Looking Up

Well only three motor vehicle accidents observed today.  One on the way to work and two on the way home.   Perhaps driving in Riyadh is improving!  For the life of me I can’t understand why you would position yourself in the far right lane of four at the traffic lights only to want to turn left and cut across the other three lanes.  The fact that there isn’t an accident at every major intersection surprises me!

I had a call late last night from the Indian businessman whom shared the taxi and visa experience with last month.  He was at the causeway border station and wanted to know if I had renewed my visa. Then he asked me what date had we renewed it last month.  When I told him he said “Oh no, I’m a day late!”  His visa has now expired and he has to pay a large fine for being in the country illegally.  He also now has to go back to India and apply for a new visa.  Poor bast@rd, glad it wasn’t me!

Visa…….. Again!

It was a 5.00am start to the day because my driver assured me traffic would start to build up from 7.00am onwards.  He collected me from my hotel at 6.00am, which happened to be the time the restaurant opened for breakfast, so it was a hungry start to the day.  The roads were relatively empty and we started to converse using his limited English and my almost non existent Arabic.  Following a question about his family I was informed he had six daughters and three sons.  My comment/query about not owning a TV appeared to be lost in the translation!

He then produced his smartphone to show me the main screen wallpaper was a montage of small happy faces.  His grandchildren from the three married daughters.  Hell, by the time the remaining six start begetting he won’t have a football team…. He’ll have his own league!  The birth rate here is very high and with a modern and well funded free universal health system the infant mortality rate is obviously significantly lower than pre WW2.  Saudi Arabia is going to be very crowded in a few years from now.

The road out along the Saudi – Bahrain Causeway is starting to become very familiar.

Do you like the monument out in the water with the molten metal being poured into a mould

The border control station was very quiet with only two Customs booth manned.  My driver obviously has a great personality because he chatted and joked with all the border staff.  His friendly and affable approach appeared to work because we were quickly through both Customs and Immigration.

Customs on the Saudi side

Just like my last trip, we didn’t enter Bahrain, instead doing a hard left turn and cutting through a narrow alleyway to arrive at the Immigration booth for entry into Saudi Arabia.  Once again the formalities were quickly dealt with and my passport was then returned to me.  I quickly flicked through the pages and noticed there were no new stamps?  Upon asking my driver why, I was told “No need….. All scanned!”  So they are electronically scanning and updating my six month visa (I hope).  Why hadn’t someone told me this on my earlier trip.  Now all I have to do is remember to do it all again around the 20th of March.

We were back at the hotel by 7.00am so breakfast was back on the agenda.  My driver even arranged for a late room checkout (6.00pm).  That was great news because my flight back to Riyadh was at 11.45pm and I didn’t fancy waiting in the airport for 12 hours.  The only problem was I’d woken with a touch of “Delhi Belly” and a head cold.  On reflection, I think the former was acquired when I ate three small raw tomatoes as part of my lunch in the hotel restaurant the previous day.  It’s the first time since my arrival that I’ve eaten anything raw and unpeeled.  The head cold was kindly given to me by my driver!  If you have a loose bowel problem the best thing to do is to keep eating and push it through the system.  Breakfast and lunch was a trial and the porcelain got a hammering during the afternoon.  Fortunately things started to improve by my check-out time so it wasn’t an issue for the flight back to Riyadh.  However the head cold left me with a very runny nose, headache and a cough.  By the time I reached the airport I’d used all my tissues. Using my initiative I wandered across the the “Fatburger” fast food outlet and ordered a hamburger for dinner.  Whilst his back was turned I took a handful of the paper serviettes and carefully rationed them for the duration of the trip home. 

My seat allocation was in row 30 and I was anticipating being down the rear of the aircraft.  However to my surprise row 30 was the first row in Economy and only six rows from the front of the aircraft (a Boeing 737).  This time the flight was with Saudia Airlines and one got the impression it was a little less ‘budget’.  Fortunately there was no meal and the Saudi sitting next to me wasn’t huge.  Actually he had to put up with me noisily coughing and constantly blowing my nose.  I guess he woke up the following morning with a sore throat!  

By the time we reached Riyadh at 1.00am I was feeling slightly tired.  With my luck my hold luggage didn’t appear on the carousel.  Probably because I had checked in so early!  There I was, the sole person standing by the carousel which had stopped turning.  Then it started…. but no luggage appeared.  Then it stopped…….. 10 minutes later it started again and my luggage finally appeared.

The domestic terminal was actually quite busy, so obviously there is no night curfew on flights in Riyadh.  There was a row of vacant taxi’s with Omar Sharif’s father at the front.  He was wearing an old Tshirt with part of last week’s kerbab down the front.  But I was beyond caring.  I jumped into the his cab only to find the “Meter not working!” according to Omar’s father.  We negotiated a price.  Frankly I didn’t haggle hard because I just wanted to go to bed.  However I asked him if he knew where the compound was and was told “Yes!”.  So I then made him show me where it was on Google Maps.  Confident that he roughly knew the way, I let him drive me back to the compound.  There were some seriously bored looking security people at the entrance to the compound.  Probably not surprising as it was 2.30am!  I was in bed by 3am but them my internal alarm clock kicked in at 6.30am (Bugger!) 

For a change next time I might take the train from Riyadh to Dammam!

Dammam Again

Despite my misgivings the flight from Riyadh to Dammam was Ok and the landing very smooth.  The terminal was large, clean and rather empty.  A driver was waiting to collect me holding a sign with my name on it in bold letters. 

Nasser is a local and his family has apparently lived here and in Bahrain for many generations.  The airport is 50 km out of Dammam so there was an opportunity to see some of the countryside.  It looked very similar to outback Australia!  There were a large number of tent camps on the outskirts of the city and I asked if they were Bedouin.  Nasser told me they were mostly family weekend retreats.  Like and NZ “bach” or and Australian “shack”.  He told me his family owned one and they went there most weekends to unwind.  Further into the city and the traffic started to build up with long queues forming.  It was 1.30pm and Nasser told me it was the end of day rush-hour.  So I asked what time people started work.  Apparently the manual labourers (eg, non-saudi) start at 7am and the office workers start at 8am.  So the working hours are 8 – 1.30 and they need a weekend retreat to recover?  To be fair this is mostly the government workers.  Saudi’s working in the private sector have longer hours.  The problem for the Saudi government was high unemployment compounded by the fact that Saudi’s are not skilled in technical work and are uninterested in learning.  To reduce unemployment the government created a public service bureaucracy but have now realise this is a dangerous strategy and are attempting to reverse their direction.

I had been booked into the Carlton Hotel for the night and Nasser told me he would collect me at 6am in the morning for the drive to Bahrain.  I had a late lunch in the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.  The view wasn’t that interesting as the hotel is situated in a commercial area surrounded by numerous building sites.

However there was a building opposite that looked quite interesting

The building has the same problem as me….. Expanding waistline!  The building behind and to the left was also interesting.  The top third was turned 45 degrees to the bottom and it has a helipad on the very top.

I decided to keep working and skipped dinner!

Interesting few days

Unfortunately I haven’t posted anything of interest for several days.This has partially been because there has been limited internet access but mostly because I’ve been unwell.  The manufacturers of tissue and toilet paper have been ecstatic as I recover from the “Delhi Belly” and “Man Flu”.  Getting them simultaneously at least compressed the timeframe for feeling miserable.

Last Tuesday the “penny finally dropped” with everyone that my 30 day visa needed to be renewed by Friday and that would entail me leaving the country.  I was given the option of Bahrain or the UK.  I didn’t want to spend 7 hours on a flight to UK only to have to return so I opted to try my luck again with Bahrain.  There were problems last time but hopefully everyone (including me) had learned from the experience.  Transport options were fly, train or car.  I opted to fly and then discovered I’d have to book “online”.  Unfortunately I don’t have a card that works in the country and I can’t get one because I can’t open a bank account; because I’m on a business visa.  Long story!  Anyway, I was able to arrange for one of the locals to purchase the tickets for me and I reimbursed him in cash.

The next job was to explain to my driver that he needed to take me to the airport rather than the office.  This was successfully don’t using my limited arabic, the phrase book, hand gestures and a calculator (for the time).

Riyadh airport is north of the city and I live and work in the south.  The roads in the south aren’t in great condition and many of the building then to be bland.  However I noticed on the trip to the airport that the roads in the north are in better condition and the architecture is much more interesting.

Nice clean and three four (sometimes made into five by the locals) lane road with a manicured lawn on the median strip and flowerbeds on the verges.

The following interesting building appeared on the right.

A building with a hole in the middle and a pedestrian walkway.

There’s nothing unique about Riyadh airport; apart from the fact it has a separate “Royal” terminal.  The country has a very large number of princes and princesses so I guess there’s a demand for a separate terminal.  It would probably be named the “VIP Terminal” in other countries.

The first problem I had at the terminal was an inability to find a check-in counter.  There were self check-in consoles but they didn’t recognise my booking number.  In the end I discovered you had to go through baggage security to get to check-in.  After having the bag scanned I eventually made my way to the head of the check-in queue only to discover my booking number wasn’t recognised.  After several minutes I discovered the reason why.  No one had bothered to tell me there were two domestic airlines (I’d only seen Saudia) and I was booked with FLYNAS.  Their check-in was located on the other side of the terminal.  Of course that meant exiting security with my suitcase and going through security (again) on the other side of the terminal.  However I did manage to get a boarding card.  The next problem was working out where to go.  I used an old trick and watched where the person behind me in the check-in queue went.  This led me to a second security check.  Unfortunately I made a poor decision and joined the queue on the right.  The problem was that whilst there was a separate Ladies queue (and an enclosed room for them to be searched away from male observation) they were using the same security scanning machine.  As there were fewer ladies travelling they were simply going to the head of the queue and placing their hand luggage on the security machine conveyor belt.  The males were all deferring to the females which was seriously slowing down our queue.  I guess that is one of the advantages of being a female in the country.

Once on the aircraft I had to ask the man sitting in my seat to move (as you usually have to).  He was supposed to be in the window seat but had taken mine.  Eventually I was able to explain he was in the wrong seat and he moved.  We had a vacant seat between us which I thought was good news until a large Saudi arrived to occupy the middle seat.  He overflowed his seat pressing me into the isle.  Leg room was also a problem.  My knees were pressed against the back of the seat in front.  Obviously FLYNAS is the equivalent of JetStar, EasyJet, Ryan Air.

The cabin crew were all female and they were obviously not Saudi as the Saudi females are not allowed to work.  Moreover they had their faces uncovered.  I picked one to be Egyptian and the second looked to be Indonesia.  However the third looked European and this surprised me.  Eventually there was an announcement over the intercom explaining languages spoken by the cabin crew.  One of these was Romanian, so my guess is the European crew member was from Romania.

The introduction by the pilot was slightly disturbing.  “We will be departing at 11.50 Inshallah (God willing), flying to Dammam at 31,000 feet, Inshallah, arriving at 13.00 Inshallah. I would much rather the flight wasn’t dependent upon God.  I’d prefer to know the mechanics had done a good job on the aircraft maintenance!

Nothing of interest occurred during the one hour flight.  I could see down the isle because my Saudi travelling companion was squeezing me over the armrest.

Where are you Jamie Oliver?

Having some free time between between the floors drying and the laundry I decided to bake another date and walnut cake.  Dates are cheap and plentiful in Riyadh,and whilst I don’t particularly like to eat them individually, I do like a date loaf.  After getting the mixture right it was popped into the oven on 340F for 45 minutes.  Last time I baked the loaf at 350F and it turned out rock hard on the outside.  After 45 minutes I removed the cake from the oven and stuck a needle in the middle to see if it was done.  It wasn’t!  The problem was the outside was cooked, and would get overcooked if I kept baking it in the tin.  My clever idea was to take the cake out of the baking tin and place it back in the oven minus the tin.  That way the tin wouldn’t overcook the outside.

Not a good decision as the “guts” fell out of the middle of the cake when attempting to remove it from the tin.  Back into the oven it went complete with tin.

I can see this is going to be very religious cake.  One of the most holy I’ve baked thus far!

Eventually the middle rose and the end result was a date loaf that is very hard on the outside and rather soft on the inside.  I guess that means “on average” it’s a good cake.  Well I’ll eat it……

The Souk

Once again it is time to visit the local Turkey Barber. This time Mustaffa was working beside his brother Ali who is the local dentist. In the bottom left of the following photo you can see Mustaffa giving Nigel (ahead of me in the queue) his turkey haircut. Ali is beside him doing a tooth extraction in his newly purchased swivel recliner chair. Having looked at all the new equipment I have decided to defer my haircut and will definitely waiting for my annual leave before arranging my dental appointment.

OK. The photo was taken in old Riyadh near to souk around 1920.

The Souk (bazaar, covered market place) was a disappointment. I had been hoping for something interesting. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt by the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul or the Khan el-Khalili in Cairo. The Riyadh Souk looked very similar to the Coventry market or the ground floor of the Stoke on Trent covered market. Boring walls with a tin roof and a rabbit warren of small stalls selling tacky goods.

I wandered down Wristwatch Row (how many damned watches do you need) into Abaya Alley where numerous stall were displaying Abaya’s (black….my favourite colour). There was an area set aside selling bad disgusting revolting truly revolting looking coloured trashy dresses in a riot of colours. You wouldn’t bury a lady in one of them. I will admit to thinking of purchasing one for my aunt… Because she is that sort of person! One stall holder was badgering me to buy some cheap (imitation?) French perfume.  I had to explain we already have paint stripper on board! Having jostled my way through the crowd I reach the gold market where the black magpies were ogling all the glittering objects in the glass topped display cabinets. One stall holder spotted the westerner and wanted me to come into his shop to buy something for my ‘wife’. I can just imagine her pulling on a mooring line wearing her heavy gold necklace. It would go well with the faded green sweat top and fleecy track pants. Somehow I don’t think the ‘Sea Search’ magnet would recover it from the canal bed.

On the far side of the gold souk was the carpet area where it was possible to purchase a genuine hand knotted Persian carpet made on a loom in Belgium. I know a little about hand-made carpets after doing my research and being ripped-off over a carpet I bought in Istanbul 20 years ago. (a small amount of research can be expensive!) I suppose purchasing a carpet is a possibility, but it would have to be small to fit into my suitcase. Perhaps a prayer mat. I could roll it out in front of my lovely wife’s chair and abase myself twice daily.

Adjacent to carpet land was macho street. It was a sea of fella’s carrying rifles. After many years living in countries where firearms are tightly controlled it was a surprise to find them on display and so easy to purchase. Initially I thought they were air rifles, but a surreptitious glance at the muzzle confirmed they were the “Real McCoy”. Many of the stalls were selling Farwa’s. This is a heavy coat with sleeves and is traditionally lined with sheepskin making it very warm on a cold winter night in the desert. Apparently the Bedouin use their Farwa as a sleeping bag. However all the Farwa’s I saw were lined with imitation fur. Beside the gun shops were other businesses selling accessories. I could have bought a couple of cross strap ammunition bandoliers and an ammunition belt all made from genuine vinyl and a djambiya (curved dagger). With my rifle, bandoliers, dagger, Farwa, Gutra and Igal I could pretend I was Lawrence of Arabia heading off into the desert to hunt the last of the very frightened local goats. However on reflection I recall Lawrence was caught and raped by a very large, smelly, hairy and ugly Turk. Maybe I’ll just keep the money and return to the safety of my villa!

On the way back to the bus I noticed an area selling genuine Saudi handicrafts and souvenirs. Most of it looked like tacky junk to me but then you probably need a Saudi souvenir. After looking at the genuine camel bone vase holder I turned it over to read “Make in Pakistan” on the base. Apparently Saudi Arabia doesn’t make much.
This is a photo of the heart of Riyadh after WW1.

I think I saw Indiana Jones.

Masmak Fort

Around 1889 the Al Saud family was driven out of Riyadh and into exile in Kuwait.  However in 1902 Amir Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud managed to re-capture the Masmak Fort in the centre of old Riyadh.   The re-capturing of the fort (and Riyadh) was the culmination of a campaign to restore the family fortune.

The Masmak fort was built around1865 and is constructed of mud brick on a stone base.  It is a square fort which has a tower on each corner and a main gate made from the trunks of palm trees.

Tower

A small door is built into the main gate enabling one person to crouch and enter the fort.  Above the main gate are the ends of what appear to be three roof beams.

The square notched holes in the base of the timber beams suggest there might have been a type of portcullis but there are no corresponding holes at ground level.  Moreover there is no iron in the construction of the fort so the idea that there was a portcullis is unlikely.  The mud brick appears to be a mixture of earth and vegetation, possibly palm leaves.  There are at least two stories (access to the upper levels is prohibited) but it was possible to see the construction of the upper floor from below.

The beams are palm tree trunks and the lattice above is ethel wood.  This is then covered with rammed earth.  It does ran in Riyadh and guttering was added in the form of hollow palm trunks

They protrude beyond the fort to ensure the water doesn’t erode the base of the wall.

The fort is is now a museum (entrance free) and located opposite “chop chop” square.  It has some interesting displays with accompanying descriptions in both Arabic and English.

Finding the fort isn’t that difficult as it is the only “old” building in the area.  There is also a high flagpole in front of the main gate flying the Saudi national flag.

Clock Tower

The monthly itinerary for the “free” compound bus showed the destination as “Clock Tower”.  I had no idea where Clock Tower was, nor did I know what I’d find at the destination.  But what the hell…… Might as well go and see the sights whilst I’m here.

It turned out that “Clock Tower” actually has a clock tower <surprise>.

It is located in the heart of the old city.  The major commercial centre of Riyadh is now further north so this was an opportunity to walk around the original part.  Unfortunately there isn’t much of the original part left.  Behind the clock tower is what’s known by the expats as “Chop Chop Square”.  This is where sentences were carried out after Friday prayers (the mosque is on the edge of the square).  Rumour has it that any westerners who happened to be in the vicinity would be allowed (pushed) to the front row to watch justice being done (beheadings and amputations).  All of this stopped some 5-6 years ago with the punishments now occurring at the scene of the crime. 

The square looks quite modern and rather recently built.

Theft can result in the removal of the right hand.  The left hand is used in-lieu of toilet paper and as a consequence the right is used to eat from the communal food bowl (fingers, not utensils).  Not having a right hand places you squarely in the Jenny Craig Platinum Membership Club.  Interestingly, there is very little in the media about these sentences.  Not because the authorities are squeamish.  I suspect they are reasonably proud of their application of Sharia Law.  It appear there is little to publicise because there is so little theft.  The consequences of getting caught are a powerful deterrent.

A London Taxi

Whilst out walking yesterday I was astonished to see a London taxi pass (minus the sign on the roof) that I failed to take a photo.  I can only assume some wealthy Saudi took a like to the design and decided to import one! 

On this walk I went west stickling to the suburban streets.  My phone tells me where I am so there’s little chance of becoming geographically embarrassed.  Around the compound the accommodation is mostly bland two storey square apartment blocks. However some of the streets further away are full of interesting, and expensive looking homes.

This row of homes were three storey and had a very small courtyard between the house and the front wall.  There is almost no off street parking.

This row looks like it’s been constructed by a developer as they are all the same.  Large and two storey, with very limited off street parking.

This developer has been caught by the recent mass eviction of all the illegal labour and construction has ground to a halt.

The homes on this corner block were rather interesting .  It was only possible to take the photo because the buildings on the block immediately in front had all been demolished leaving a vacant lot.

This was probably the largest single home I’ve seen to date.  I managed to sneak a look through the gate and saw the building was surrounded by a large well manicured lawn which obviously has to be kept reticulated using expensive water.  Obviously a local with money!

I passed by the ‘Golden Arches’ but decided against going it.  My waistline is already expanding courtesy of my own cooking without adding to the problem.  Besides, I have date and walnut loaf waiting back in the unit.  My mixed fruit strawberry jelly has also turned out to be a success.  I’m going to start washing it down with ice cream! 

Tomorrow I plan to take the compound free bus to ‘The Clock Tower’.  I don’t know what is there so it might be an interesting trip.  Hopefully no more, ball gowns, hand bags, watches, perfume or shoes.

Interesting Names

I’m always fascinated by the interesting names some people create for their business. The Chinese are really imaginative with names like “Truly Best Box Shop” selling cardboard boxes. I remember a furniture store in Singapore with a sign outside “Genuine Vinyl”. Saudi Arabia can be almost as interesting with the “Fatburger” fast food outlet and today I noticed “Fog Town”!

 

Why name your business “Fog Town” when it sells printing and stationary supplies?

The can of Texas Strawberries from dinner last night have worked a treat. My neighbours were probably woken thinking it was a local “simoom” which is a nasty cyclonic wind from the Arabian desert. The rough English translation is “poison wind”, which is probably appropriate! I feel several kilo’s lighter. Looks like dinner tonight will be kebarbs. I’m down to my last box and can then move on to the large box of beef patties <yummm>. The bananas are starting to look over-ripe which probably means it’s time for another attempt at baking a banana cake. What’s the saying “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!”

To “Cartown”

After a week behind a desk some activity was required and consequentially I’ve been for a 16km walk heading north away from the villa.  To my surprise the area was reasonably quiet, although I will admit to walking the suburban streets rather than the main roads.  The reasons for this were to minimize the amount of vehicle traffic I’d need to share the road with (remember it’s too hazardous to walk on the footpaths) and to have time to look are the houses. 

The following screen dump shows my start point (read arrow and the bottom) and my destination (top red arrow).  The icons on the map suggested there would probably be a large mall at my planned destination.  Highway 522 is also a major arterial route through Riyadh.

The housing in the early part of the walk was almost exclusively apartments but as I walked further north the suburban became more affluent.  To my surprise I stumbled upon a small suburban park and children’s play area being used by several families.  I guess it is rather hard for children to play in an apartment block so it was good to see a well maintained park that was being used by the local families.

I didn’t go too close to the park because I didn’t want to alarm the families (single predatory foreign male!).  Just as I reached Highway 522 I came upon a Chevolet dealership and showroom with numerous Saudi’s milling about.  There were a large number of new Chevrolet 4x4’s parked in front which surprised me as apparently it is difficult to purchase a SUV in the Kingdom.  One prerequisite is you must have a family with a prescribed minimum number of children.  But then it is possible to circumvent many of the rules if you have influence.

On rounding the corner I realised there was more than one mall.  Actually there were three in a row on the opposite side of the highway.

A ‘Centrepoint’.  I hadn’t realised it was a chain!

‘HyperPanda’  A large version of the usual ‘Panda’ store

The HyperPanda was linked to the adjacent Khurais Mall by and overhead pedestrian walkway.

The only problem was the malls were on the other side of a busy 12 lane highway with no pedestrian overpass and two walled median strips.  I had just worked out how to cross (there is a solution to every problem) when the minarets started wailing.  Got my timing wrong again….. Prayer time! I could see all the steel roller shutters going down and people scurrying off to the nearest mosque.  I turned right and started heading south.  This time passing all the second hand car dealers and the bad muslims not going to prayers.

Car dealers on the right… Mosque out of sight to the left.

On the way back I took a photo of a rather large local home.

Five roller door garages, so there must be at least three children!   Notice how there are very few windows facing the street and the few that do have shutters on them.  There’s also a large wall around the perimeter.  I though the wall had a rock feature on top but as I got closer I could see it was timber.  I assume they have a wood oven somewhere on the property.  I doubt it would be used for heating as fuel oil is very cheap.

Back at the villa I tried my lemon meringue pie. The pastry was OK and the lemon part in the middle was actually quite tangy.  However the meringue on top had ‘gone to hell’  It was as thin as the rubber bed sheet on a baby’s cot and had the same consistency.  I tried biting a chunk off which didn’t work.  Then I attempted to rip it with my teeth whilst dragging the remainder away from my mouth using a fork.  It just stretched… and stretched.. before snapping back wrapping itself around my nose!  After wrestling with it for a few more minutes I finally managed to force it into my mouth with the fork and swallow it whole!  More cooking practice is obviously required!

Not the most appropriate name

I really think this fast food chain should consider a new name.

It was a quick photo and rather blurred as a result.  But I think you can read the name.  Would you want to eat their products?  Plenty of locals were!

Today I discovered why my visa was only renewed for 21 days instead of 30.  Apparently I attempted to renew it at the border with Bahrain on 21 January and so it was renewed from that date rather than being extended by a further 30 days.  This means I must attempt to plan my renewal as close to the 30 day expiry date as possible otherwise my visa will always be renewed for less than 30 days.  However I’m optimistic that I might again be able to have the visa renewed without leaving the country.  But then a free trip to Dubai or Bahrain might be nice!

Kingdom Centre

Riyadh has two tall buildings which stand out on the skyline…….. when there isn’t a dust storm.  Today I caught the free compound bus to the Kingdom Centre which is one of the two skyscrapers in the city.  The Kingdom Centre consists of a four storey mall adjacent to a 65 storey tower which is sometimes locally known as the “Bottle Opener” (for obvious reasons). 

The exterior of the tower is clad in butt joined mirror glass which makes it very difficult to see the individual floors and also gives it a ‘scale’ effect.  The plan was take a ride to the top where there is a 65 metre ‘skybridge’ joining the two ‘horns’.  From this height there are supposed to be spectacular views of Riyadh.

OK.. I photographed a poster for the above picture!

My journey to the Skybridge didn’t happen.  Why?  Well none of the literature mentioned opening time.  I arrived at 9.30am to find the complex almost deserted apart from cleaners.  After waiting around until 11.00am I finally found someone who was able to tell me it opens to the paying public at 12.00 noon.  My bus back to the compound left at 11.45am.  Perhaps I’ll go another day!  I should have anticipated this problem as the local population aren’t ‘morning’ people.

The four storey shopping mall was… well boring (for me).  You could categorize the shops as either

• clothing
• jewellery
• watches
• fast food
• shoes

Moreover a number of them excluded single males (families only)

If you look closely in the above and next photos you will notice that; unlike the lower three floors; the top floor has a higher opaque glass screen.

This is because it is the “Ladies Only” floor where they can take off their Abayas (cloaks, headdress and veils) to shop without having to be concerned about males seeing their intimate parts.  It’s a beautiful building but none of the shops interested me.  Oh, it had a Debenhams, Marks & Spencers and H & M.

In future it might be better to take the free afternoon bus rather than the 9.00am.  More shops should be open.  The compound runs a free bus every Saturday and the destination is cycled between the numerous main major malls in the city.

Cheating Saudi Boyfriend?

No offence intended……

I would not want any of my readers to assume I’m being insulting or offensive in my observations about my time here.  Mu observations are supposed to be light-hearted and humorous.  I wouldn’t expect or hope my experiences here to be the same as any other country I’ve visited.  The fact that it is different makes it all the more interesting.  My pre-arrival research and previous time in Iran meant I arrived with an element of caution.  Much of the information I had read prior to my arrival was quite negative and I can only put that down to either a bad experience or an inability to accept the local culture on the part of the authors.  I usually find that once you accept you are the outsider and the locals are not going to change their culture to suit you then you can start to relax.  I will never forget the comment from one of my Australian colleagues in Iran when he watched a local male walk past with two quiet dutiful wives clad in black walking behind.  “Jesus mate…. I can think of a few sheila’s back home who could do with some time here!?”   He was of course…single!

A decade ago there were a series of terrorist attacks on western compounds which resulted in a large number of westerners leaving.  Since then the government has maintained a vigorous campaign against terrorists and also increased security for expats.  My experience to date has been quite positive and I find the Saudi society more ‘open’ than the society I viewed during my time in Iran.  Of course there are more expats here than Iran which obviously makes me less of an item of curiosity (or hostility).  Invariably the Saudi’s I work with or meet are very polite, generous and hospitable.  As I’ve previously mentioned, it’s an inwards looking society involving family and very close friends.  It is therefore unlikely I will be invited to a Saudi associate’s home and it’s almost certain I’ll never met a female member of the family.

It’s interesting to observe how Saudi parents and the authorities responsible for public morals grapple with the additional problems created by today’s technology.  The use of social media by young Saudi’s is on the rise.  Previously parents could ‘shield’ their daughters from contact with their greatest threat concern (the single male).  Today social media and a very cheap mobile phone network is providing greater opportunities for young people of the opposite sex to make contact.  Apparently a reasonably recent ploy is for one party to leave their smartphone number on a scrap of paper in a public place (a crack in a park bench) then move to a nearby location and wait.  The other party finds the paper then makes contact and they chat via mobile phone.  The roving religious police are unable to identify that the boy & girl on separate park benches are actually communicating.  Another recent incident involved a senior religious figure making what was obviously a ridiculous statement about the physical damage done to a women should she driver a vehicle.  The local outpouring of ridicule via Twitter and other social media made headlines.  I can see that despite the various attempts to control it the “genie is out of the bottle”!  Society here is gradually changing.

New Word

My plan has been to learn one new arabic word every day.  The problem isn’t learning the new word…. It’s remembering the words from the previous week!

Yesterday’s new word was pronounced “Hardith” (I think).  The word occurred at a major road junction on the way to work.  There had been a “Hardith” (crash).  It looked like one vehicle had ignored the “ishara” (traffic lights).  Oops that’s two words in one day!  I’ve been meaning to buy 100 blank business cards and start writing english on one side with arabic on the reverse.  I’m still meaning to buy them…..!

Ahead of us was a car with a wheelchair in the boot (trunk).  Well I initially thought is was a wheelchair but then realised it should have been folded and inside the boot.

Then I realised it was one of those OAP’s all terrain high mobility scooters.  It’s not the most unusual sight observed during my travels.  On the journey back from Dammam a pick-up (ute) passed going in the opposite direction. In the single cab were two adult males and the heads of at least two small boys.  Whilst in the rear were two women (wrapped in black of course) and a baby camel.  I don’t believe there was sufficient room in the cab for the camel!  Or maybe it was female?

My poor driver has to drive quite slowly in the compound as he get distracted by all the ladies walking about showing their intimate parts (faces).  I’m almost certain we took a detour when he noticed one middle-aged lady in the distance who was wearing SHORTS and showing her bare LEGS.  I’ve already realised what a shock I’m going to get when I arrive home to see half naked females everywhere.

Humour aside, I have always found it interesting to observe people and their cultures.  Saudi Arabia has two of the most holy cities in Islam and a non believer may not enter either of them.  Riyadh, the capital is reputed to be more conservative that Jeddah or Dammam.  No doubt because it is the capital.  The Saudi’s see themselves as the “custodians” of these most holy of places and are determined (within reason) to maintain religious standards.  What I find interesting is the variations in dress standards between Islamic nations.  In Iran the women wore a black cloak and a headscarf (or hood) which covered their hair.  In Egypt many women wore western clothes.  In Indonesia (which has the largest Islamic population in the world) they wear a tight headscarf.  So dress standards vary.  I’ve read Mohammed didn’t stipulate the type of clothing to be worn and apparently neither does the Koran.  Mohammed reputedly stated that women (and men) should dress modestly and cover their intimate parts.  It then became a matter of defining “intimate”.  The veil for women existed in this part of the world long before Islam and I suspect wearing of it has continued.  So the reason for women wearing a veil in the kingdom is more likely based on cultural rather than religious grounds.  Wearing the abaya (cloak), hijab (head covering) and niqab (face veil) means the only visible parts are the hands (but some wear gloves) and eyes.  It certainly makes them anonymous.  They become shapeless black apparitions.  Perhaps they feel some psychological advantage being able to observe the world around them from behind a one way mirror?

More on that passport visa saga

Today I received a phone call from the company visa manager informing me my passport had been returned.  I wandered around to his desk to find three of them pouring over the passport and a piece of accompanying A4 paper.  Unfortunately the paper was in arabic which meant I couldn’t read it.  The visa manager told me the visa has been renewed, but I have to leave the country before the 20th of February.  I guess everyone has compromised and given me a 3 week renewal on my 6 month visa rather than the standard 4 weekly renewal.  I then asked if the renewal required me to go all the way back to the UK or could it be Dubai.  I was told “Dubai”….  “Inshallah!” (God willing).  Then there was more discussion amongst the three of them before I was told “You might be able to get it renewed without leaving….Inshallah!”. I’ve decided it’s not worth losing any sleep over renewing the visa as it will obviously be an ongoing monthly issue until I leave.  I’m good for the next 3 weeks Inshallah (even I’ve started saying it!).

My cheap Tesco black leather trouser belt has snapped in half at the buckle.  No… not because my waistline has expanded!  On inspecting the break I can see the belt isn’t actually made of leather.  My trousers are too large around the waistline.  Don’t say anything….  They were deliberately purchased this size because I had presumed my excellent cooking would result in an expansion.  Unfortunately all the “Texas Strawberries” (baked beans) have had the reverse effect.  I must have looked like a dirty old man crabbing my way into the nearby Lulu department store clutching at the top of my trousers.  Most Saudi’s don’t wear trousers and I was fearful I might have to shop for twine.  However with a sigh of relief I managed to purchase a good quality genuine leather belt (made in Thailand). 

Of more interest was the sight that confronted me when I walked into Riyadh Avenue Mall.  Parliament appeared to be in session.

Camilla and Kate then went past in a royal coach.  I waved and despite both of them looking at me they appeared to ignore me.  I might add they also ignored all the Saudi couples sitting at the kerbside cafe.

No… It’s not my cr@p photography!  Their faces are blurred.  Obviously they forgot to wear their veils for the trip and the developer had to subsequently airbrushed them out.  Probably to avoid me becoming overcome with lust and racing across to pounce on Camilla! How dare she show her face around here! On reflection my new belt might have caused a few problems removing the trousers!

During a walk yesterday I noticed this rather interestingly shaped building.  It has two towers with crenulations.

I’m not sure why there is a red flashing lights on top of each tower.  It’s not high enough to be an aircraft hazard.  My guess is  the building is some type of military installation.