Back to Riyadh….

Riyadh, the Garden city. When we left as a family at the end of 2000 I really wondered if I will set foot in this city again. I really did not expect to even though I hoped to be able to do so. I know that tourism is not something that is high on the Saudi agenda so the only hope was to work here again. And so it is.

When we arrived in Al-Khobar 2 months ago I was constantly hoping to have a chance to go to Riyadh. The first opportunity was when I was invited to attend an IT conference. Unfortunately it was going to be a one day only event. I flew out of Dammam 3 weeks ago and landed in Riyadh 45 minutes later. It is amazing what emotions are evoked when confronted with familiar scenes from the past. The airport is of course the very first thing that confronted me. This was it!

I remember it so clearly, the night that we arrived here as a family. It was late and everyone was so tired. There were a couple of Jumbos that landed before us with about a 1,000 Indonesian maids that needed to go through the passport control.

Ebony was almost asleep on her feet, snuggled into mum, Julian was inconsolably distraught and Daniel and Darius were just fascinated with everything. I was my usual optimistic self, just happy for everyone to be together again.

The guards singled us out from the long line and shepherded us through a VIP passport control point and we were on our way to the compound.

All these memories had re-played through my mind so vividly upon arriving here once again. I stepped into a taxi and we commenced a long drive into Riyadh. The exit road from the airport leads to a big curve where the road doubles on itself and goes between the terminal and the Grand Mosque. It was when we were rounding that curve that it really struck me. I was really back in Saudi.

The taxi was the standard Riyadh variety: exterior that looked as if it was raked by machine-gun fire, spider-web cracks all over the windscreen, original plastic covering still on the seats, headrests and visors, export and shipping stickers still stuck to all the windows, a non-functioning trip meter, a CD and some tussles hanging from the mirror, non-functioning speedo and a clueless driver. I was truly home.

When we got to the Imam University I knew exactly where we were. Its as if 9 year absence had had no effect at all. Every landmark was coming into sharp focus. But there were so many changes as well. The amount of building and constructions is enormous. Between the airport and the Imam Uni. They are building a new University. I have never seen a construction site this big. We drove for about 10 minutes past hundreds and I mean hundreds of cranes. The site was lit up like MCG at night. The ground could not be seen as there was a 10m thick cloud of dust covering the entire site. The activity was 24-hours-a-day.

There were so many new buildings in Riyadh. It is like walking into an architectural competition. The designs are so clever and futuristic. I can almost see it as a great setting for a sci-fi movie. But amongst all of them rose a truly grand structure. The Kingdom Tower. To approach it from any side is breathtaking. That hole in the middle is such an incredible feature. When we left they were just starting to do the foundations. It is so good to come back now and see it completed. I managed to take few photos the next day:

It is far better in real life than the pictures convey.

Unfortunately I did not get to visit the Tower as my conference went from early morning to about 4 in the afternoon and I was booked to return to Dammam at 6 that evening. However me and Jill did visit it on our recently completed break and that is post that is coming soon.

Of course one is not to forget the other Riyadh tower, The Faisaliyah. That too is an outstanding building which was completed before we left and we were able to do some shopping there. Here are some photos: (not the best as they were taken from a moving car.)

What I did manage to visit was the our old computer souq. There nothing had changed. It is a 3rd world experience to go there. Hi tech stuff stuff being sold in a grottiest possible environment. As soon as you arrive you are besieged by pirate software sellers offering you everything under the sun. They are pests, like crack dealers, relentlessly shoving bundles of DVD's in your face. I did buy a "2009" bundle of 9 DVDs for 40 Riyals ($12) just to try and get rid of them but that re-energised them somehow and they started coming from everywhere, Just like the un-dead in the B-grade horror movies. I tried an old technique of mine consisting of removing most of the money from the wallet and only leaving a few riyals so that you say "mafi falluce" (no money in arabic). Big mistake. they saw the WALLET. They started to push me physically towards an ATM saying "lots of felluce" take it from ATM. Silver bullet, stake through the heart, garlic, sever the head, exposure to sunlight, what is one to do here. I dived into a small coffee shop and shut the door to try and save myself. The barista smiled and offered me a "2009" bundle of DVDs.

Other than that all the shops are exactly as they were years ago. Absolutely no change.

Even the Olaya St. Kingdom Dates shop was still across the road from the souq.

These places have such an incredible range of dates for sale. Will try and get some photos later.

All in all it was a very brief visit of no more than 2 hours. I did manage to catch up with my friend Fahad for a coffee the evening before. and it was just so good to sit on the sidewalk with a bad coffee and reminisce. I am lucky indeed.

Luckily for all of you we have just returned from our Hajj break where we did visit Riyadh for a few days. It was a great. A post is coming up shortly.