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Lebanon and Saudi Arabia

Intercultural communication implies the distribution of information through distinctive cultures and societal groups, which involves people from different social, ethnic, religious, and educational upbringings. It seeks to comprehend the ways in which these people act, communicate, and observe the world around them. Since my father is from Saudi Arabia and my mother is from Lebanon, I am going to compare these two cultures that I know so well. Although both countries are part of the Arab world, they are very different.

To begin with, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam’s two holiest monuments in Mecca and Medina. So it is a Muslim country. Conversely, although Lebanon’s population is mostly Muslim, there is a big number of Christians and people from other religions.

Church and mosque side by side in Beirut.

Mecca (Makkah)


Because of its Muslim culture and traditions, people in Saudi Arabia are forced to “abayas” regardless of their religion and their nationality. Therefore, it is a very conservative country where everyone should follow the local traditions and beliefs, at least in public. However, in Lebanon, everyone has the freedom to dress and act as they please.

In addition, although KSA is mostly covered in desert, there are different cities such as Jeddah and Riyadh that are modern. In fact, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are almost similar in that aspect knowing that Lebanon is much smaller than the KSA.

Beirut 

Jeddah



The traditional Saudi Arabian foods are: Fatir (flat bread), Hawayij (spicy blend), Kapsa (chicken and rice). And they also include Tabbouleh and Hummus as their traditional foods which are similar to Lebanese food, plus the Kebbeh, Samosa and so on.

Hummus
Kapsa











Learning about different cultures is very interesting. What is challenging is accepting the diverse traditions and habits that each country has, specially nowadays because of globalisation. When we understand and experience these cultures, we will be able to co-habitate. That is why I took the example of my parents who are each from different nationalities and religions.

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