Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Leader	King Fahad Abdual Aziz Al-Saud Born in 1920, Educated by the Palace Court. First Minister of Education. Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. Crowned King .
The Country	Capital: Riyadh Population: 20.6 million (1997) Area: 2,240,000 Sq Km National Day: September 23
The Religion	Islam No other religious activies are allowed to be practiced in public. All shops, government offices are closed during the five prayer times with absolutely no exceptions.
	Electricity: 125v, 215 50c/60c AC, American Standard plugs. Local time: GMT+3 Currency: Saudi Riyal (SAR) 3.75=$1.00
The Culture	Dress Code: Very strict, no short dress, no short pants, or sleeveless shirts are allowed in public places. Traditional Meal : Kabsa
Restictions	No Porno (anything above the knee is porno). No Drinking. No Bars. No Discos. No Pork. No Movies.
Facts& Figures	Saudi Arabia has two-thirds of the world oil reserves and natural gas (315 billion barrels of oil and 235 trillion cubic meters of natural gas).
Links	Saudi On-Line Saudi Arabia, Yeserday And Today Asharq Al-Awsat (you must have a subscription to read it on line).
Personal Observations	Saudi Arabia has the most powerful resources, not only in the gulf but all over the Arab world. However, it is not using the most valuable and permanent resource -- that's the female population. I look forward to the day women will be able to drive, work and function freely in Saudi. Politically, Saudi is always criticized for not saying much during national or international crisis. I think this is a very smart policy. People can not blame you much when you say nothing but will tarnish you for saying the wrong thing. Probably, the most commendable job the kingdom had ever done is the expansion of the two holy Mosque and hosting Muslims pilgrims every year. A tremendous responsibility taken by the kingdom to accommodate millions of people coming from different parts of the world each year. Although some incidents happened in the past, but the place is improving every year after year -- it's on an evolution process.
Contact Number	Riyadh (1) Holiday Inn 478 2500 477 2819 Regency 479 1234 477 5373 Inter-Continental 465 5000 465 7833 Jeddah (2) Holiday Inn 661 1000 660 6326 Regency 652 1234 651 6260 Inter-Continental 661 1800 661 1145 Al Khobar/Dhahran (3) Dhahran International 891 8555 891 8559 Al Gosaibi 894 2466 894 7533 Meridien 864 6000 898 1651 Dammam (3) The Oberoi 834-5555 834 9872