Blogs from Saudi Arabia, Middle East - page 21

UntitledMiguel Abadie La verdad que no me quedo demasiado tiempo para pasear porque este fue un viaje de trabajo, aunque algo pude ver y me resulto muy interesante lo que vi. No era cuestion tampoco de salir mucho en parte por la barrera del idioma (aunque me sorprendio el porcentaje de gente que habla ingles) y porque tenia cierto temor de encontrame con algun fanatico al que no le gustan los occidentales “infieles”. Aparentemente le paso a varios extranjeros (unos turistas franceses inclusive fueron asesinados - los hombres, las mujeres no) y tambien hubo episodios de bombas en complejos de expatriados. Aunque esto no es tan extremo en Arabia Saudita, pasa bastante en Yemen). (en realidad, hasta donde se estos episodios son raros y las probabilidades de sufrir algun crimen violento en Arabia Saudita menores que ... read more

Saudi Arabia in 1953 It was August, 1953. We left New York in an ARAMCO airplane, a DC4, which landed at Goose Bay before continuing on a 17 hr. flight across the Atlantic. ARAMCO stands for the Arabian American Oil Company. With the exception of a few wives on their way to join their husbands, the passengers, mostly men, were on their way to jobs in Saudi Arabia. I was one of four single women, two of whom were going to secretarial jobs. My seatmate Jeanine, like myself, was going to teach the children of Aramco’s employees. Jeanine was a beauty who could have doubled for Elizabeth Taylor. The flight seemed interminable in the cabin filled with cigarette smoke that made it difficult to sleep, but sunrise came soon. Finally, we found ourselves looking down over ... read more

Desert Garden Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, means "gardens" in Arabic, and is where we call home. This is apropos, as we adore our villa garden, with koi pond and flowering trees. We even grow roses and vegetables, though it waxes above 120 degrees fahrenheit. The city is punctuated by astounding architechure, including the Kingdom Tower, with a trangular cutout shape at the top. Each person has a different idea of what the structure evokes. The Faisaliah Tower is outstanding, topped with a gold sphere where you can enjoy a meal with a view of the city. All the symbols that evoke the Arabian desert can be found here: a lizard may (and has) drop from his high perch into my lap while sitting in the garden, and camels stride smoothly across a plain just outside the city, ... read more

As part of working for a living I was able to visit Jeddah, Riyadh, and Halban. Riyadh is a bright new city in the middle of the country. By comparison Jeddah is a 'laid back' city on the red sea. I had seen a recommendation to visit the souq in Jeddah as one of the 1000 places to visit before you die - I found it not nearly as interesting as those in Damascus or Tripoli. All of the interesting balconies, shops and old streets have disappeared, replaced by the new. Before the trip, friends were concerned about the security situation and how we could live in a place like that. During our visit, Saudis would ask us how we could live in a country with huge forest fires (they were showing them on CNN) and ... read more