or don’t even trust Google!

My experience and answers to the most frequently asked Google questions about Saudi Arabia:

1. Is Saudi Arabia a safe country? Absolutely yes. They are ready to help, not judge.

A simple example happened while driving near the desert. We pulled off the road when we saw a herd of camels. Naturally, this exotic scene was captivating, so we rushed to take photos. Then a shepherd appeared near the herd, guiding the animals back onto the path. We were photographing and filming, when suddenly a police car sped toward us with flashing lights.

Cold, hot, sweating, scared — what’s going to happen now? They politely greeted us with smiles, asked what we were doing, nodded, and drove toward the shepherd, signaling us to follow. They stopped. We stopped too, catching our breath. Then one of the officers waved us to come over.

It turned out to be a photoshoot. The officers asked us to photograph the shepherd, posing with the herd.

Conclusion: relax — they’re human too. They’re genuinely curious about tourists and care that we feel comfortable. You can really feel this sincerity, because many people we met asked how many times we’d visited Saudi Arabia, and when we answered, they smiled warmly, welcomed us, recommended places to see, or simply encouraged us to enjoy our time.

About safety: one night we slept in the car by the roadside. No one disturbed us. Basically, we weren’t particularly interesting to anyone, as we weren’t alone by the roadside — it’s quite common. Driving along the road, you will often see parked cars every few hundred meters, whether for prayer or leisure, though we didn’t investigate too closely.

2. What is Saudi Arabia known for? 

Saudi Arabia is most famous for producing the largest amount of oil in the world and for being the birthplace of Islam. Millions of Muslims from around the world visit the lands of the Prophet Muhammad – Mecca and Medina – at least once in their lifetime.

Although non-Muslims cannot enter Mecca, you will still see it. In every hotel, the main channel is a live broadcast from Mecca, and in a rental car, you’ll always get reminders about the time remaining until the next prayer.

3. What stood out to me about Saudi Arabia? 

The Al-Ula rocks and the artificial city KAEC (King Abdullah Economic City), whose slogan is: “Come and experience a new way to live, work and play. We are creating a next generation city for a new generation.”

One of the main facts in the city’s brochure is that it’s the first city with a public beach. Yet, there wasn’t a single person on the beach. Near the beach, in the park, Pakistani and Indian workers were cutting the grass, and the only Muslim we met outside a hotel brought us scissors when he saw we had huge stickers and were struggling to apply them perfectly on our car.

4. Is it possible to drink alcohol? 

After reading Google’s answer, I’d dare to disagree. In hotels, you can definitely get alcohol — of course, you won’t find it in the room minibar, but you can buy it in the restaurant. Even in the smallest corner shops, where it might feel like it’s the first time an Arab has seen a European in person rather than on TV, you can buy non-alcoholic beer — and in various flavors.

5. Where does the name Saudi Arabia come from? 

If Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, the leader of the Wahhabi Muslim sect, hadn’t conquered his hometown Riyadh and gradually unified the entire country while fighting against the Rashid dynasty as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, today we would be calling it Rashid Arabia.

So, let’s replace Google history with new experiences and set off on an adventure through Saudi Arabia!