Saudi Arabia: The Bedu Room

One thing I enjoyed very much in Saudi Arabia was how many Saudi homes would have a “Bedu room.”  The Bedu room is a simple room.  The floor is generally covered with small mats that are covered in the traditional fabric favored by the Beduions.  Oblong cushions generally align the walls.  This is a room where the occupants kick off their shoes and relax on the floor leaning back on the cushions.

The Bedu room is where friends and family relax.  They may enjoy cups of kawah or Saudi tea while they visit and chat with one another.  Some may enjoy relaxing with a hookah (hubbly bubbly) by their side filling the room with the aromatic smell of apple or pear tobacco.  The Bedu room may have a flat screen tv on the wall where the women will enjoy their favorite soap operas together or the men will gather to watch a soccer game.

In our rental apartment we had a traditional Bedu room.  Abdullah and I would relax and sit in the Bedu room after dinner.  We’d enjoy some tea and each other’s company.  Our villa did not have a Bedu room or in fairness we did not create a Bedu room inside of our villa.  Instead we would replicate the feeling of a Bedu room outside in our large courtyard where we could lay back on the cushions and look up at the sky filled with stars.

This link shows a photo of the Bedu room which we had in our rental apartment.