Camels, camels everywhere

Camel Souk

My second to last day in Saudi saw me on a drive out of the city, accompanied by Louise, to the Camel Souk.  To my surprise, after all I haven't spent much time around camels, there are everything from white to black Camels.  The black ones in particular I found intriguing.  Louise offered to take photos of me near the camels and I got much closer than I thought I would.  Standing near the fence, a very dark brown camel came over to make friends and I gave his cheeks a bit of a rub.  He seemed to enjoy it and stayed there for a good few minutes while Louise snapped away.  This is my favourite shot.

Kingdom Tower

From the Camel Souk we went on to the Kuwaiti Souk where I made the purchase of a set of 12 crystal cups and saucers.  Intent on covering a lot of ground, Louise then whisked me over to Kingdom Mall, to the Ladies' Floor where we had coffee.  I was very surprised to walk in and be met with a sign that requested all women remove their face covering whilst on the Ladies Floor, for security reasons.  The reason being that we can then all be seen to be women.  The face cover, or burka, is a traditional garment, and not a religious garment - a fact not well known amongst the majority of us.  We met with Prayer time whilst in Kingdom Mall and everything closed up so used our time to head on up to Kingdom Tower to take a look at Riyahd from the Skywalk.  From the ground it looks as though the tower is a much wider expanse than it actually is and we were across it in a flash.  What a true engineering feat.  Looking out and down on to the building's incredible curve was something else.  

From there we headed on over to Louise's neighbourhood to a Turkish restaurant for lunch.  Being women eating out we were to sit in the Family Area.  Restaurants have two sections, one for men and another for families and women on their own.  The Family Area consists of booths with high walls and heavy curtains, designed specifically so that no one can see the woman/women within.  The curtain is closed and the waiters announce themselves in order to give the woman time to cover her head/face prior to the curtain being opened and food delivered to the table.  Being the relaxed types were are, we left the curtain open.   The bread was delivered to the table first and I have never seen anything like it!  It was almost the length of the table.  We also ordered a mezze plate with hommous, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, olives and other goodies.  It was gooooooooood.... but there would have been three quarters of the bread left at the end, easily.

My dream rug

Louise works from 2pm-10pm so while she headed up to the clinic, I was 'returned' to the compound by Idris where I waited for Bronwyn and Brian to finish work.  Then it was off to Deira Souk to pick up my kilim rug... yay!!!  Excited!  Bronwyn explained the sad side to all the gorgeous rugs we were pawing over in the shop.  They are hand made heirlooms which can take literally months to create, every one unique.  The way they come to be in the hands of our rug salesman is that the family need money so they sell these beauties to get it. A real shame.  My wee rug makes me very happy though and every time I look it I discover something new.  It is even crooked in several places, proof of the hand made.  (The cat and dog have also fallen in love with it and it makes a great tunnel for them to play in.)  Whilst at the rug shop I fell in love with another rug, twice to three times the size, that sadly also costs 5 times more than the one that made it home with me... something to save up for perhaps. 

From the souk, Bronwyn, Brian and I went and parked at Kingdom mall and made our way up to the Italian restaurant in the hotel above.  We had a gorgeous meal but I have to say that it is really weird enjoying a such a good Italian meal without a nice glass of chianti, barolo or amarone... alcohol being banned in the Kingdom.  The restaurant didn't seem to have a family section but there were curtained off booths for those that chose to use them.  There were some young women enjoying a meal and as men arrived, only one covered up.  I don't know... I guess some of the rules are flexible or maybe they are becoming more so with the younger generations.  That would be nice.

Just one day to go guys, watch this space.

Days 3 and 4 in Saudi

My second full day in Riyahd was mostly about things to do for Christmas so Brian, Bronwyn and I jumped in the car and went out shopping.  Due to Riyadh being such a huge, spread out city and its incredibly busy roads (read crazy drivers here), it can take while to get things done.  We headed out early enough to get to the shops we needed to prior to prayers.  With 5 prayers per day, and everything ceasing to function for the duration, shopping trips need to be well timed so that you are done and on the way home when the midday-ish prayer begins.  (The times change daily according to the moon phases, and are based on your longitude and latitude as far as I can work out.)  Most shops will stay closed after that prayer and reopen around 4pm, following the next prayer.  I watched workers in market stalls and malls packing everything up, putting it all away and making everything secure after being open around 2 hours, only to have to open up and set things up again a few hours later.  The shops then stay open til 10pm and the evening is when the shops are at their busiest, with all the locals out and about. 

Being driven from shop to shop

The first port of call was the Port Store for inserts for the bain marie set up for our Christmas Feast.  The store was huge and there was plenty to look at so we had a good wander around and Brian caught up with an exuberant acquaintance, Mohammed, from the Egyptian embassy who was also shopping.  The boat shaped bain maries and cold service counters had us all a little amused to say the least.

From there we headed out to the flower market but the variety was poor and Bronwyn had little to choose from.  She settled for chrysanthemums and the few lilies that looked like they would be open for Christmas day.  

Saudi Tent

That evening we went to a friend's apartment to enjoy a rooftop bbq in her Saudi tent.  Well, the bbq was outside but we lounged in the comfort of the tent.  What a fantastic set up.  Because my camera is new and I haven't had a lot of time to check it out properly yet, there are not many photos of that evening but this one gives a good idea of the tent.

Riyadh from the rooftop

The food was fantastic.  I got my first taste of fresh dates stuffed with cheddar cheese and loved them!  (I did the same, as well as some stuffed with Swiss chocolate, for dessert/cheeseboard on New Year's eve.)  We finished the meal with pavlova, a yule log and mint tea which I have fallen in love with.  No commercial mint teabags in site.  Just a lightly dunked black teabag and a sprig of mint.  Very refreshing.  I must also admit to investing in a set of the tiny crystal cups and saucers that Louise serves her mint tea in, as well as beautiful crystal detailed teaspoons.  Many a cup of mint tea will be enjoyed in them here in Australia too.

Snaking camel trail

A large part of Christmas Eve day was spent in the car, heading out to the desert to check out an ancient camel trail and also driving around Wadi Hanifah, a beautiful new park/scenic development on the outskirts of Riyadh which hundreds of locals were making the most of with their picnics and portable barbecues.  It is interesting to note that the colour of the photo (right) of the camel trail is pretty much the colour of all the buildings in Riyahd.  As new developments are going ahead there is a little more sheen and metallic emerging but the houses and apartment buildings..... sand coloured.

We rounded off the afternoon with a very hospitable and social afternoon at Vernice and Graeme's, on the compound.  Perfect... not far to walk home.

And finally some photos...

What a busy week - for both Justin and I it would seem.  He has been tied up with his fire training (ERT - Emergency Response Team), followed by hairdressing - both of which he has sent me photos of. 




That's Justin with the hose.



The fire training included, of course, using the hoses, entering a burning structure, extinguishing and the use of breathing apparatus.  One of the exercises saw the guys sitting in a burning container with breathing apparatus on for five minutes! 

They were also introduced to the 'Hagg' which has been used for transport on the ice for a number of years. The Hagg usually has an empty rear unit with seats - not the red pump unit, as pictured.


One of the final days of ERT training went from 9am-10pm... a very long day which meant that the training occurred in the dark and while everyone was tired.  Frightening stuff.

Hairdressing training was up next.  Held at the TAFE, the guys were taught basic hairdressing skills including straight cutting, layering, working with clippers and trimming beards.  During the summer months when the Davis station population swells to almost 100, their skills may be called upon by both male and female expeditioners and scientists as they can be there anything from 6 weeks - 4 months or a full year, like Justin.  Usually the 'winterers' like Justin will either keep their hair shaved or grow it long to keep things simple.  There is equipment at the base and that consists of all the basics for non-complex hairdressing.  So no perms kids!!


As for me, things keep trucking along but I now have Christoph staying, who is a delightful 20 yr old - quite different to any other 20 year old I know in that he is very independent, sociable and caring.  He is good company - I just feel bad that I can't spend more time with him and that my moods are a bit up and down at the moment.  He has also been most understanding and full of good humour.   

There are exciting things going on... I have flowers and wee courgettes on my plant!!  Check out these beauties...


My seedlings are looking fantastic and with any luck, Brian (my big brother) will come up this weekend (I am trying to lure him with a Swiss fondue!!) and help me complete my wee garden bed and get everything planted.


My other exciting news is that I am going to Riyahd for Christmas!  Justin's parents live there at the moment and have managed to convince me that I should go.  Now I am very much looking forward to it.  You can't enter Riyahd as a tourist and must have sponsorship in the country so Brian (Justin's dad) and Bronwyn have submitted my passport details at their end for approval but then I would also need to send my passport away here for receipt of the visa if that all goes okay.  Travelling on my own, I must be met at the airport by a male sponsor.  Women cannot travel unaccompanied throughout Riyahd.  There is a lot more information on this website.  In Saudi Arabia no alcohol, pork products or religious books not related to Islam are permitted.  I think this will be the most extreme cultural experience to date!