Dewaniah, the gathering place
Arabian Business and Cultural Guide is a 200+ pages guide for visitors, exporters, and international traders to understand the culture, business culture, and how to do business with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and other Arab countries. Author: Mohammad Al-Sabt.
In every Arabian house, especially in the GCC region, there is a room called
"Dewaniah" or "Majlis" for guests gatherings. Most of these Dewaniahs
are for male visitors only.
The Dewaniah is usually located close to
the outside main entrance, away from the rest of the house.
Women guests
gather in a room inside the house and sometimes get to their gathering
room from an outside entrance specifically assigned for female visitors.
In some parts of the Arab region men and women who are not directly
blood related to each other or not married to each other don't mix.
That's why there are often separate guest gathering rooms for both genders
in the same house. In some Arab houses this rule of gender separation is not followed.
Some
Dewaniahs open on a daily basis and others once weekly. This regular
gathering is a chance for relatives, friends, and invited guests to
check on each other and converse in many subjects. It is a form of socializing
where people communicate the latest news about other relatives, economy,
business, sports, politics, etc.
Tea, coffee, and sometimes a light snack are served.
In most Arabian & Islamic countries, the following items are forbidden by religion:
Alcohol
Pork
That's an insult
The sole of your feet/shoe should not point directly toward someone else
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