Saudi Arabia

Intriguing travellers for centuries, with its deserts as far as the eye can see, Saudi Arabia is the land of two holly cities.

Understanding the Geography

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south, with the Persian Gulf to its northeast and the Red Sea to its west. It is called "the land of the two holy mosques", a reference to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest places.

Saudi Arabia consists mostly of semi-desert and desert with oases. Almost half of the total country is uninhabitable desert with annual precipitation up to 100 millimetres (4 in) in most regions. The western regions are plateau and the east is lowland. The southwest region has mountains as high as 3,000 metres (9,840 ft), and is an area known for the greenest and freshest climate in all of the country.

Regions of Saudi Arabia

• Al Bahah
• Al Hudud ash Shamaliyah
• Al Jawf
• Al Madinah
• Al Qasim
• Ar Riyad
• Ash Sharqiyah (Eastern Province)
• Asir
• Ha'il
• Jizan
• Makkah
• Najran
• Tabuk

Cities in Saudi Arabia

• Abha
• Dhahran - city that houses Saudi ARAMCO, the world's largest petroleum company
• Jeddah - large metropolitan city on the Red Sea.
• Mecca (Makkah) - holy city #1
• Medina (Madinah) - holy city #2
• Riyadh - the capital.
• Taif - moderate size mountain town, summer capital

Understanding the Culture

Saudi Arabians adhere strictly to the Islamic faith. Public expressions of religions other than Islam are forbidden. Insulting Islam is punishable.

Saudi etiquette is complex. That being said, should a visitor cause some minor offence, the reaction would generally be amusement rather than anger.

Women, be they local or foreign, are all required to wear an abaya, a long and loose black robe. While a headscarf is optional for non-Saudi females, one should at least be brought along in order to avoid possible harassment from the Muttawah (religious police) or to be used as a means of deflecting attention from potentially aggravating men, especially in case of blondes.

Men with long hair might want to consider a cut before entering the kingdom, although shoulder-length locks can be considered reasonable, anything longer can be considered as grounds for ejection from shopping malls and public places by the Muttawah.

Insulting the King and the Royal Family is extremely serious in Saudi Arabia and results in the death sentence.

Climate Conditions

The climate is very dry and hot. Dry desert with great extremes of temperature and the terrain is mostly uninhabited, sandy desert. In most parts of the country, vegetation is limited to weeds, xerophytic herbs and shrubs.