Riyadh Local Customs

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One of the rules of Saudi Arabia restaurants are divided in two sections men section and family section this picture is one of the example of cubicles in family section where the whole family and couple must be inside so that saudi woman should be free to take off their face veil cover when they eat.

Usually sometimes single woman may or may not allowed to eat alone in family section

Women in Saudi Arabia must wear an Abaya in public places whether you like it or not it is a long loose black cloak worn over your regular clothing. Saudi woman must veil their head and face and it is up to the expat woman whether not to choose to wear a veil but sometimes there is happens muttawa ask you to cover your head esp in market area, teenagers over 12 years old are required to wear an abbya too.

Abbaya has a different kind of style you can choose from simple to elegant with embroideries or beads design.

As an expat here for a years now I learnt that wearing the abbaya is very convenient as I did not have to worry if my clothes under were not matched or not ironed. Now I wear my abbaya as my fashion I have 4 abbaya in different style.. :-)

Inshalla (arabic language), I was confused when I heard this word at the very first time, in the hospital, market and so from our Arabian friends. And I learnt after 3 months here in Riyadh that it means “ God willing or If Allah wills” they used this word even they speak in English as a traditional expression. My children pediatrician is often to use this word ( ex. Get well soon Inshalla , or Inshallah you will be back here next month ) they usually pronounced this word before or after they state a good wishes or said in the future situation.

As-salam’ alaikum – “Peace upon with you” another common expression that you can hear when you are in the Islamic country this greetings served as a traditional greetings, most everywhere public and private places or either answering the phone. When someone greets you this you will reply “wa’ alaikum as- salam”. It means “peace upon with you too”.

A lot of friends from India have been asking me for information about the attestation procedure of their certificates before coming to work in Saudi Arabia. This post is intended for them. Working in Saudi Arabia is a challenge and so are the documentation requirements!
A basic requirement for expatriates from India is that their educational certificates have to be attested and endorsed by various agencies, prior to visa stamping. Typically, this would be their degree certificate. This certificate has to be attested by the Ministry of Human Resources as well as the External Affairs Ministry of the Government of India before being endorsed by the Saudi Embassy in India. Please note that you cannot hire an agent to do this job, and the candidates themselves have to be physically present to do it #-o , so outstation candidates have to undergo the hassle of going to New Delhi personally!

HRD Ministry attestation procedure:

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First, take a postal order for Rs.50 addressed to "Secretary, Department of Secondary Education and Higher Education" payable in New Delhi.
The Ministry is open only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for attestation, so outstation candidates must note this.
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Please ensure that the Vice Chancellor's signature and seal are very clear in your degree certificate, otherwise it will be rejected by the Ministry. This could be quite inconvenient for outstation candidates.
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If your degree certificate is laminated, make sure to remove the same, otherwise it will be forcibly torn by the attestation officer and the certificate may be damaged.
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If your certificate is neither in English nor in Hindi, it must first be translated into English and attestetd by a gazetted officer before being submitted to the HRD Ministry.
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If your degree or diploma has been issued in the state of Andhra Pradesh, you must first get the same by the General Administration Department of the Government of AP in Hyderabad. Similarly, if your certificate has been issued by Karnataka University, Dharwad, it must first be attested by the registrar of that university before being handed over to HRD Ministry, New Delhi.
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Take a printout of the application form given here and attach your postal order, original certificate, marksheet of your final year / semester, photocopies of all of the above plus your passport copy.
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The HRD Ministry opens at 9 am, but to beat the queue, you must reach there before 5.30 am I-) Do not entertain any brokers or agents, it is a waste of your money.
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Accepted documents are verified and delivered between 3.30 pm to 4.00 pm.

External Affairs Ministry attestation procedure:

It takes around 10 minutes from HRD Ministry to reach the External Affairs Ministry by autorickshaw. The Ministry opens at 9 am. Go to Gate # 2 and submit your original certificates. Delivery will be done within one hour. ;;)

The final step is to take the attested certificates to the Saudi Arabian embassy. You will have to pay the equivalent of 300 Saudi Riyals, which is about Rs.450. You must reach the embassy before 10.30 am to get the delivery at 3.30 pm, otherwise, you will have to wait another day.

That's it! Hope you liked my post. I would appreciate if you could drop in your comments, which is my motivation to write more.

Saudi National Day
-->September 23, 2008

Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)
-->October 2 - 5, 2008

Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)
-->December 9 - 12, 2008

The date for these holidays are subject to change.

*Photo taken from the internet*

Execpt for Several main shopping centers, most of them just allow families to come in, especially in weekends.

I found it annoying to see some young kids banned to enter, as I haven't face any problem with that, seems I look well-mannered to be allowed comming in.

You will find more openness in Jeddah and Al Kobar in term of having female shoppers not wearing head scarfs.

(From The Millennium Adventure Home Page -http://www.jimrogers.com/ - I found this and I wanted to Share with you)

20 November 2000 – Shopping in Saudi Arabia is a vastly different experience. No women work in any of the shopping centers – not at the cosmetics counters, shoe section or lingerie area – except for a few non-Saudi nationals working as cleaning women in the female toilets.

And there are a handful of ‘female-only’ shopping malls where all the workers are women, but again these are rare. So far in all the shops I've visited, I have met only one employee out of scores who actually knew anything about what he was selling.
Most of the male workers appear bored – perhaps since few customers exist, or else enamored with one another carrying on and laughing, instead of helping potential buyers or even taking money from eager customers.
But even more frustrating is there are no fitting rooms! No fitting rooms. Of course this makes perfect sense according to Sharia Law, as the male employees working in the shops cannot intermingle with women trying on clothes.
I asked a worker at Zara International where I should try on my potential buys and he said, “You must buy the things, take them home and return anything you do not want within the next three days.”

Saudi Arabian shops closes two times during after noon and evening hours, Magrab and Esha prayers.
I recommend that you plan your shopping either before Magrab pray time (sunset time) or after Esha Prayer (In summer time after 8:30 pm).
Some restaurants and large shops are allowing shoppers to remain inside their place while they close their doors for prayer time, so if you plan to eat out and committed to meet people just 10 minutes before prayers time for dinner, so you better be in hurry and get in the resaturant and make your order before the pray time, so you can enjoy your food while its close.
Ikea furniture store is allowing its shoppers to remain inside, and its large enough to tour it, and it has its praying place to who want to practice his religion.
There are possiblity to have other closing time such as Dhoher for banks, and Aser if you want to fill your car with fuel. Its rare that you have to wait for Fajer prayer unless you are going to one of these coffee shops that remain open till morning.

Miswak is made from a twig of certain trees which Saudi locals (some) used as a natural toothbrush.

It doesnt only gives a person a fresh breath but it also strengthens the gums and prevents tooth decay.

To use this, you have to bite one end of the twig and then the fiber will come out which looks like a regular bristle of a toothbrush. Rub it to your teeth as if your using the regular brush.