Posted by CJ.
With my wonderful new job in Europe I am also responsible for marketing in the Middle East. This is interesting because I know a little about marketing, but nothing about the Middle East. My first trip was to Dubai was an eye opener culturally, but compared to Saudi Arabia, Dubai feels like being in the US.
My co-workers and I flew to Riyadh, the capital which is in the middle of the country and a bigger city. The first few things you notice is that even though it's 105 degrees everyone is in full long robes, mostly whit,e and wearing a head scarf.
The women are in the full black burka (well not burka, a hijab I think it's called) with only their eyes showing. The funny thing, many of them would carry a high-end purse like Louis Vuitton.
Women cannot drive (insert joke here) legally so when they go somewhere they have a driver or take a cab.
When they are with their husband, they don’t walk next to each other or hold hands. Usually the woman was following behind the husband.
One other thing I quickly noticed is with the country being dry (as in no alcohol allowed under any circumstances), smoking is the only vice and most everyone smokes and they do so everywhere in cars, in hotels, in meeting rooms, at the dinner table. You can’t escape the smoke or the heat.
My co-workers and I flew to Riyadh, the capital which is in the middle of the country and a bigger city. The first few things you notice is that even though it's 105 degrees everyone is in full long robes, mostly whit,e and wearing a head scarf.
The women are in the full black burka (well not burka, a hijab I think it's called) with only their eyes showing. The funny thing, many of them would carry a high-end purse like Louis Vuitton.
Women cannot drive (insert joke here) legally so when they go somewhere they have a driver or take a cab.
When they are with their husband, they don’t walk next to each other or hold hands. Usually the woman was following behind the husband.
One other thing I quickly noticed is with the country being dry (as in no alcohol allowed under any circumstances), smoking is the only vice and most everyone smokes and they do so everywhere in cars, in hotels, in meeting rooms, at the dinner table. You can’t escape the smoke or the heat.
After being in Riyadh for two days we drove across the desert for 3 hours to Damman, which is a big city on the water across from Iran, and very close to the island nation of Bahrain.
On the drive we saw the most beautiful dessert along with a sand storm, and heards of camels.
One other bad part of the drive - my co-workers got 3 speeding tickets. I am sure there was no profiling when the cops saw a Chevy full of Anglos driving across the dessert...
The funny part is Saudi is so closed off when it comes to booze, sex, drugs and partying, that Bahrain economy exists and thrives because of all of those vices, and caters to rich Saudi dudes looking for fun!
It’s like Vegas for Muslims.
On the drive we saw the most beautiful dessert along with a sand storm, and heards of camels.
One other bad part of the drive - my co-workers got 3 speeding tickets. I am sure there was no profiling when the cops saw a Chevy full of Anglos driving across the dessert...
The funny part is Saudi is so closed off when it comes to booze, sex, drugs and partying, that Bahrain economy exists and thrives because of all of those vices, and caters to rich Saudi dudes looking for fun!
It’s like Vegas for Muslims.
After a few days in this city we took a plane across the country to Jeddah, which is located on the Red Sea and across from Sudan and Egypt. Here is the really interesting part about Jeddah. This city it is the closest city to Mecca, which is the most important place in the world for Muslims. When we were flying to Jeddah I was told when the plane gets within a certain distance of Mecca there will be a prayer and chanting, I am glad I was told this was happening ahead of time. I don’t want to be stereotypically American, but when you are on a plane full of Muslims and all of a sudden they all start praying and chanting a guy can get a little worried...
The road to Mecca which starts at the zero mark is in the middle of the Tools Suke (which means market) and is not very nice, however, the closer you get the nicer it gets. As a non-believer, I am not allowed to get anywhere near Mecca, but it was cool to see lots of folks going on a pilgrimage.
One more fun thing to tell you all, the food - which was good, but gets old quick. I spent most of my time eating hummas, pita bread, goat or lamb, and fish. All washed down with a coke or juice, and second hand smoke... We had chicken one night and that was a real treat.
Overall the trip was good from a work and learning point of view, however, it is not a place I will be vacationing any time soon, nor will Mada be making the trip.
Spending 10 days in SA will make any American appreciate how lucky we are to have what we do!
And now some pictures...
The desert
Call to prayer...
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