Saudi Arabia - Saudi-Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a kingdom In the Middle East.

Regions

Saudi Arabia is officially divided into 13 provinces (sample), but the traditional division better reflects cultural differences.

• Asir - highlands in the southwest of the country, mild climate and strong Yemeni influences
• Eastern Province - On the shores of the Gulf, the center of oil production
• Hijaz (Hejaz) - Mecca, Medina and Jeddah On the shores of the Red Sea, the traditional center of trade
• Nejd - a plateau in the central part of the country Riadin around, the home of the Saudi family and the most conservative part of the country
• North Sparsely populated, some historical sites such as Madain Saleh

Cities

• Buraydah
• Jeddah
• Riad (Riyadh) - the capital
• Medina
• Mecca - The holiest city in Islam
• Tabuk

Other items

Understand

Climate

Saudi Arabia is for the most part desert. In the highlands (e.g. Riyadh) in summer, daytime temperatures in the shade can be 50-60 ° C with the sun shining directly overhead. On the coast (e.g. Jeddah, Dammam) mercury readings are more reasonable, but thanks to the humid sea air, the feeling can be even worse.

It’s cooler in winter, downright cold in the highlands: in Riyadh, temperatures can drop to zero and in the mountains it sometimes (rarely) even snows. The coasts are warmer, with daytime temperatures known to be around 20 degrees. It rains mainly in winter, often with heavy but brief deafness and storms.

Come

My kingdom will only survive as long as it is difficult to get there and after completing its mission the only goal of the alien is to leave.--King Abdul Aziz bin Saud

Saudi Arabia is legendarily difficult to reach, and although the door has been slightly opened in recent years, actual tourism is still limited to small, expensive and carefully controlled groups. Most guests are in Saudi Arabia for work, but even a businessman’s visa requires an official invitation from a Saudi company and other papers approved by the Chamber of Commerce. Women usually do not have a place in the country unless they are traveling with a close relative (husband, father, brother), but this can be flexible if the sponsor has a good enough reason. A stamp referring to Israel in the passport or a name referring to Judaism in the application is also a reason to reject the application. The Embassy of Saudi Arabia is located on Stenbäckinkatu in Helsinki.

After obtaining a visa, the end is relatively easy. Customs inspections are not quite as nuanced as before, but the cabbages are still inspected, for alcohol, pornography, pork, and religious objects (e.g., the Bible or cross marks) are prohibited. Porn counts e.g. women’s magazines and any other literature with images of women in obscene (i.e., Western) clothing.

By plane

The most important airports in Saudi Arabia are Jeddah, especially popular with pilgrims, and a business center in the middle of the country Riad. National airline Saudi Arabian Airlines[1], in Arabic Saudia, gives a foretaste of what to come, as alcoholic beverages are not served and the flight begins with prayer. The quality of the machines varies: newer machines are quite high quality, older ones are quite crunchy, but maintenance is reasonable and safety is therefore not an issue.

Routes from Europe to Saudi Arabia with other companies are surprisingly limited and many passengers have to detour Dubai through. For example, bmi, however, flies from London directly to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran. From Zurich Swiss also flies via Jeddah to Riyadh almost daily. In addition, British Airways, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines fly from Riyadh to Europe.

By boat

Move

By plane

Saudi Arabia is a big country and unless a bus ride of more than ten hours catches on, then flying is a sensible option. The most popular route is between Riyadh and Jeddah (1:30, full fare approx. SR250) and the main airlines are Saudi, Nas [2] and the same [3].

By train

By road

Saudi Arabia’s roads are high quality, but traffic is, to put it mildly, awful. A common stunt (among many others) is to turn at the intersection in the rightmost lane left. Lanes and grouping signs are considered mostly indicative, as are speed limits, not to mention the use of a turn signal now.

Women are not allowed to drive a car.

Visitors are allowed to drive with their own country’s driver’s license, but workers must have a local driver’s license.

Talk

Arabic is spoken in Saudi Arabia, but English is understood to some extent. Road signs are usually not only in Arabic but also in English.

Buy

The currency of Saudi Arabia is rial (SAR, SR, ر.س), pegged to the US dollar at the rate of US $ 1 = 3.75 SR. One rial is theoretically divided into a hundred halals, although in practice halala coins are hardly ever seen and prices are rounded to the nearest rial.

Price level

Price levels in Saudi Arabia vary quite a bit. For example, hotels are quite expensive, but the food is cheap compared to Finland (lollipop 1 rial, meal 10-20 rial) and petrol is ridiculously cheap (approx. € 0.10 / L)

Eat

Juo

Tap water is drinkable but not very good. Drink plenty of water.

Alcohol is prohibited by law, and there are no bars or nightclubs in the country, but especially in western walled residential areas, liquor comes into contact regularly.

Sleep

Study

Work

Stay safe

Remember that no Bible or other Christian material may be brought into Saudi Arabia. In addition, no religion other than Islam may be practiced in public. Westerners should be vigilant throughout the country, as terrorist attacks against Westerners occurred in 2003 and 2004, in particular: In Riyadh. However, terrorism has fallen, but in 2007 four more Frenchmen were shot Madain Salehssa.

Stay healthy

Respect

Women are not allowed to drive a car and they are not allowed to move except in the company of men of the close family. Note that this also applies to foreign women!

Women need to exercise abayaa in public places. Homosexuality is a crime and is punishable by death. Non-Muslims are denied access to Mecca and the Medina.

All things here must be remembered to be timed in such a way that the prayers of Muslims are taken into account. During the prayers (Salah) the whole earth is closed (about 1/2 hour at a time). Prayer times depend on the sunrise and sunset, so they vary a couple of minutes daily. You will notice the prayers while you are in a populated area. Every block (and bigger workplaces) has a mosque whose minaret echoes a call to prayer. In the workplace, the matter is handled conveniently through the PA system. Muslims have five prayers a day (at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening).

It is also worth noting that there are certain places that women are not allowed to go to. There are also places that men are not allowed to go. For example:

Banks	Separate areas for men and women
Cafes	Mainly for men, some also have their own areas for families.
Hotels	Unmarried women require written permission to check in at the hotel. Gyms, swimming pools and spas are for men only.
Museums	Mainly for families. Women are a rare sight in these places.
Restaurants	Men's area and women and children own separate.
Shopping malls	Open mainly to everyone, but sometimes only to families and women.
Bargain	Open mainly to everyone.

Take contact

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