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.

Security

No…Not my security!  I’ve noticed a variation in the physical security measure on residential property.  Those locals who own their own house usually have a high wall or an  exterior wall of the house on the boundary with the road or footpath.  There is no front garden as you would expect to see in the west.  Actually they look slightly similar to a row of Victorian terraced houses without the front windows.  There will be a solid external door with an intercom system to contact the occupants.  There are NO letterboxes.  But then I can’t recall seeing a postman.  Actually none of the houses have a street number.  I assume this means there is no postal service? 

The majority of Saudi’s live in apartment buildings which are usually two or three storey.  Sometimes the ground floor is occupied by shops or commercial operations.  You may now have deduced the average Saudi isn’t wealthy.  Basics are either free (eg, healthcare and accommodation) or subsidised (eg, essential food).  For example, I purchased 15 eggs on Saturday for 50p.  Flour (bread) is also very cheap.  It only starts getting expensive when you purchase imported food.

But I’ve digressed from the topic.  In contrast to the more modern apartment buildings, many of the very old apartment buildings do not have bars over the windows.  The most recent apartments have bars on both the windows and over the window mounted air-conditioning units.  Apparently when you rent an apartment it doesn’t usually come with air-conditioning and you have to fit your own.  All this security surprised me because this is a culture where theft isn’t supposed to be prevalent and the punishment (3rd offence) can result in the amputation of the right hand.  Removal of the right can can frequently result in the offender starving to death.  The right hand is used to eat from the communal food bowl and the left is used for other purposes because there is no toilet paper (which is possibility why it’s so expensive here!).

Can you see the grills on the windows and over the air-conditioning units?

I’m digressing again.  About 12 months ago the Saudi government introduced a policy of forced removal of illegal workers.  Apparently there were approximately 2 million of them in the kingdom.  Why so many illegal workers?  Well as far as I can establish the government wanted Saudi’s to do the work and introduced a policy where every employer had to ensure a percentage of their workforce was Saudi.  Saudi’s are expensive to employ and not very productive.  This resulted in some wealthy Saudi’s creating “shell companies” which then obtained visas for cheap foreign labour.  These companies became cheap labour hire companies.  This drove down the price of labour to a very low level.  One result was it made the cost of construction very cheap.  However the workers were so poorly paid and exploited that a number of them turned to crime to supplement their meagre income.  Burglary and theft of air-conditioning units was one option.

My guess is this is why almost all the apartment blocks have bars on the windows and grills over the air-conditioning units.

The illegal workers were told to depart or else face prison.  May of them faced a dilemma as their employer held their passport and they might be owned wages months in arrears.  Eventually, with the assistance of their embassy and some support from the government they all departed.  With a shortage of skilled workers the price of construction has sky-rocketed.  This is why there are so many vacant and half-built construction sites across the kingdom.  Ordinarily the situation would correct itself with the introduction of new “Legal” workers on a higher rate of pay and with better conditions of employment.  However this hasn’t occurred because the government “Saudization” policy is still in force.  The government doesn’t want foreign workers to do the work (and send their wages offshore) when they have 30% unemployment amongst their own nationals. But the unemployed have two problems.  They are unskilled; and to a lesser extent; unwilling to do manual labour.  The government solution is to build training academies where the locals will be taught how to do the work.  But who is going to build the academies.  The country has a chicken and egg situation!