| About the Country- SAUDI ARABIA |
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More than undulating sands, Islam and impressive mosques, the country features attractive ruins and majestic sky-rise buildings. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in Arabian Peninsula with a total land area of roughly 2,150,000 sq km and is composed of 27.6 million. The country is bounded by Jordan (northwest), Iraq (north), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain (northeast), UAE (east), Oman, and Yemen (southeast and south respectively). Saudi Arabia’s capital city is Riyadh. The Kingdom is also the home of the two holiest mosques across the world, which is the Mecca and Medina. Being the world’s leading petroleum exporter it fuels the economy of the country. Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries in the world experiencing extreme aridity and hotness in which the temperature reaches 50° Celsius during summer. The government is the Saudi monarchy. There are no accepted political parties or national elections apart from for local ones which is reserved for male citizens only are allowed. The legal system or constitution of the country is based on the Islamic Law or Sharia. |
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The culture in Saudi Arabia primarily revolves around their religion which is Islam. It is the major religion being practiced in the country. Millions of Muslims visited Saudi Arabia since the religion was born in here. The way of dressing in the country follows strict principles of hijab, an Arabic term that translates as cover (noun) or to veil (if used as a verb). By tradition, men wear an ankle-length shirt made of cotton called as thawb with a ghtura. As for women’s clothes, they are required to wear an abaya or any modest clothing when they appear in public. When it comes to meeting etiquette, men will shake hands whilst women will hug and kiss to their close friends. It is prohibited in the country when men and women who are not related greet or talk each other in public. There are no public theaters or cinemas in Saudi Arabia as it is prohibited. In Wahhabi tradition, it is believed that those institutions are incompatible with Islam. However, there are IMAX theatre and renting or American and British movies are legal and widely available.
The official language of the country is Arabic in which it is spoken by about 200 million people in over 22 countries. On the other hand, English is also widely used and spoken in conducting business, international affairs and in schools as second language. Furthermore, Arabic is also the language used in the Holy Book of Islam- Qu’ran or Koran and Arab poetry and literature. In Saudi, the dialects spoken in the city and in rural areas are different. Arabic aside, there are non-Saudi population residing in the country that speaks Urdu (Pakistan’s official language) and other Asian languages like Turkish. |
