Mimi in Arabia: ANOTHER LONG ABSENCE...

As I write this episode, hailstones like jagged ice cubes are threatening to break my window, lightning is punctuating the sky, thunder is rumbling, and enough rain to flood the desert is pounding the sandpit roads of the city. This is Riyadh during a flash storm!

Friday March 11^th was meant to be the much-hyped ‘Day of Rage’ in Riyadh, the Saudi attempt at organised protest in response to the monumental riots sweeping across the Middle East.

But after all the hype, the heavily armed police patrol lining the streets and helicopter surveillance circling the skies, the only rage we witnessed that weekend was curtesy of the weather.

Not even the wisp of a protest banner was seen on the streets of Riyadh – and who could blame the dutiful citizens, what with the official government warning threatening to unleash the full capacity of the Saudi police and the military on any individual or group who dared to break the national law by protesting against the authorities. Can’t really say I blame them for tucking up warm rather than risking their life – either by gunshot or hailstorm!

The concerned queries from family and friends about my safety in Saudi Arabia were touching, but thankfully I had no news to tell about hiding from manic crowds or dodging bullets, as our expat compatriots had across the Arab world.

In February, Saudi Arabia saw the worst flooding in – some say – 8 years. The coastal regions were under severe flood warnings, and here in Riyadh we encountered our fair share of drama due to the rain too.

But as the storms died down, that rich earthy, post-rain smell lingers from the water soaking the sand and earth. I am always fascinated by the rain in Riyadh, it’s almost a completely unnatural event. After prolonged and violent flooding like this, the mini swimming pools lining the streets can take up to a week to dry up from the roads as the drainage systems in the desert are generally poor - so if your careless driver decides to drop you off ungraciously by the roadside, you will find your abaya soaking wet all the way up tour calves...

One one particular day we even encountered these legendary desert hailstorms followed by a heatwave the next morning - that afternoon was like a subtle autumn haze, and by nighttime the thunderstorms were hammering the city again. With these 4 seasons in the space of one day, Saudi weather is like your average Saudi - unpredictable, unsubtle, prone to sudden aggressive outbursts, but pleasantly interesting in an inexplicable sort of way!

As these storms occurred around the time of the Japanese tsunami and the turmoil in the pacific, I wondered if the storms in Riyadh were also part of these global weather/climate catastrophes. Most Saudis would disagree vehemently though – the majority of people I’ve spoken to here are not convinced global warming has anything to do with them at all. Probably as a result of ‘insha’allah culture’. If the world succumbs to the effects of climate change, then it is Allah’s will...

The sandstorm below occurred in the space of about 5 minutes — the city goes from bright and sunny to dark orange and cloudy with sand so it's difficult to even see the road when you drive. The desert sand finds every possible crevice to seep into. Even if you close all the windows in your house, you’ll still return home to find a thick layer of dust coating your furniture and possessions.

Very sadly, my absolutely worst nightmare in Saudi Arabia also occurred in February. My gorgeous grandmother passed away unexpectedly, and I was stuck over here without the chance to be at her side with the rest of my family. Without wanting to get too emotional, it was bad enough not being able to go home at Christmas due to the Uni’s rules — which would have been the last time the whole family was together having an absolute blast — but I discovered that life in the Kingdom does not take very kindly to the inconvenience of unexpected family bereavement interfering with your contracted working hours. In other words, there is no such thing as ‘compassionate leave’ for expat teachers employed by government institutions. I battled the most upsetting attitude towards Westerners since I’ve been here, from being told initially that I would only be granted 1-2 days leave to fly home to be with my family, because in Islam the dead are buried within 24 hours. When I declined to commit to this, I was asked why I couldn't just fly home — to London — for the weekend. Then came the disbelief that the funeral would be held a whole month after the death (I tried to explain that whereas Islamic funerals are speedy, Ghanaians generally bury a month later, but again, no other customs are relevant in the Kingdom other than religions law). In the end, it was an unpleasant altercation with my employers, but there was no way I was going to be bullied into missing my Nana’s funeral just because it didn’t fit in with unfair Saudi customs. I must say that not all expats living in Saudi would experience this, most private companies are generally more understanding, but government owned institutions really need to recognise that the majority of foreign employers in the kingdom have completely different traditions when it comes to things as personal and emotional as family bereavement.

It was consoling to me that my grandma was extremely excited by my Arabian adventure when I told her I was heading out here, and despite the circumstances, it was refreshing to catch a break from Saudi halfway through the year and do things I miss the most - i.e. church, cinema, bacon sandwiches :-)

A while back I had my first dramatic encounter with the religious police, the dreaded ‘Muttawa’. I couldn’t believe it had taken months to finally ‘meet’ them – I had read so much about them terrorising the streets of Riyadh. But while out one evening shopping with a couple of friends, we were pounced on by a jeep full of muttawa. A couple of them came up to us just as we had got into our taxi outside of Faisaliah mall and in quite aggressive tones ordered us to cover our hair. Now first, it was a ridiculous battle on their part because we were already INSIDE our taxi and about to go home, so there was really no point in haranguing us. Second – the vast majority of women, when inside Riyadh's malls walk around with their heads uncovered, or if Saudi, with their heads covered but face uncovered, so it was seemed futile to be picking on us when there was a mall full of uncovered women. It was also very cowardly of them to pounce on us right outside the mall because, as we later found out, they are not actually allowed to patrol inside the mall. I do suspect that my sparkly and heavily embroidered abaya caught their eye in the sea of black – my ‘blinged-up’ abaya was bound to have annoyed them!

Even though we were all slightly quivering in fear, we put up quite a resistance for about 5 minutes because as foreigners and non-muslims, the law does not legally require us to cover up. We only relented when the crowd of muttawa grew noticeably larger around our car, and we noticed the official Saudi police also pull up alongside them. We weren't aware until the next day that the official police presence could actually have aided us, because if muttawa are seen to be aggressively harassing women, they should — by law — get a ticking off from the police. In theory, muttawa are not allowed to draw attention or embarrassment to women in public, so if we’d known this we could have told them more forcefully to back off. But in that situation, we weren't aware of our rights, and were too easily intimated by the threatening tones and voluminous sea of the muttawa gang — and the prospect of jail.

Well, not next time Mr Muttawa, I know my rights now!

LONG LIVE THE KING!

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, having recently returned from successful back surgery in the US, decreed a couple of national holiday dates to celebrate his health and safe return to the Kingdom, as well as benevolently issued his subjects with various tax reliefs and monetary alms, in a combined effort to appease the prospective protestors keen on dragging Saudi Arabia into the middle of the Arab riots.

In exchange for his grace and munificence, King Abullah’s face – nay, body too — began creeping up all over Riyadh, blown up to 1000 times lifesize, over every building and skyscraper, a living testament looming over the citizens of Riyadh that their king was home to rule the roost, and that Daddy loves them.

As foreigners, we found it quite funny seeing the (slightly enforced) hero-worship of the King, but our general attitude was — hey, as long as King Abdullah keeps the national holidays coming for one reason or another, we can put up with seeing gi-normous images of his head and body plastered around the city!

(Where's the monarch?...How many times can you spot King Abdullah?!)

PICTURES FROM THE ANNUAL JANADRIYAH FESTIVAL

Every year, Riyadh holds an enormous ‘festival’ in the desert. It’s hard to describe what kind of festival it is. It appears to be part cultural celebration, part children’s festival, part teenage hang-out where the young girls can run around carefree while the young men scour the flirting groups for potential brides-to-be, and part business fair. There’s food and music and exhibitions and dance, with everything on sale from high-end designer goods to cheap market fare, clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, perfume and incense. And, of course, camels...

Saudis will always come up to you and request photos with the obvious Westerners...

A clip of some traditional Saudi dance

..AND SOME SNAPS FROM A VISIT TO THE SAUDI NATIONAL MUSEUM

A selection of the natural minerals of Saudi Arabia...gold, iron ore, quartz crystal, desert rose etc

The skeleton of the Mastodon - the elephants that once roamed the Arabian Peninsular 17 million years ago

A sample of Prehistoric Arabian writing

Early Arabian carvings of animals

An Arabian Princess in residence...

A collection of early Arabian gold jewellery and ornaments found in a tomb, known as 'The Treasure of Thaj',

A mural of an Arab camel trail

Outside a makeshift early Arab home

The beautifully embellished door

Inside a makeshift Bedouin tent

Early Arab homeware

Early Arabian battle outfit

An early Arabian hut

Inside hut

One of the first pieces of machinery used to drill for that famous Saudi oil

We were treated to a viewing of the private car collection of the first King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul-Aziz. The collection dates from around the early twentieth century, and we're talking vintage Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Jaguars etc...