Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

On to Jeddah and a look back at our final day in the Eastern Providence of Saudi Arabia

Marhaba everyone. Today we flew out of Dhahran to Jeddah on the Red Sea arriving last night at 12:30pm. I updated my blog, posted pictures and comments and fell into bed at 3am. We were up at 7 am and just returned to the hotel now for a 2hours break, the first break we have had in 7 days. Believe me, I am not complaining, but we are fitting more into a 24 hour period than I could ever have imagined.

This is the city of Jeddah and the view from my hotel room at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel, a magnificent 4 star hotel on the Red Sea.

Jeddah is an incredibly beautiful resort city compared to the Aramco compound and oil field region we were in before. I will tell you that my hotel is incredible, but we are not allowed to leave the hotel unless we are leaving on a scheduled tour. Our Aramco Hosts request that we not go down to the water, or walk around the outside of the hotel unless we are escorted for security reasons. The hotel has several military guards posted at the gates behind sandbags - something you don't usually see at a 5 star hotel in the United States. After 911, the security level in Saudi Arabia has tightened dramatically and precautions are being taken to assure that westerners visiting their country are kept safe from extremists. While the restrictions are frustrating, we understand that it is being done in our best interest.

This is Gara Mountain- an incredible rock formation of caves in the middle of the oasis region of Al- Hasa. The temperature inside the caves was at least 15 degrees cooler than outside.

Let me tell you about yesterday. We headed on a trip about 1 1/2 hours from the compound to a place called Gara Mountain. This mountain was a rough outcropping of rocks with awesome caves that we could walk through. We spent about an hour exploring the caves before driving to a local pottery tent in the middle of very small rural town where we watched a man create his pottery. Then we went to a 400 year old historic mosque and toured through an underground jail cell that is no longer used. We had lunch at the Al-Hasa Intercontinental Hotel and then made the hour and half journey back to the compound.

From there, we drove 45 minutes to my favorite part of the day. Our host, Fasir, took us to a distant relative who is a Bedoin camel farmer. It was quite a site to see this enormous Greyhound type bus off roading through the desert sand. We drove for about 10 minutes until it clearly seemed unsafe to go any further in this vehicle, and then we were all transferred into SUV's and smaller trucks to get all the way out to the actual farm. This wild ride will forever be remembered. Picture 12 teachers, packed into a small SUV, bumping and flying all over the place, going quickly so we would not get stuck.

While I did not get to ride on a camel, I did get to kiss one (almost!).

When we arrived in the most remote section of desert, there were almost 100 camels of all sizes and colors for our viewing pleasure. The sound they make is incredible and one of them showed us his long tongue and made this gurgling sound, but I missed getting it on the camera. The host allowed us to be right next to them in the fields even though they were running right by us. We could touch and pet them, but did not get to ride them. Quite frankly, they seemed a bit wild and I understand they can be difficult to ride. A camel of good blood line is worth about 20,000 Riyals which is the equivalent of about $5,000. That would mean that this Bedouin farmer who lives in a tent in the desert had about $500,000 worth of camels in his possession. In Saudi Arabia, camels are used for some transportation, but mostly for the meat and milk. We see butcher shops across the country with camel carcass hanging in the windows. YUM...

This is the Bedouin Camel Farmer who owns all of these camels. I have a video which lets you listen as he describes, in Arabic, how they can tell the age of a camel. Do you know how?

Our camel adventure ended in with our Bedouin (a native tribe of Saudi) Host inviting us to one of his large tents for, yes, you guessed it.... coffee and pastries. We took off our shoes and sat on oriental rugs, leaning against pillows and exchanged pleasantries with our hosts next to an open fire. It was quite a site. The sun set and there was a full moon rising. As we left, the sky was turning a deep purple color and the desert scenery was amazing to see.

We caught a flight to Jeddah at 9:30pm which was an experience in and of itself. Seating on a Saudi flight is quite confusing due to the religious and native traditions regarding men and women sitting next to each other. Picture a puzzle that you are trying to fit together, but no woman can sit next to a male on the plane whom she is not a relative of. Then picture that they often travel with their house maids and they too cannot be near a male. It gets very complicated, and the stewardesses spend a great deal of time moving individuals from seat to seat to make it all work out!

Our hotel in Jeddah is amazing. I have room on the 8th floor with a view of the city. Most of the architecture here is stucco and painted white or cream color. Mosque towers are everywhere. Jeddah is the city of architecture and driving around the city is like being in an open air museum. Modern art sculptures and interesting building designs are the main focus.

We spent the morning talking with young women attending the Effat College in Jeddah and meeting with the local Chamber of Commerce at Khadeejah Bint Khuwailed, which just started the first Women's Business Center in the country. These women are very western thinking and have wonderful dreams and goals for their country. We have made wonderful contacts and generally dine with the people who have just presented to us, so we use the meal times to ask questions and learn about the culture here.

Signs around the cities are in both English and Arabic. Arabic is written and read from right to left.

Well, time to run. I hope you continue to post your comments and ask questions. I will try to answer the questions you ask in the next posting.

Monday (late), April 2nd, 2007

A salaam a laikom. It was a very late night last night. We flew out of Dharhan to Jeddah on Saudi Airlines arriving here at 12:15am. By the time I had unpacked, ate and updated my blog with photos, it was nearly 2:30am before I crawled into bed.

You have all asked so many great questions so I am going to try and answer those questions in this blog in addition to telling you more specifically about what I have seen and learned over the last 3 days in Dharhan.

This is a picture of the most dynamic woman I have met in Saudi Arabia. She is employed with Aramco Services and is an ambassador for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. I cannot wait to tell you about her life, her dreams and her views on the world.

First of all, it is important that you know more about Aramco Services, the oil company that is sponsoring this educators trip to Saudi Arabia. Aramco is owned by the Saudi government. The government is the sole shareholder in a company that generates a revenue of over 700 billion dollars a year. ( I am still trying to confirm that number) This company has set their mission to bring oil to the world in a responsible and efficient manner.

Saudi Arabia contains the world's largest supply of crude oil in the world. They have the 4th largest supply of gas reserves. This company was initially established with American help in the early 1970's. Slowly, the company transfered ownership from 75% American and 25% Saudi to 100% Saudi Arabia by 1980.

Many of us teachers here are constantly asking ourselves and our hosts why Aramco Services went to such great expense to bring 24 teachers from the United States here to Saudi Arabia. We have been told that they want us to ask questions,many questions so that we can form our own opinions about the people and the culture of the Saudis.

My opinion changes daily and I will reserve my comments on this until our trip is complete and I have time to think about everything I have seen and heard. I will tell you that there are definitely two Saudi Arabia's ( I don't mean this literally), to see and we, as teachers, are trying very hard to see both.

OK, on to your questions. Clothing is a great place to start because like it or not it is the first impression you have of people and here the clothing makes a powerful statement. We were fitted for our abayas on the first day and as you can see from my photos, the garments can be quite beautiful. The more traditional abaya is solid black with no embroidery, as the purpose of the abaya is to not draw attention to yourself. Women begin wearing an abaya with the hajib, head covering, at the age of puberty, but you see girls younger than this wearing abayas in a more casual, less covered way.

Women here cover themselves to different degrees depending on their family values and traditions. Fundamental muslim women are completely covered, including black gloves and a veil without eye holes. Lesser versions include those with eye openings, and scarves that your face from the eyes down, to no veil on your face, just on your head.

Men wear what is called Saudi formal, which is the long cotton white robe, with a gutra and igel, the red checked cloth and black rope on their heads. Men also wear western clothing and have other color options on attire as you may see later from my pictures. Men clearly have less restrictions.

On to more questions...

There are no movie theaters in Saudi as they are banned, but they do have cable tv and the hotels have movie stations. While I was on the plane into Saudi, I was able to watch "The Perfect Storm" a movie about Glouster Massachusetts fisherman! I also watched a comedy channel show with Jack Black, from School of Rock. They have CNN, Fox news and of course local arabic channels.

Outdoor markets....

We have been to some local shops like potters but haven't been to a place with outdoor markets but we will this week. Here they are called suqs and they sell jewelry, clothing and other items. The time we have been given to shop has been quite limited, so when we are given 30 minutes, we are shopping maniacs.

Religions...

Religion is incredibly important to this country. Here, church and state are not separated, so it is mandatory that every Saudi national is Muslim. Mosques are everywhere and the muslims pray 5 times a day, which closes the country down for short periods each day as we travel and visit. When Muslims pray, they use a prayer rug and face towards Mecca, the holiest city according to the Muslim faith. Every room you enter has a directional arrow showing you the location of Mecca from where you are. Even on the plane, a video screen showed the direction of Mecca as we flew.

Well, I have to run to my first session in Jeddah today. I have so much more to tell you and if we get a break before dinner today, I will tell you all about Gara Mountain, my experience with camels and my Arabian feast. In the mean time, I will just post you these three pictures so you can get excited about learning more. Salaam!

The top picture is of a what is called a squat toilet. Most places have both a traditional toilet and a squat toilet to chose from.

This is a picture of our Arabian Night Banquet near Dharhan. The food was amazing as you can clearly see!