A Different Desert Experience

I had a little side trip to Saudi Arabia a while ago - guardian country of the two holy mosques of Mecca and Medina, one of the richest countries in the world, a vast sandy expanse and proud owners of a whole heap of oil. I was visiting a couple of friends, but was also curious to see what the place is like; it is, after all, one of the big players in the region, and as it's almost impossible to get a tourist visa, I wanted to make the most of having people to visit and sponsor my stay.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what I found was surprising, in good ways and less so ... so here are a few of the myths and stereotypes that I confronted, and sometimes busted, in my three short days of experience of the 'magical kingdom' ...

1. WOMEN ARE NOT SEEN AND DEFINITELY NOT HEARD

I had my full Saudi garb with me in the plane ready to don on arrival - the floor-length black gown or 'abaya' and a good tight-fitting headscarf, also commonly worn in other parts of the Gulf including southern Oman.

In fact, it was only on arrival that I found out that you do have to wear the abaya, but there is nothing in law that says that you have to cover your head. From then on, most of the time I just carried the headscarf with me and didn't actually wear it. You have to have one though, in case the religious police see you and decide that your naked hair is offending them - they can make your life a misery, so just covering up is by far the easier option ...

Sexy abaya and hair shamelessly exposed
(hard hat definitely optional, it's a long story ...)

It seems grossly unfair that women have to be modest and walk around in black tents when the men can wear bermudas and t-shirts if they want to (and I saw this many times). I'm told that the Qur'an says that both men and women have to dress in loose modest clothes, so it seems strange to only apply this to one half of the population; more about tradition than religion? There are more and more people discussing this and related issues though, and change may yet come ... in the meantime, many of my female ex-pat colleagues in Saudi, while more than happy to dress modestly, are looking forward to the day they can ditch their abayas once and for all!

If you're interested, have a look at this article by a female Saudi journalist's on the hijab (headscarf) issue - she and others certainly help to show that this isn't just a 'for or against' issue, and Sabria is an intelligent and engaged Saudi woman with plenty to say!

2. SAUDI ARABIA IS OPPRESSIVELY RELIGIOUS

Saudi Arabia is certainly not the only country I've visited where religion is legislated - it is illegal for Indonesian residents to not have a religion, for example, and you have to pick one and have it recorded on your ID card. Saudi Arabia is definitely the only country I've been to though where one religion is so dominant, and where so many restrictions are placed even on temporary visitors in order to comply to Saudi's religious norms. As well as the restrictions on clothing, I guess the ban on women driving cars is the best-known, but there are so many other things which feel intrusive to us outsiders, such as the issue of women being out with an unrelated male, or having a cup of tea during prayer time  (if the Saudis are busy praying, surely they won't see me drinking my tea?)

I guess that Saudis themselves do not necessarily have the same sense of restriction - it's what they've always known, after all, although you'd think that those that have TVs or have travelled might see it differently. What did stand out to me, having lived in other parts of the Middle East, is how tense and unhappy people seemed. I only saw one young boy smile in the whole time I was there, and that was when he had just tentatively put his hand out for me to shake, which I accepted (what a hussy I am!). I'm sure Saudis do have pleasant moments, but if they do, it seems to be privately behind closed doors and most definitely not in the street. Although, I hear this place provides a very popular form of 'entertainment' ...

Chop-chop square

Most of the time a pleasant clean square where children run around and play, but once a week this is the place where the Saudi authorities carry out public executions, heads chopped off and all ... nice.

The central drainhole - no tell-tale stains when I visited ...

So, cinemas  are 'haram' and banned while public viewings of decapitation are actively encouraged - not what I would consider a relaxed and happy place to be. I know it's horses for courses, but when you have satellite TV and Facebook, some of the attitudes around public entertainment seem a little outdated ...

3. SAUDI ARABIA IS THE OPULENT HEART OF THE ARAB WORLD

OK, so it is of course true that Saudi Arabia has the two most holy sites in Islam (in Mecca and Medina), and in the West we are used images of ridiculously rich Saudi shaykhs, and stories about arms deals and the tons and tons and tons of oil. In fact, Saudi Arabia is not even the richest country in the Gulf (the Qataris have more per capita), and while I had been expecting Riyadh to be Dubai-plus, it was in fact rather ... disappointing.

I think for me the difference is that while other places in the Gulf like to show off their wealth with spectacular buildings (Dubai) and immaculate surroundings (Oman), the very rich in Saudi Arabia mainly keep their wealth hidden from view, and don't seem as concerned about sharing the goodies. Which means that rather than the sparkling El Dorado in the desert that I was imagining, with Bentleys and Mercedes at every turn, what I found was a slightly grubby and shabby sprawl, with old bangers and potholes in the road. I'm told that there are even large areas of the country that don't have proper power or water supplies, almost unbelievable considering the resources they have at their disposal.

Don't get me wrong, as you can see there is a district that could be referred to as 'downtown', with some modern architecture dotted about. There are also the odd patches of green - I didn't see many parks as such (outside of the strange 'other world'liness of the diplomatic quarter), but there were a couple of nice wadis and you can sometimes see lush private gardens spilling over the high walls of grand properties. We even visited an area that could pass for a historical site of interest - the old village that the Al-Saud family originally came from that is being renovated in its entirety for posterity.

But despite all this, the overwhelming impression to me was one of a place that has largely abandoned its traditional heritage and culture and made a half-hearted attempt at building a modern metropolis, but then given up trying and let what had already been achieved slowly crumble back into the desert.

I actually started this blog six months ago, and was in two minds on whether to publish it at all, considering the well-documented lack of tolerance for any kind of criticism in some parts of the world. But, apart from the fact that only a few people who I know and like actually read this blog, I've also decided to publish it anyway because this piece isn't just a slating - I met many kind people during my stay, and it was certainly an interesting experience to visit the heart of such an important player on the world stage, even if it was an experience that I won't be rushing to repeat (the world is too full of other wonders to explore!). I just want to share some of the things that made it strange and unexpected with my friends, and to give people a flavour - but please, don't let my half-baked conclusions after only a few days in a country be the final say, go and see for yourself if you get the chance and have the inclination, and make up your own mind ...