Poolside at the Red Sea

We had another incredible buffet at the Red Sea Resort. We had our hands and arms heena'd and we also got to dance to a great Saudi folk band.

That's me with the sloppy scarf on the right talking to Basmah, a Saudi professor, who is also a published poet. She gave each of us a signed copy of her English poems.

Visiting a house designed in the Old Jeddah style

We visited with an architect who had built his house in the traditional style which caught the breezes and provided natural airconditioning. He had just returned from the Hajj, but still gave us a wonderful tour of his house. He is dedicated to promoting Islamic architecture.

Old Jeddah

We visited Old Jeddah starting at King Abdul Aziz Palace which is 150 years old.  We had a short but informative powerpoint on the history of Jeddah, then went shopping. I bought a lot of wonderful, unique items such as frankincense, Kohl for eyeliner, rugs, prayer beads, and more.

View from the hotel balcony

The view of the Red Sea from the balcony is astounding and at night there is a fountain or spray of water that shoots 100' into the air. It is beautifully lit.

Saudis are working for peace and understanding

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I presented Amr Khashoggi with a Navajo bell at lunch at the Byblos restaurant. He facilitates a group called Letskeeptalking.com which works to improve Saudi/US relations and is on the Committee for International Trade as well as the Council of Saudi Chambers. Our group had another excellent discussion the next day about SaudiUS relations and the impact of 9/11. Economically, the roles have shifted as well, with more European and Asian companies doing business in the Kingdom. Saudi students have also been sent to colleges in Japan, Europe, Africa rather than just the US.

Security at our Intercontinental Hotel

Outside of the entrance to many businesses that cater to foreigners you will see concrete blocks, gates, walls, manned guard towers and security guards. This is the jep in front of our hotel with the machine gun mounted on top.

Jeddah is on the Red Sea

I took an afternoon stroll down to the seaside in downtown Jeddah the other afternoon as many families were coming to the beach for a picnic. There were sandbuggies available for rent and one 10 year old girl in her abiyah went flying by me. We will be staying at an upscale beach resort tonight, so will be able to swim at a private beach.

I really liked this gold embroidered outfit.  Our young Saudi policeman who guarded us in the Eastern Province took this picture of me.  He thought I would like the clothing and he was right. This was at the Al Hasa Intercontinental Hotel where we had another incredible meal. He said that we were the nicest group that he had guarded.

We visited this oasis where the date trees stretch out as far as the eye can see. There is a government date research center here and a date processing factory. Now I can see how Costco can sell dates from Saudi Arabia!!!

Al Hasa Caves

We traveled south from Dhahran to Al Hasa going through barren desert dotted with camels, sheep, trash, housing developments, and occasional bushes. Hofuf is the date capital of the peninsula shipping dates to the world.  We went to  a pottery studio and watched as three pots came off the wheel. The pots are sundried, then low level fired, and not glazed or painted. We visited the caves where the temperature remains a cool 50 degrees year round, providing a cool relief from the 100+' temperatures of the summer. We missed going to the suq, so we are still wanting to shop.

Kiss the camel

After my great success in kissing a cow in Urbana, Maryland for our school fundraiser, I was on a mission to kiss a camel for no earthly good reason. The camel was not harmed in any way, and unfortunately  these babies were too small to ride. In the morning we visited the Aramco special school for young women which prepares them for college abroad, then enjoyed another fabulous meal together. I was able to leave the Bedouin camp and travel to Jubail alSinaiyah, the Industrial City on the Arabian Gulf where I lived for seven years.  It has changed beyond recognition, so my best analogy was the Rip Van Winkle legend. I recognized very little because 90% of it had been built after I left.  There were houses and giant factories where there had only been desert, and on the walls there was lots of tagging. The housing division where we lived was a bus laydown yard. The houses had been removed down to their concrete pads. Even the coastline had been rescupltured. There was still a flare to remind me of the old days when the coastline was lined with 100' towers spewing fire into the night sky turning the heavens orange at night and hazy in the day.  Most of those have long since been dismantled and the gas used for LNG operations.

Aramco's Saudi Cultural center

This cultural center is planned to open in 2011.

Aramco in Dhahran

Dhahran is Aramco and Aramco is Dhahran.  The Steineke Guest House ( which was named after an early oil explorer) is a wonderful place to stay.  The Cafeteria had great food and the Commissary is around the corner.  We had four stops this morning which gave us a good foundation of the history and material culture of Saudi Arabia.  We get our abiyah's measured tomorrow, so we will look forward to being able to appear in public with them on.  The most exciting project being developed in Saudi Arabia in the cultural center that Aramco is building for the country.  It will be a revolutionary concept for the Kingdom, with a cinema, theater, library, museum and children's center. The architecture is dramatic as is the concept.

In the Kindom

We finally arrived in the Kingdom this morning around 12:10am, but did not make it through immigration and customs until 1:30am, and so did not get into our rooms until 2:30am.  We had breakfast at 7am after we dropped off our laundry at the front desk to be washed while we were out.  For breakfast I had fool ( beans)  and pita and labnah. Our first stop was the AramcoCultural Center and the second stop was Aramco's Petroleum research center.

Jubail 1934

This group of explorers from the Henry-Miller expedition are on their way to Dhahran.

Children from Jubail

These are children who now live in the city of Jubail where I used to live from 1978-1985. When I first got there, there was no city, but only desert. There was a small fishing village, but not the industrialand residentail compound there is today.

Arabic lessons

Today we had lessons at the Saudi Aramco Houston Office about writing and speaking Arabic from a Rice University professor. We learned about the history of petroleum mining in Saudi Arabia and about the history of the Arabian American Oil Company, which became Aramco, then Saudi Aramco.

Georgi's Desert

Tomorrow we leave for Saudi Arabia. It will be a trip focussed on education, Saudi Arabian culture and Saudi Aramco.