saudianthem.mid

King saud university

Colleg of Nursing

Socio Culture

Student Name : Eman AL- Harthi &

Zinab Ali

Dr. Essmat Gemeay

Introduction of Saudi culture.

History of the Saudi culture

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi society and Western ones are very different.

-Immigration and Customs -Passport or "Iqama" Should Always Be Carried

-Women Travelling Alone -Women Cannot Drive .

-Prayer Time and Shopping-The "Religious Police “

- Saudi culture of

education

Customs and Traditions in Saudi Arabia

What to wear in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian Foods

Saudi Arabia

Cultural Homogeneity and Values

The capital city of Riyadh is located in Najd. A chain of mountains in western Saudi Arabia runs parallel to the Red Sea. The Hejaz region along the Red Sea contains the holy cities of Makah and Medina, the port city of Jeddah and the summer capital of Taif.Today the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds the world's largest reserves of petroleum (26% of proven total). Saudi Arabia’s fast growing population (26 million people today, compared to 12 million 20 years ago) have witnessed these changes within their own lifetime.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoys a long and rich history that traces its roots back to the earliest.

The region's ancient nomadic peoples developed a deep love for the land as well as a strong sense of independence. With the advent of Islam in the 7th century, tribes and clans were unified under one religion.

Geographically, it is situated in the southwestern part of Asia. The eastern part of Saudi Arabia is a plateau that begins with

the great Nafud desert in the north, continues along the Arabian Gulf and culminates in the south in the world's

largest sand desert, the Rub Al-Khali (Empty Quarter).

Cont.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia includes 13 administrative regions (Emirates), and each Emirate includes a number of governorates and centers. Riyadh is one of these regions and has 19 governorates.

Modernization & CultureThat Saudi Arabia has successfully preserved and strengthened its cultural heritage while achieving the spectacular development and modernization of the past three decades is testimony to the resilience of Saudi culture and the nation's determination to cherish and protect it .

Al-JanadriyaThe Kingdom also organizes annually one of the most important cultural festivals in the Arab world, The National Festival of Heritage and Culture in al-Janadriyah region, Riyadh. The festival has become a crossroad where poetry, intellect, culture, art, theater, heritage and history meet.

Cont.

The Saudi Arabian monarchial government recognizes the Quran as the Constitution of the country. The Customs and Traditions in Saudi Arabia are based on the tenets mentioned in the Quran .

The Culture of Saudi Arabia is framed by the Customs and Traditions in Saudi Arabia. Traditional garments are a must wear for the people of Saudi Arabia. Foreigners and tourists however are not required to follow this dress pattern. The Cuisine in Saudi Arabia is also partly influenced by the Traditions and Customs of Saudi Arabia in Asia .

Cont.

Friday Prayers•Friday is the weekly day of rest, although government offices and many private companies also close on Friday afternoon or all day Friday. The special Friday noon prayer at the mosque is particularly well attended.

Cont.

Immigration and Customs•The following items cannot be taken into Saudi Arabia: alcohol, pork products, pornography, drugs and guns.

•Non-Islamic religious items may be confiscated permanently, including Christmas trees and decorations. Interpretation of prohibited items can be surprisingly broad.

Passport or "Iqama" Should Always Be Carried

•Visitors should always carry their passports with them. These will be needed even to buy a long-distance bus ticket. •Long-term employed residents must carry an identity document called an iqama. Dependents can either carry their passports or a properly stamped and authenticated copy of an employee's iqama listing family members.

Cont.

The position of women in Islamic society in general and in Saudi Arabian society in particular is a complex and frequently misunderstood issue. It is certainly true that Muslim and Western views of the role of women show sharp cultural differences but the stereotype of Muslim women, as uneducated, with no rights and with no opportunities is a caricature born of ignorance or Malevolence. In 1960, the Government of the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia undertook the introduction of a national education program for girls. By the mid-1970s, about half of Saudi Arabian girls were attending school. Five years later, education was available to all Saudi girls.

By 1980, there were six universities for women.

Women Travelling Alone•Foreign women, travelling on their own are regarded with suspicion, particularly if not married. Saudi women do not travel long distances without an male family member - either their husband or a very close relative.

Women Cannot Drive•In Saudi Arabia women are not

allowed to drive.

Cont.

Prayer Time and Shopping•Shops, offices and other businesses, including restaurants, must close during prayer times, which vary and are published daily in the newspapers. There are prayers five times a day, and all of them except those in the early morning fall within shopping hours.

Cont.

The "Religious Police"•The Mutawwa, or "religious police" are accompanied by uniformed police and their function is to monitor public behavior and ensure that the Islamic code is obeyed. Things which might attract their attention would be inappropriate dress, physical contact between the sexes in public or eating in public during Ramadan.

Cont.

educationThe objectives of Saudi educational policy are 1/to ensure that education becomes more efficient, 2/to meet the religious, economic and social needs of the country and 3/ to eradicate illiteracy among Saudi adults.

In 2003 the General Presidency for Girls' Education was dissolved and its functions taken over by the Ministry, to administer the girls' schools and colleges, supervise kindergartens and nursery schools and sponsor literacy programs for females. The first government school for girls was built in 1964; by the end of the 1990s there were girls' schools in every part of the Kingdom. Of the nearly 5 million students enrolled in Saudi schools for the academic year 2003-04, about half were female After elementary education, students can attend either high schools offering programs in both the arts and sciences, or vocational schools.

Cont.

At the time the was founded in 1932, education was not accessible to everyone and limited to individualized instruction at religious schools in mosques in urban areas.

 

 

Education for GirlsPromoting the concept of equal educational opportunities for the sexes posed another problem but one that was ameliorated by Islam’s insistence on the importance of learning in general and the high status accorded to women within Islamic society in particular.

 

 

Further Informationeducation

Higher Education Entering a new era of rapid development of the country's infrastructure and economy in the early 1970s, devoted special attention to fostering higher education.

Special and Adult Education The Special Education Department of the Ministry of Education operates schools for the blind, deaf and the physically and mentally handicapped. Other institutes care for older handicapped people.

Cont.

The Saudi Kingdom is well known for its variety of traditional dishes that reflect the diversity of the regions and the custom of the people. Most of the dishes contain meat, rice, wheat, vegetables and spices that give these recipes a special flavor.

One of Saudi Arabia's most famous dishes is Al-Kabsa. Al-Kabsa is made of rice cooked with red or white meat or chicken in a pot. A variety of spices and salads can be added to the dish. Al-Kabsa is considered a staple dish .throughout the Kingdom

Meat is cooked in various ways. A popular way of preparing meat is called Al-Mandi.

Silig is a traditional food from Saudi Arabia. This kind of food is made of rice and milk mixed together. It tastes really good. It is served at big parties. Some people add a green salad; others like it with hot sauce.

Cont.

The religion and customs of Saudi Arabia dictate conservative dress for both men and women .

Saudi men wear the traditional dress called a thobe. Wearing the thobe expresses equality and is also perfectly suited to the hot Saudi climate. During warm and hot weather, white thobes are worn by Saudi men and boys. During the cool weather, wool thobes in dark colors are not uncommon. At special times, men often wear a bisht or mishlah over the thobe. These are long white, brown or black cloaks trimmed in gold .

A man's headdress consists of three things: the tagia, a small white cap that keeps the gutra from slipping off the head; the gutra, which is a large square of cloth; and the igal, a doubled black cord that holds the gutra in place. Some men may choose not to wear the igal. The gutra is usually made of cotton and traditionally Saudis wear either a white one or a red and white checked one.

Cont.

A Saudi women appears in public, she normally wears a voluminous black cloak called an abaya, a scarf covering her hair and a full face veil. There are varying opinions regarding the wearing of the abayah and the veil; however, Saudi women cover themselves in public and in the presence of .men who are not close relatives

Non-Muslim women living in Saudi Arabia often wear the abayah as a sign of respect for local customs.

Cont.

The population was characterized by a high degree of cultural homogeneity. This homogeneity was reflected in a common Arabic language and in adherence to Sunni Wahhabi Islam, which has been fostered within the political culture promoted by the .Saudi monarchy

The family was the most important social institution in Saudi Arabia. For Saudis generally, the family was the primary basis of identity and status for the individual and the immediate focus of individual loyalty, just as it was among those who recognized a tribal affiliation. Families formed alignments with other families sharing common interests and life-styles, and individuals tended to socialize within the circle of these family alliances. Usually, a family business was open to participation by sons, uncles, and male cousins, and functioned as the social welfare safety net for all members of family .

Cont.

Cont.Marriage was not a sacrament but a civil contract, which had to be signed by witnesses and which specified an amount of money (mehr) to be paid by the husband to the wife. It might further include an agreement for an additional amount to be paid in the event of divorce. The amount of the mehr averaged between 25,000 and 40,000 Saudi riyals (for value of the riyal) .

In the early 1990s, although some couples rejected the mehr altogether, stipulating only a token amount to satisfy the legal requirement necessary to validate the marriage contract.

www.teachsaudi.50webs.com

www.Riyadh.gov.sa

http://www.moe.gov.sa/openshare/englishcon/About-

Saud/Culture.htm_cvt.html