English to Arabic: Kitchen Area

English	Arabic (pron.)	Arabic (text)
Kitchen	mat-bakh	مَطْبَخ
Sink	Hawd	حوض
Bowl	Sultaniya	سلطانية
Kettle	Ghalayah	غااية
Pot	Qedder	قدر
Frying pan	Meklae	مقلاة
Chopping Board	Lawh alttaqtie	لوح التقطيع
Plate	Tabak	طبك
Spoon	Mila 'qah	ملعقة
Fork	shawkah	شوكة
Knife	Sikkin	سكين
Table	Mundida	منضدة
Chair	Kursi	كرسي
Food	Taeam	طعام
Meat	Lahm	لحم
Rice	'Arz	أرز
Fish	Sammak	سمك
Beef	Lahm baqari	لحم بقري
Chicken	Dajaj	دجاج
Mutton	Lahm alddan	لحم الضأن
Camel Meat	Lahm al'iibil	لحم الإبل
Camel	Jamal	جمل

English to Arabic: Body Parts

English	Arabic (pron.)	Arabic (text)
Arm	Dhira'	دراء
Ear	'Udhun	ادن
Eyes	'Ayn	ءين
Tongue	Lisaan	ليسان
Foot	Qadam	قدم
Hand	Yad	يَد
Head	Ras	رأس
Mouth	Fam	فَم
Nose	Anf	أنف
Stomach	Maydah	مءدة
Leg plus Foot	Rijal	رجل
Nail	Zufur	ظفر
Toe	'iisbae alqadam	اصبع القدم
Finger	'iisbae alyad	اصبع اليد
Muscle	Eadila	عضلة

English to Arabic: Fruits

English	Arabic   (pron.)	Arabic     (text)
Watermelon	Buttyyah	بطيخ
Peach	Hawh	خاخ
Strawberry	Farawlah	فرولة
Apple	Tuffah	تفاح
Banana	Mawz	موز
Orange	Burtuqal	برتتقال
Mango	Mango	مانجو
Cherry	Karaz	كرز
Pineapple	Ananas	اناناس
Melon	Shamam	شمام

English to Arabic: Professions

English Lawyer	Arabic (Pron.) Muhaamee/a	Arabic  محامي/ة
Doctor	Tabib/a	طبيب/ة
Electrician	Kahrabae' e/a	كهربائي/ة
Driver	Saai'q/a	سائق/ة
Seller	Baae'e/a	بائع/ة
Merchant	Taajer/a	تاجر/ة
Secretary	Sikrter/a	سكرتير/ة
Engineer	Muhandis/a	مُهَندِس/ة
Manager of a company	Mudeer Ashshariqa	مُدير/ة
Principal of a school	Mudeer Madrasa	مُدير/ة
Carpenter	Najjar/a	نجار/ة
Student	Talib/a	طالب/ة
Cook	Tabbakh/a	طباخ/ة
Spie	Jasoos/a	جاسوس/ة
Journalist	Sahafey/a	سحفي/ة
Teacher	Mudarris/a	مُدارس/ة
Writer	Katteb/a	كاتِب/ة
Accountant	Muhasib/a	مُحاسب/ة

English to Arabic: Colors

Black	'Aswad	أسود
White	'Abyad	أبيظ
Green	'Akhdar	أخدق
Blue	'Azraq	أزرق
Yellow	'Asfar	أسفر
Orange	Burtukaly	برتقالي
Red	'Ahmar	أحمق
Purple	Banafsaji	بنفسجي
Gray	Ramadi	رمادي
Brown	Bunni	بوني

Healthy Living in Saudi Arabia

Having a lot of fresh air everywhere is a very good sign that a place is livable. Many capital cities around the world are too crowded with air, water and noise pollution but Riyadh is different, which represents the rest of the other cities within the kingdom.

Kingdom Tower, very nice view from the top.

The only louder sounds you could hear in Riyadh are the sports cars and expensive motorbikes. No noise pollution at all since liquor bars or clubs' sounds are forbidden in this very wide kingdom. Starbucks and other coffee shops are available anywhere so it's just fine to spend time during the evening. Driving on the wide main road of the city accompanies a relaxing and refreshing sights, trees on the middle. Few hundred meters away from the main business district, you can see trees planted also on the sides of the roads . So it's like driving in a forest with high speed. The city planning was fantastic, the roads are wide and no car coding, all embassies are located in one secured area, warehouses are built on clustered areas also, and many more.

Travelling away from the capital is a good road trip since traffic in most part is not a word to mention at all. The roads are still planned wide that's why police records could atleast have a list of law violations such as overspeeding or beating the red light. Other than road accidents leading to death of some, the rest of the world will know every time that rare crimes occur like the recent shooting of a pregnant woman's husband to a male doctor who assisted on delivery. Well, we can not blame if there were no initial permission on the surrounding circumstances since women are much protected here from the eyes of men.

Red Sand, a very wide place to enjoy life in the desert.

Travelling and adventure is a healthy habit.

Half Moon, Al Khobar

People jogging in the morning or in the evening is a very common thing especially in the seasides of Eastern Province where i live. Who would not want to when the whole jogging areas are green and clean, the sea is clean and the air is fresh with a beautiful sunrise as a bonus. Fishing through rods on the seashore is common sight while men are having "shisha"  or families having picnics on the grassland.

Supermarkets such as Tamimi, Lulu or Hyperpanda offers different food imported from all over the world to cover the needs of the diverse nationalities living in Saudi. As I mentioned on previous posts, you cannot find pork as it is forbidden and a dirty meat according to their Holy Book. Same beliefs with other sects of Christianity. Well  there are a lot of YouTube or articles on the internet proving the dirtiness of pork. Now that i did not taste that meat for a long time already, it becomes just a normal thing, it's not available and it's not a big deal.

Expats in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Living in Al Khobar, Dammam and Jubail, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Along Dammam-Jubail Highway

Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is not an ordinary province or rural areas we are familiar with like in the other parts of the world. Expats usually came are from different countries like Egypt, Jordan, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, U.K., U.S., Europeans and others. Many large companies or headquarters are situated here with branches in Riyadh, Jeddah and other parts of the Kingdom. Those companies particularly in Jubail, Dammam and Khobar are just beside the seas where access to port of Dammam is very easy to do business. With refineries and many other industries for instance, people can swim the clean sea and breathe the common air we all have. This is due to the high standards of waste treatments before being released to the environment. 

People loved to jog (expats usually), have family picnics, swim, and catch fishes on the shorelines since everything is clean, peaceful, silent and relaxing. Free cottages with barbecue stands along the beaches and fresh water for cleaning are available for free. You only have to enjoy.  Night swimming, camping, beach volleyball games are also common except of course, loud music on outdoor parties. You can rent bungalows to have your karaoke, events or parties so that everything will not be a disturbance to other beach goers.

Jubail Beach

Any item you need to buy is all available in the supermarkets from spices, bread, canned goods and fruits from the Eastern up to Western part of the globe. If you want to find the areas where most of your same race live, there are a lot of other blogs and Facebook groups available to be a member to familiarize yourselves and get ready to consider as your temporary home while working in this tax-free kingdom. Many organizations have a get-together activities to enjoy each others' company.

Who said only sunset is nice? Sunrise like this do happen all year round. This is taken in Al Khobar Half Moon Beach.

Just a very nice ball to play with your cameras like eating a dragon ball or jumping to catch this.

Living in Al Khobar is much better in my opinion as compared when I lived in Riyadh. Some people from the capital travel here usually to relax and have fun in the seaside park areas and beaches, while some people in the Eastern Region travel to Riyadh for some other reasons usually for business, visit relatives and friends and stroll around the very wide city. It has a lot to offer also from hiking and sand motor rides to indoor games like bowling. As I observed, people in the eastern part are more English-educated as compared to Riyadh.

Biggest Mosque in Bahrain

If you want to see other places outside Saudi, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain are just few miles away, which can be traveled thru land, to spend time during weekends or holidays. So far, I visited Bahrain twice only when I missed the fun of dancing on a live band or the taste of a beer and some more things. 

Expectations as an Expat in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The truth is a big chunk of the population is composed of expats from around the world who managed to work and stay here for long with their families.

Here are some information you need for your decision making:

1   1.    EMPLOYMENT:  Salary is tax free, yes you read it right.  Accommodation, transportation, medical insurance, vacation pay/airfare, family visa and a lot of other benefits are also FREE, meaning, companies pay for it and included as expenses in their company financial statements. Regarding the company accommodation, almost everything is already provided like furniture (drawers, cabinets, etc.) and appliances (refrigerator, air con, heater, microwave, etc.).  Food allowance is given for some but for many companies, it’s on their option. Food is cheap and affordable since there are no taxes added on the costs.

If you opted to live outside the company accommodation, the company in general pays you in cash which is added to your payroll. Usually, housing is 25% of your basic plus 10 % to cover transportation expenses. Labor employees are usually staying in company accommodation since the percentage of basic sometimes is not enough to pay rents and others.  Nurses usually stay in the accommodation of the company. Majority are taking advantage on moving out since they are earning more by renting a cheaper accommodation and the rest is savings. Same with transportation allowance which is much more than the actual payments.

For employees with family status, many companies, depending on policy limitations, pay for the family visas, medical insurance and airfare to mention few. There are international schools available anywhere so there is nothing to worry about children’s education.

Many said, if you are looking for savings, here is one of the best places but you want a very liberated country but have to work 2 or three time folds, the west and east have a lot to offer.

2    2.       RULES and REGULATIONS:  In general, Saudi Arabia is really peaceful. Rare news on crimes do occur, which are on the daily basis in other countries, and it can spread in an instant around the world as it is not a common thing here.

Many times, I am confident that nothing bad will happen while walking around even at night with my watch and smartphone visible or wallet and bag at the back. No one would dare to take it since the punishment is cutting your stupid hand.

Just be aware that everything is fine as long as you don’t have a criminal mind and be aware of the following few tips:

a.       Say “Assalam Alaykum / peace be with you” or respond “(wa) alaykum Salam / (and) peace be with you also” when greeting anyone, an introduction to a discussion, upon entering an elevator, an office or just in the park. That’s like saying hello or hi even when you don’t know them.

b.      Always bring with you your residence permit/ Iqama.

c.       Register your finger print and residence permit on your mobile number.

d.      Liquor is prohibited. You can always live without it, believe me or not. If by chance that you got a visa to UAE or Bahrain which are near and more open to such, you can enjoy the taste if you want. Smoking is common.

e.      Pork is prohibited in the whole kingdom same with illegal drugs and the like.

f.        Make it a habit to shake hand with other people of same gender or give documents always using your right hand only (cleaner hand as they say).

g.       When entering an elevator where there is a woman inside or with her family, don’t enter at all or check signs if it’s okay with them.

h.      Be careful not to bump women in sidewalks or in the groceries or simply anywhere, they are precious so keep distance if you want to avoid trouble.

i.         Taking pictures should be avoided in malls or in parks since there are women around, you will be notified by guards to stop or delete the photos.

j.        Men and women are not allowed to be together in a taxi, unless they have a marriage certificate or if there is a couple inside.

k.       When falling in line, give way to women is a number 1 rule, so choose a lane in the center where women will not take chance to insert themselves, just kidding! There’s a separate lane for family or women.

Men and women usually have separate areas like for example in the restaurant or in the park, families are divided into group of men and on the other side, a group of women. It’s common that only men are working in the whole building or office, or you cannot see women in the bank and so many examples. Men and women are sometimes asked for their papers when eating in a mall restaurant especially in the capital.

2    3.     DRESS CODE: For women, they are required to wear a hijab in public places, a black dress paired with a veil. For men, just anything as long as it is proper. It is a very long tradition of protecting women from malicious eyes of men.

4.     FOOD & DRINKS: Almost all you want are available in the grocery stores. Again, no pork at all and you cannot find any alcoholic drinks. 

4    5.       SOCIALIZATION: You can always find ways to entertain yourselves like going out to malls, parks, coffee shops, simple party inside your flats or browse the social media.  Anything with pornographic videos and pictures are blocked but you can find ways if you are really want. During weekends, expats can be seen biking in group in the sea sides even women. You can go to beaches or catch fishes. Many sport clubs available for badminton, basketball, bowling, etc. Professional organizations are also available if you opt to join and enjoy their various activities.

Hopefully you got some common information you need before deciding whether to come here or not.