Saudi Arabia: Some Interesting Facts

Public Holidays

Date 2005 Occasion
January 21 Eid Al Adha
February 10 Islamic New Year
April 21 Prophet's Anniversary
September 24 Unification of the Kingdom
September 24 National Day
November 3 - 5 Eid Al Fitr

You should know:
Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha are the only official holidays. Work schedules may be seriously disrupted during the month of Ramadan and businesses may commonly take time off for other Islamic holidays.

It may be difficult to obtain hotels and flights, especially in the Western province, during the period of the Hajj, immediately preceding Eid Al Adha.

Weekend - Friday

Customs & Duties

Bringing in any item into Saudi Arabia containing alcohol or pork is strictly forbidden. Customs officers also pay especial attention to any books, magazines or photographs that you are carrying. Videotapes are especially targeted and are screened by censors. Anything pornographic, which could include holiday photographs of your family at the beach (!!!), or politically sensitive, can be confiscated.

Electricity

Both 110 and 220 V AC, 60 cycles AC are available and 380 volts is used for industrial purposes.

Post & Communications

The queues at the Saudi post offices are very long, especially at the end of the month when foreign workers send their salaries home to their families. There are no post restante facilities.

Saudi Arabia has an excellent telecommunication system. Almost every town has a telephone center through which international calls can be made. Card phones are a common sight, though the cards are not easily available. The country code for calls to Saudi Arabia is 966, plus the area code for the individual city. Fax, telex and telegraph can be sent from the business centers of most large hotels and from some of the large copy shops.

Weights and measures

The metric system is followed in Saudi Arabia.

Tipping

Tips are not the custom in Saudi Arabian restaurants but it would be a good gesture of your appreciation if you do, because whatever service charge is added to your bill goes to the management and not the waiters. As the latter are paid very poorly you should tip them if you are satisfied.

Regarding bargaining, you can up to a point. In the Bedouin markets you can bargain, but elsewhere it means asking for a discount, which you may get depending on the season.