Saudi Arabia: Best of the Rest

In chronological order, my ten favorite pictures from Saudi Arabia that didn't make it into my other posts:

Looking Toward The Second Floor
Old Yanbu

Saudi Arabia: Eastern Province

The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia boasts the longest tradition of Western expatriates living and working in Saudi Arabia.  Dammam. Khobar. Jubail. Dhahran. They're all cities in East Saudi with large expat populations and considerable histories of Western involvement.  

As such, much of the Eastern Province looks like this:

refinery

Jubail

Most of the places that I had time to visit in the East were cities where people work and live, not visit.  That is to say, if you're looking for sites like the Pyramids of Giza or Petra, keeping trekkin', bud.  However, the East does have some incredible Bedouin villages, serene beaches, as well as the largest oasis in the entire world (Al-Hofuf, which has over three million palm trees that produce over half a million tons of dates every year.)  I just didn't have time to visit them.  So next time, insha'allah.

But the fact that I was in this strange bubble of Western history with a presence so divisive that in 2004, a Saudi branch of Al-Qaeda slaughtered 17 "Crusaders and Zionists" (aka Westerners) as retaliation for their presence in the oil industry in the country was interesting enough on its own.

Saudi Arabia: Riyadh

Riyadh is pretty much known for two things.  

1.) Its ultra-modern, chic architecture that has popped up over the last decade

2.) Its beheadings

Let's start with that first one.  ...But keep reading to here more about both (but not, like, you know, not too much about that second one.)

Saudi Arabia: Jeddah

If Saudi Arabia had a Las Vegas, it would probably be Jeddah.

Though let's not get crazy -- by no means does Saudi Arabia actually have a Las Vegas.  But what it lacks in glitzy showgirls and legalized gambling, it makes up for with a (comparatively) liberal coastal mentality, bustling waterfront promenade, and -- gasp -- sometimes unveiled women!  Careful, Reno, you've got some competition as Vegas's #2 rival.  

And while Vegas may have the Wynn hotel and other gaudy landmarks, it sure as hell doesn't have a crumbling old city with houses made of coral and adorned with ornate wooden terraces.  

Point 1, Jeddah.

Click below to keep reading more about Jeddah's bustling Old Town, its somewhat haram ways, and the race for the world's largest fountain.

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu

This is Yanbu, an ancient port town on the coast of the Red Sea with beautiful, majestic traditional houses and a history dating back almost 3000 years.

Keeping reading to see more of this fantastic city.

Saudi Arabia

I have to admit, I've become a little spoiled when I travel.  Etihad Airways -- rated the world's best airline three years in a row -- does a great job of following through on its promises of hospitality, luxury, and attention to detail.  From 15 hour flights halfway across the world to short jaunts throughout the Middle East, I've continually been impressed with the amenability of Etihad.  

The truth is, I've become accustomed to kicking back, cocktail in hand, not a care in the world when I fly.  So when I boarded an airplane in late November bound for Jeddah and was handed an alcohol-free drinks list and customs card warning me of death, it definitely made me realize that I wasn't flying to, you know, Cabo or something.

WARNING: DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKER.

Welcome to Saudi Arabia.

It's a place I've wanted to visit since seeing Aladdin as a kid (thanks a lot for instilling sweeping cultural stereotypes in my impressionable childhood psyche, Disney.)  So when I scored an assignment to travel the country for over two weeks for work -- an incredible opportunity -- I was thrilled.  But going around saying, "I'm so excited to go to Saudi Arabia!!" one isn't generally met with looks or statements of envy.  Upon successfully receiving my visa, one of the most notoriously difficult passport stamps to obtain in the world, I was over the moon.  But everyone around me was, like, "Isn't that where they kill people?"  "Be careful!" or some other iteration of concern, disgust, or downright bewilderment.   

And make no mistake, Saudi Arabia is one of the most closed-off, conservative, and judicially harsh places in the world.  (The first thing that pops up on YouTube's predictive search after Saudi Arabia is "punishment cut head.")

Praise be to God, Lord of All Existence

government-installed road sign

Highway 5 North between Jeddah and Yanbu

But a country of over thirty million -- with two of the most religiously important sites in the entire world and a history stretching almost as far back as the cradle of civilization -- deserves to be studied.  To be visited.  To be understood.  

road sign: Medina, Mecca ahead

Yanbu al-Bahr, Saudi Arabia

And though plenty of cynical (and generally ignorant) voices will mention a nouveau riche civilization devoid of nuance, identity, or history, I was ready to spend my next two weeks exploring Saudi Arabia.  Uncovering its hidden beauty.  Delving into its culture.

refinery near the Red Sea coast

Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

Below a map of my itinerary:

Abu Dhabi to Jeddah

3 days in Yanbu (arrive in car from Jeddah airport)

3 days in Jeddah (arrive in car from Yanbu)

5 days in Riyadh (arrive by plane from Jeddah)

4 days in Khobar while also visiting Dammam, Dhahran, and Jubail (arrive in car from Riyadh)

Dammam to Abu Dhabi

Jordan: Best of the Rest

In chronological order, my fifteen favorite pictures from Jordan that didn't make it into my other posts: 

Tree near El-Dier,

Petra

Jordan: Amman

A city of a quarter million, Amman is often passed over when discussing the most fascinating capitals of the Arab world.  It lacks the historical structures of Cairo but also lacks the gleaming and exciting progress of Dubai.  It lacks the exoticism of Sana'a.  It has too much bustle to match the quaintness of Old Damascus.  

I think it parallels Muscat: misunderstood, written off as "too Western" by those looking for performed ancient Arab authenticity, but perhaps still too chaotic to be fully accessible without some prior experience in the Arab world.  

 Above, Hashemi Street, a main thoroughfare in downtown old Amman.

Jordan: Jerash

Some people are just photogenic.  

I am not one of them.  

I'm either fake smiling, not smiling enough, half-opening my eyes, or scrunching up my face into some inexplicable display of anger, confusion, awkwardness, or some combination of all three.  

Jerash is, like, the anti-me.  Despite all of my photographic ignorance, it is the perhaps the most photogenic place I have ever visited.  Whether is was the a combination of the perfectly blue sky, wispy clouds, and ancient history or something else, the stunning ruins at Jerash refused to take a bad picture.  

And for that -- as well as the incredible access to Roman history they provided -- I am quite thankful.

Jordan: The River and Bethany

The River Jordan.

It's a name that sticks in one's head after years of church, Bible study, or even just listening to gospel music.  Jacob, Elijah, multiple miracles, John, and -- of course -- the baptism of Jesus are all a part of the narrative of the Jordan River.  (You sound way more Old Testament by calling it "The River Jordan.)

We visited Bethany-on-the-Jordan, the historic site of Jesus' baptism, many of John's sermons, and Elijah's ascent to Heaven.  

There wasn't any walking on water but the history, environmental issues, and interplay between Jordan and Israel was fascinating enough without any Biblical miracles.  (Though I could have used somebody turning water into wine.)