Saudi Arabia’s government has had a fluctuating relationship with the United States, but generally says the alliance is strong. In 2009, the government included “USA” in a list of banned license plate letter combinations without explanation. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest country without a river and follows the Islamic lunar calendar.
How citizens of one country feel about another country may or may not reflect the official views of its government. So what about Saudi Arabia? Does Saudi Arabia not like the United States? Governments have had a back-and-forth relationship over the years, but the Saudi government generally ends up saying the alliance is strong. However, in 2009, the Saudi government complicated matters by including the letters “USA” in a list of “obscene” letter combinations that would be banned from license plates. Saudi Arabia has never explained why the letters “USA” were deemed inappropriate. According to the Saudi newspaper Al Watan, more than 90,000 personalized license plates should be replaced with prohibited combinations of letters.
Some curiosities about Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud became king of Saudi Arabia in January 2015, following the death of his half-brother King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia follows the Islamic lunar calendar, which began in AD 622, the year the Prophet Muhammad fled Mecca to Medina.
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