Which one of the following countries of South-West Asia does not open out to the Mediterranean Sea?

Jordan is the answer. Its only sea access is a short coastline of about 26 km on the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea, where it has the port of Aqaba. It has no Mediterranean coastline, so it is cut off from the Mediterranean.

Why the others are wrong:

• Syria has a Mediterranean coast near Latakia and Tartus.
• Lebanon lies along the eastern Mediterranean, with Beirut and Tripoli as its key ports.
• Israel has a long Mediterranean coastline, with Haifa, Tel Aviv and Ashdod.

Core concept: the physical geography of the Levant and the Red Sea-Mediterranean divide in West Asia. For Mains, this explains why Jordan depends on Aqaba and on transit routes through its neighbours for trade, and why the Gulf of Aqaba matters in regional politics.

Trap: aspirants see Jordan's proximity to Israel and Syria and assume it touches the Mediterranean. Check the coastline, not the neighbours.