Abu Sinan is wondering if the new decision to phase out the recruitment of all foreign security guards in the Kingdom is going to go for the royals. I’m not quite sure about that. Laws don’t mean much when it comes to such people. He is especially talking about his experiences with the Saudi ambassador to Washington DC, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, who outsource, among other jobs, his security works.

Dear Abu Sinan, Prince Bandar is leaving his job soon. So, let’s wait and see what will happen with the new ambassador.

Arab News: “Al-Hilal were crowned King Fahd Cup champions yesterday after beating city rivals Al-Shabab 1-0 at the jampacked King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.” Congrats to Al-Zaeem!!

Hey everyone. I’m blogging from the KFUPM labs. But not for too long. I’m leaving after few minutes. The weather here in Dharhran is so humid. I hate it.

Riyadh was nominated for the World’s Most Masculine City award on Gridskipper‘s World’s Sexiest Cities contest. Check it out, vote for your favourites.

Tomorrow, I’m going to go to Dammam in order to get some things done, and probably meet up with some friends at KFUPM. I’ll probably stay there for a couple of days. If any of you is going to be in Dammam, or Khobar, on the same time, maybe we can meet up somewhere over a cup of coffee. Let me know by sending me an email: alomran at gmail dot com (you would make things much easier on me if you provide your mobile phone number) Thanks.

40 things that only happen in movies.

Abeer Mishkhas is unhappy about the negligence of the old parts of Jeddah in the brochures and ads promoting tourism in the city, “stressing only the beaches, malls and restaurants.” She fears that when we finally realize the importance of such areas, “they will have become ruins or non-existent,” she added.

Maybe it is too late. The Wahhabis who view historical buildings and sites as promoting idolatry have prevented us from saving some priceless treasures for many years, and they still active on that. Unfortunately, no one is brave enough to face the religious establishment in the county.

This is not only happening in Jeddah. It is the same case in every part of the Kingdom. This report by Reuters is paying more attention to the holy city of Mecca, where the case is much worse. “We are witnessing now the last few moments of the history of Mecca,” said Sami Angawi, an expert on the region’s Islamic architecture and the founder of Hajj Research Center. The 1400-year-old historical sites are removed for building towers and parking lots.

It is really depressing. This strict narrow interpretation of Islam has caused us troubles of all kinds, and yet there still some people who are willing to defend it. Wake up, people! Wake up!