The Land of Sand: Saudi Arabia Test 1

Wadis, as drainage courses, are formed by water, but are distinguished from river valleys or gullies in that surface water is intermittent or ephemeral.

• 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 27 million, including 8.4 million foreign residents (2010 census), and its capital city is Riyadh.

• Saudi women are expected to wear the traditional black, long gown called the abaya while in public, foreigners are exempted from this rule.
• The hijab and niqab are optional for both Saudi and tourist women.
• Women must dress modestly at all times, covering their knees and shoulders.

• Saudi men and boys, whatever their job or social status, wear the traditional dress called a thobe or thawb, which has been called the "Arabic dress".
• During warm and hot weather, Saudi men and boys wear white thobes.
• During the cool weather, wool thobes in dark colors are not uncommon.

• Camels are known as the ships of the desert mainly because of their physical characteristics which are well adapted to the conditions of the desert.
• They have large, flat feet covered by protective pads which helps in walking through hot desert sand.

Pilgrims circumambulating the Kaaba in Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Mecca. Located in Saudi Arabia, this is the holiest site of Islam.

Cape hares, sand cats, striped hyenas, red foxes, caracals, two species of gazelle and Arabian wolves, Arabian Horses, camels and oryxes live within the Arabian desert.

Mammals in the desert inhabit both the region's arid and semi-desert brush areas.

Bedouin, also spelled Beduin, Arabic Badawi and plural Badw, Arabic-speaking nomadic peoples of the Middle Eastern deserts, especially of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.

Jeddah Islamic Port: Located right in the middle of the international shipping routes that connect the East to the West this port is crucial to the sustenance of Jeddah as Saudi Arabia's commercial capital.

• The climate of Saudi Arabia is marked by high temperatures during the day and low temperatures at night.
• The country follows the pattern of the desert climate, with the exception of the southwest, which features a semi-arid climate.