Jordan

 

Official Name: Hashamite of Jordan

 

Location: Jordan is bounded in the north by Syria, east by Iraq, south-east and south Red sea by Saudi Arabia and west by Israel. It has an outlet to an arm of the at Aqaba.

 

Capital: Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan.

Language: Arabic is the official language. English and some French are also spoken.

Religion: The great majority of the Jordanian people are Sunni Muslims. Shi´ite Muslims form a small minority. Christians, about one-third of whom belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, make up about 5 percent of the population. Over 80%

Sunni Muslim, with Christian and Shi´ite minorities.

Currency: Jordanian Dinar (JOD) of 1000 fils.

Jordan Time Difference: GMT + 2

 

 

Kuwait

 

Official Name: State of Kuwait

Location: Kuwait is situated in the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, at the head of the Persian Gulf. Kuwait is bordered on the north and st by Iraq, on the south and west by Saudi Arabia and on the east by the Persian Gulf. For many a, years Kuwait was a small emirate whose economy centered on sea trade and especially pearl exports. The discovery of oil in the 20th century transformed all aspects of Kuwaiti society.

 

Capital: Kuwait City

Language: Kuwait´s official language is Arabic, which is spoken by all citizens. Both Arabic and English are taught in Kuwaiti schools, and English is also used as a second language.

Religion: Islam is the official religion, 85% Kuwaiti citizens are Muslim. 15% others.

Currency: Kuwait Dinar (KD) = 1,000 fils.

Kuwait Time Difference: GMT + 3

 

 

Libya

 

Official Name: Great Socialist People´s Libyan Arab Republic

Location: Libya consists mostly of huge areas of desert. Libya shares borders with Tunisia and Algeria in the west, and Egypt in the east, while the Sahara extends across the southern frontiers with Niger, Chad and the Sudan.

 

Capital: Tripoli

Language: Arabic is the official language, although Berber is sometimes spoken and English and Italian are used in trade. Arabic must be used for all official purposes.

Religion: Islam is the state religion, and about 97 percent of all Libyans are Sunni Muslim. A small number are Roman Catholic.

Currency: Libyan Dinar (LD) = 1000 dirhams

 

Libya Time Difference: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 in summer)

 

Morroco

 

Official Name: Kingdom of Morocco

Location: Kingdom of Morocco is situated in northwestern Africa with coasts on the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; it is bordered by Algeria to the east and Mauritania to the south.

 

Capital: The Capital of Morocco is Rabat, the largest city is Casablanca

Language: The official language is Arabic but French is the dominant business language in central and southern Morocco and something you can get along with about anywhere. Spanish is often spoken in the north. English is fairly widely spoken. The Berber languages, once dominant throughout Morocco, have declined in importance, and in the early 1990s about 25 percent of the people used Berber as their first language.

Religion: Islam is the established state religion of Morocco. Almost the entire population is Sunni Muslim. The monarch is the supreme Muslim authority in the country. About 1 percent of the population is Christian, and less than 0.2 percent is Jewish.

Currency: The Moroccan Dirham is a floting currency, subdivided into 100 centimes. In various parts of Morocco you may hear prices quoted in francs, pesetas, or rials, units of currency used during colonial periods.

Morocco Time Difference: GMT (GMT + 1 in summer)

 

 

Mauritania

 

Official Name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Location: Mauritania is bounded west by the Atlantic Ocean, north by Morocco, north-east by Algeria, east and south-east by Mali, and south by Senegal. Around 40% is Sahara Desert, 30% semi-desert. There is a narrow band of fertile land along the Senegal river.

 

Capital: Nouakchott

Language: The official languages are Arabic and French. The Moors of Arab / Berber stock, speaking Hassaniya dialects of Arabic, comprise the majority of the people. Other dialects include Soninke, Pulaar and Wolof. English is rarely spoken.

Religion: Islam is the official religion. Despite ethnic and cultural differences among Mauritanians they are all bound by a common Muslim attachment to the Malekite sect.

Currency: The monetary unit in Mauritania is the ouguiya, which is divided into five khoums (137 ouguiyas equal U.S.$1; 1996).

Mauritania Time Difference:  

 

Oman

 

Official Name: Sultanate of Oman

Location: Oman is bounded in the north-east by the gulf of oman and south-east by the Arabian Sea, south-east by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. There is an enclave at the northern tip of the Musandam Peninsula between the United Arab Emirates of Ras al-Khaima in the west and Fujairah in the south-east.

 

Capital: Muscat

Language: Arabic is the official language of Oman, and English and Asian languages such as Hindi, Urdu, and Baluchi are also widely spoken. Swahili is spoken by some, a legacy of Oman´s former East African presence. English is widely used in business.

Religion: Islam is the official religion, although other religions are tolerated under the country´s Basic Law. Muslims make up 86 percent of the population. Three-fourths of the Muslims are Ibadis, a minority sect dating from the 8th century. Most of the remainder adhere to Sunni Islam and the rest to Shia Islam. Indian Hindus account for 13 percent of the population. There are also small numbers of non-Omani Christians.

 

Currency: The basic unit of currency in Oman is the Omani Rial (0.38 rial equals U.S. $1; fixed rate). It is divided into 1000 baiza. The rial is the only currency circulated, although in some rural areas transactions occur outside the cash economy.

Oman Time Difference: GMT + 4

 

 

Saudia

 

Official Name: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Location: Saudi Arabia occupies four-fifths of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered to the northwest by Jordan, to the north by Iraq and Kuwait, to the west by the Red sea and to the east Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and to the south by Yemen.

 

Capital: Riyadh

Language: The national language is Arabic. English is spoken in business circles.

Religion: The majority of Saudi Arabians are Sunni Muslim, but Shi´ites predominate in the Eastern Province. The Wahhabi sect, comprised of reformers who settled in Arabia during the 18th century and who have sought to purify and simplify the practice of Islam, has greatly influenced the Sunnites of Saudi Arabia.

Currency: Saudi Arabian Rial (SAR) = 100 halalah.

Saudi Arabia Time Difference: GMT + 3

 

 

Somali

 

Official Name: Somali Democratic Republic

Location: Somalia is bounded to the north by the gulf of Aden, to the south and east by Kenya, to the west by Ethiopia and to the northwest by Djibouti. To the east lies the Indian Ocean.

 

Capital: Mogadishu

Language: Somali and Arabic are the official languages. Swahili is spoken, particulary in south. Some English and Italian are also spoken.

Religion: Islam is the state religion in Somalia, and most of the people are Sunni Muslims. 90% Muslim, with a Christian ( Mostly Roman Catholic) minoritiy.

Currency: Somali Shilling ( SoSh) = 100 cents. The unit of currency is the Somali shilling, consisting of 100 cents (about 7000 Somali shillings equal U.S.$1; 1996). Somalia is a member of the Islamic Development Bank and the African Development Bank.

Somalia Time Difference: GMT + 3

 

 

Sudan

 

Official Name: Republic of Sudan

Location: Sudan is bounded to the north by Egypt, north-east by the Red Sea, east by Eritrea and Ethiopia, south by Kenya, Uganda and Zaire, west by the central African Republic and Tchad, and north-west by Libya.

 

Capital: Khartoum

Language: The official language of Sudan is Arabic. English and many local dialects are widely spoken, and African languages are used in the south. A program of Arabization is in place to encourage greater use of Arabic in the south.

Religion: About 70 percent of the people of Sudan are Muslim, some 25 percent follow traditional religions, and most of the remainder are Christian. The people of northern Sudan are predominantly Sunni Muslims. Most of the people in the south either practice traditional religions or are Christian.

Currency: The unit of currency is the dinar. In 1992 the dinar replaced the Sudanese pound, with an official exchange rate of 1 dinar equal to 10 pounds. The pound, however, remains a legal tender. Sudan has prohibited the establishment of foreign banks since 1985. The application of Islamic law to banking practices in 1991 put an end to the charging of interest in official transactions.

Sudan Time Difference: GMT + 2

 

Syria

 

Official Name: Syrian Arab Republic

Location: Syria is bounded by the Mediterranean and Lebanon on the west, by Israel and Jordan on the south, by Iraq on the east and by Turkey on the north. The frontier between Syria and Turkey was settled by the Franco-Turkish agreement of 22 June 1929.

 

Capital: Damascus

Language: Arabic is the official language, spoken by 89% of the population, while 6% speak Kurdish, 3% Armenian and 2% other language. English and French are spoken in business circles.

Religion: The overwhelming majority of the Syrian population is Sunni Muslim. Other Muslims include Ismailis, Shiites, and Alawites (a schism of the Shiite branch). Of the non-Muslims in