Category Saudi Arabia

Abraj Al Bait

Saudi media was full of reports on the progress of construction in the Makkah Clock Tower last week, but today I came across this interesting infographic courtesy of Menainfra.com. The clock sits at the top of the Makkah Clock Tower Royal Hotel, which is the centerpiece of the 7-tower Abraj Al Bait Complex project. Once completed, the tower will be the second tallest building in the world after Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The project will also offer the largest floor area of any structure in the world: 1.5m sq meters of floorspace.

(via f)

The female terrorist, freedom to cover, and walking in Riyadh

  • Eman al-Nafjan has written a very good post about Heila al Qusayer, the female member of al Qaeda who was arrested earlier this year. I find it astonishing that Heila managed to collect more than $650,000 to support al Qaeda before she was caught.
  • I agree with Hala on this: “I told her also that being totally against their choice of dress code even if they believe in the righteousness of what they do is not different from the religious clerics forcing everyone back home to adhere to the black Abaya and scarf regardless of free will.” The freedom of choice, as Diana pointed out in the comments, is a concept that is absent here. As a conformist society, we are taught that there is only one way to do things, and that this way is the right way.
  • I have always said that Riyadh, as well as most Saudi cities, is not pedestrian-friendly. A Canadian in Riyadh has recently discovered this, and she would like everyone to know that she is not amused by the constant honking of taxi drivers who think she needs a ride. Been there, done that. Sigh.

Municipal fail, World Cup ministries, MOI can haz HR dept

  • The Municipal Council in al-Ahsa has failed to achieve the hopes of its members and the citizens who elected them, member of the council Hejji al-Nejaidi admitted. In a brief interview with Okaz daily al-Nejaidi accused the municipality of transferring SR17m that were allocated to develop Prince Meteb bin Abdulziz Road to some unknown project. He also accused the municipality of ignoring the council and not taking it seriously. “Eighty percent of the council’s suggestions and requests to the municipality have not been addressed.” Oddly enough (or maybe not) the head of the municipality also heads the municipal council, of which half members are elected and the other half are appointed. I have voted for al-Nejaidi back in 2005.
  • Khalaf al-Harbi likens the different government ministries to the football teams playing in the Wold Cup: “he Ministry of Culture and Information is like the USA team: it can relax in the knowledge that its mere presence at the World Cup is achievement enough, and more so given that its would-be audience is otherwise engaged watching baseball and basketball. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is like Italy: a solid defense and prepared to rough things up, with a preoccupation for not conceding in order to snatch the trophy on penalties…”
  • Today’s picture comes from a meeting between the deputy minister of education Norah al-Faiz and senior officials at the education department in al-Zulfi. Where is the deputy minister? Was she cut out of the picture like last time? No. This time she is not actually in the picture. No, she was not videoconferencing from her lofty office in Riyadh. She was in another room nearby, probably in the same building. The meeting was conducted using what al-Riyadh daily called an “audio circuit.” Al-Faiz has emphasized the importance of prayer rooms in girls schools, and instructed teachers to watch their students to make sure that they are praying on time.

    Norah al-Faiz meeting

  • File this under the FYI category. The Ministry of Interior said they launched a human rights department. The department will receive remarks and complaints from the public about the performance of security personnel. They have toll free telephone numbers, 989 from inside the Kingdom and 0096612928888 from outside the Kingdom, for members of the public to express their opinions or report those security officials who have broken the law. The department also aims to ensure that the public is made aware that security officials are not above the law and that justice will take its course against those who abuse their powers. The service allows the public to send their remarks in Arabic and English. The ministry said it has sent some staffers on scholarships to the US and Canada where they attended crash courses in English and computer terminology.

The Saudi Moon Boat

The Saudi pavilion at Shanghai’s World Expo has proven very popular, some people who want get in started faking disabilities in order to avoid waiting time that could reach up to nine hours. “While the opening weeks at Expo saw surprisingly low attendance, Saudi Arabia’s pavilion has emerged as among the most popular,” WSJ’s China Realtime Report blog said. One of the main attractions in the Saudi pavilion, nicknamed the “moon boat,” is its 1,600-square-meter movie screen. Considering that movie theaters are not allowed in the country, this is actually pretty ironic. But hey, that’s Saudi Arabia for you: full of contradictions and paradoxes your head will start uncontrollably spinning. You’re welcome.

Bonus: Suzanne Seldess visited Mada’in Saleh in April, and she came back with some really nice pictures. Check them out.

MOE news, colorful abayas

  • The Ministry of Education has started investigating a school incident where a public high school teacher made his students play a theatrical scene representing detailed postmortem procedures like how to wash a dead person, cover him, and then laid him to rest. In other news, the ministry issued on Wednesday a circular to all schools in the Kingdom ordering that no music or dancing be allowed during upcoming graduation celebration, which must take place in the morning within the last three weeks of the academic year, and that no cameras should be allowed in schools. Last week I attended my brother graduation ceremony from intermediate school (that’s junior high for you American folks). The celebration took place at night, there was no dancing, and the music was “Islamic” aka nasheed. There were hundreds of cameras, including a video crew brought in by the school itself. Below is a video I took during the graduation:

  • Out of the 198 members of FIFA, only 32 countries can play in the World Cup in football (that’s soccer for you American folks) every four years. Saudi Arabia did not make it to the tournament that will take place in South Africa and starts on Friday. This, of course, will not stop business owners of trying to make money on the occasion anyway they can, including selling World Cup themed abayas. Non-black abayas was one of the topics which appeared in that now infamous MTV video. Speaking of such nonconformist abayas, Khalaf al-Harbi wrote a hilarious article earlier this week on Okaz about the Blue Abaya Controversy.

Twenty-Six

I’m 26 and I’m still here. I’m still not sure where I’m going next, and I’m still not sure where I will be for my next birthday. I’m not sure about anything anymore. Here’s to the waiting, uncertainty, and lifelong dreams…

MTV, beauty queen camels, flirting with books, and more…

  • As part of their True Life series, MTV has broadcasted a one-hour documentary on Saudi youth last Monday. Even before it was aired, Resist the Power, Saudi Arabia has attracted big attention. Over the course of last week, I have received many emails asking me to watch it, and more emails later asking what I think of the episode. I have not watched it yet. I will probably watch it, but only after this silly hoopla dies off. Local media, as expected, jumped in with the usual mixture of conspiracy theories and anger caused by the documentary. Very typical. There are rumors that some people who appeared in the show could be prosecuted, but nothing is confirmed at this point. Many bloggers reacted, and most of what they said have been balanced and well worth a read: here, here, here, here, here, and here.
  • Forget about MTV, and watch this short video by local artist Abdulaziz al-Muzaini which pokes fun at Riyadh rains:

  • Remember the guy who was suing Aramco over the death of his beloved beauty queen camel? He has actually won case. Saudi Gazette reports that the General Court in Khobar has ordered the oil giant to pay 1 million riyals to the heartbroken owner. Aramco’s lawyer said they intend to appeal the verdict with the Court of Cassation.
  • Based on her experience with a public library where she lives in Dubai, Badriya al-Bisher believes that opening more public libraries will encourage Saudi boys and girls to flirt with the books instead of flirting with each other. That’s an interesting theory which I would love to test in Riyadh. It will make for one hell of an experiment.
  • The first patch of graduates from private medical colleges in Jeddah were previously told their can intern in university hospitals. Now they are told they can’t, and that if they want to intern then they have to pay SR60,000. Unbelievable. Shada Ahmadi, a student who is yet to start her internship, told me “it’s a big frustrating issue in our college.” UPDATE: Intern doctors graduating from government universities, who had their monthly reward cut in half by a decision from the Council of Higher Education five years ago, have launched an online petition asking the government to reconsider that decision.