هلا ..
Saudi Arabia, monarchy of the Middle East, occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula, and bordered on the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the east by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on the south-east by the United Arab Emirates and Oman; on the south by the Republic of Yemen and on the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Boundaries in the south-east are not precisely defined. Saudi Arabia has an area of about 2,240,000 sq km (864,900 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Riyadh.
Considerably more than half the area of Saudi Arabia is desert. Rub‘ al Khali, known in English as the Great Sandy Desert and as the 'Empty Quarter', extends over much of the south-east and beyond the southern frontier. Largely unexplored, Rub‘ al Khali has an estimated area of about 777,000 sq km (300,000 sq mi). An extension of the Syrian Desert projects into northern Saudi Arabia, and extending south-east from this region is An Nafūd, an upland desert of red sand covering an area of about 56,980 sq km (22,000 sq mi). Ad Dahnā’, a narrow extension of this desert, links An Nafūd and Rub‘ al Khali. A central plateau region, broken in the east by a series of uplifts, extends south from An Nafūd. Several wadis (watercourses), dry except in the rainy season, traverse the plateau region. The western limits of the latter are delineated by a mountain range extending generally north-west and south-east along the eastern edge of Al Ḩijāz and Asir regions.
Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of Saudi Arabia. The average temperatures for the months of January and July in Riyadh are 14.4° C (58° F) and 42° C (108° F). The average temperatures in Jiddah for the same months are 22.8° C (73° F) and 30.6° C (87° F). Average annual precipitation in Riyadh and Jiddah is 81 mm (3 in) and 61 mm (2 in), respectively. Because of the overall aridity, Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers or lakes.
Fertile oases, many of which are the sites of towns and villages, are scattered through the Saudi Arabian deserts north of Rub‘ al Khali, and larger tracts of pasturage are in Ad Dahnā’ and the plateau region. The great Saudi Arabian oilfields are located in the coastal area adjoining the Persian Gulf.
Because of the general aridity the vegetation is not extensive. Various fruit trees, notably the date palm, and a wide variety of grains and vegetables thrive in the oases and in other areas where water is available. Indigenous wildlife includes the hyena, fox, wildcat, panther, wolf, gazelle, antelope, wild cow, ibex, ostrich, bustard, quail, and pigeon.
Virtually all Saudis are Muslims; the great majority are Sunnis, although around 15 per cent are Shiites who live in the east. The Wahhabi sect, reformers who began in Arabia during the 18th century and who have sought to purify and simplify the practice of Islam, has greatly influenced the Sunnis of Saudi Arabia.
The official language is Standard Arabic (a Semitic language), a second language that is learnt in schools and used in official domains. Classical Arabic, a dialect of Standard Arabic that has archaic vocabulary, is used in religious contexts. Najdi Spoken Arabic and Hijazi Spoken Arabic are mother tongues for the majority of the population; Standard Arabic is only widely known by the well-educated. Gulf Spoken Arabic is used by a minority.
اتمنى قد اكون افدتك
المواضيع المتشابهه
المملكة العربية السعودية
العرض العادي
