Saudi Arabia Men and women kiss cheeks as greeting. A nose kiss in some parts in Saudi. People greet their parents, grandparents a...
Saudi Arabia
- Men and women kiss cheeks as greeting. A nose kiss in some parts in Saudi.
- People greet their parents, grandparents and the elders in the family with a kiss on the head or/and hand out of respect.
- The traditional way of eating a meal is with the hand (right hand) and on the floor.
- Coffee (Gahwa) is served in small cups and with dates. It mainly consists of ground coffee, cardamom, carnation seeds and saffron. A small plate of tahina is served sometimes to eat it with the dates. Its delicious.
- Men's formal dress is thobe and shemagh. And in formal events such as weddings, men wear besht (a gown that is worn over the thobe).
- The white head cover is shemagh or ghotra (it can be red also). The white dress is thobe. Thobes can also be colored however they are usually for the winter and its mostly made of wool.
- Women wear a black gown (called Abaya) when leaving the house. This used to be law, but not anymore.
- Women didn’t start driving until last year.
- Males and females are segregated in weddings.
- All shops close during salat (prayer times).
- The weekend is Friday and Saturday. The reason being Friday is muslim holiday where everyone goes to Jum’a prayer (Noon prayer).
- The official working hours for businesses during Ramadan is 6 hours.
- Men are usually called by “Abu” followed by their eldest son’s name. The word “Abu” translates to father of. (i.g. Abu Abdullah). This also applies to females, but instead of Abu, “Um” is used, which translates to mother of. (Um Abdullah)
- Trading camels is big in Saudi and they can expensive based on their traits. Prices can go up to $3 million.
- House fences are as high as 3 meters and they are made of concrete. Household size also is relatively large. The average household size is 6.4
- Tourist visas weren’t available until last year. So the only way to get to here is either by an invitation from a family or a business
- There are only two official holidays, Eid Adha and Eid Fitr.
- Every Muslim has to visit Saudi for pilgrim (hajj) at least once in their lifetime.
- Non-Saudis cannot own a land in Mecca and Medina. This includes Saudi companies with foreign investors.
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