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Saudi Arabia is situated in the Southern-Eastern part of the Asian Continent. The Kingdom occupies about 2,240,000 square kilometers of the Arabian peninsula. It has 1700 kilometers of Western Coast along the Red Sea and 560 kilometers of Eastern Coast along the Arabian Gulf. It is bordered to the south-east by Oman, Yemen & the United Arab Emirates, to the north by Iraq & Kuwait, & to the west by Jordan. Most of Saudi Arabia is desert. About half the country is taken up by the Rub Al Khali, or Empty Quarter, the largest sand desert in the world. A second desert area (the Nafud) stretches into Jordan & Syria. The western coastal strip is backed by the Hejaz & Asir mountains.
In 1947, Jeddah occupied an area of 1sq km, but following it's civic and architectural development, this area has increased to 560sq km and it's Red sea paved coastline stretches 80km from North to South. See map of Saudi Arabia.
In 1947, Jeddah's population was over 30,000 people. By the end of the 1970's the population of Jeddah was estimated to be close to one million. By 1986, the estimate growth rate in excess of 10% the population by 1993, had passed the two million mark.
Islam is the official and only permitted religion. Muslims pray five times a
day: at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset and about an hour and a half after sunset.
Exact prayer times are given in the local papers. The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam.
The judicial system of the Kingdom is based on Islamic Law (Shari'ah) and Decree Law. "Shari'ah" is taken from the interpretations of the Holy Qur'an and the "Sunna" (tradition of the Prophet Muhammad). Decree Laws are issued to regulate industrial and commercial affairs.
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Inscription and a sword. The inscription is the Islamic profession of faith "There is no god but God; and Mohammed is the messenger of God." The flag is never flown at half mast. Even at the death of the King it would not be lowered. The reason being that the flag bears an inscription which is the proclamation of the Islamic faith. This must always fly high in a country where words from the Holy Koran, the sayings of Prophet Mohammed, are the sole basis for all public and civil life. |
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Date palm tree and two crossed swords. The date palm tree represents vitality and growth. The crossed swords symbolize justice and strength rooted in faith. |
The Saudi Riyal (SR) is the unit of currency in Jeddah. It is divided into a hundred Halalah. The denominations of the Saudi currency are as follows: Bills: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Riyals. Coins: 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 Halalahs.
Government agencies and departments work from 7.30am to 2.30pm and take Thursday and Friday as a weekend. Private establishments and companies work one shift from 8am to 5pm or two shifts from 9am to 2pm and then 5pm to 8pm, with half day on Thursday and Friday off. All businesses close for 15 minutes during the five prayers of the day.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia uses the Islamic (Hijrah) calendar, in reference to the migration (Hijrah) of Prophet Mohammed and his companions from Makkah to Madinah on Monday the 1st of Rabi Al-Awal, corresponding to 13 September 622 AD. The Hijrah year has 12 lunar months and consists of 354 days. Date writing begins with the day first, then the month, then the year. Today, according to the Hijrah calendar we are in the year 1425!
Jeddah is warm all year round, with occasional rain in November and December. The hottest months are July to September when temperatures regularly reach 35 degrees C and can be 45 degrees C. The city register's high levels of humidity for much of the year. Paticularly in September humidity often exceeds 90%. Average temperatures are 23 degrees C in January and 32 degrees C in July.
All the Kingdom is under one time zone. Saudi Arabia is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
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