a hui hou kakou

I came to Saudi Arabia in November 2007 to teach English at a medical college under the Saudi Ministry of Defense. It was an interesting place to live, I left at the end of August 2008. It is country seen as an extreme outlier in much of the world. In many ways it is. Women are not allowed to drive, they are not allowed to leave the country without the permission of a male relative or husband. The relations between genders are severely curtailed. But the young rebel. They troll the malls with bluetooth on, broadcasting their photo and email address. The people are very friendly and kind. It is like all places an interesting mix.

Arms of Saudi Arabia

Arms of Saudi Arabia

Map of Saudi Arabia My first view of Saudi Arabia. The empty airport in Riyadh. November 2007. The airport from above. There were only three of us on the flight to Dammam. It was an empty plane. November 2007. My apartment at the medical college. November 2007. Along my morning walk to work. November 2007. The compound is mostly trees and sand. November 2007. The Prince Sultan Military College of Heath Sciences. Where I work. November 2007. There are a few mosques in the compound. November 2007. My apartment is in this building. November 2007. The nearest town to my compound is Al-Khobar. November 2007. The road to Riyadh is also the road to Mecca. December 2007. Saudi Arabia has a lot of camels. December 2007. A camel in a truck. December 2007. Jonathan, another English teacher who works in my part of the country. December 2007. We hung out with this guy when we were at the camel market near Riyadh. He gave us dates and camel milk to eat. He didn't speak English though. December 2007. Me and a camel. December 2007. Another picture of me and a camel. December 2007. Saudi stop sign. December 2007. Riyadh on Friday morning. The night before there was horrid traffic, but on Friday morning the whole capital is at mosque. December 2007. One of two big new buildings in Riyadh. December 2007. Mosque in Riyadh's old city. December 2007. Part of the old city in Riyadh. December 2007. Parts of Riyadh's old city are crumbling to dust. December 2007. The fort in Riyadh's old city. December 2007. Saudi Arabia is a desert country. December 2007. Sunset on the road back to Dhahran. The desert is full of wrecked cars. Saudis are insanely bad drivers. They embrace the idea of leaving everything in gods hands. December 2007. Beautiful sky at sunset on my compound. December 2007. The same afternoon. December 2007 Me in my usual classroom outfit. This is my flat. January 2008. The nearest beach, Half Moon Bay. January 2008. Desert on the way to Hofuf. January 2008. Me on the road to Hofuf. January 2008. The road to Hofuf. January 2008. Rocks near Hofuf. January 2008. By the old fort in Hofuf. January 2008. Mosque inside the old fort. January 2008. Narrow alleys in Hofuf. January 2008. Just as in Riyadh the old city in Hofuf is decaying. January 2008. Art in old Hofuf. January 2008. At least the mosques are in good shape. January 2008. Rock near the Al-Hasa Oasis. January 2008. Looking at the Al-Hasa Oasis. January 2008. Near a cave. Close to Hofuf. January 2008. On the highway to Riyadh. The desert here is reddish. January 2008. In Riyadh. January 2008. City bus in Riyadh. January 2008. The causeway to Bahrain. January 2008. Artificial island that marks the border between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. January 2008. Tower in Al-Khobar. February 2008. A monument or fountain in Khobar. February 2008. Tiny mosque in Khobar. In the Kingdom there is a mosque withen easy walking distance of pretty much everywhere in towns and cities. Also every gas station or rest stop on the highway has at least one. February 2008. Vacant lot in Khobar. February 2008. My friend Hernan. February 2008. This is my friend Aymeric at his birthday. February 2008. My wonderful class. I had these guys from November until April and they were one of the high points of life in Saudi Arabia. For the most part they are an open minded group who are motivated and intelligent. February 2008. A couple more students. February 2008. This was at my first experience of the Hash House Harriers. A tradition started by British colonials in Malaysia in the 1930s. You run around for a while rather aimlessly and then have a barbecue. February 2008. A desert flower before it blooms. February 2008. Aymeric, Joan, and Jonathan. February 2008. My friend Bader. February 2008. Bonfire at my first hash. February 2008. Hitching towards Kuwait in a sandstorm. March 2008. Nice to see some green in my compound after hitching back from Kuwait. March 2008. Camels in the desert at my second hash. During a sandstorm. March 2008. Sun during a sandstorm. March 2008. Pretty desert flowers. March 2008. Truck of a Vietnamese guy who gave me a ride when I was hitching. March 2008. Sign near the Qatari border. March 2008. My friends Kasia and Tomasz at a dinner party. March 2008. The pidgens on my balcony made a nest. Unfortunately the guy in the next flat over kicked it off the ledge. April 2008. The Al-Hasa Oasis is beautiful and green. Here was a garden full of wild black berries. April 2008. The Al-Hasa Oasis is full of water. Although it must be pumped now since the water table has gotten so low. April 2008. Baby horse in Al-Hasa. April 2008. Me on a horse in Al-Hasa. April 2008. Green dates. June 2008. Hummer limo. June 2008. Bus I took to Jordan. June 2008. Flat desert near Iraq. June 2008. Swing near the border with Jordan. July 2008. Marsh near Jubail. July 2008. 50 C summer heat, rumor is the signs won't go higher because Saudi law says people don't have to work if it gets too hot. July 2008. Al-Hasa Oasis. January 2008. Al-Hasa Oasis. January 2008. Passport Stamps |back to travels |