Saying no in Saudi Arabia
Posted Sunday, April 22, 2007, 9:46 PM by Lonely Planet
'A guest is a gift from God' goes the popular Arab saying. The hospitality of the Middle East is legendary, and Saudi Arabia had proved no exception. During our weeks on the road and over the course of the 11,250km we clocked up, our car had become so stuffed full with presents that I now called it 'Abdullah's mobile bazaar'.
We stocked everything from the choicest dates and most luxuriously packaged boxes of chocolates to lavish coffee-table books, the finest coffee beans and even a pearl necklace. Saudi generosity was overwhelming, and it did not seem in any danger of dwindling.
The Red Sea port of Jeddah was our final destination. Considered the most cosmopolitan town in the Kingdom - and somewhat wild, degenerate and dangerous by the country's more conservative kinsmen - Jeddah had a palpably relaxed, seen-it-all air. On the private beaches outside town, we even came across bikini-clad girls on jet skis.
With its ancient souqs and crumbling coral houses that once belonged to the city's moneyed merchants, as well as the excellent museums of the heritage-proud Hejazis, laid-back, libertine Jeddah was a lovely place to end a circuit of the Kingdom. 
But engulfing the region in the form of two million pilgrims was the Haj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca) and every hotel room was taken. Without a second's hesitation, several Saudi 'friends' stepped up to offer accommodation in their own homes.
Abdullah insisted on showing me some Saudi hospitality too. Invited for 'lunch', I sat down the following day to an all-afternoon feast of fish, meat and vegetables in the company of his charming family. Near the end of the meal Abdullah suddenly burst out:
'What will become of you in Riyadh, Ms Frances?'
'I'll be fine, Abdullah, don't worry. I am sure your countrymen will take good care of me.'He need not have fretted. During the remaining days' research in Riyadh, and following an interview with a minister, I found myself passed like a parcel between princes. The hospitality was such that I found I had only to show the slightest interest in a subject, the least liking, and my 'wishes' were granted or dreams became true.
One day, Aladdin-like, I murmured imprudently about the ancient art of falconry. The very next day, I found myself being flown first-class to a nature reserve north of Najran to see a royal falconry display staged especially for me. On muttering about camels, I was whisked away to a camel beauty contest outside Riyadh and given a personal tour of the princes' favourites.
A fracas followed merely trying to persuade my hospitable hosts that I could not delay my return home.
Saudi Arabia. Quite possibly the most frustrating and fantastic, demanding and dream-like assignment I had ever had. Were it not for the sand still in my camera bag, I would never have believed I'd been there at all.
- Frances Linzee Gordon
This is the last in a series of eight blog posts from Frances Linzee Gordon on her unprecedented research assignment in Saudi Arabia for Lonely Planet's forthcoming guide to the Arabian Peninsula. As the first person ever to be granted a visa to visit the Kingdom as an independent tourist, she kept a diary of her adventures. Read the whole series here...
Labels: Frances Linzee Gordon in Saudi Arabia, Middle East
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9 Comments:
It's all exactly as you say ....I lived and worked there for 8 years and have been back in the UK for 6 - the sand has fallen out of my camera bag now but still remains in my blood!
Saudi has been much maligned yet people in the west forget that it is only 50 years post its equivalent of our industrial revolution....
Hi Julie,
Thanks for the posting.
You make a very good point. We in the West are quick to make quite harsh judgements about Saudi Arabia, forgetting that the Kingdom went from being a land of nomads, subsistence and tribal warfare to a first-world country and major provider of one of the world's most important resources all in about 25 years flat.
All things considered, it's done remarkably well, and many Saudis are additionally the first to admit there is still much room for improvement in the lot of women, political enfranchisement etc.
I think this blog is everything a blog should be: fascinating to read (quite compulsive actually), thought-provoking, stimulating, inspiring... and beautifully written and crafted as well... Congratulations Lonely Planet and Francis and please can we have more
Hi Andy K,
Thanks for the kind comments.
I'm afraid I've been commissioned to write just eight blogs, and budget restrictions won't allow more.
But am sure there'll be lots of other fascinating postings about other countries by other LP authors soon. Thanks again for the kind words.
Hi Frances, I too loved your blog. Do you have a personal travel blog. It would be great to follow your travels. I am interested in solo female travel over 50. Does that work in Saudi?
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the very kind feedback also. I don't keep a personal travel blog, I'm afraid, though it's a good idea...
Regarding solo female travel for the over 50s, yes, it's absolutely possible in Saudi. In fact, in many countries of the world including the Middle East, age is an advantage: you'll be accorded much greater respect than a younger woman might be.
In Saudi Arabia unmarried women below the age of 30 must additionally be accompanied by their husband or brother. So, all in all, you're just the right age for Saudi Arabia! A journalist friend of mine has just been. She is around 65, and had a wonderful time and got a terrific reception.
As a female travel writer, I take every opportunity to encourage solo travelling for women. Contrary to popular perception, I believe our gender is a help not a hinderence when it comes to negotiating the hurdles of the road... Many the time I have been granted interviews, visas and special permissions denied my male counterparts, almost certainly for no other reason than being a woman.
I find also that if you are a lone women, people feel either great curiosity about you or pity... Either way, you attract far more kindnesses and contact than you might have done if you had been travelling with others, particularly men. I can't count the number of invitations I have had on every trip to eat with people, attend weddings, parties, special events etc. You are embraced almost immediately by the host culture, which is a very rewarding experience as a writer and a traveller.
A question I am often asked, however, is `Do you ever feel afraid travelling alone as a woman?'. Here again I think women have advantages over men. Our natural caution, skills of observation and `second sense' (when things don't quite feel right) really come into their own when trying to stay out of trouble when abroad.
So, all in all, I genuinely believe there is no place on Earth that is off-limits to women, simply because they are women.
Regarding the Middle East and Saudi in particular, many women are surprised just how well they are received and treated, and how safe they feel. The most important rule is to take your lead from the local women and do as they do.
So, bon voyage, Carol, good luck and please let us know how it goes!
I was fortunate enough to live in Saudi Arabia for 11 years.My husband and I lived in Buraydah Al Gassim Province.During my stay, I wore full abeya and burqha in town, but was free to dress modestly on the farm where we lived.
We enjoyed wonderful visits to many parts of the Kingdom.
I agree: The hospitality of the Saudi people has to be experienced to understand what wonderful hosts they are!
During our time there, we witnessed the change from nomadic life to living in villages.Children being collected by yellow school buses. TV antennas on many roofs.
The Gold Souqs are just magical...
Even now after living back in Australia for ten years, reading the blog on Saudi Arabia makes me "homesick" for the desert!
It is my dream to visit Saudi...May I ask how you obtained that unprecedented visa status of "independent tourist"?
Nancy
I've wanted to visit Saudi Arabia since I was 13...and now I'll hopefully (depending on visa beurocracy) be there in a few months.
You mentioned that women under 30 can't travel there alone, does that apply just to 'tourist' visas? or does it also apply to 'visit' visas?
All of the Saudi boy's I'm at University with are lovely, and so willing to discuss their country, and the reality of life for women there.
Its so great to see some open, honest writing about what it is like to travel there. I'm so glad the generosity of the Saudis has been mentioned so often.
As the saudi boys at the pub said to me last night "its unfair for people to judge our country when they've never been there or tried to learn about the reality". I really hope your writing will inspire more women (and men too) to persevere with the nightmare of getting a visa, and actually go to visit the Kingdom
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