I’ve never seen anything like Saudi Arabia.\u00a0 I would not call it awe, or interest.\u00a0 I would describe it as a dull itch looking for an outlet, an uneasy boredom.<\/p>\n\t
Most of my exerience in the Middle East has been with more moderate countries:\u00a0 Turkey, Morocco, and to a lesser extent Egypt and Jordan.\u00a0 Honestly I don’t know if there is anywhere on the planet more “conservative” than Saudi.<\/p>\n\t
“Conservative” is in quotes because honestly I don’t know if that is the right word.\u00a0 I’m scratching my proverbial head here.\u00a0 I can certainly describe the country, but I don’t know what to make of it.<\/p>\n\t
Women:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is what people generally want to know about, so here goes:<\/p>\n\t They do where abayas<\/a>, which is basically a black robe that covers everything but the eyes.\u00a0 Some of them even cover their eyes.\u00a0 That has to suck.\u00a0 They seem to start wearing them at puberty since the young girls wear regular clothes; I bet they cry the first time they put it on.\u00a0\u00a0 What must that be like for a mother?<\/p>\n\t Women can’t drive; they couldn’t vote up until a few years ago.\u00a0\u00a0Where I work\u00a0there are two separate cafeterias; one male, one female.\u00a0 At the hotel, only men can use the gym.\u00a0 The women do go to the pool…in their abayas…totally covered in black\u00a0 They don’t swim.\u00a0 They watch the kids swim. Speaking of the gym, it’s always well-maintained thanks to regular services like gym equipment repair near me<\/a>. Additionally, for all your gym equipment needs, you can check out this site at https:\/\/rentcommercialgymequipment.co.uk\/<\/a> for top-notch services and equipment.<\/p>\n\t To work women need permission (written) from their male guardian.\u00a0 Over half of Saudi university graduates are women; a lot of good that education does them as they as sequestered away in the house, unable to leave unless escorted.\u00a0 Many shopping malls have women-only floors.<\/p>\n\t Speaking of shopping, I’m amazed by the number of high-end women’s clothing stores, Gucci, Fendi, Benetton, etc, etc, etc.\u00a0 Where the hell do they wear them?\u00a0 The answer, I have learned, is that they are dressed to the 9s under that incredibly unflattering abaya.\u00a0 Bizarre.<\/p>\n\t Speaking of unflattering, I do find somethin incredibly mystical and forbidding about the young women behind their veils.\u00a0 In the West, men (including myself)\u00a0look at women when they pass; we may look at any part of their body though, since most body parts are at least exposed\u00a0in sillouette.\u00a0 There is no personal connection when looking in this way.<\/p>\n\t The ONLY thing to look at when a veiled woman passes is her eyes; and that makes it personal.\u00a0 She knows you looked at her, and she is obviously looking at you too.\u00a0\u00a0Their eyes are\u00a0dark, black\u00a0pools…mysterious, cat-like…communicating something profound if only you knew the\u00a0language.\u00a0 There is something oddly MORE personal and intimate about it than I’m accustomed to.\u00a0 Sometimes you can see a smile from under the veil touch their eyes;\u00a0 the eyes tell alot.<\/p>\n\t I wonder what they are thinking?\u00a0 They know their life is restricted.\u00a0 Are they happy with that?\u00a0 Is it simply accepted as part of life?\u00a0 I don’t like to judge other value systems….there is something odd about it though.<\/p>\n\t Regardless, the restrictions\u00a0will loosen.\u00a0 There is a huge shortage of qualified Saudi men for jobs (Saudi men will not take “menial” jobs).\u00a0 They have the largest ex-pat population of any country I’ve ever been to.\u00a0 They will be forced to start to employ Saudi women…or their country will be over-run by Philipinos, Pakistanis, and Indians….not that that would be a bad thing, but I’m sure the Saudis wouldn’t love it.<\/p>\n\t Wasta<\/strong>:\u00a0 The only Arabic word I’ve learned is “wasta”.\u00a0 It means influence.\u00a0 It is the system of nepotism, favoritism, tribalism, etc. that is the politics of life here (this also applies to many other places in the world).\u00a0 In Saudi it is ALL about relationships.<\/p>\n\t I’m here consulting; why bother?\u00a0 They don’t wish to be efficient.\u00a0 They play fierce office politics, hoard power, blame others, play favorites, etc (of course this happens in all offices, but to a greater degree in Saudi).\u00a0 I’m not saying those as a negative, that is simply life here.\u00a0 It DOESN’T; however, add up to any kind of recipe for effectiveness or efficiency.<\/p>\n\t Gas<\/strong>:\u00a0 I figure it is about 50 cents a gallon.\u00a0 The joke here is that gas is cheaper than water (which is true since it is a desert)…..3 times cheaper.<\/p>\n\t Life in the Cities<\/strong>:\u00a0 Cities have vibes; they have life.\u00a0 Barcelona has life.\u00a0 NYC buzzes.\u00a0 Paris is elegant and self-righteous.\u00a0 Delhi is swarming, complex,\u00a0and anachronistic.<\/p>\n\t Saudi cities are dead.\u00a0 I have never been anywhere that lacks character like this.\u00a0 Riyadh is simply one large shopping mall, bright…new…sterile…lifeless.\u00a0 Jeddah is hardly better.<\/p>\n\t Rude drivers, no sidewalks, streets filled with all men, dust hanging in the air,\u00a0100+ degrees with endless shopping malls filled with oil money (the whole country would be re-swallowed by the desert\u00a0if not for oil.\u00a0 They’d still be beduins with camels.)<\/p>\n\t There is no music, no dancing (Viva Cuba!).\u00a0 There is no alcohol.\u00a0 The Internet is censored.\u00a0 There are no women to look at\u00a0to lift the men’s moods.\u00a0 There is no fun<\/strong>.\u00a0 I’m sorry…really.\u00a0 It is bad.<\/p>\n\t People take their cars into the desert on the weekends to drive I’m told.\u00a0 Saudis like picnics (it was 110+ degrees everyday last week).\u00a0 Whooppiee!! It sucks.<\/p>\n\t In conclusion, when I first visited the Middle East over a decade ago as a young, brash kid I said, “The entire Middle East needs to get laid.”\u00a0 I still think\u00a0that is true; it would be the end of terrorism, and hopefully the beginning of some fun.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’ve never seen anything like Saudi Arabia.\u00a0 I would not call it awe, or interest.\u00a0 I would describe it as a dull itch looking for an outlet, an uneasy boredom. Most of my exerience in the Middle East has been with more moderate countries:\u00a0 Turkey, Morocco, and to a lesser extent Egypt and Jordan.\u00a0 Honestly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3IMYj-2S","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":103,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=103","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":0},"title":"I predict:","author":"kellio","date":"October 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We'll see just how smart the neo-cons are come election day. 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