when the bodies of UK service men and women were repatriated from Iraq (and Afghanistan), the respect shown to them as they were transported through the streets of a certain Wiltshire town led to its being officially renamed Royal Wootton Bassett (RWB). Happily, Iraq is one of the countries whose flag (top to bottom) has red, white and black (RWB) stripes.

Of the other four (countries whose flags have red, white and black stripes), three - Egypt, Sudan and Syria - have the pound as their monetary unit. Trouble is, so do Lebanon and South Sudan. There ought to be a clue in their initials - ESS - but right now I can't think what it might be.

The stripes on the flag of the United Arab Emirates, reading from top to bottom, have the same initials as former US President George W. Bush. I'm not aware of anything particularly memorable that links Bush to the Emirates; but he did visit there in 2008. You could always picture him hanging from the top of the Burj Khalifa ... waving a red flag, to signify the red rectangle on the left hand side of the UAE flag. Well, it is the colour of the Republican Party ...

We now come to Jordan, whose stripes are black, white and green (BWG) - it's the only one with a black stripe at the top. I have the Internet Slang website to thank for the fact that BWG stands for Big Wide Grin. Just remember Katie Price, as we should now refer to her, and her Big Wide Grin!

The only one that doesn't have a white stripe is Libya (which, as most quizzers will remember, had a plain green flag from 1969 to 2011, under Gaddafi). There three stripes are red, black and green (RBG). All we have to remember is that Libya was Ruined By Gaddafi.

Two of the ten flags have green, white and red stripes (top to bottom). The Great Western Railway (GWR) never went to either Iran or Kuwait, as far as I know; how fortunate, then, that its creator and guiding light was Isambard Kingdom (I. K.) Brunel.

The colours on the Iranian flag, reading from top to bottom, are the same as those on the Italian flag, reading from left to right. Fortunately both countries begin with I; you've obviously got to remember that it's Iran and not Iraq - but see above and remember Royal Wootton Bassett.

That's all I have to offer on the ten countries listed in the table on my main National Flags page; but there are a couple of others that I'd like to cover, as they may at first sight be confused with some or all of those ten.

I'm not sure whether South Sudan, which achieved independence from Sudan in 2011, fits into this section. Its flag has black, red and green horizontal stripes, with a blue triangle to the left on which is a yellow star.

Malawi also has black, red and green stripes (with a red sunrise on the black), but as far as I know this is just a coincidence and has nothing to do with the Pan-Arab colours. No Arab country has these three colours in the same order - although Libya has the same colours in a different order.

Here's my final mnemonic offering, to help us remember that the flags of South Sudan and Malawi (SSM) have black, red and green (BRG) stripes: the Vanwall that was driven by Sir Stirling Moss (SSM) was painted British Racing Green (BRG).

Summary

Jordan	Big Wide Grin	BWG		Black, White, Green
UAE	George W. Bush	GWB		Green, White, Black
Iran	Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway	GWR		Green, White, Red Kuwait
Kuwait
Libya	Ruined By Gaddafi	RBG		Red, Black, Green
Egypt	Royal Wootton Bassett	RWB		Red, White, Black Iraq Sudan Syria Yemen
Iraq
Sudan
Syria
Yemen
South Sudan	Sir Stirling Moss's car, painted in British Racing Green	BRG		Black, Red, Green Green, White, Black
Malawi

© Haydn Thompson 2017