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| Saudi Arabia Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Jeddah Jeddah Samer Bassam For centuries Arabia has appealed to travelers all over the world, inspired by travel reports and of course the tales of 1001 nights and the romanticism. Today’s Saudi Arabia is still a land of mystery largely due to its fundamentalist Islam state form and its rigid admission policy. Saudi Arabia is incredibly difficult to visit, there's no tourist visa in this country. Best way to get in is by invitation of a Saudi person or company, or, if you’re a Muslim, on a pilgrimage to one of the holy cities. Even if until 20 years ago local autorities were really strict with Christians and Jewish, nowadyas they are much more tolerant. So to carry a Bible with you shouldn't be a problem anymore and women are well treated. To get more information it is strongly suggested to contact the local Saudi Embassy. About half of Saudi Arabia consists of uninhabitable desert. Here there are no permanent rivers and lakes and the average temperature in July is about 40ºC. These unfriendly circumstances have deeply influenced the Arab way of life. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabian state was first established in the central region of the Arabian Peninsula in the early 18th Century, but king Abdul Aziz Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Saud founded the present day state only in 1932. Saudi Arabia is a fairly rich country, due to its vast oilfields, but this wealth is not evenly divided. The royal family effectively owns the country. There is minimal political freedom and little tolerance for opposition groups. The country's capital is Riyadh, situated in the very interior of the country, 300 km from the Persian Gulf. It’s a modern oil booming city with lots of high rising buildings. Most interesting cities are the holy cities of Mecca and Medina . Mecca is the most holy city in Islam. The city is revered from being the first place created on earth, as well as the place where Ibrahim together with his son Isma'il, built the Ka'ba, a rectangular building made of bricks. Around the Ka'ba is the great mosque, al-Haram. Medina, once called Yathrib, was chosen as the new headquarter when the Muslim community had to flee from Mecca in 622. This city of the Prophet is also the place were Muhammad died in 632. Both cities are strictly off limits to non-muslims. The non-muslim architect of a Mecca Hotel had to supervise construction through a telescope. Nearby Jeddah the major Red Sea port of the country can be visited and gives a unique insight in the culture and history of the West of Saudi Arabia. If there is one highlight to be visited in the Kingdom, it is Mada'in Saleh, about 400 km North of Medina in the direction of Tabuk and the Jordanian border. Mada'in Saleh is home to approximately 140 magnificent tombs of Nabataean origin, comparable to Petra in Jordan, yet located in a different type of setting. Whereas in Petra the tombs are essentially squeezed into a narrow canyon, in Mada'in Saleh they are spread out over a large open desert space, dotted with sandstone rocks in which the tombs have been carved. Two or three half days are absolutely required to properly visit the place. A permit to visit must be arranged in advance, and can be taken care of by the hotel in nearby Al Ula, where several possibilities of accommodation are available. The visit of the archeological area requires a car, not necessarily a 4WD though. Within the bounderies of the archeological site there is also a restored main station of the Ottoman Hejaz Railway, constructed between 1900 and 1908 to connect Damascus and Medina, for pilgrims and for military purposes (which is why it was specifically targeted during the Great War by Lawrence of Arabia and his beduin rebels). The whole of the Middle East is tilted, so the southwest of Saudi Arabia has mountains as high as 3000 meters while the east has lowlands. The mountain area is the greenest and freshest climate especially compared to the deserts in the east. Extensive irrigation projects now gradualy transform these deserts into farmland, yielding dates and grains. Now things has been changed, now you can visit Saudi Arabia easily by Trourism Visa. Tourism Visa is just being introduced by the Supreme Commission for Toursim ( www.sct.gov.sa). Tourism is widely increasing becasue of SCT measures. ________Sights Edit This eating out [Add Sight] Raquel Edit This Masmak Castle is in Saudi Arabia. It is now a museum. To learn more about this sight, go to google.com. Type in "Masmak Castle in Saudi Arabia" type: Castles World66 rating: [rate it] email: cncheerchic1216@yahoo.com ______History Edit This Except for a few major cities and oases the harsh climate historically prevented much settlement of the Arabian Peninsula. People of various cultures have lived there over a span of more than 5 000 years. The Dilmun culture along the Gulf coast was contemporaneous with the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians and most of the empires of the ancient world traded with the states of the peninsula. The Saudi state began in central Arabia in about 1750. A local ruler Muhammad bin Saud joined forces with an Islamic reformer Muhammad Abd Al-Wahhab to create a new political entity. Over the next 150 years the fortunes of the Saud family rose and fell several times as Saudi rulers contended with Egypt the Ottoman Empire and other Arabian families for control on the peninsula. The modern Saudi state was founded by the late King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (known internationally as Ibn Saud). In 1902 Abdul Aziz recaptured Riyadh the Al-Saud dynasty's ancestral capital from the rival Al-Rashid family. Continuing his conquests Abdul Aziz subdued Al-Hasa the rest of Nejd and the Hijaz between 1913 and 1926. In 1932 these regions were unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Boundaries with Jordan Iraq and Kuwait were established by a series of treaties negotiated in the 1920s with two "neutral zones"--one with Iraq and the other with Kuwait--created. The Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone was administratively partitioned in 1971 with each state continuing to share the petroleum resources of the former zone equally. Tentative agreement on the partition of the Saudi-Iraqi neutral zone was reached in 1981 and partition was finalized by 1983. The country's southern boundary with Yemen was partially defined by the 1934 Treaty of Taif which ended a brief border war between the two states. It remains undefined in many areas. The border between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was agreed upon in 1974. Boundary differences with Qatar remained unresolved. King Abdul Aziz died in 1953 and was succeeded by his eldest son Saud who reigned for 11 years. In 1964 Saud abdicated in favor of his half-brother Faisal who had served as Foreign Minister. Because of fiscal difficulties King Saud had been persuaded in 1958 to delegate direct conduct of Saudi Government affairs to Faisal as Prime Minister; Saud briefly regained control of the government in 1960-62. In October 1962 Faisal outlined a broad reform program stressing economic development. Proclaimed King in 1964 by senior royal family members and religious leaders Faisal also continued to serve as Prime Minister. This practice has been followed by subsequent kings. The mid-1960s saw external pressures generated by Saudi-Egyptian differences over Yemen. When civil war broke out in 1962 between Yemeni royalists and republicans Egyptian forces entered Yemen to support the new republican government while Saudi Arabia backed the royalists. Tensions subsided only after 1967 when Egypt withdrew its troops from Yemen. Saudi forces did not participate in the Six-Day (Arab-Israeli) War of June 1967 but the government later provided annual subsidies to Egypt Jordan and Syria to support their economies. During the 1973 Arab-Israeli war Saudi Arabia participated in the Arab oil boycott of the United States and Netherlands. A member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Saudi Arabia had joined other member countries in moderate oil price increases beginning in 1971. After the 1973 war the price of oil rose substantially dramatically increasing Saudi Arabia's wealth and political influence. In 1975 King Faisal was assassinated by a nephew who was executed after an extensive investigation concluded that he acted alone. Faisal was succeeded by his half-brother Khalid as King and Prime Minister; their half-brother Prince Fahd was named Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister. King Khalid empowered Crown Prince Fahd to oversee many aspects of the government's international and domestic affairs. Economic development continued rapidly under King Khalid and the kingdom assumed a more influential role in regional politics and international economic and financial matters. In June 1982 King Khalid died and Fahd became King and Prime Minister in a smooth transition. Another half-brother Prince Abdullah Commander of the Saudi National Guard was named Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister. King Fahd's brother Prince Sultan the Minister of Defense and Aviation became Second Deputy Prime Minister. Under King Fahd the Saudi economy adjusted to sharply lower oil revenues resulting from declining global oil prices. Saudi Arabia supported neutral shipping in the Gulf during periods of the Iran-Iraq war and aided Iraq's war-strained economy. King Fahd played a major part in bringing about the August 1988 cease-fire between Iraq and Iran and in organizing and strengthening the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) a group of six Arabian Gulf states dedicated to fostering regional economic cooperation and peaceful development. In 1990-91 King Fahd played a key role before and during the Gulf war. King Fahd's action also consolidated the coalition of forces against Iraq and helped define the tone of the operation as a multilateral effort to reestablish the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait. Acting as a rallying point and personal spokesman for the coalition King Fahd helped bring together his nation's GCC allies Western allies and Arab allies as well as nonaligned nations from Africa and the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. He used his influence as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to persuade other Arab and Islamic nations to join the coalition. King Fahd suffered a stroke in November 1995. By the end of 1997 Crown Prince Abdullah had taken on much of the day-to-day responsibilities of running the government. __________Getting Around Edit This All domestic air services are run by Saudi, which is quite reliable and reasonably priced. The most frequent and efficient service runs Jeddah-Riyadh-Dhahran. If you're not pressed for time and you don't have a car, the bus is a pretty good option. The bus company, SAPTCO, has comfortable, air-conditioned buses, but you can buy tickets only one day in advance or on the day of travel. Service taxis go to most of the same destinations as buses for around the same price, but don't run to a timetable. Saudi Arabia has the only stretch of railway track in the entire Arabian peninsula - one line from Riyadh to Dammam, via Hofuf and Abqaiq. Trains run three times a day except Thursday. If you plan to drive, a western driving license is acceptable and you must be a man. Rental rates are government controlled and comparable to rates in the West. Theoretically Saudis drive on the right; car insurance, sensibly, is compulsory. _________Economy Edit This Economy—overview: This is a well-to-do oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. About 35% of GDP comes from the private sector. Economic (as well as political) ties with the US are especially strong. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 75% of budget revenues 35% of GDP and 90% of export earnings. Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of petroleum in the world (26% of the proved total) ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum and plays a leading role in OPEC. For the 1990s the government intends to bring its budget which has been in deficit since 1983 back into balance and to encourage private economic activity. Roughly 4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy for example in the oil and service sectors. Helped by production above its OPEC quota Saudi Arabia continued to bring its finances closer into balance in 1997 recording a $1.6 billion budget deficit and a $200 million current account surplus. For 1998 the country looks to its policies of maintaining moderate fiscal reforms restraining public spending and encouraging nonoil exports. Shortages of water and rapid population growth will constrain government efforts to increase self-sufficiency in agricultural products. GDP: purchasing power parity—$206.5 billion (1997 est.) GDP—real growth rate: 4% (1997 est.) GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$10 300 (1997 est.) GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 46% services: 48% (1996) Inflation rate—consumer price index: 0% (1997 est.) Labor force: 7 million by occupation: government 40% industry construction and oil 25% services 30% agriculture 5% note: 35% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues: $47.5 billion expenditures: $52.3 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) Industries: crude oil production petroleum refining basic petrochemicals cement two small steel-rolling mills construction fertilizer plastics Industrial production growth rate: 16% (1996 est.) Electricity—capacity: 20.9 million kW (1995) Electricity—production: 65 billion kWh (1995) Electricity—consumption per capita: 3 470 kWh (1995) Agriculture—products: wheat barley tomatoes melons dates citrus; mutton chickens eggs milk Exports: total value: $56.7 billion (f.o.b. 1996) commodities: petroleum and petroleum products 90% partners: Japan 17% US 15% South Korea 10% Singapore 8% France 5% (1996 est.) Imports: total value: $25.4 billion (f.o.b. 1996) commodities: machinery and equipment foodstuffs chemicals motor vehicles textiles partners: US 22% UK 12% Japan 9% Germany 8% Italy 5% France 4% (1996 est.) Debt—external: $NA Economic aid: donor: pledged $100 million in 1993 to fund reconstruction of Lebanon Currency: 1 Saudi riyal (SR) = 100 halalah Exchange rates: Saudi riyals (SR) per US$1—3.7450 (fixed rate since June 1986) Fiscal year: calendar year _________Day Trips Edit This tom is a very attractive young man. he is a complete gentlemen in all aspects of his life and is thourghly lookng forward to his after formal party and sharing a dance with jess. _______People Edit This i Population: 20 785 955 (July 1998 est.) note: includes 5 244 058 non-nationals (July 1998 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (male 4 547 971; female 4 398 628) 15-64 years: 55% (male 6 738 820; female 4 591 477) 65 years and over: 2% (male 268 136; female 240 923) (July 1998 est.) Population growth rate: 3.41% (1998 est.) Birth rate: 37.63 births/1 000 population (1998 est.) Death rate: 5.02 deaths/1 000 population (1998 est.) Net migration rate: 1.44 migrant(s)/1 000 population (1998 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.46 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female (1998 est.) Infant mortality rate: 41.34 deaths/1 000 live births (1998 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.03 years male: 68.19 years female: 71.96 years (1998 est.) Total fertility rate: 6.38 children born/woman (1998 est.) Nationality: noun: Saudi(s) adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian Ethnic groups: Arab 90% Afro-Asian 10% Religions: Muslim 100% Languages: Arabic Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 62.8% male: 71.5% female: 50.2% (1995 est.) ::::::::Dammam Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see i Samer Bassam Dammam is a city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is located in the Eastern province. This is an industrial city, a lot of people from different countries are here to work. :::::::::Dhahran Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see i Dhahran is the headquarters of the Saudi oil company Saudi ARAMCO. Most of the people living in the city are employees or relatives of employees of ARAMCO, with the exception of some contract workers who work for ARAMCO. Saudi ARAMCO's compound is a contained town much like a military compound. It is a fenced in, access controlled area. The compound is totally self contained with its own recreation facilities (pools, tennis courts, raquetball courts, weight rooms, golf course, arcade, movie theatre playing out of date movies, putt-putt golf, incredible SCUBA diving in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, private beach, BMX track, youth center and tons of desert for motorcycle riding). Saudi ARAMCO's compound is split into two sections, main camp and the Rolling Hills. Main camp is the older portion built in the 1950's while the Hills was built during the 1980's when Saudi ARAMCO was hiring like crazy. Actually, Dhahran looks a lot like parts of Arizona. Also in Dhahran is King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals and the US consulate. Outside of Dhahran lies the Saudi city of Khobar where you can experience some Saudi culture, but American fast food places and stores have popped up everywhere there too. ::::::::Huraymila Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Water Tower Water Tower M.Dawood A Vellage developed to be a small city. Located about 88 Km from the capital, Riyadh. Surrounded with old style farms with a lot of palm trees. One of the old caravan routes the escarpment, WADI HURAYMILA makes a pleasant day's outing with scenery ranging from acacia covered wadi to dramatic escapment and wide plains.You will pass several good fossil sites and two picturesque old buildings, often referred to as Turkish forts. Teh wadi runs east-west almost parallel to Wadi Hanifah further north. ::::::::Huraymila Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Water Tower Water Tower M.Dawood A Vellage developed to be a small city. Located about 88 Km from the capital, Riyadh. Surrounded with old style farms with a lot of palm trees. One of the old caravan routes the escarpment, WADI HURAYMILA makes a pleasant day's outing with scenery ranging from acacia covered wadi to dramatic escapment and wide plains.You will pass several good fossil sites and two picturesque old buildings, often referred to as Turkish forts. Teh wadi runs east-west almost parallel to Wadi Hanifah further north. ::::::::::Jeddah Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Jeddah from ALMADANI Residence Tower Jeddah from ALMADANI Residence Tower Imre Kurti Jeddah is as close as a non-muslim can get to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina . It is by far the most cosmopolitan city in the Kingdom, which is due to the fact that for centuries it has been an important port town. Until the 1980s many western countries had their embassadies in Jeddah, now they have all move to Riyadh . Nevertheless, there are still a large number of foreign consulates in Jeddah as the city retains its importance as the commercial capital of the Kingdom and it is, of course, the main port of entry for the millions of pilgrims who visit the Holy Cities each year. The old city of Jeddah is now a protected area. Within the area, many of the traditional houses are built of coral, taken from reefs in the Red Sea. Most interesting are the Sharbatly House and the Naseef House, two old houses of two of Jeddah's merchant families. Both have been restored. The Municipality Museum is opposite the National Commercial Bank headquarters in the old city. It is the only remaining building of several which comprised the British Legation in Jeddah during World War I. The museum is open in the mornings from Saturday to Thursday; admission is free but a permit from the Jeddah Municipality is required (telephone: +966 2 669-5556 or 660-7671). Once the permit has been granted, it is still necessary to make an appointment with the curator of the museum. The best-kept secret in Jeddah -- and one which many Saudis are totally unaware of and would deny if asked -- is that there is a Christian cemetery in the city. It is in fact in a street in the old city named with predictable Arab pragmatism, the Street of the Cemetery of the Foreigners. It is no longer in use, the last burial having taken place in the early 1950s, but is kept up in turn by various of the foreign consulates in the city. It is walled and there is a large gate. It can, however, be peered into from some of the buildings surrounding it. Part or or all of this text stems from the original article at: None ::::::::::Jubail Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Residential area 2 Residential area 2 Al-Balood Jubail is a city on the Persian Gulf, in Saudi Arabia. Jubail ( Arabic : "??????" Al Jubayl ), is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia . Its full name is Madinat al Jubayl as Sina`iyah (Jubail Industrial City). It has a population of 222,544 ( 2004 census), up 58% from the 1992 figure of 140,828. In 1975 , along with Yanbu' al Bahr , it was designated as a new industrial city by the Saudi government, and has seen rapid expansion and industrialisation since. The industrial city is a complex of petrochemical plants, an iron works and a number of smaller companies, plus a Royal Saudi Naval Base . Jubail was a small fishing village until the mid- 1970s at which time it became one of the Kingdom's two newly-created industrial cities. In 1986, a group on a desert picnic, while attempting to dig their vehicle out of the sand near Jubail, found the ruins of a church. The Jubail Church is believed to have been built prior to 400 A.D. The church was likely connected to one of the five Nestorian bishoprics which are known to have existed in this area of the Persian Gulf in the 4th century :::::::::Khamis Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Khamis is a large but relatively unknown sprawling City in Southern Saudi Arabia. It has an unusually large Western Ex-pat community due to the presence of several military installations nearby. It has a number of hotels, but Europeans and Americans would usually stay in the Trident, or the Abha Palace in nearby Abha. The area is one of spectacular mountains with gorges cut out by Wadis, wildlife is abundant despite the aridity and the local tribe -the tihami are very different from the usual Saudi Populace. Very Nice Place! :::::::Khobar Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see i_8 Khobar is an oil boom town in Saudi Arabia. From a travelers perspective this is not the most interesting place in the country, but due to the large number of ex-pats the city does have some good services for foreigners - no beer though. ::::::::Mada?in salih Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Nabataean Tombs Mada'in Saleh Nabataean Tombs Mada'in Saleh MarcV If there is one highlight to be visited in the Kingdom, it is Mada'in Saleh, about 400 km North of Medina in the direction of Tabuk and the Jordanian border. Mada'in Saleh is home to approximately 140 magnificent tombs of Nabataean origin, comparable to Petra in Jordan, yet located in a different type of setting. Whereas in Petra the tombs are essentially squeezed into a narrow canyon, in Mada'in Saleh they are spread out over a large open desert space, dotted with sandstone rocks in which the tombs have been carved. Two or three half days are absolutely required to properly visit the place. A permit to visit must be arranged in advance, and can be taken care of by the hotel in nearby Al Ula, where several possibilities of accommodation are available. The visit of the archeological area requires a car, not necessarily a 4WD though. Within the bounderies of the archeological site there is also a restored main station of the Ottoman Hejaz Railway, constructed between 1900 and 1908 to connect Damascus and Medina, for pilgrims and for military purposes (which is why it was specifically targeted during the Great War by Lawrence of Arabia and his beduin rebels). Part or or all of this text stems from the original article at: eeman :::::::::Mecca Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see The Holy Mosque The Holy Mosque Samer Bassam Mecca is the holiest city of islam. It is off limits to non-believers. Millions of muslims come to the city during the Hajj. There are many huge hotels because of this and in the frantic building boom much of the old city is destroyed. :::::::: Medina Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see photo Zahid Nazir Medina is located in the Hejaz in the West of Saudi Arabia, some 200 km north of Mecca and close to the harbour town of Yanbo. Medina is the second holiest city of Islam, after Mecca but before Jerusalem. The name literaly means just city, but actually stands for the City of the Prophet. When prophet Muhammad left Mecca, the Hijra, he was invited by the citizens of Medina to become their leader. From here Islam started its succesful spread over the world. Medina is not a city for tourists. It's a holy place and most of the foreign visitors come here on a pilgrimage, either the Hajj or the Umra. Strictly speaking a stop in Medina is not necessary but many of the pilgrims like to pay a visit to the tomb of the prophet while they are in Saudi Arabia. The city is strictly forbidden to non-muslims. Therefore it doesn't make sense to treat Medina like a tourist destination. We will go into the main 'attractions' but these are primarily pilgrims attractions. The main place pilgrims head for is the tomb of the prophet. It is located in what is known as The Mosque of the Prophet. The green domed complex of the mosque is huge and incredibly ornate. The Qiblatayn Mosque where Muhammad decreed that prayer should be directed toward Mecca, rather than Jerusalem is another attracion as is the Mosque of the tomb of Fatima. Baqi is the cemetery in Medina. It houses the family, grandchildren and over twenty thousand companions of the Prophet Muhammad as well as many great Scholars and residents of Medina. It is said to be the largest cemetery in the world. :::::::::Qatif Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Qatif beach 2 Qatif beach 2 Danial Hamad The history of Qatif dates back to 3500 BC in the late Bronze Age. Known by other names, such as the most famous "Al-Khatt", the area has been inhabited by a great diversity of people. Its location in the midst of one of the largest oases in the world, famous for its springs and palm trees, has ensured work in farming and government service. After the discovery of oil, many residents sought employment with Saudi ARAMCO. Qatif extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south. It contains the city of Qatif, as well as several other towns and villages. Qatif is 25 km from Dammam, the Eastern Providence capital, and is bounded by the Bayadh Desert to the north, the Dhahran expanse to the south, and the Arabian Gulf to the east. Fish Market Qatif fishing port attracts catches from all ports of the Arabian Gulf. The Fish Market opens after sunset prayer and closes at 10:30 pm and it is the largest fish market in the region. Khamee's Market Every Thursday morning, Qatif bustles with the transactions of Khamee's market, where stands are placed among regular stores and peddlers roam. A wide range of goods is available, with folkloric handicrafts, made during the week, displayed side-by-side modern imports. Qasr Darin Qasr Darin (also known as Qasr Abdul Wahhab Pasha) is an impressive structure overlooking the Arabian Gulf. In 1884, the wealthy Muhammed ibn Al 'Abdul Wahhab Al Fayhani came to the area from Qatar and built the castle over settlements which date to the dawn of Islam. He traded in pearls, which were exported to many countries at that time. Tarut Citadel Few origins of Tarut Citadel are not known for certain, except that it was built over 5000-year old settlements. Legends envisage a variety of historical images. One story is that the Citadel was built between 1515-1521 A.D. by the people of Qatif or Tarut for protection against Portuguese attackers. Another is that the Portuguese built it for protection against Turkish attacks. After being forced to surrender in 1559 A.D., the Portuguese fled Tarut for the Island of Awal. Tarut Citadel is surrounded by a wide wall of terracotta material, gypsum, and stones. Crab-shaped in its totality, the 9-meter-high wall from bottom to top ranged between 1-2.5 meters in width. Bridges, over the entire length of the wall and connecting 11 high towers and abutments, were used as secret passages during wartime. A ::::::::::::Ras Tanura Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see A city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the "Arabian" or Parisian Gulf. The name Ras Tanura applies both to a gated Saudi Aramco employee compound (also referred to as "Najmah") and to an industrial area further out on the peninsula that serve as a major oil port and oil operations center for Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, and is the largest oil refinery in the world. Before the rise of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s, there was no town there. Today, the compound has about 3,200 residents, including about 1,700 North Americans. ::::::::: Riyadh Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see King Fahad Libaray King Fahad Libaray Samer Bassam Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia and lies on the great limestone plateau of Nejd in the centre of the Arabian Peninsula, some 2500 feet above sea level. In arabic the name literally means 'Gardens'. Being a former trade centre on the pilgrim route across the Peninsula, Riyadh has been a midpoint of attention for centuries. After the young Abdulaziz gained control of Riyadh in 1902, it was from this base that he gradually established control over a vast area from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea. This area became, in 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nowadays, Riyadh is a bustling metropolis with state-of-the-art architecture and a modern city infrastructure. Just 20 km outside Riyadh a visit to the old village of Dariyah is a must. From here the Saud family originated before it spread its power over the country. The village contains a number of Saud family palaces, in various states of restoration. Most buildings date back to the 1920-1930s, althought the village as a whole is about two centuries old. Reaching Dariyah is not easy and it is advisable for visitors who reach the place by taxi to make the driver wait. Taxis are not readily available at the location for the return trip. ::::::::::: Sakakah Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Aljouf University Aljouf University Ibrahim Alhumaid The administrative protector Sakakah happens to Al Jouf area in the part 40 steps on line of a length are in north of the kingdom and 12 minutes and the circle of an exhibition 59 steps and 29 minutes. Her habitants 114 counted off a breath or air. A history returns they rubbed to more than four thousand the year of the standing historical oblong ancestry and Jouf's area in general Sakakah specially an abundant agricultural area the waters are famous by sower date palm ( 500 palms ) and the olive ( 1 trees ) an addition to the other agricultural produces where eloquent counted off the farms ( 7600 farms ) he counted off the agricultural projects ( 100 projects ) in the meaning that how wonderful! the basket of a bee eater then oh! ________History Edit This suudi arabisana turkiyeden musuln kardeslerimize allahin selami uzeinenize olsun :::::::Yanbu Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Yanbu is the pensioners paradise. Beautiful & natural scenes can be found predominant in many areas- Baqavi Part or or all of this text stems from the original article at: www.albaqavi.com |
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L'Arabia Saudita è uno Stato della Penisola araba. Confina con l'Iraq, la Giordania, il Kuwait, l'Oman, il Qatar, gli Emirati Arabi Uniti e lo Yemen. È bagnato dal Golfo Persico a nord-est e dal Mar Rosso ad ovest.
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Storia
Lo stato saudita nacque nell'Arabia centrale circa nel 1750. Un dominatore locale, Muhammad bin Sa‘ūd, unì le sue forze con quelle di un riformatore islamico, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhāb, con lo scopo di creare una nuova entità politica. Nei centocinquanta anni successivi, le fortune della famiglia dei Sa‘ūd sono cresciute e decadute molte volte, poiché la famiglia contendeva il potere e il territorio sulla Penisola araba all'Egitto, all'Impero ottomano e ad altre famiglie arabe. Il moderno Stato della famiglia Sa‘ūd fu fondato dal re ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd (conosciuto internazionalmente come Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud). Nel 1902 ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd conquistò la città di Riyād, la capitale ancestrale della dinastia degli Āl Sa‘ūd, sottraendola alla famiglia rivale degli Āl Rashīd. Successivamente ‘Abd al-‘Azīz sottomise al-Ahsa, al-Qatif, il resto di Najd e lo Hijaz fra il 1913 ed il 1926. L'8 gennaio 1926 ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd diventò il re del Hijāz. Il 29 gennaio 1927 assunse il titolo di re del Nejd (il suo titolo precedente era sultano). Dal trattato di Jedda, firmato il 20 maggio 1927, la Gran Bretagna riconobbe l'indipendenza del regno di ‘Abd al-‘Azīz (allora conosciuto come il regno di Hijaz e Nejd). Il 23 settembre 1932 queste regioni sono state unificate come Regno dell'Arabia Saudita. La scoperta del petrolio nel marzo del 1938 ha trasformato economicamente il paese ed ha dato al regno l'autorevolezza di cui gode. Oggi l'Arabia Saudita ha strette relazioni con le molte nazioni occidentali che comprano il petrolio saudita.
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Geografia
Il regno saudita occupa circa l'ottanta per cento della penisola araba. La maggior parte dei confini con gli Emirati Arabi Uniti, Oman e Yemen non è definita, così come la dimensione esatta del paese. Il governo saudita stima la superficie del suo stato tra i 2.217.949 e i 2.240.000 chilometri quadrati. Meno dell'1% dell'area è adatto alla
coltivazione agricola.
Il clima è asciutto, di tipo desertico, con grandi sbalzi di temperature. Il regime delle precipitazioni rende il paese arido o semi-arido, col terreno principalmente stepposo e, talora, a prevalenza sabbiosa. Nella maggior parte del regno la vegetazione è spontanea e arbustiva. La zona costiera del mar Rosso, specialmente le barriere coralline, ha una fauna marina molto ricca. La Penisola arabica, specialmente nelle regioni meridionali yemenite, è considerata una delle quindici aree del pianeta in cui si è organizzata la società umana ed è per questo motivo che la zona è definita "culla dell'umanità".
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Politica
Re ‘Abd Allāh La forma di governo dell'Arabia Saudita è la monarchia, il nome ufficiale dello stato Regno arabo saudita (المملكة العربيّة السّعوديّة). Le leggi fondamentali del Regno furono promulgate nel 1992 con la dichiarazione secondo la quale l'Arabia Saudita è una monarchia governata dai discendenti del sultano del Najd ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Al Sa‘ūd, primo re dell'Arabia Saudita. Le leggi dello Stato sono basate sulla legge islamica (Shari'a). Non sono presenti elezioni parlamentari né esistono partiti politici nel paese. Nel 2005 si sono tuttavia organizzate elezioni locali.
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Economia
L'Arabia Saudita ha un'economia
basata sul
petrolio, con forti controlli statali sulle attività economiche più
importanti. L'Arabia Saudita possiede il 24% del totale stimato delle riserve
del petrolio mondiale; figura come la più grande esportatrice di petrolio e
svolge un ruolo principale nell'OPEC. Negli anni recenti, l'Arabia Saudita ha sperimentato una significativa contrazione dei proventi dal petrolio, combinata con un un elevato tasso di crescita della popolazione. Queste cause hanno fatto precipitare il reddito pro capite da 25.000 US$ nel 1980 a 8.000 US$ nel 2003; nel 1999 era di circa 7.000 US$. Il declino registrato tra il 1980 ed il 1999 ha segnato un record mondiale negativo di cui non si conoscono precedenti nella storia delle nazioni in periodo di pace.
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Demografia
La popolazione saudita nel 2003 è stimata essere circa 24,3 milioni,
includendo circa 6,4 milioni di stranieri residenti. Fino agli
anni '60,
la maggior parte della popolazione era
nomade o
semi-nomade. A causa del rapido sviluppo economico ed urbano, più del 95%
della popolazione ora è sedentarizzato. Il tasso di natalità è di 29,74
nascite per 1.000 abitanti. Il tasso di mortalità è si soli 2,66 morti ogni
1.000 abitanti. La maggior parte dei Sauditi è di etnia araba. Alcuni hanno un'origine etnica mista e sono discendenti di Turchi, Iraniani, Indonesian, Indiani, Africani e di altre etnie, la maggioranza delle quali immigrò come pellegrina del hajj, fissando la propria residenza nella regione del Hijaz, lungo il litorale del mar Rosso. Molti Arabi dei paesi vicini lavorano nel regno saudita. Ci sono inoltre numerosi asiatici immigrati per lavoro principalmente dall'India, dal Pakistan, dal Bangladesh, dall'Indonesia e dalle Filippine. Gli occidentali sono meno di 100.000 in tutta l'Arabia Saudita. La distribuzione delle religioni in Arabia Saudita è molto difficile da calcolare, perché il governo indica come musulmano il 100% dei cittadini. Esistono tuttavia numerosi cristiani fra i lavoratori immigrati (vedi anche la voce Chiesa cattolica in Arabia Saudita). In Arabia Saudita i cristiani possono essere arrestati e fustigati per la pratica della loro fede in pubblico o per il possesso di "materiale propagandistico", incluse bibbie. A nessun non-musulmano è permesso diventare cittadino saudita. Gli incontri di preghiera dei cristiani vengono interrotti dalla polizia e le persone che si convertono al Cristianesimo possono ufficialmente venire giustiziate, anche se in realtà ciò non avviene da molti anni. (cf. US State Department).
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Cultura
Il patrimonio culturale è celebrato nella festività annuale Jenadriyah. La cultura saudita ruota quasi interamente in funzione dell'Islam. Due dei luoghi più santi degli islamici sono nel regno, sul cui territorio nel VII secolo d.C. si espresse la religione islamica.
Uno dei rituali folcloristici più rappresentativi dell'Arabia Saudita è il Ardha, il ballo nazionale del paese. Questo ballo della spada è basato sulle tradizioni antiche dei beduini: i suonatori di tamburi tengono un ritmo sostenuto e un poeta canta i versi mentre gli uomini che portano la spada ballano spalla a spalla. La musica ha origini nella Spagna musulmana (al-Andalus). A Mecca, a Medina e a Jedda il ballo e la canzone sono eseguite al suono dell'mizmar, uno strumento di legno simile all'oboe. Il
vestito saudita è fortemente simbolico, rappresenta i legami della gente
alla terra, il passato e l'Islam. Gli indumenti sono principalmente larghi ed
ondeggianti, riflettono la praticità della vita in un paese desertico così
come l'enfasi conservatrice islamics. Tradizionalmente, gli uomini portano
solitamente una
camicia lunga fino alla caviglia, tessuta con fibre di
lana o
cotone
(conosciuto come thawb), con una
ghutra (un grande quadrato di cotone tenuto fermo da una corda)
portata sulla testa. Per i rari giorni freddi, gli uomini sauditi portano un
mantello di capelli di
cammello
indossato sopra ai vestiti. La legge islamica proibisce il consumo della carne di maiale e le bevande alcoliche; questa legge è seguita in modo rigoroso nell'Arabia Saudita. Il pane azzimo arabo, detto khobz, è mangiato durante quasi tutti i pasti. Altre generi di consumo principale includono il pollo alla griglia, i felafel (ceci fritti), la shawarma (agnello arrostito con uno spiedo verticale e quindi affettato) ed il fūl (una pasta di fave, aglio e limone). I teatri e i cinema pubblici sono proibiti, perché ritenuti incompatibili con l'Islam. In ogni caso, in alcune città come Dhahran, Ras Tanura, Abqaiq, e Udhailiya i teatri e i cinema pubblici non sono proibiti.
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Voci correlate
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Collegamenti esterni
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