Saudi Arabia -- School-age
Capital:
Saudi Arabia occupy's most of the Arabian Peninsula.
National Language: Arabic
Religions: 99% Islam mainly Sunni, 1% Other
Currency:
Animals
The Arabian Desert dominates much of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia has more animal life than one might expect in a desert region with limited plant life and lack of rivers. Most of the animals live in the north or along the southern coastline. Arabian horses, Sand cats, striped hyenas, red foxes, Arabian wolves, Arabian oryxes, cape hares, gazelle, and camels live in the Arabian desert in arid and semi-desert areas.
The Dromedary camel has one hump.
The Difference Between African Elephants And Asian Elephants Video
Land
Saudi Arabia is a desert country with no above ground rivers or lakes and very little rainfall. They have permanent bodies of water underground. Ninety-five percent of the land in Saudi Arabia is desert.
Extreme heat and excessively dry are characteristic of most of Saudi Arabia climate.
sand-laden winds from the northern deserts, is most frequent in early summer and can blow for days at 25-50 miles an hour.
Across the north-west of the country stretches the Nafud desert. The center and north of Saudi Arabia is mostly gravel plains.
Dates on a
date palm tree.
Eastern Saudi Arabia is flat and low-lying, an area of salt flats. Its main geographical feature is the gigantic Which is the largest oasis in Saudi Arabia. It is 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) with over 3 million palm trees. Many varieties of dates are grown on the more than three million trees in the oasis.
Al Ahsa Oasis Video
is the relatively fertile area of coastal mountains in the extreme southwest of .
Caves beneath the desert, pictures and reports on the exploration of caves in Saudi Arabia.
In the south is the (Empty Quarter), the largest sand desert in the world. The desert comprises more than 25% of Saudi Arabia. It is extremely dry and virtually uninhabited. Oil of excellent quality has been found there.
Bedouins
Bedouin is an Arabic word that means "desert dweller." Bedouins are nomads of the desert who inhabit the Middle East and North Africa. They traditional herd animals such as camels and goats.
Earth from Space: Rub’ al Khali Desert Video
Mecca and Medina
Mecca and Medina are Islam's holiest cities. The most holy city of Islam is Mecca, Saudi Arabia the birthplace of Muhammad. Muhammad is the founder of the Islam religon and is known to Muslims as the "Holy Prophet".
Mecca Video
Recommended Books
How Many Donkeys?: An Arabic Counting Tale
by Margaret Read MacDonald
A humorous tale of a man who keeps miscounting his donkeys as he travels with ten of them to the market and back. Wonderful artwork that fills up the whole page. Numbers 1 - 10 in Arabic.
Saluki: Hound of the Bedouin
by Julia Johnson
A Saluki is a greyhound-like dog which was historically bred in the Middle East. A delightful story that tells of the devotion and the adventures of a Bedouin boy and his Saluki hound.
Things to Do
Read
Listen to and read online the story How The Camel Got His Hump (Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling)
Make
Bread
Baking bread is a popular craft in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Crayola-Dates From Tree to Table
Triarama display to show understanding of the role that date palms play in the observance of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
Make a palm tree from newspaper. Easy and fun.
Fun Facts
Sports
Soccer is a popular sport in Saudi Arabia.
Falcons
Falconry is a traditional sport which originated centuries ago. Learn more about falcons.
Calendar
The Arab calendar is a . The cycle of the moon's phases takes a little over 29 1/2 days and therefore in an Arab calendar a lunar year contains 354 days and some hours.
