Saudi Arabia in the Middle East is where Islam first originated from and
Indians wanting to visit Saudi Arabia can apply for a six-month tourist visa, payable in Saudi Riyals from either of the Saudi Arabian embassies in Mumbai or New Delhi. The capital city , which is also the biggest is Riyadh, and the official language spoken is Arabic, and the only religion allowed to be practiced there is Sunni Islam. The oil rich land is ruled by the Saud Family, with current monarch being King Salman bin Abdulaziz and has existed since 1932. The currency in Saudi as it is often abbreviated to, is the Saudi Riyal and the country is the fifth largest state in the Asian continent with a landmass of around 830,000 sq miles. It is also the second biggest Arab state after Algeria. Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Yemen and Qatar border it, and the Gulf of Aqaba separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. It is also known as the home of the conservative Wahhabism religious movement that is part of Sunni Islam, and has become more popular with other Muslims around the globe, as the Saudi’s invest a lot of money in building new mosques around the world. It also is host to the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (in Medina), and the Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), where many devout Muslims go on pilgrimage to. Saudi Arabia makes the bulk of its money from the large oil and gas deposits that it has, and is the globes biggest producer of oil.
Saudi Arabia is known as a strict country, which practices Sharia Law, where women are not allowed to drive or go out alone and it still uses capital punishment as a deterrent to crime.
But there is far more for tourists to enjoy in Saudi such as 4-wheel drive or camel treks in the desert, seeing the modern skylines and great shopping in Jeddah and Riyadh. Riyadh, otherwise known as The Garden is one of the richest cities in the world and is home to the interesting National Museum and is the countries political and financial centre and has some great restaurants and hotels. If you want to see more of Saudi culture then the Jenadrivah Heritage & Cultural Festival is a must see for any Indian tourist in Saudi Arabia, and showcases traditional crafts and even camel races. There is a crafts village there year round so even if you miss the yearly festival you can still get a taste of traditional Saudi living. So book a holiday from India to Saudi Arabia for a real taste of the Islamic world.
