» Middle East : Saudi Arabia :: Middle East Destination Guide

Middle East : Saudi Arabia

Filed under:

Middle East Asia Travel

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia occupies four-fifths of the Arabian peninsula. Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, the Gulf of Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen border it. 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.

The region also includes the city of Jeddah, until recently Saudi Arabia�s diplomatic capital, which remains the most important commercial and cultural gateway to the country. Mecca is the spiritual centre of the Islamic world. Places of significance to Muslims include the Kaabah Enclosure and the House of Abdullah Bin Abdul Muttalib, where Muhammad was born. 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 40�C. 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.

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.

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.

Top Destinations in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Khobar, Dammam, Medina, Dhahran, Jubail, Qatif, Jeddah, Mecca, Yanbu, Khamis, Ithra

Related Travel Information

Middle East Asia : Bahrain

Bahrain Bahrain is a small island in the Persian Gulf (or the Arabic Gulf, as the Arabs call it). It is linked to its big neighbor Saudi Arabia by a bridge and separated by a small strait from Qatar. The population is, like in neighboring Iran in large majority Shia Muslim. Less than 270 square miles in size, Bahrain is one of the most densely populated island countries in the world. Approximately 140,000 people reside in the capital city of Manama. Arabic is the official language, but many citizens also speak English. Bahrain is sometimes referred to as the Switzerland

Middle East : Jordan

Jordan Situated between Israel, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Jordan is unexpectedly peaceful amid the turmoil of its neighbouring countries and is a wonderful place to visit, made more so by its hospitable people whose immediate reaction to travellers is �Welcome to Jordan�. With a reputation for being one of the most friendly countries on earth, it is sad that so few people dare to explore its immense sense of history, as well as two of the most magnificent sights in the Middle East: the ancient rock-hewn city of Petra and Wadi Rum�s spectacular desert scenery. Jordan is

Middle East : Kuwait

Kuwait Kuwait offers something rarely seen by the average traveler. Far from the poverty of the "third world", thanks to the discovery of oil, Kuwait is a modern bustling country mixed with old world traditions and desert bedouin tribes. The Islamic Middle Eastern state of Kuwait, situated at the northwest extreme of the Persian Gulf, is somewhat overshadowed and overwhelmed by its neighbours Iran, Saudi Arabia, and especially war-torn Iraq. Those visiting Kuwait today are imbued with a lust for adventure that has nothing to do with adrenalin-producing experiences, but rather a yen to explore a not too radical fundamentalist

Middle East : Oman

Oman Situated on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, the Sultanate of Oman is bordered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the West, and the Republic of Yemen to the South. The United Arab Emirates lies on the North West, and to the East lies the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The land area is 309,500 sq. kms. Since the discovery of massive oil deposits, Oman has seen spectacular economic growth and modernization. The country has kept faithful to its Islamic traditions, however. Even so, Oman has managed to create a relative open society, more open

Middle East Asia : Iraq

Iraq Travel Guide Iraq is the country of Mesopotamia or Land Between the Rivers in classical times. It has a subtropical climate, with a tendency in direction of continental climate in the north. Iraq is very dependent on water from Tigris and Euphrates, as there is little rain falling here. The west and south is mostly stone desert. The country became known as Iraq in the 7th century. It�s the land were paradise allegedly once was. The region's extensive alluvial plains gave rise to the world's earliest civilizations, though in recent times it was not all that civilized. The modern