Lynn iPulse Student Newspaper

Saudi Arabia is one of the hottest and driest places on the planet with a population of more than 30 million people. Majeed A-Zayer is a Lynn student who was born in Saudi Arabia. A-Zayer is majoring in international business, which fits perfectly with his well traveled experiences. Although born in Saudi Arabia, he has lived in places all over the world, including London, Lebanon, Vienna and now Florida.
A-Zayer went to a Saudi school in London for most of elementary school and attended high school in Italy.
A-Zayer has been living in the United States for one year and is enjoying the educational experience. “The education in the U.S is way better than the education in Vienna or Saudi,” said A-Zayer.
There are several differences in the culture in the United States and Saudi Arabia.
“In Saudi Arabia, Islam is the culture and the females wear a veil on their heads.” There are also several laws and holidays in Saudi Arabia that differ from those in the United States. For example, women cannot drive in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, Saudis celebrate holidays such as Eid and Ramadan. “You have Christmas; we have Eid,” said A-Zayer. “Ramadan is a holiday that lasts for one month. You have to fast from dawn until sunset [each day].”
A-Zayer’s family now lives in Vienna, though he remembers his time in Saudi Arabia fondly.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A Diverse Geography and a Developing Society

Mada'in Saleh, one of the best known archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula. It occupies an area about the size of the United States east of the Mississippi River. Saudi Arabia’s population is around 22 million (2004 census), and its capital city is Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia’s geography is diverse, with forests, grasslands, mountain ranges and deserts. The climate varies from region to region. Temperatures can reach over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the desert in the summer, while in the winter temperatures in the north and central parts of the country can drop below freezing. Saudi Arabia gets very little rain, only about four inches a year on average.
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy based on Islam. The government is headed by the King, who is also the commander in chief of the military.
The King appoints a Crown Prince to help him with his duties. The Crown Prince is second in line to the throne.
The King governs with the help of the Council of Ministers, also called the Cabinet. There are 22 government ministries that are part of the Cabinet. Each ministry specializes in a different part of the government, such as foreign affairs, education and finance.
The King is also advised by a legislative body called the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura). The Council proposes new laws and amends existing ones. It consists of 150 members who are appointed by the King for four-year terms that can be renewed.
The country is divided into 13 provinces, with a governor and deputy governor in each one. Each province has its own council that advises the governor and deals with the development of the province.
Because Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state, its judicial system is based on Islamic law (Shari’ah). The King is at the top of the legal system. He acts as the final court of appeal and can issue pardons. There are also courts in the Kingdom. The largest are the Shari’ah Courts, which hear most cases in the Saudi legal system.
At the time of the establishment of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the country lacked modern transportation facilities and ports, and had less than 30 miles of paved roads.
Today, the Kingdom has a modern transportation network of roads, railroads, air, marine and public transport. The country is also linked by a sophisticated communications network that serves as a basis for its economic growth and development.
Saudi Arabia’s telecommunications sector is growing at a remarkable rate. Facilities and services are constantly being expanded to accommodate the Kingdom’s growing market.
The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology oversees all modern communications technologies in the Kingdom. The major provider in Saudi Arabia is the partially privatized Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC), one of the largest telecom services operators in the world. A second company, Mobily, also provides mobile service.
The culture of Saudi Arabia is a rich one that has been shaped by its Islamic heritage, its historical role as an ancient trade center, and its Bedouin traditions.
Saudi society has experienced tremendous development over the past several decades. The Saudi people have taken their values and traditions, their customs, hospitality and even their style of dress, and adapted them to the modern world.
Source: Saudi Arabia Embassy

Ancient Arabian History
A Religious Rule Settles in Saudi Arabia

Fifa, a mountainous area in southwest Saudi Arabia.

Parts of what is now eastern Saudi Arabia were first settled in the fourth or fifth millenium BC by migrants from what is now southern Iraq.
The Nabateans had the biggest of the early empires, stretching as far as Damascus around the first century BC.
In the early 18th century the Al-Saud, the ruling family of modern Saudi Arabia, were the ruling sheikhs of the oasis village of Dir’aiyah, near modern Riyadh.
When they formed an alliance, in the mid-18th century, with Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab, the result was Wahhabism, the back-to-basics religious movement that is still Saudi Arabia’s official form of Islam.
By 1806, the converting armies of Wahhabism had conquered most of modern Saudi Arabia as well as a large part of southern Iraq.
None of this went down well in Constantinople, as western Arabia was, at least in theory, part of the Ottoman Empire.
In 1812 the empire retook western Arabia, and by the end of the 19th century the Al-Saud had retreated to Kuwait, where they were given sanctuary.
Source: Lonely Planet