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The Capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has a rich Islamic heritage, and their geography reflects this with the locations of two religious pilgrimage locations: Mecca and Medina. Mecca is known as the holiest city of Islam, and Medina is home to the Prophet's Mosque. Jeddah is also considered important because it is the main gateway to the holy city of Mecca. (Ochsenwald, W.L. et. al, 2019)

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Saudia Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and it strictly adheres to many of the writings in the Qu'ran. There are two branches of Islam, the Sunni and the Shi'ite. In Saudi Arabia, the majority are adherents of the Sunni branch, following the Wahhabi interpretation. Public displays of worship and display by non-muslim faith is prohibited, and public display of worship by non-Wahhabi Muslim groups is limited and in some cases banned by the government. In order to attain citizenship in Saudi Arabia, it is required to convert to Islam. The only Christians or Catholics are foreign workers and businessmen. There was a small jewish population at one point, but it is now extinct. (Ochsenwald, W.L. et. al, 2019)

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There are many cultural symbols in Saudi Arabian culture. Some are animals, such as the Arabian horse, Arabian wolf, Arabian red fox and the camel. There is a Coat of Arms, adopted in 1950 and composed of two swords below a palm tree. Each of the sword represents a kingdom, one Hijaz and the Nejd. The tree is the Phoenix Palm. The Saudi Arabian motto is "There is no god but Allah: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." (Saudi Arabian Symbols, n.d.)

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Weddings in Saudi Arabia are elaborate and theatrical. Men and women celebrate separately. The bride and groom are asked whether they agree to the marriage separately. The only time bride and the groom meet is for group photos. After the photos are done the groom and male family members leave to celebrate on their own. Historically there are often marriages between first cousins or other distant family members, although the practice has died out to some extent. (Rowell, 2016), (Marriage in Saudi Arabia, n.d.)

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The power in relationships in Saudi Arabia are dominated by the male. Before a woman is married, she is the ward of her father. After marriage, she is the ward of her husband. There is, however, a marriage contract which must be signed before the marriage, which essentially details the rights a woman will have in the relationship despite her husband's power. (Mobaraki, Soderfeldt, 2007) (Toumi, 2018)

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In terms of birth rituals, oftentimes the father whisper a prayer in the baby's right ear and sometimes are known to recite the Qu'ran. They will begin tahneek, in which a softened piece of date is held to the newborns mouth. This helps the infant learn to suckle early on. They participate in sunnah and aqeeqah, which means inviting loved ones and cooking a specific meal to celebrate. Circumcision is required. Beyond this, the celebration of a new life is deeply rooted in the islamic belief system, including eating, cleansing of the body, prayer, and more. The name of the child should be meaningful and good. (Ehlers et. al, 2010) (Al-Sibai, 2015)

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Mourning and death practices in Saudi Arabia follow Islamic practices. Four or five days before death, a man will make a will in favor of his son. A passage from the Qu'ran is read on the deathbed. Any person on their deathbed should recite the Kalimah to prove their faith until the end. The general belief is that the sooner the body is buried, the quicker the body will reach heaven. The corpse is washed, shrouded, and buried. In Saudi Arabia, public displays of friend are frowned upon, so grief and emotion is usually held in until the family is at home in a private setting. (Hanna, S.) (Gubash, 2015)

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Due to Islamic beliefs, pork is not eaten, wine is not consumed, many animals must be slaughtered in a prescribed fashion. A dish called khuzi (stuffed lamb) is a traditional national favorite. Kebabs known as shwarma are popular, consisting of lamb, mutton or chicken. Makhbus, a rice dish with fish or shrimp, is popular near the Persian gulf. Flat, unleavened bread is a staple of virtually every meal, along with fresh fruit. Dates, either fresh or candies, are widely eaten and enjoyed throughout the country. (Ochsenwald et. al, 2019)

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Music and dance are a part of Saudi life. Native music is generally associated with poetry and is sung collectively. There are several instruments Saudi Arabians use, including a Rabadah (like a three-string fiddle), Tahl, and Tar (percussion instruments). There are also native dances, including the 'ardah which includes lines of men dancing to drum beats and tambourines, often carrying swords or rifles. (Ochsenwald et. al, 2019)

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The official language is Arabic. There are a few different dialects of Arabic included; Najdi, Hejazi, and Gulf (or Khaliji) Arabic. There are other minority languages spoken as well; Tagalog (Philippians), Rohingya (Myanmar), Urdu (Pakistan), Egyptian Arabic (native Egyptian expatriate community). The English Language is taught as a second language  within the schools and widely spoken in the business world. There is even a Saudi Sign Language. (Sawe, 2018)

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In Saudi Arabia, a wide variety of traditional housing can be seen. The Agrarian villages display mud-brick dwellings and then there are conventional black tents of the Bedouin. Along the coast in urban centers, you can see lofty, ornate townhouses. The newer homes built are equipped with standard utilities such as; water, sewerage, and electricity. They even include technical conveniences like Internet access, cable and satellite television. However those in rural areas remain far removed from power and water networks. The government has invested in housing construction and provides low interest or interest free loans. (Ochsenwald, W.L. et. al, 2019)

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When it comes to medical treatment practices, the Middle East is home to modern, high-tech and Western-based biomedicines. These are often delivered in private hospitals and medical centers throughout the region. Technologies and services that are widely available within urban centers include but are not limited to consists of; coronary bypass surgery, organ transplant services, and up to date forms of in vitro fertilization. Even though modern medicine is prevalent within the country, popular healing traditions are still in existence in the Middle East. The healing traditions provides a less expensive alternative to biomedicine and connects them spiritually to Islam and the earlier literate medical traditions within their region. (Healing and Medicine..., 2005)

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Education is free at all levels and is considered by the government as a high priority. The school levels are as followed; elementary (grades 1-6), intermediate (grades 7-9), and secondary (grades 10-12). At every level of education a significant portion of the curriculum is devoted to religious subjects. When the students are in secondary school, they are able to follow a religious or technical track of education. All courses are segregated by gender, but due to the disproportion of the literacy rate (85% males and 70% females) there are less girls than boys that attend school. (Ochsenwald, W.L. et. al, 2019)

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Even though the Qu'ran states, "Every Muslim male and female, is requested to seek knowledge, so both sexes are equal in searching for education", fewer girls attend school compared to boys. The literacy rate between males and females reflects this disproportion, 85% for males and 70% for females. There was a time where women were not able to attend school at all due to the belief that women only needed to prepare to me a good wife. It was in the 1950's that a "group of educated middle-class men petitioned the government to establish schools for girls". This was due to the fact that they argued that educated wives would supplement the family and harmony of the family.
While schooling was available to women it was still kept separate and minimally developed compared to men. They were still kept out of certain subjects such as architecture and engineering in post-secondary education even though the king Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has ensured that some of the restrictive attitude towards women in Saudi society is halted. (Alsuwaida N., 2016)

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Over the years there has been a shift within the classroom. At one time, the students used to fear their teachers. Respect was given from the students to the teachers immediately. The teachers also had the right to discipline the students. Now, students have more rights and the teachers need to earn the respect of the students. Parents are also more aware of what it going on within the classroom and protective of their children.
It is said that the teachers present their lessons usually in a lecture style. By doing so, there is a lack of critical thinking. Teachers are also thought to lack critically thinking skills, this makes it difficult to teach the skill without the proper knowledge. It may seem as though students are unmotivated to try and apply critical thinking skills. This may be because it not seen not only at school but also at home as well. Students may not want to go outside of their comfort zone to learn and apply these skills because even though it might improve their education it could make them feel separate from their family and culture. (Alwadi, M.A., n.d.)

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Saudi Arabia enacted a special education law similar to what IDEA is to the United States, Law Number 224. A survey was given to in-service educators on the law, based on the results they have little knowledge on Law Number 224. Most participants of the survey were unaware of the special education law being enacted by the government; 53.84% disagree and 23.76% strongly disagree. Because to the survey and it's results, 69.23% of teachers would like to know more about the special education law(s) and over half of the participants believe it is important to know, understand and implement the law(s). Even though the government had gone to great lengths to educate pre-service educators about Law Number 224, the survey shows that the government have not been able to reach the in-service educators. This is due to the fact that in-service educators are unable to go back to school and learn new material because they are working, teaching the new generation of teachers. It is expected that there will be increase in percentage of teachers implementing the law(s) in the coming years. (Alquahtani, R.M.A., et. al., 2015)

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