Blogs from Saudi Arabia, Middle East - page 2

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Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Ha'il March 4th 2022

After all those years of travel, there we were......on a highway to Ha'il. It was inevitable of course. Not because we lived a lifestyle that would lead us to the fiery depths of Hades, but rather because we were continuing our journey in Saudi and the path was straight to a city in the middle of nowhere really. In a country as large as Saudi Arabia the drives are long from town to town. This part of the country is rather desolate, and it was a bit cloudy to boot. Lacking the sunshine, the desert didn’t have the beauty it had a few days ago. As a matter of fact, it looked a tad ugly. We’d been told we would have a picnic in a unique place because there weren’t any restaurants in this isolated section ... read more
Women Shop Vendors
Father and Daughter
Ancient Pictographs

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Al-'Ula March 3rd 2022

Saudi Arabia is known for the largest sand desert in the world. Not to get too technical, but don't get hung up on the word "desert" here as many locations in the world have deserts. But....Saudi Arabia has both a desert and the requisite sand. And that is what most people think of when they think of a desert. For contrast, Antarctica is technically a desert....but most do not think of it that way. Meanwhile..... Our trip continued to take us deeper into the desert. We are traveling by bus and our time driving down the highways give us time to have deeper discussions and ask questions we may not want to ask in a public area. As we are a small group, this better facilitates such discussions. Our local guide Saad continues to give us ... read more
Tomb at Hegra
Balloon Glow
We love the lonely roads

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Medina February 28th 2022

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East, situated between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Ninety five percent of this country is considered a desert or semi-desert. We began to feel the enormity of the country as we left Jeddah via the Haramain high speed train heading to the Holy City of Medina. Once we were out of the Jeddah city limits there were miles and miles of barren land. Saudi Arabia has no rivers of lakes. All water is from under the ground or by desalination. Shades of tan, brown, gray and rust dotted the landscape. When one first enters the desert, it looks rather bland and blends into all one color. The longer time you spend in this muted landscape it slowly becomes alive. In the landscape you begin to ... read more
View of Medina
Exploring historic train station
Hijaz Railway Terminus

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Jeddah February 27th 2022

It was back in 2008 when we had our first experience in the Middle East. We came through Dubai for a few days on our way as we traveled west towards the United States at the end of many months. Since that time, we’ve have the good fortune to visit Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Israel. The Middle East has a stark beauty and a unique culture that continues to call us back. We have always felt that by getting to know cultures unlike our own that we become better citizens of the world. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on world travelers. It's been painful and somewhat tortuous for those who long to wander the planet. We read an article recently that described people who are COVID weary as fatigued, frustrated and frazzled by the five surges ... read more
Old Town Architecture
Making new friends
Night time view of mosque

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Riyadh February 27th 2022

He said, “Do you want to ride the camel? He is the lead camel.” I was standing somewhere in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia and I could hardly give him the courtesy of listening because my eyes and attention were fixated on the 40 white camels standing before me. Without any thought or consideration I said, “Yes, of course.” I had no idea what was planned and I guess I really didn’t care. I was with camels. I was in my element. I felt like I was in heaven. The camel obediently kooshed, I quickly climbed aboard and realized I had no idea who he was, where I was exactly and how I had arrived at this point. They all seem like important details for a single female traveler in a foreign country, ... read more
Selfies on Camelback
Camels, Camels Everywhere
Hanging with the Camels

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Riyadh February 25th 2022

I ascribe to the adage, the world is our runway. I believe every day offers fashion moments. Moments to express our feelings, our creativity and our very personal identity. We may fall into fashion habits, we may develop our own personal uniforms and we may even become complacent at times, but there is always an opportunity to walk your own runway. And when we are really lucky, our runway goes international. Before we step foot on our local or global runway, there are so many things to consider. From time and place, to climate and geography, to emotions and social etiquette. This list is big and can be heavy, but it becomes even more real when you realize your next runway is going to be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. What do you pack for ... read more

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Riyadh February 23rd 2022

Fate. Divine intervention. Predetermined paths. Karma. Do I believe in any of this? I do not know. I don’t think I do, but sometimes you can’t help but let your mind wander. Do things happen for a reason? Are we all on this path and what seems like a coincidence is really just something already mapped out for us? Maybe we are all just supporting cast members in our own version of Sliding Doors. Does it all hinge upon whether or not to catch the train that one fateful day? I suppose my plot line could be something along the lines of, young boy living in middle America fancies a 60’s love song which sets into motion a trip to Saudi Arabia for his daughter nearly 60 years later. I know, but bare with me. *** ... read more
My Aunts Before a Dance
Grampy and My Aunt as Homecoming Queen
Dad

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Dammam February 2nd 2022

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Riyadh January 30th 2022

Capita spesso nelle grandi città saudite di guardarsi attorno e domandarsi "ma in che paese mi trovo?", poichè a volte di arabi se ne vedono in giro davvero pochi; la zona di Al Batha, a Riyadh, è stata giustamente definita una "Little Bangladesh" poichè la maggior parte delle attività commerciali è in mano ad operosi immigrati bengalesi; in centro a Yanbu si notano solamente gli svolazzanti salwar kameez degli infaticabili operai pakistani, mentre gli autisti di autobus della SAPTCO sono quasi immancabilmente filippini, e così via dicendo, tra una grande quantità di indiani, yemeniti, indonesiani, sudanesi, egiziani, somali ed anche qualche privilegiato lavoratore occidentale. Sarebbe facile ironizzare sul fatto che quando si entra in argomento di lavoro non c'è quasi mai l'ombra di un saudita, ma non vorrei scadere in un facile e scontato luogo comune; ... read more
Dammam in una giornata di sole
Tarout island: la spiaggia di Darin
Riyadh: chop chop square

Middle East » Saudi Arabia » Najran January 21st 2022

Ok, lo sappiamo tutti che visitare la Mecca è assolutamente proibito ai non musulmani; per quanto riguarda Medina, la seconda città più sacra dell'islam, i pareri sono tuttora discordanti ma l'ingresso alla sua principale attrattiva, la Moschea del Profeta, è definitivamente vietato. Che fare quindi una volta giunti in Arabia Saudita desiderosi di scoprire luoghi nuovi ed esotici? Dove andare? Non mi rimane che improvvisare e provare a tentativi. Il Nord è freddo, l'altopiano desertico d'inverno non perdona, e chi può prende l'automobile e scende prontamente fino a Yanbu, sul Mar Rosso. La sua costa è ancora relativamente poco sviluppata dal punto di vista turistico e questo può essere assolutamente un gran bene sotto molti punti di vista ma rende la sua esplorazione alquanto difficoltosa; posso così ammirare solo su fotografia le sue spettacolari spiagge coralline, ... read more
Isole Farasan: bassa marea
Najran: palazzo diroccato fuori città
Isole Farasan: coralli




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