Well after spending a very busy day in Jeddah i do have some good to say and some, well i’m indifferent. I did get to see woman today which is weird since you don’t see any woman drive, and all banks that i had to visit had two separate branches for men & woman and not to mention the segregated restaurants we went too, all that said however it seems like it works, people seem to be friendly, happy and content.
I was out today with a colleague and his wife, we went to a great and very delicious restaurant but what i didn’t get is the openness. You know i must admit coming to Saudi never is a judgment free experience, i’m sure everyone’s first time was tainted with many miss conceptions and ideas of what to expect, but at dinner, there were tables with woman just showing their hair and celebrating their independence, they were enjoying a smoke while having food and it just felt serene almost, people are quiet they dont stare (like they do in Kuwait) and it really does seem like it works.
Needless to say i have seen the alien types that have long greasy hair who drive corollas with large speakers and yuck interior just going nuts! we also were going to crash about 10 times during out hectic schedule and the most beautiful part of the day was when we were going to get close to being stuck in a restaurant for 45 minutes for prayers.
all in all, jeddah is gorgeous, this is truly a wonderfully designed place, the palaces, the restaurants, the people, it’s seriously awesome. i would love to explore Jeddah more, i’m sure the connected few can throw a party like you wouldn’t believe and can show me the “real” jeddah! but maybe that’s for another time and another trip.
Tommorow is Riyadh, ala yaster!
I’ve never been to Jeddah.
As for Riyadh, I liked it’s shopping.
That was about it. I HATED everything else. Being a guy is much easier I guess. But the fact that I had to cover up my body and head in a hot black 3abaya in the middle of summer didn’t make it any more enjoyable. The fact that we couldn’t get around unless the driver was available and RIGHT at the door (since we couldn’t walk out of the mall to the parking lot just like that) was a bit of a hassle. In some cases (like when attending a wedding) even though we’re clad in black abayas, oo the Saudi girls’ faces are covered, oo the car imghayima, their bothers insisted on dropping them off because it’s inappropriate. Maybe my company were more of the extremes, but that was my experience.
It didn’t feel good at all… like I’m some lower form of our human species. Madree, kilish marti7t. By the fourth day I was going into some sort of depression from wearing and seeing black all the time. I know sounds exaggerated, but I’m not kidding, the way their culture is, kilshay may9eer, and shlon me and all the other females are supposed to be black walking talking masses made me feel imprisoned and felt like a heavy toll
how did u find Riyadh? I bet it was worse than Jeddah =)
jeddah’s more friendly than Riyadh or I might be mistaken?
Well, I live in jeddah & I really understood ur situation & I wanna add something
ppl of Jeddah is the most open minded in the whole Kingdom =)
lolz we gave up on driving seriously !! =D
No matter how ppl talk abt it
still we’re not gonna drive soooooooon =(
ta5alof !