Yeah, it's like that all over the middle east, as far as I know. I've spend a total of eleven years in the middle east, but the only two countries I've lived and worked in here are Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is an Islamic thing. Friday is "holy day", when they have some longer prayers at midday or thereabouts. Thursday is the traditional "souk" day, when the Bedouins would bring in stuff to market. So our weekend is Thursday and Friday, and we have TAIW - Thank Allah it's Wednesday - instead of TGIF. It would definitely not be the same in Israel, since Saturday is their sabath, don't know how they handle that. One interesting thing is that despite the arrangement of the work week, Sunday is still "yawm al-ahad", or first day, and all the rest of the days of the week, with the exception of Friday ("jomah"), are numbered. Saturday is "yawm as-sabt", or seventh day. The only piece of artwork I've ever made any money off of was a Photoshop creation of a Saudi woman with her abayah blowing straight back on a city street - I posted that over on the Poser Forum Online a while back. Very photorealistic and framed and hanging in a lot of homes over here. Gromit Dhahran, Saudi Arabia