Favorite Saudi Arabian Foods

Have you ever been curious about the type of food people eat in Saudi Arabia? Are you planning on traveling there and want to know what to expect? Or are you simply wondering what is on the menu at that Saudi Arabian restaurant that recently opened near your home?

Well, look no further: we have answers to your Saudi Arabian food questions!

Because Saudi Arabia is an Islamic nation, the national law forbids citizens from eating pork and from drinking alcohol. Also, animals must be butchered in a specific way and blessed before they can even be eaten.

Once you get past those laws, there are many delicious dishes to be tasted in Saudi Arabia that have been enjoyed for thousands of years. The country’s cuisine staples include dishes featuring the following as main courses: lamb, chicken, falafel, shawarma, mutabbaq, and Ful medames. You probably recognize lamb and chicken, but what about those last four?

Falafel is made by deep-frying chickpea balls and is very delicious when served in a pita with vegetables and tahini sauce.

Shawarma is sliced lamb cooked on a spit, sometimes for as long as a full day. The butcher shaves off pieces off the surface of the meat to put into a pita or a wrap that is then topped off with tabbouleh, fattoush, tomato, and cucumber.

Mutabbaq is pan-fried bread stuffed with mutton, garlic, egg, onion, and curry sauce.

Ful medames is a dish consisting of fava beans, olive oil, parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice.

All of these are usually eaten with either pitas or khubz, which is Arabic unleavened bread, kabsa, which is a well-known and favorite rice dish, yogurt, and dates.

If you feel a little homesick for American food while you are in Saudi Arabia, however, you will be in luck: several fast food restaurants can be found there, such as Burger King, McDonalds, Hardee’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Chili’s.

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Symbolism Behind the Saudi Arabian Flag

Flags are extremely interesting because they generally have a lot of important symbolism behind their designs. The American flag, for example, has thirteen stripes to symbolize the country’s original 13 colonies, and it has fifty stars to represent the current fifty states.

The Saudi Arabian flag is no different in that it has symbolism, but it actually has a very unique design. It features a solid green background, an inscription in Arabic, and a white sword. The Arabic inscription translates into this phrase: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” This phrase is the shahada, or the Islamic declaration of faith.

The sword itself is very symbolic, as it represents justice.

The shahada featured on the flag is considered very sacred, so the Saudi Arabian flag is not typically used in casual ways, such as displayed on T shirts or on other regular objects. The flag is treated with such respect that is never lowered to half mast for any reason because to do so would be considered very blasphemous.

Saudi Arabia has had many flag designs before officially adopting this one on March 15, 1973. Some earlier designs were the same as the current design but included a vertical white stripe on the left side of the flag.

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Oil Ban Will Not Stop Nuclear Work in Iran

Despite crude oil export in Iran coming to a crawl, Iran’s government officials have stated that they will not halt development of nuclear technologies. Rostam Qasemi, an Iranian official has even gone as far as to state that: We will not abandon our just nuclear course, even if we cannot sell one drop of oil. This may be a gross exaggeration, but Western opposers aren’t counting on it.

This statement and statements like it is causing obvious reason for concern. Tension has risen, especially with the European Union, who previously accounted for ¼ of all Iranian oil sales. With this kind of resolve, many countries are wondering what Iran is planning.

Qasemi has further stated that Iran will stop oil exports in general to certain European nations, though he has not yet specified which ones in retaliation for halted purchasing. According to this major Iranian figure, Unfortunately, the EU has succumbed to America’s pressure. I hope they would review their decision on sanctioning Iran’s oil exports.

Obviously, there are plenty of people who think that sanctions are not enough. Iran isn’t responding as we might have hoped to the threats, and there are some people who fear that all of this will turn violent.

Interestingly, analysts do not actually believe that the global oil market will be significantly affected by Iran’s refusal to supply Europe with oil. The fact that Saudi Arabia has promised to make up the difference in oil supply certainly doesn’t hurt. However, as you might imagine, this has angered Iranians, who believe that their Saudi neighbors are not being loyal.

Acting like somewhat of a tiny tyrant, Qasemi of Iran has further stated, We are hopeful Saudi Arabia would respond positively to our demand.

Ideally, European nations and the United States will make their support for Saudi Arabia clear in the event of a violent response from Iran. At this time though, no definitive statements have been made.

If the new oil ban initiatives are to be effective, Asian buyers (Iran’s most important oil market) will have to stop buying Iran’s oil, putting more pressure on the country and country leaders. So far though, Iran officials seem to be confident that the new sanctions will have no significant effect on their oil sales.

The one thing that Iranian officials seem sure of is their intentions to retaliate. If attacked in any measurable way, Iranian officials have made it clear that they intend to retaliate with full force. Considering their progression in nuclear technology, both the US and closer Israel are taking threats extremely seriously.

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“Out of Africa” Theory May Be Disproven

For centuries, we have been taught that all mankind originated in Africa, only moving out of said continent in fairly recent years (in the grand scheme of time). However, newfound artifacts show that people may have moved into Saudi Arabia earlier than we once thought. More importantly, instead of traveling along the coasts as we once thought, civilization may have moved to Saudi Arabia first.

Science continues to tell us that humanity as we know it first sprung up about 200,000 years ago in Africa. How people emigrated out of Africa on the other hand has always been hotly debated. Geneticists debated throughout the years whether people first emigrated 40,000 or 70,000 years ago, and there have been accepted theories, but never proven facts. It is recently discovered stone artifacts that have proven us wrong.

The latest stone artifacts suggest that modern human emigration may have started as many as 100,000 years ago. Revealed in January 2011, scientists have since discovered more than 100 sites in the Sultanate of Oman. While logic would dictate that early civilizations would want to be close to water, all of these locations are far inward, away from water. Jeffrey Rose, a paleolithic archaeologist at the University of Birmingham in England states:

After a decade of searching in Southern Arabia for some clue that might help us understand early human expansion, at long last we’ve found the smoking gun of their exit from Africa. What makes this so exciting is that the answer is a scenario almost never considered.

To be fair, 100,000 years ago, Arabia was very wet, even a tropical area. The area was not dry as we think of it now. The now barren wasteland we picture in Arabia had fresh grasslands and plenty of animals to be hunted, explaining the inward mobilization. The coasts may not have even been coasts at all at that time.

The evidence is purely stone based. There are no human or animal remains left at the site. However, scientists involved in the project remain certain that these new findings are the real McCoy and something that will revolutionize the world of science as we know it.

What does this mean for Saudi Arabia and the Middle East? We have no way of telling. Scientists may be excavating and searching for centuries to come. This just opens up hundreds of new doors and plenty of possibilities. We cannot foresee exactly where this will go.

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Saudi Royalty Issues Warning About Nuclear Race

A major member of the Saudi royal family has recently warned officials that unless all nuclear technologies are removed from the Middle East, making this a nuclear weapon free zone, a nuclear arms race is bound to happen. Eventually, it could turn not only his own country, but also Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey into potential competitors.

According to Prince Turki Al Faisal, five permanent UN Security Council members should enact a movement to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone, imposing military sanctions against any company developing nuclear weapons. This is the only way he sees to officially control the problem. He states:

”I think that’s a better way of going at this issue of nuclear enrichment of uranium, or preventing Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. If it goes that route, I think it’s a much more equitable procedure than what has been happening in the last 10 years or so.”

Along with other officials, this Saudi royal believes that the development of a nuclear free zone in the Middle East is essential to everyone’s safety and ability to live peacefully in today’s society. So far, Tehran has refused to suspend its nuclear development and uranium enrichment projects, posing a possible threat to this increasingly popular program. So far, many European nations believe that the sole purpose is to create nuclear weapons.

The proposal pushed by this Saudi Royal member would impose military sanctions on anybody who seems to be developing chemical or biological weapons of any kind, especially nuclear weaponry. However, this plan could also put sanctions on Israel, who the US has been long known for protecting. Why? Because while Israel has never actually confirmed or denied this, many suspect that Israel actually has a very full arsenal of weaponry that they are hiding.

Previous versions of this particular proposal have been pushed and voted on before, but nothing has officially been done. Israel is not actually party to this act, and they have not expressed support. However, a lot of things still remain fairly unclear. So far, it has been indicated that Israel will not accept this kind of proposal at all, which makes it seem that obviously, the force that has protected them needs to make some things clear. It seems a little bit hypocritical to back up one country that refuses to relinquish a potentially deadly arsenal of weapons while demonizing countries that cooperate.

There is plenty of incentive for countries who do not want to be in a big war to want to protect themselves. However, a resolution like this would ideally protect everyone. Frankly, the only country who seems to be all that resistant has a superpower who has shown that they are more than willing to step in should it be required. It simply makes us wonder what it is Israel is hiding, and more importantly, what they are planning. Unfortunately, especially when it comes to bouts with the Palestinians, Israel has never actually been known for being an innocent victim.

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Afghan Women Doesn’t Have to Marry Rapist

While the Islam religion has actually been known for being ahead of the times in the past, the new movements have put women back, even leading to women being jailed for being raped. Obviously, no woman would want to report a rape given the circumstances, but ironically, many officials also believe that a woman cannot get pregnant from one encounter. Therefore, if they are pregnant, it must have been the result of an ongoing affair, which again leads to the woman being jailed. The man on the other hand receives no punishment at all.

This is what happened to one Afghan woman who has only recently been pardoned for being raped by a family member, her cousin’s husband. This pardon was given stipulation that the woman would marry her rapist, which is a deeper insult to women’s rights in the Middle East. However, that condition has since been removed.

She only received attention after an international documentary on this kind of problem was released featuring her face. Gulnaz, the woman in question, was initially sentenced to 2 years in jail for “adultery by force”, which to us sounds a lot like rape. However, upon appeal, this sentence was increased to 12 years, and she has been raising her daughter, the product of rape, in prison.

The third appeal cut her time down to 3 years and initially required her to marry her rapist.

Since then, Gulnaz has stated:

”I am obliged to marry him, even though I can’t look at him.”

More specifically, Gulnaz feels that she is forced to marry her rapist, despite an overturned statement made previously, in order to protect her family honor. Officially, her cousin’s husband forced his way into her home, tied her up, and then raped her when she was 19.

As of right now, polygamy is still legal in many Middle Eastern countries including Afghanistan. Men can officially have up to 4 wives. This is definitely not the victory most were hoping for, but you cannot change an entire culture overnight.

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Saudi Arabia Etiquette

handshake

Unlike many western countries, Saudi Arabia still clings to many of its ancient traditions and customs, and though it may at first seem old fashioned, it is important to uphold its etiquette should you ever choose to visit this remarkable nation.

Introductions

If you’re new to the country, then chances are likely that you’ll be meeting a lot of new people and making a few introductions to complete strangers. It is important to note that while close friends and family may kiss each other on the cheek, most Saudi Arabians like to take their time to get to know strangers. Just because Saudi Arabians are conservative doesn’t mean that they’re cold or uncaring.

• Men and women do not greet each other in public (family excepted)
• Men typically greet each other with a warm handshake (right hand only)
• In certain regions, kissing the shoulder of a superior/elder is customary
• There is little to no touching between men and women while in public
• It is important to take time to include pleasantries before getting to the real reason for conversation
• Indirect eye contact is acceptable between men and between women, but between genders there is little to no eye contact
• The left hand is considered the “toileting hand” so be sure to use your right hand when making your greetings.

Table Manners

Saudi Arabians like to enjoy life. Rather than simply scarfing down their next meal, it is common practice to socialize and make small talk before the meal is served. However, there is little conversation during the meal itself to allow for guests to enjoy their food.

Additionally, gender separation still runs strong in the Saudi Arabian tradition, so remember that if invited to dinner in a Saudi Arabian home that dinner will be served in separate rooms to accommodate both genders.

Table manners would include the following:
• When seated, try to avoid crossing your legs at the knees
• You may be asked to remove your shoes
• Dress conservatively
• Punctuality is appreciated, so try to arrive on time.
• Even if you do not normally drink coffee, it is recommended that you accept the offer of Arabian coffee and dates so as to not insult their hospitality
• If possible, try a bit of everything. Saudi Hospitality approves of showering guests with abundance.

Additional Notes

Simple common sense and etiquette can go a long way when in the company of the Saudi Arabian people. The more you get to know them and their culture, the more you can understand their need to protect their values and traditions. By treating them with respect, they in turn will open up a whole new perspective.

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Al Kabsa Recipe

Al Kabsa Recipe

Saudi Arabia is notorious for upholding its ancient traditions and cultural values, and one of the most interesting and unique traditions involves food. Islamic law forbids the consumption of pork or alcohol, leaving the Arab people to get a little create with their meals.

One of the popular meals in Saudi Arabia is Al Kabsa, a traditional meal of chicken and rice. So you can experience the wonder and beauty of Saudi Arabia culture for yourself, we’ve found the best recipe for Al Kabsa. It’s easy to prepare and is a fantastic way to impress your friends and family.

Prep Time: 20 Mins
Cook Time: 1 Hr 20 Min
Total Time: 1 Hour 40 Min

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 lbs chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces
1/4 cup tomato puree
3 medium carrots, grated
2 whole cloves
14 ounces canned chopped tomatoes, un-drained (or fresh)
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 pinch ground coriander
1 pinch ground cumin
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 cups hot water
1 chicken stock cube
2 1/4 cups basmati rice (don’t rinse or soak this)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup slivered almond, toasted

Kabsa Spice Mix
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1/4 teaspoon ground green cardamoms
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground dried limes

Directions

1. Melt Butter in a large pot, casserole dish, or Dutch oven. Sauté onion, garlic, and chicken pieces until onion is tender.

2. Stir in tomato puree and then simmer over a low heat for a few minutes.

3. Add carrots, cloves, and tomatoes as well as spices, salt, and pepper. Cook for a few minutes and then combine water and chicken stock cube to the mix.

4.Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Allow mix to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

5.Carefully add rice to the pot and stir carefully. If you wish to brown the chicken, remove it from the pot and place in preheated oven (25-30 minutes at 350F while rice is cooking). Recover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or until rice is tender. Add raisins during the last ten minutes.

6. Place rice on large dish and then top with chicken. Garnish with almonds and serve with a fresh mixed salad.

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Driving for Feminism: The Women of Saudi Arabia

driving for feminism women of saudi arabiaThe fight for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia has been a long and rocky road. Although these brave women want nothing more than to have the same privileges commonly taken for granted in other countries, Saudi Arabian women are still suffering the backlash of political unrest.

Although there isn’t a written law specifically declaring women cannot drive, ultraconservative religious leaders prohibit the notion with an iron fist.

However, women are fighting to break the taboo despite these restrictions. In an attempt to promote Freedom and Feminism, many women in Saudi Arabia set up video cameras in vehicles and drove their point home (literally).

Maha al-Qahtani, a female activist states, “This is our right, whether they like it or not.” She, along with many other Saudi Arabian women, drives out need not defiance. Many families cannot afford to hire live-in drivers, but in order to buy groceries, care for children, and maintain other domestic functions, these activities require the use of a vehicle. For many Saudi Arabian women, depending on male relatives to act as chauffeurs is both frustrating and restricting, so they drive anyway.

The Associated Press reports, “Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them go after they sign a pledge not to drive again.”

But not this time.

Unfortunately, Shaimaa Ghassaneya (one of many women who flouted the ban) will receive ten lashings as punishment for driving. Of course, the sentence is extreme for such a small violation, but what makes this particular sentence more hurtful is the fact that two days earlier, King Abdullah announced women’s right to vote in the upcoming 2015 elections.

Such a verdict is like a spit in the face toward women’s rights, and it’s especially frustrating when the maximum penalty for traffic violations is a fine rather than physical punishment. Despite the push for change, Saudi Arabia seems to be stuck in a cultural rut-sticking to the same traditions that keep women covered from head to toe in layers of cloth.

Although many Saudi Arabians believe that progressive Western beliefs will lead to the deterioration and erosion of traditional values, some traditions were never meant to be enforced with the lash of a whip. These extremes put Saudi Arabia in a negative light, and though Ghassaneya hopes to make an appeal for her case, one can only hope that the political pressures of the outside world will soften the blow.

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Joining the Fight against Breast Cancer

joining the fight against breast cancerRecently the Saudi Arabian General Electric Company announced the launch of an initiative to improve cancer detection and care as a part of its global innovation program THE CHALLENGE. By reaching out to universities as well as government and private organizations, GE’s challenge will increase access to breast cancer screening, with a goal of screening 10,000 women in the first year. Next to lung cancer, breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide, and according to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in Saudi Arabia.

In the year 2008, an estimated 458,503 deaths worldwide were a direct result of this heart wrenching disease. Although cancer is a complex disease, many organizations worldwide are searching for its cure, and even more group efforts are being promoted to detect and prevent breast cancer while in its early stages. Hopefully as more contributions are made toward discovering its cure, we will eventually find a way to eliminate this disease in the not-too-distant future.

Understanding More about Breast Cancer

Signs and Symptoms:
The most effective method of surviving breast cancer is by catching and treating cancer while in its early stages. Signs and symptoms include a change in how the breast or nipples feel (nipple tenderness or a lump near the breast or under arm area) as well as how the breast or nipple looks (changes in size or shape such as scaly, red, or swollen regions).

Detecting Breast Cancer:
In order to catch breast cancer before it spreads, self-exams and mammograms should be conducted regularly, even as early as age 20. Mammograms should be scheduled every 3 years and eventually increase to 1 every year as a woman approaches 50.

Men can have breast cancer too:
Although breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in women, men, too, are at risk for breast cancer. This percentage is relatively small, but men should also be aware of the risk and give regular breast self-exams.

To learn more about breast cancer facts, you can visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation, INC and find out how you can help fight breast cancer, one mammogram at a time.

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