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 by shelnlin
As a westerner, I felt very privedged to meet some very interesting and colourful people from many parts of the world. Towards the end of my stay I finally meet a couple from back home in New Zealand and it was a pity that I had not meet them earlier.
Saudi Arabia is a melting pot filled with many different cultures and it is amazing to be surronded by many different people from around the world. Saudi itself can be rather restrictive at times and unfortunately the nightlife is pretty bland compared to most countries around the world. Because there are no pubs, clubs, or any sort of nightspot; many a person will go out to a friends place for dinner or meet them out for a meal in a restaurant or a cafe. It was also nice to get together with others and sometimes the odd board game came out and everyone would sit around the table playing a game of Pictionary or whatever was about. On one occassion I went to a BBQ where there a few South Africans, one Canadian, a Brit and of course me a Kiwi.
I guess one of the most important tips I can give an expat when they first come to Saudi, is to network and get out and about and make friends. At first everything may seem strange and odd and prayer times that seem to go off at unreasonable hours of the day but once you start meeting people and making some friends you will find that alot of your fears may start to leave you. If you really are sufferering still and things aren't looking the best after a certain period say after 6 months, (depending on your circumstances... whether you are alone or have family with you) it may pay to look elsewhere for work.
But remember read your contract throughly and many companies will not usually pay for your air ticket out if you do happen to break your contract. Leave a Comment
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 tradition by TomorrowsAngel
Or casually doing your weekly groceries when all of a sudden the lights go off, a strange wailing comes on over the loudspeaker, and the supermarket doors are bolted inside and out, all because its prayer time.
Or encountering a wizened man of perhaps 65 with a graying beard - but no moustache - wearing what looks like a night shirt that hits him well above the ankles, and brandishing a thin bamboo cane and yelling as-salah! as-salah! (Pray! Pray!) thereby causing everyone in his vision to scurry toward the nearest mosque. And when he sees YOU he starts chanting cover, cover, cover cover and sudddenly you realise he's motioning you to put your headscarf on. And you drop all your shopping and clumsily try and cover your head!
But most bizarre of all: on a Friday after prayer you see a crowd in front of the main downtown mosque and discover that one or more prisoners are about to be beheaded with a sword in public. All this and more will greet you if ever you visit Riyadh. Leave a Comment
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 Pilgrims' tents, Arafat by TomorrowsAngel
According to the Department of General Statistics at the Planning Ministry, the number of pilgrims for 2001 (1421 AH) amounted to 1,804,800. There were 1,363,992 pilgrims from outside the Kingdom, while 440,808 were from inside the Kingdom. Leave a Comment
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 Kaba in Makkah by TomorrowsAngel
An umrah visa is issued to any Muslim who wishes to visit and pray in the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Umrah visa is issued at any time other than the actual hajj. In order to obtain an Umrah visa, an application must be made in applicant's home country or in the country in which one holds permanent residence.
If the applicant is not from a Muslim country or does not have a Muslim name, he will be asked to provide an official document listing Islam as his religion. Converts must provide documentary evidence of their conversion from a mosque. An Umrah visa is valid for a week and only for travel to Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah and on the roads linking them. If travel is to be completely by road, one is allowed to travel from the land border where he enters the Kingdom to the Holy Cities. Leave a Comment
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 The precincts of
Janat-al-Baqih at Madina by TomorrowsAngel
With the visa number in hand, the individual can go to the embassy BUT as visas are issued only by number and not by name, if one has no number, there is absolutely no point in going to the embassy.
No number, no visa: the rule is simple and is applied to all applicants.
If, on the other hand, the visitor is at the embassy in the morning with his number, he can usually collect his visa in the afternoon. Leave a Comment
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 jeddah by TomorrowsAngel
There are 24 and 48 hour transit visas for people passing through Saudi airports. These are issued only after you have satisfied the Saudi embassy that you had absolutely no choice but a transit stop in the Kingdom. If you do get this kind of visa, you will have to surrender your passport to the immigration authorities at the airport and collect it on your way out.
Road transit visas
These are relatively straightforward. People driving between Jordan and either Yemen or Kuwait are normally given three-day transit visas. These are usually issued only by the embassies in Amman or Sana'a. You are required to go to the embassy with your carnet and a visa for the country at the other end of the trip.
People driving between Bahrain, Qatar or the UAE and Jordan are often given seven-day transit visas.
People driving between Oman and Jordan are required to get the transit visa in Abu Dhabi.
However, bear in mind that all of this information is unreliable, as it appears to be the Saudi nature that there are no hard and fast rules regarding transit visas. Stories are legion of individuals who obtain visas in their country of origin only to find them invalid at the Saudi border, or who arrive at the Saudi border having been instructed by their local Saudi embassy that this is the appropriate place to source a transit visa, only to be told that only an embassy can issue a transit visa. The basic rule, then, is to double-check all of your facts with your local Saudi embassy and, if possible, with the authorities in Saudi Arabia. Leave a Comment
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 The Prophet's Holy Room by TomorrowsAngelLeave a Comment
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 Remains of the House of
Sorrows in Medina by TomorrowsAngel
In addition to his work in the Kingdom, you will also have to show copies of your employment contract and academic or professional qualifications. You will also have to have a comprehensive medical examination for which the embassy provides the forms. An important part of the medical examination is a blood test showing that you are HIV negative.
Once you and your sponsor have completed the paperwork, which usually takes about six weeks, you will be informed of your visa number, which will entitle you to collect your visa. Once you have arrived in the Kingdom, your visa will be converted to a residence visa and in almost every case, you will at this point give your passport to your sponsor and be issued with an iqama, or residence permit, which you should carry with you at all times.
In the event of leaving the country on a holiday, your sponsor will obtain an exit/re-entry visa for you; upon returning your iqama to your sponsor, you will be given your passport which is only valid for travel outside the Kingdom if there is an exit/re-entry visa stamped in it.
If you are leaving the country and not returning, you will be issued an exit-only visa. Leave a Comment
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 The Holy Prophet Mohammed's
(SAW) Mosque in Madina by TomorrowsAngel
Other than the two types of visas discussed above which are only available to Muslims, there exist visitor's visas, residence visas or transit visas.
In all cases, a person entering the Kingdom must have a Saudi sponsor, which means an individual or a company to vouch for the individual's conduct while he is in the country. Leave a Comment
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 jubail desalination plant by TomorrowsAngel
Surface water which is to be found predominantly in the west and south-west of the country. In 1985 (1405/06 AH), surface water provided 10% of the Kingdom's supply.
Ground water held in aquifers, some of which are naturally replenished, while others are non-renewable. In 1985 (1405/06 AH), ground water provided 84% of the Kingdom's supply but it is noteworthy that most of this water came from non-renewable aquifers.
Desalinated seawater a source of water production in which the Kingdom is now a world leader. Desalination technology, which also produces electricity, has reached an advanced stage of technology in the Kingdom and, by 1985 (1405/06 AH), this source was providing 5% of the Kingdom's supply.
Reclaimed wastewater a source of water which is still in its early stages but which offers scope for considerable expansion. In 1985 (1405/06 AH), the reclamation of wastewater provided 1% of the Kingdom's supply.
According to the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, in 2000 (1420/21 AH) there were 27 desalination plants producing 814 million cubic meters of desalinated water (more than 600 million gallons a day) and providing more than 70% of the required drinking water. Leave a Comment
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