Portal:Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabia Portal – بوابة المملكة العربية السعودية

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Saudi Arabia's Location

Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and also known simply as the Saudi, is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km² (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the twelfth-largest in the world. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. The capital and largest city is Riyadh; other major cities include Jeddah and the two holiest cities in Islam, Mecca and Medina. With a population of almost 32.2 million, Saudi Arabia is the fourth most populous country in the Arab world. (Full article...)

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Salman in 2020

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: سلمان بن عبد العزيز آل سعود; born 31 December 1935) is the King of Saudi Arabia, a position he has held since 2015. He was also Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. He is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. He assumed the throne on 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 18 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. Salman is the third oldest living head of state, the oldest living monarch, and Saudi Arabia's first head of state born after the unification of Saudi Arabia. He has a reported personal wealth of at least US$18 billion, which makes him the third wealthiest royal in the world.

Salman is a son of King Abdulaziz and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven. He was the deputy governor of Riyadh and later the governor of Riyadh for 48 years from 1963 to 2011. He was then appointed minister of defense. He was named crown prince in 2012. Salman became king in 2015 upon the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. (Full article...)

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News

7 February 2026 – Saudi Arabia–Syria relations: Saudi Arabia and Syria sign agreements covering a joint low-cost carrier, a new international airport in Aleppo, and a US$1 billion telecommunications project as part of broader investment efforts following the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria. (AFP via The Straits Times)
27 January 2026 – Iran–Saudi Arabia relations: Saudi Arabia bans the use of its territory or airspace for any military action against Iran. (AFP via The Times of Israel)
9 January 2026 – Yemeni civil war: A Southern Transitional Council (STC) delegation in Riyadh announces the group's dissolution following widespread territorial losses to the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. The STC rejects the announcement, saying the announcement was made under duress. (The New Arab)
8 January 2026 – Yemeni civil war: The Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen claims that Southern Transitional Council (STC) president Aidarus al-Zoubaidi has fled to the United Arab Emirates through Somaliland. (Al Jazeera)
7 January 2026 – Yemeni civil war: The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launches airstrikes on Southern Transitional Council (STC) positions in the Dhale Governorate in southern Yemen. (Al Jazeera)

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The McMahon–Hussein letter of 24 October 1915. George Antonius—who had been the first to publish the correspondence in full—described this letter as "by far the most important in the whole correspondence, and may perhaps be regarded as the most important international document in the history of the Arab national movement... is still invoked as the main piece of evidence on which the Arabs accuse Great Britain of having broken faith with them."

The McMahon–Hussein correspondence is a series of letters that were exchanged during World War I, in which the government of the United Kingdom agreed to recognize Arab independence in a large region after the war in exchange for the Sharif of Mecca launching the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. The correspondence had a significant influence on Middle Eastern history during and after the war; a dispute over Palestine continued thereafter.

The correspondence is composed of ten letters that were exchanged from July 1915 to March 1916 between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon, British High Commissioner to Egypt. Whilst there was some military value in the Arab manpower and local knowledge alongside the British Army, the primary reason for the arrangement was to counteract the Ottoman declaration of jihad ("holy war") against the Allies, and to maintain the support of the 70 million Muslims in British India (particularly those in the Indian Army that had been deployed in all major theatres of the wider war). The area of Arab independence was defined to be "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca" with the exception of "portions of Syria" lying to the west of "the districts of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo"; conflicting interpretations of this description were to cause great controversy in subsequent years. One particular dispute, which continues to the present, is the extent of the coastal exclusion. (Full article...)

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Image 1Sunset view from Farasan Island, the largest island of the Farasan Islands, in the Red Sea. It is located some 50 km offshore from Jizan, the far southwestern part of Saudi Arabia.
Image 2A view of Jabal Sawda, a peak located in Saudi Arabia, with an elevation of around 3,000 metres (9,843 ft).^[1]
Image 3Nasseef House is a historical structure in Al-Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of 2009 it is a museum and cultural center which has special exhibits and lectures given by historians.

More did you know

... that Lawrence of Arabia's plan to install the Sharif of Mecca's sons as rulers in what became modern Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and western Saudi Arabia was only partially successful?

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General images

The following are images from various Saudi Arabia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of Saudi Arabia (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 2Red and white keffiyeh commonly worn in the desert held with a black agal (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 3Faisal (left) and Nasser in Cairo, 1969 (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 4Dammam No. 7, the oil well where commercial volumes of oil were first discovered in Saudi Arabia on 4 March 1938. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 5The Mosque of the Prophet in Medina containing the tomb of Muhammad (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 6Saudi males dressed and prepared for ardah, the national dance. It also includes swords, poetry, and singing. (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 7VOX Cinemas movie theater (center) at Riyadh Front in 2023 (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 8Pakistani workers at Al Masjid Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque) in Medina (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 9The tribes of Arabia at the time of the spread of Islam (expandable map) (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 10Saudi woman wearing a niqāb in Riyadh. Many women commonly wear a niqab or a burqa in Saudi Arabia. (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 11Supplicating pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram, Mecca (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 12Saudi football fans cheering for their national football team at the FIFA World Cup (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 13The Arabian Peninsula in 1914 (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 14Serenata, a Filipino children's choir in Jeddah (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 15Soldiers in the Arab Army during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918, carrying the Flag of the Arab Revolt and pictured in the Arabian Desert. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 16A family fishing in Jeddah (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 17Residential homes in Yanbu (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 18Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt (1789–1848) (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 19Abdulaziz (left) and Roosevelt aboard USS Quincy during their historic 1945 meeting (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 20King Abdullah practicing falconry, a traditional pursuit in Saudi Arabia (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 21Abdulaziz (left) and Farouk checking an Egyptian Army unit in 1946. Other people picture include princes Fahd, Abdullah, and Mishaal, as well as prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 22Bisht Being Sewn in Al-Ahsa (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 23Sections of Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries formed a part of the Roman Empire. (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 24The first Saudi state 1727–1818 (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 25The Rashidun Caliphate reached its greatest extent under Caliph Uthman, c. 654 (from History of Saudi Arabia)
Image 26Wall painted with Al-Qatt Al-Asiri (from Culture of Saudi Arabia)
Image 27Territorial evolution of the Third Saudi State (1902–1934) (from History of Saudi Arabia)