As some of my friends on here know, I’m a Tunisian who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia.
I have emotional ties to both countries so I decided to make a thread comparing their lifestyle & culture (similarities & differences)!

Photos: Tunisia on the Left & KSA on the Right!

My household was purely Tunisian (my mom didn’t really absorb middle eastern and Saudi culture, so we spoke Tunisian, ate Tunisian, felt Tunisian), but I liked observing Saudi culture!

Both countries are quite diverse so I will *mostly* base this on Tunis and Jeddah!

Architecture:

The dominant color palette of Tunisia & KSA are different.
In Tunisia, bright white, blue, bright yellow and green are dominant.
In KSA beige, sandy yellow and brown are more dominant!
Tunisians use more colorful ceramic tiles (zliz) to decorate their houses!

Both men wear a long type of robe (Jebba & Thobe). Tunisians wear a Chechia and Saudis a Ghutra.

What I like in KSA is that Saudi men (even the young ones) still wear their traditional clothes everywhere, even to work! Meanwhile Tunisians only wear them on special occasions.

Lifestyle

Luxury is more accessible to the average Saudi than the average Tunisian.

Saudi Arabia has a heavy Mall culture. Tunisia has very few malls and Tunisians bike & walk much more outdoors.
This can be explained by the fact that KSA is unbearably hot for most of the year.

Nature/Weather:

Like Jeddah, Tunis gets very hot in the summer, but it also gets cold in the winter & has roughly 4 seasons. Jeddah is hot for most of the year & rain is extremely rare.

Tunis has a Mediterranean fertile climate while Jeddah has a desertic climate.

Cuisine:

I love both!
Saudis eat A LOT of rice, meanwhile in Tunisia rice comes in 3rd position after couscous & pasta! Tunisian food is also much spicier.

Eating out is better in KSA (more international choices & food chains) but vegetables and fruits taste better in Tunisia!

Diversity:

KSA is much more cosmopolitan than Tunisia. Millions of people come from places like South Asia, South East Asia, Afghanistan, MENA, Africa, the West etc to work in KSA.
I liked this diversity a lot and I found it exciting.
Tunisia is very homogenous in comparison.

Religion:

Both countries are majoritarily Sunni Muslim. KSA is mostly Hanbali & Athari/Salafi, meanwhile Tunisia is mostly Maliki & Ash3ari.

Unlike KSA, Sufism is still a major part of Tunisian culture, Mawlid is a national holiday and many places are named after awliyah.

Religious diversity:

KSA is more religiously diverse than Tunisia. Tunisia was historically home to a big Jewish and European Christian community but is fairly homogenous today.

KSA is home to a sizeable Christian expat community ( etc) and local Shia minority.

Weddings & celebrations:

Most weddings in Tunis aren't gender segregated and it is fairly common to hear your neighbors celebrating especially in the summer (loud music coming from their rooftop or garden haha).

I have never saw a wedding in Saudi since they're more private.

Cemeteries:

They are far more discrete in KSA. Death culture is a bit different.
It is common for family members to visit the cemetery in Tunis to read Quran at the grave of a relative and to put some grains on the grave for birds.
Saudi cemeteries often have unmarked graves.

Language:

Both countries’ official national language is Arabic.

Tunisian Derja (even without the French & Italian input) is hardly understood by Saudis therefore I always had to speak Lebanese for them to understand me.
2nd language in KSA is English and it’s French in Tunisia.

Women:

The sefseri is pretty but most women who choose to veil in Tunisia nowadays don't wear them anymore (only some older women still do), instead they wear "modern-style" hijabs.

In KSA women mostly wear a local black (not always) dress called "Abaya".

Traditional female covering styles:

In KSA, the traditional female full covering clothing or "Nikab" is usually black meanwhile the Tunisian traditional Sefseri worn in Tunis is usually white/beige.

It is sometimes but not always paired with different types of face covering.

Pedestrians:
Tunis is more pedestrian friendly than Jeddah.
Walking in Jeddah is not really a “thing”. Besides the extreme heat, sidewalks tend to be small, roads are bigger and there isn’t much to see in the city itself (less historical or artistic areas than Tunis).

But Jeddah still has nice places:

The Corniche & balad (old town) have recently been renovated and they looks amazing!
Both Jeddah's old town and Tunis' old town have Mashrabiya windows (possibly from the Abbasid era) but they are usually blue in Tunis and Brown in KSA!

: In grand Tunis however there are more urban & natural sightseeing opportunities than Jeddah in my opinion (the old Medina of Tunis, Sidi Bou Said, Carthage, Lake of Tunis, Bougarnine Mountain etc).

Both cities have a nice coastline & Red sea in Jeddah is great for diving!

Female traditional clothes:

There are hundreds of different clothing styles in Tunisia, but in the city of Tunis, some of these styles are the "Keswa", "Fouta w Blouza" and "Marsawi" (and more).

In KSA, women indoors wear beautiful dresses/abayas with colorful tribal motifs.

I still have other cultural comparisons in my drafts that I might add in the future!

Have a nice evening everyone!