Saudi Arabia is without a doubt a man’s dominated country. There are separate facilities for men and women. Even in the teacher's living quarters every teacher has an independent apartment and there are separate buildings for men and women. Neither is allowed in one another’s building except in the lobby.

 I arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at 4:00 AM in the morning.  The airport is not as modern as other international airports. You must exit the plane by way of steps and board a bus for transport to the terminal.

A couple of things I immediately realized, that I was indeed about to enter a foreign country. First about one hour prior to landing all women aboard the aircraft got up and went to change into the traditional long black dress attire. Women may wear anything under this garment but must wear the garment on top. The second discovery was seeing a Saudi solder upon entering the terminal holding a machine gun.

Quick Facts and Figures

• Location
  • southwest Asia, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa; extending from the Red Sea in the west to the Arabian Gulf in the east; bordered on the north by Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait, on the south, by Yemen and Oman, and on the east by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. 
• Work Days
  • the work week runs from Saturday through to Wednesday.  Government offices are generally open from 7:30am to 2:30pm and private businesses are generally open from 8:00am to noon and 3:00pm to 6:00pm.  Banks are generally open from 8:00am until noon and then from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and markets and shops are often open from 8:00am to 10:00pm.