Here's a list of some of the Major Cities in Saudi Arabia

• `Afif
• `Ar`ar
• Abha
• Abqaiq
• Al Bahah
• Buraidah
• Ad-Dammam
• Dhahran
• Ad-Dir`iyah (now a suburb of Riyadh)
• Duba
• Ha'il
• Al-Hufuf
• Al-Jawf
• Jeddah
• Jizan
• Al-Jubayl
• King Abdullah Economic City (still in the planning process, not built yet)
• Khamis Mushayt
• Al-Kharj
• Khobar
• Layla
• Al-Majma'ah
• Makkah (Mecca)
• Madinah (Medina)
• Najran
• Qal'at Bishah
• Al-Qatif
• Ras Tanura
• Ra's al-Khafji
• Riyadh (National Capital)
• As-Sulayyil
• At-Ta'if
• Tabuk
• Udaliyah,
• `Unayzah
• Yanbu' al-Bahr

If I didn't mention your city, please don't be offended... it's just a blog!

Saudi Arabia's population as of 2005 is estimated to be about 26.4 million, including about 5.6 million resident foreigners. Until the 1960s, most of the population was nomadic or semi-nomadic; due to rapid economic and urban growth, more than 95% of the population now is settled. The birth rate is 29.56 births per 1,000 people. The death rate is only 2.62 deaths per 1,000 people. Some cities and oases have densities of more than 1,000 people per square kilometre (2,600/sq mi).

Most Saudis are ethnically Arab. Some are of mixed ethnic origin and are descended from South Asians, Iranians, Malays, and others, most of whom immigrated as pilgrims and reside in the Hijaz region along the Red Sea coast. Many Arabs from nearby countries are employed in the kingdom. There also are significant numbers of South and South East Asian expatriates mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

There are around 100,000 Westerners in Saudi Arabia, most of whom live in compounds or gated communities. According to the CIA World Fact Book, 100% of Saudi Arabias citizens are Muslims.

Saudi Arabian culture revolves almost entirely around the religion of Islam. Islam's two holiest sites, Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah (Medina), are located in the country. Every day, five times a day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques which dot the country. The weekend consists of Thursday and Friday. Islam's holy book the Qur'an is Saudi Arabia's constitution, and Shari'ah (Islamic law) is the foundation of its legal system.

Saudi Arabian dress is strongly symbolic, representing the people's ties to the land, the past, and Islam. The predominantly loose and flowing, but covering garments reflect the practicalities of life in a desert country as well as Islam's emphasis on conservative dress. Traditionally, men usually wear an ankle-length shirt woven from wool or cotton (known as a thawb or thobe), with a shimagh (a large checkered square of cotton held in place by a cord coil) or a ghutra (a plain white square made of finer cotton, also held in place by a cord coil) worn on the head. For rare chilly days, Saudi men wear a camel-hair cloak (bisht) over the top. Women's clothes are decorated with tribal motifs, coins, sequins, metallic thread, and appliques. However, Saudi women must wear a long cloak (abaya) and veil (niqab) when they leave the house to protect their modesty. The law does not apply to foreigners at such a high degree, but both men and women are told to dress modestly.

Islam forbids the eating of pork and the drinking of alcohol, and this law is followed strictly throughout Saudi Arabia. Arabic unleavened bread (or khobz) is eaten with almost all meals. Other staples include cooked lamb, grilled chicken, felafel (deep-fried chickpea balls), shwarma (spit-cooked sliced lamb), and fuul (a paste of fava beans, garlic and lemon). Traditional coffee houses used to be ubiquitous, but are now being displaced by food-hall style cafes. Arabic tea is also a famous custom, which is used in both casual and formal meetings between friends, family and even strangers. The tea is black (without milk) and has herbal flavoring that comes in many variations.

The Kingdom occupies eighty percent of the Arabian Peninsula. Most of the country's boundaries with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen are undefined, so the exact size of the country remains unknown. The Saudi government's estimate is 2,217,949 square kilometers (856,355 sq mi). Other reputable estimates vary between 2,149,690 square kilometers (830,000 sq mi) and 2,240,000 square kilometers (864,869 sq mi).

The climate is dry and hot. Dry desert with great extremes of temperature and the terrain is mostly uninhabited, sandy desert. In most parts of the country, vegetation is limited to weeds, xerophytic herbs and shrubs. Animals include the ibex, wildcats, baboons, wolves, and hyenas in the highlands. Small birds are found in the oases. The coastal area of the Red Sea, especially the coral reefs, have a rich marine fauna. Saudi Arabia has a coastline of 2,640 kilometers (1,640 mi).

Saudi Arabia consists mostly of semi-desert and desert with oases. Almost half of the total country is uninhabitable desert with annual precipitation up to 100 millimetres (4 in) in most regions. The western regions are plateau and the east is lowland. The southwest region has mountains as high as 3,000 metres (9,840 ft), and is an area known for the greenest and freshest climate in all of the country. The capital, Riyadh, which is to the center-east has an average temperature in July of 42°C (108?F) and 14°C (57°F) in January. In contrast, Jeddah on the western coast has 31°C (88°F) in July and 23°C (73°F) in January.

Less than 2 % of the total area is suitable for cultivation, and in the early 1990s, population distribution varied greatly among the towns of the eastern and western coastal areas, the densely populated interior oases, and the vast, almost empty deserts, such as the Rub' al Khali (desert), the Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands. There are no permanent rivers or lakes in Saudi Arabia.

Enjoy...

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Jordan on the north,
Iraq on the north and north-east, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on
the south and south-east, and Yemen on the south, with the Persian Gulf to its north-east and the Red Sea to its west.
It is called "The land of the two Holy Mosques", a reference to Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah (Medina), Islam's two holiest places.

The Saudi state began in central Arabia in about 1750. A regional ruler, Imam Muhammad bin Saud, joined forces with an Islamic reformer, Imam Muhammad Abd Al-Wahhab, to create a new political entity. Over the next one hundred and fifty years, the fortunes of the Saud family rose and fell several times as Saudi rulers contended with Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, and other Arabian families for control on the peninsula.

The modern Saudi state was founded by the late King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (known internationally as Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud).

The discovery of oil in March 1938 transformed the country economically, and has given the Kingdom great legitimacy over the years.

There are no recognized political parties or national elections. The King is often classified as an absolute monarch, but his powers are theoretically limited within the bounds of Shari'ah and other Saudi traditions. He also must retain a consensus of the Saudi Royal Family, religious leaders (`Ulamaa'), and other important elements in Saudi society. The state's ideology is Salafi. The leading members of the royal family choose the king from among themselves with the subsequent approval of the`Ulamaa'.

Legislation is by resolution of the Council of Ministers, ratified by Royal Decree, and must be compatible with the Shari'a (Islamic law). Justice is administered according to the Shari'ah by a system of religious courts whose judges are appointed by the King on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, composed of 12 senior jurists. The independence of the judiciary is protected by law. The King acts as the highest court of appeal and has the power to pardon. Access to high officials (usually at a Majlis, or public audience) and the right to petition them directly are well-established traditions.

More to come...

A lot of people ask:

What's it like Living in Saudi Arabia?
Does Saudi Arabia have the internet?
I bet they don't have the Internet in Saudi, do they?
Do they ride camels and stuff?
Do they live in mud huts in Saudi Arabia?
What do you do for fun in Saudi?

And many other questions, due to a picture that's painted in their heads of a primitive society in which raggedy bedouin tribesmen tend to their flocks of sheep and camels...

Saudi Arabia is ANYTHING but that. It's quite modern, though in some cases it seems a bit TOO modern. The economy is pretty strong these days and if you want to see the latest Mercedes, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche or other phat cars, just take a trip to Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammar or even sometimes here in Madinah.

I'll be talking about different topics regarding life here in the Saudi society and comments are ALWAYS welcome, just keep them clean.
If you're wondering about life in Saudi Arabia, because you might have just gotten a job with a Saudi company, or are planning to visit for some other reason such as Hajj, `Umrah or to study...
Check back