Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Location

Population
as of the 2007, 24 million, including about 6.5 million expatriates

Religion
Islam, which is the basis of the legal system and of government.

Language

Affiliations
Founding member of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), United Nations, League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); member of many international organizations, including the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization (WTO); and signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Telecom
country code 966; area codes Riyadh - 1, Jeddah/Makkah/Taif - 2, Dammam/Dhahran - 3, Madinah/Tabuk/Yanbu - 4.

Time
Greenwich Mean Time plus three (GMT+3) = Eastern Standard Time plus eight (seven during Daylight Savings Time).

Calendar
Islamic (Hijrah), dating from emigration of the Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to

Madinah; weekend, Thursday and Friday.

Holidays
closure of all offices and schools on Eid Al-Fitr, the feast of the breaking of the fast, from the evening of the twenty-fifth day of Ramadan through the fifth day of Shawwal; Eid Al-Adha, the culmination of the Hajj, from the fifth through fifteenth day of Dhu Al-Hajjah; and September 23, National Day.

Business
Government offices Saturday through Wednesday from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm; private businesses from 8:00 am to noon and 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm; general banking from 9:00 am until noon and from 4:00 pm and markets and shops from 8:00 am until 11:00 pm.

Currency
Saudi Riyal (SR) pegged to U.S. dollar ($1=SR3.745); bank notes, in Arabic and English, in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 riyals; coins in denominations of 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 halalahs, with 100 halalahs equal to one riyal; metric system in use.

Riyadh

is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 4,854,000 people, and the urban center of a region with a population of close to 7 million people. The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality . The city has been awarded the right to host the World Fest 2012.

Population

The city has experienced very high rates of population growth, from 150,000 inhabitants in the 1960s to over 7 million, according to the most recent sources.

Climate

Summer temperatures are very hot, approaching 50 degrees Celsius. The average high temperature in July is 43.5°C. Winters are mild with cold, windy nights. The overall climate is arid, receiving very little rainfall. It is also known to have many dust storms. The dust is often so thick that visibility is under 10 meters.

Airports:

Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport (IATA: RUH), located 35 kilometers north, is the city's main airport. It's one of the four international airports in the country serving over 20 million passengers a year.This Airport faces a huge load of passengers which is increasing every year, especially during the Muslim festive season in which mostly foreign residents travel to their countries.

Hotels
include international chains such as Four Seasons, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Le Meridien, Sheraton, and Westin.

Museums and historical sights

Masmak Fortress (Qasr al-Masmak), Deira.

 8 AM-noon and 4-9 PM on Sat, Mon, Wed for men, Sun, Tue, Thu for families.

The heart of old Riyadh, this was the fortress stormed by King Abdul Aziz and his men in their daring reconquest of Riyadh in 1902. Renovated in 2008 to an inch of its life, the mud brick structure now looks like it was built yesterday, but the museum inside does a pretty good job of recounting the story of the raid and has some fascinating photos of old Riyadh as well

Murabba Palace (Qasr al-Murabba), (next to National Museum). 6-9 PM Sun-Fri. Riyadh's second old mud-brick palace, built by King Abdul Aziz after he conquered Masmak Fortress and figured he should built something harder to conquer. This two-story structure does indeed look pretty intimidating, but permits are no longer needed to venture inside, where you can find sights including the first royal Rolls-Royce

National Museum. Open Su-Mo,We-Th 9-noon for men, 4:30-9 PM families; Tu 9-noon women only, 4:30-9 PM men; Fr 4:30-9 PM families; Sa closed. Undoubtedly the top sight in Riyadh, this museum (opened in 1999) is done up with the latest technology and is very accessible to visitors, with almost everything available in English. There are so many video presentations and mini-theatres that you could probably spend an entire day here doing virtual tours of Madain Salih or watching re-enactments of the Prophet Mohammed's battle of Medina escalator up into a room of soothing, pastel light while a choir of angels sings, has probably inspired a few conversions to Islam.

Others:

As-Sufaat (Deira Square). Next to the Great Mosque and the mutawwa headquarters, this nondescript expanse of cement is known by expats as Chop-Chop Square as convicts are publicly beheaded by sword here. Executions take place on Friday mornings (but not every week), just after the noon prayers. Beware that any Westerners nearby have been known to be taken to the front row and forced to watch the whole thing, in order to further shame the condemned.  

Al-Dir'iyyah Located on a hill overlooking Wadi Hanifa, Al-Dir'iyyah, on the northwestern outskirts of Riyadh, is the ancestral home of the Saudi royal family and served as the Saudi capital until 1818. The ruins of the old city are currently being restored and renovated and are thus closed off for tourists, but the surrounding area can still be worth the visit in the meantime.

Shopping malls

Riyadh's main roads are nothing but one shopping mall after another.

Kingdom Centre (Al-Mamlaka), Daily 4-11 PM. Undoubtedly Riyadh's most stunning piece of modern architecture, at 305m the Kingdom Centre is the second tallest building in Saudi Arabia and quite a sight, especially when lit up at night. The centre hosts an (expensive) three-story shopping mall, with one floor reserved for women,
Al Faisaliah, Olaya Rd. At the foot of the Al Faisaliah skyscraper, this is one of Riyadh's swankiest malls, anchored by a Harvey Nichols department store. The food court on the third floor is among the best in the Kingdom; the one in the basement, on the other hand, is deserted. There is a fun park in the basement near the entrance on Olaya road. Families only Wed-Fri

Jarir Bookstore (Makatba Jarir), Olaya Rd (south of Musa ibn Nosayr St).  The two-level flagship store of Saudi Arabia's largest bookstore, most of the store is actually taken up by a wide range of computer gear, stationary, music and DVDs. The best English-language magazine and book selection in Saudi — which, alas, isn't saying all that much.

Sahara Mall, Intersection of King Abdul Aziz Rd and Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Rd. Enormous mall on the northern side of the city. The mall has 180 shops anchored by a Tamimi supermarket and features what may be the largest food court in the city — and if you can't find what you want here, the adjacent Sahara Plaza annex has more.

Granada Mall, near Airport has carrefour, H&M and Sun and SAnds Panorama mall on Tahlia street.

Traditional markets (souqs)

Souq al-Thumairi (شارع الثميري), Deira (next to Masmak Fortress). Also known as Antique Souq, this is Riyadh's most touristy souq, which isn't saying all that much. It specializes in Arabic goods cheap and expensive, authentic and fake, with carpets, coffee pots, daggers, jewelry and more. English is generally spoken, and haggling is obligatory.