Author Archives: Ahmed

The Long Weekend

It did not surprise me that many Saudis have taken the chance of the first ever holiday of the national day to go abroad, and use the long weekend to do something fun, or useful, instead of just staying in the country, and watch the boys who decided to celebrate the day individually on the streets.

On Friday night, I was out with my friends to have some drinks form the nearby Dr. Cafe, and there were many cars, covered with the green flag, and filled with young men dancing and chanting. It was nice, but I’m sure some people were not happy when they got stuck in the traffic lights because of these happy guys.

Badria Al-Besher thinks that Saudis go to Bahrain and Dubai on such occasions because, in these places, Saudi families are allowed to walk altogether in markets, parks, and streets, without facing the embarrassments and restrictions they face in their own country. In our cities, fathers can’t enter the park with their own kids, and mothers can’t take their sons who are taller than 120cm to the zoo.

Girls Wanted

Since I started Saudi Jeans about a year ago, several people have accused me that I hate Saudi Arabia. Some told me to leave the country, some just told me to shut up. I did not care, because I do not need my loyalty for my homeland to be approved by anyone.

However, a few weeks ago, I almost wrote a post titled “I HATE SAUDI ARABIA.” I did not write that, because I know that I don’t hate my country. I love my country, but I hate many things about it.

I went with a couple of friends to IKEA to grab some stuff for the new apartment. At the door, the security guy called on me. He told me I’m not allowed to enter because I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. I tried to understand what was wrong with my clothes, and even the security guy, who, for my surprise, was very polite (usually, security guys in this country are rude and dumb), could not tell me. “If I let you in, my supervisor will punish me,” he said.

I told my friends they can enter, and I would be waiting for them in the car. Setting in the car, I tried to figure out what could be the reason for preventing me from entering the place.

Please, correct me if I’m wrong. Tell me. Enlighten me. Is the sight of a young man in a basic plain white sleeveless shirt would hurt the feelings of these ugly creatures living in our so-conservative-for-no-good-reason-and-no-good-explanation society?

And you know what? After my friends got back, they told me that they have seen several men in sleeveless shirts inside the store. The only difference is that these men were there with their mothers/wives/fiancés/sisters, or any other female sort of company. “Ahmed, there is nothing wrong with you. It’s a girl problem, all you need is a girl!” my friend, half jokingly, told me.

I know this may sound desperate and hopeless, but I’m going to ask for it anyway. I’m looking for a Riyadh-based decent girl, interested in accompanying a 21-year-old blogger, for going to malls and other public places. The pay will be in the form of a dinner or a drink, depending on the timing and length of the job. If you find me boring, I promise I won’t bother you anymore. I care about your privacy as much I care about mine. No questions asked. If you are interested, please email me: alomran at gmail dot com.

Riyals or Dollars?

Last week, I had the chance to meet Mohammed, again. He was in Riyadh for a couple of days for business. We had dinner at the new Kabab-ji restaurant on King Abdullah Road. We had a really good time, and enjoyed the Lebanese food.

Leaving the restaurant, we were talking about the crazy drivers on Riyadh streets. And, as if we needed an example for our conversation, we almost got hit by cars twice in these few minutes we walked. Then, we stopped a cab, and while we were shacking hands and Mohammed was saying goodbye, the Asian cab driver ran away. He looked so angry, and, apparently, he was swearing at us. Why did he do that? Probably, he thought we were taking much of his precious time.

We had to stop another cab. This time, the driver was Saudi. As soon as we got in the car, he asked, “Are you going to pay in riyals or dollars?” He thought we were foreigners! “Listen, buddy! I’m Saudi. I take cabs everyday, and I know all your crap, so you are not gonna fool me, ok?” I told him. When I said that, he pretended that he was just kidding when he talked about the dollars, but I think he was not. He sounded serious.

Anyways, it was good to see Mohammed again. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to go to Dubai this winter, and I’ll meet him there.

Horror at Al-Mamalka

Last week, I went with my best friend, who is also my cousin, who is also my roommate, and who is not going to be happy when he finds out I mentioned him here ;-), to Al-Mamlaka shopping mall. We got there around 1600, it took us about two hours to finish our shopping spree. It was almost Maghrib (sunset) prayer time, and we were done with our shopping, but we had to wait for a friend of ours to pick us up.

We sat at the food court. A few minutes later, most of the employees at the mall came and sat there. They were chatting, smoking, and killing time, waiting for the prayer time to end so they can go back to their jobs.

Later, we heard some screams, and saw some guys running. “Oh, shit! It’s the religious police. Run away!” my friend said. We jumped from our seats, looking for the nearest exit. We took the escalator, and had to leave the mall using the gates of the parking lot.

It was so embarrassing to see tens of twenty-something-year-old healthy men run away at the sight of a bearded man. Of course, the man was companioned by a policeman to protect him, but I think they were doing nothing to be afraid. Are we ever going to get rid of these harassments? When these idiotic religious policemen will stop attacking people’s freedoms, and denying their right to choose?