Saudi Arabia: About The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Part 1
From ExecutivePlanet.com
An Introduction to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Government, economy, and climate
Perhaps no other country in the Middle East is as misunderstood by the average westerner as is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [colloquially referred to as, “the Kingdom,” not “Saudi Arabia” alone]. The most likely reason is courtesy! To the Saudis, good manners are all important, meaning that they are far too polite to embarrass an offender by pointing out his social gaffes. To make matters even more difficult, Saudi and western concepts of courtesy can be precise opposites. In the west, for example, it is very polite for a man to hold a door for a lady, or at least allow her to pass first. The same gesture is offensive by Saudi standards because the man puts himself in a position to ogle the woman from behind.
Government and Economy
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, united by King Abdulaziz bin Abdurrhaman bin Saud Al Saud (known as "ibn Saud" in the west), who died in 1953. The present Monarch is his ninth son to survive him, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. Crown Prince is the King¹s half-brother, HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (also Minister for Defence and Aviation). The economy is oil-based, revenue from which has substantially been invested in agriculture and some industry with the objective of overall self-sufficiency for the Kingdom. Currency is the Saudi Riyal, which now trades freely but until recently was tied to the U.S. dollar at a rate of SR 3.75 to the dollar.
Climate
Most of the Kingdom is in the tropics. The Tropic of Cancer runs through Medina, about 300 miles north of Jeddah. The interior, including the capital, Ar-Riyadh, is mainly desert, where there is little humidity but a vast range of temperature from below freezing nights in winter to 50° C daytime temperatures in summer. Although the desert extends to both the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea coasts, those areas are much more humid, sometimes exceeding 100% in the Gulf. The Red Sea coast is somewhat less humid than the Gulf but the moisture limits both coasts to an overall temperature range of just some 25 degrees [from slightly below twenty to the low forties]. Rainfall throughout the Kingdom is very slight, except for the Asir [the extreme southwest, bordering the Yemen], owing to its proximity to the monsoon belt. Unlike the rest of the Kingdom, this makes the mountainous Asir a green and fertile region.
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