Saudi hospitality and cuisine

• I read today in El Mundo (Spanish paper) that the Saudi ambassador to Spain considers Saudi cuisine limited but tasty. Can't argue with that but he goes on to say that Saudi culture is hospitable and when a foreigner arrives the Saudis argue among themselves about who will be first to invite the outsider to their home. It certainly doesn't ring a bell for me. I would say that KSA is a less than hospitable nation. I would also say that Nafoura (a chain of Lebanese restaurants in Riyadh) is the only culinary memory I took away from the Kingdom.

  21 May 2007, 11:14 Sam

Replies

• you have to differentiate

  In KSA, you have to differentiate between the administration, government, and the normal people as individuals. In general, the Saudis as individuals and as families are hospitable to foreigners, both Muslims and non Muslims. You might find some Saudis who are rude and non-hospitable, but they are minority.
  The Saudi culture does not have a special cuisine known worldwide! Their main traditional dish is Kabsa, and other types of cuisines are taken from other Arab cultures, like Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, etc.

  Paul 21 May 2007, 11:16 - Report