Mohamed Al Hwaity / Reuters
Saudi youths demonstrate a stunt known as "sidewall skiing" in the northern Saudi Arabian city of Hail on March 30. Performing stunts such as sidewall skiing and drifts is a popular hobby among Saudi youths.
Mohamed Al Hwaity / Reuters
Mohamed Al Hwaity / Reuters
Mohamed Al Hwaity / Reuters
Mohamed Alhwaity / Reuters
A man sand skis in the desert near Tabuk, 932 miles from Riyadh, on Dec. 27.
Mohamed Alhwaity / Reuters
Mohamed Alhwaity / Reuters
Mohamed Alhwaity / Reuters
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NASA / JSC
The city lights of Riyadh shine in a picture taken Nov. 13 from the International Space Station.
Saudi Arabia's capital city glitters in this picture-perfect night view captured from Earth orbit last month from the International Space Station. The spread of Riyadh's city lights hints at a bustling population, which has grown from 150,000 in 1960 to 5.4 million this year. Click on over to NASA's Earth Observatory to identify landmarks such as the Riyadh Air Base, universities and the financial district.
This view from above is tonight's offering for the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which serves up a fresh picture of Earth as seen from space every day from now until Christmas. For still more outer-space goodies, check out The Atlantic's Hubble Space Telescope Advent Calendar or the Zooniverse Advent Calendar — and stay tuned for another cosmic nighttime vista on Wednesday.
More views of Earth from space:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other science and space news coverage, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered via email. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
AP
People walk among rubble at the site of a fuel truck explosion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 1, 2012. A fuel truck exploded after hitting portions of a bridge, engulfing buildings and cars in flames, witnesses and officials said.
Reuters
An injured man lies on a stretcher after an explosion in eastern Riyadh on November 1, 2012.
AP
People walk among debris at the site of a fuel truck explosion in Riyadh on Nov. 1, 2012.
NBC News staff and wire reports — Updated at 9:39 a.m. ET: At least 22 people were killed when a fuel truck crashed into an overpass in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday, triggering an explosion that brought down an industrial building and torched nearby vehicles, officials and state media said
Health ministry spokesman Saad al-Qahtani said 135 people were injured in the disaster. He told state television they were mostly men and included some foreigners. Click here for updates on this developing story.
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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Muslim pilgrims have their heads shaved during the annual haj pilgrimage on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 26, 2012.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
A Muslim pilgrim prays during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina, Oct. 26.
Associated Press reports — At sunset of Oct. 25, pilgrims headed to Muzdalifa, where Muslims believe prophets before Muhammad once prayed. There, they collected pebbles walking or driving to nearby Mina for Friday's symbolic stoning of the devil that marks the start of Eid al-Adha, or feast of the sacrifice, when Muslims slaughter lambs to feed the hungry.
They made the 8 kilometer journey from Mount Arafat by foot and bus caravan, where they will spend the night, as the Prophet Muhammad did during his own pilgrimage. Millions of people will sleep there in tents.
Hajj rules - based on centuries of interpretation of the Sunna, the traditions of Muhammad - are extremely elaborate. Pilgrims must all gather at certain sites at specific times. Some rites are repeated, others are partially repeated and some performed only once.
Many pilgrims being their journey in the Saudi Arabian city of Medina with a visit to Muhammad's mosque, where he is buried. They then head to Mecca and perform a set of pre-hajj rituals, including circling the Kaaba counterclockwise with their hearts tilted toward it - the same rituals that conclude the hajj for many. Full story…
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
A Muslim pilgrim sleeps next to hair from those who shaved their heads during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 26.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Muslim pilgrims cast seven stones at a pillar that symbolizes Satan during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 26.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Muslim pilgrims cast seven stones at a pillar that symbolizes Satan during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 26.
Alaa Badarneh / EPA
Muslim pilgrims arrive to pray at the Mountain of Mercy (formally known as Mount Arafat) during the Hajj, in Arafat, Saudi Arabia, on October 24, 2012.
As the sun rose on Thursday morning, hundreds of Muslim pilgrims prayed on a rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, located on the Plain of Arafat near Mecca.
Saudi authorities say around 3.4 million pilgrims — some 1.7 million of them from abroad — have arrived in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina for this year's hajj pilgrimage.
Hassan Ammar / AP
Muslim pilgrims pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat near the holy city of Mecca, in the early hours of Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.
Hassan Ammar / AP
A pilgrim cries as he prays at sunrise on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy on Oct. 25, 2012.
Hassan Ammar / AP
Pilgrims climb the Mountain of Mercy on Oct. 25, 2012.
Hassan Ammar / AP
Muslim pilgrims head to Mount Arafat ahead of the hajj main ritual in the holy city of Mecca on Oct. 24, 2012.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand mosque during the annual hajj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca on Tuesday, October 23, 2012, ahead of Eid al-Adha which marks the end of hajj. On October 25, the day of Arafat, millions of Muslim pilgrims will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat near Mecca at the peak of the annual pilgrimage.
Fayez Nureldine / AFP - Getty Images
Muslim pilgrims wait for the start of prayers at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on October 22, 2012.
Muslim pilgrims are descending in droves on Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage, which Saudi Arabia insists will not be affected by instability rocking the region.
Stormy skies greet pilgrims at Mount Noor in Mecca
The annual Islamic pilgrimage, which officially begins on Thursday, October 25, draws three million visitors each year, making it the largest annual gathering of people in the world.
Hajj is among the five pillars of Islam and is required of all able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
-- Agence France Presse, The Associated Press
Hassan Ammar / AP
Muslim pilgrims leave the Grand mosque after the noon prayer in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 22, 2012.
Alaa Badarneh / EPA
A view of the Royal Hotel Clock Tower located near the Haram Sharif Mosque during sunset, as seen from the top of the Jabal-al-noor ('Mountain of Light' in Arabic), four days before the Hajj 2012 pilgrimage, near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on October 21, 2012.
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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
A Muslim pilgrim gestures as lightning strikes in the background at the top of Mount Noor where Muslims believe Prophet Mohammad received the first words of the Koran through Gabriel, during the annual haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, Oct. 21.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Muslim pilgrims pray at the top of Mount Noor, Oct. 21.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
A Muslim pilgrim gestures at the top of Mount Noor, Oct. 21.
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These two photos appeared in the Swedish, left, and Saudi Arabian Ikea catalogues for 2013.
By Martha C. White, NBC News contributor
Scrubbing the bathroom got a whole new meaning in the Saudi Arabian Ikea catalog. The Swedish home and furnishings retailer faced criticism after reports surfaced that Ikea digitally erased women from pictures in the Saudi version of the catalog.
In one picture of a family in a bathroom, the mother standing at the sink with her son was removed. Even one of the retailer’s own designers, Clara Gausch, was erased from a photo featuring four of the brand’s designers. Full Story
Fahad Shadeed / Reuters
Saudi Arabian special forces prepare to storm a 'foreign embassy' building during a close quarters combat skills demonstration before their graduation ceremony, near Riyadh on September 25, 2012.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Saudi Arabia's Wojdan Shaherkani arrives ahead of her women's +78kg elimination round of 32 judo match against Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 3, 2012.
Mitch Goldich, NBC Olympics reports — After a week of controversy and hand-wringing — first declaring she would fight without a hijab, then saying she would withdraw if not allowed to wear one — Wojdan Shaherkani finally made history this morning, as the first Saudi Arabian woman ever to participate in the Olympic Games.
The bout lasted less than two minutes as Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica threw Shaherkani to her back with a match-ending ippon. Shaherkani adjusted her head covering as she stood back up, and then shook Mojica's hand to rousing applause. Read the full story.
Darren Staples / Reuters
The bout between Shaherkani (top) and Mojica lasted less than two minutes.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
The crowd was friendly toward Shaherkani, cheering triumphantly when the PA announcer broke from his typical monotony of introductions to say, "The first woman ever from Saudi Arabia to compete in the Olympics, Shaherkani."
View more photos from the London Olympics on PhotoBlog
Complete coverage on NBCOlympics.com
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Click for more from the 2012 summer games in London.
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