- Sa'ud - King of Saudi Arabia (1953-64).
- Saadawi, Nawa l El - Egyptian doctor, author and feminist.
- Sabbath - Jewish weekly holy day of rest, starting on Friday afternoon, lasting until Saturday afternoon.
- Sadat, Anwar as- - President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981.
- Safi -
- Safi -
- Sahara - The world's largest desert, covering large parts of North Africa.
- Sahrawi - People in western Sahara with a population between 500,000 and 1 million.
- Said, Edward W. - American-Palestinian professor, social and literature scientist.
- Saladin - First Ayyubid sultan, and famous for having recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
- Salat, as- - Ritual prayer or divine service in Islam.
- Sale - City in Morocco with 400,000 inhabitants.
- Samaritans - Religious group, representing their own religion. Between 550 and 600 adherents.
- San'a - Capital of Yemen with 1.65 million inhabitants.
- Saqqara - Funerary area in Egypt, 40 km south of Cairo and Giza.
- Saudi Arabia - Country in the Middle East, located south of Iraq, and north of Yemen.
- Sawm - Fast in Islam, lasting one month, during the whole of the month of Ramadan.
- Schistosomiasis - Larva that strikes hard on the population in countries like Egypt and Sudan.
- Sebha - City of Libya with 15,000 inhabitants.
- Semitic languages - Language group that includes the languages Arabic, Hebrew in the Middle East region.
- Sesostris I - Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1962- 1928 BCE, being the 2nd of the 12th dynasty.
- Sesostris III - Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1878 to 1843 BCE, being the 5th ruler of the 12th dynasty.
- Seti I - Egyptian Pharaoh, ruling from 1314 to 1304 BCE, during the 19th dynasty.
- Sfax - City in Tunisia with 340,000 inhabitants.
- Shahada - The creed of Islam, and one of the religion's five pillars.
- Sharia - The law system inspired by the Koran, the Sunna, older Arabic law systems.
- Sharif, Omar - Egyptian film actor with world-wide success.
- Sharm el Sheikh - Touristic town in Egypt with 4,000 inhabitants.
- Sharon, Ariel - Israeli prime minister, military officer and politician, former defence and building minister.
- Shatt El Arab - River in Iran and Iraq, of about 170 km length.
- Shavuoth - Jewish festival, that takes place on 6. Sivan, 7 weeks after Pesach.
- Shi'i Islam - The largest non-Sunni branch of Islam, the Shi`i.
- Shiraz - City in southwestern Iran with 1,050,000 inhabitants.
- Sidi Bel Abbes - City in Algeria with 250,000 inhabitants.
- Sidi Ifni - Town in Morocco with 15,000 inhabitants.
- Sinai - Peninsula in Egypt, with an area of 61,000 square km and a population of about 60,000.
- Siwa - Oasis in western Egypt with 15,000 inhabitants.
- Six-Day War - War fought in 1967 between Israel on one side and Egypt, Jordan and Syria on the other.
- Sousse - City in Tunisia with 250,000 inhabitants.
- Sudan - Country located in the Middle East, on the southern border of Egypt.
- Suez - City in Egypt with 500,000 inhabitants.
- Suez, Gulf of - Gulf that is an arm of the Red Sea, touching Egypt.
- Suez Canal - Artificial waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to Gulf of Suez.
- Suez-Sinai War - War fought between Egypt on one side, and Israel, Britain and France on the other.
- Sufism - Mystical orientation inside Sunni Islam.
- Sukkoth - Jewish festival, where living in huts made out of boughs gives the festival its name.
- Sunni - Main group in Islam, making up 90% of the religion's adherents.
- Suq - Arabic name for market in a city or village.
- Sura - Chapter of the Holy Koran.
- Synagogue - The central house of religious activities in Jewish religion.
- Syria - Country located in the Middle East, south of Turkey and north of Jordan.
