Mickey Mouse Thobe

A shop in Riyadh selling custom made thobes. The thobes for the little ones have all sorts of cartoon characters on the backs. Many Saudi men and boys will have new thobes made for the upcoming Ramadan and Eid celebrations.

Saudi Humor

Some funny Saudi road signs tourists can buy at a souvenir shop.

Dinosaur World

 A new theme park for children in Riyadh called Dinosaur world. It's located inside the Al Othaim Arrabwah Mall near exit 15. This exhibition displays dinosaurs that move and make sounds so real it can be a little intimidating for the smallest children. They even have a huge T-Rex and a dinosaur that lays eggs for the children. Also inside this park is a small movie theater and a play construction area.

Maghrib Moment

A mosque in Riyadh during Maghrib prayer time, just as the sun has set and the skies turn a beautiful dark blue color. This post also appears in Skywatch Friday.

Forgotten Fort

 This old castle Al Dosariyah lies on the highest hill of the coastal city of Jizan. (also spelled Jazan, Gizan, Gazan)

The sign claims that "Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) supervises renovation and uses castle as tourism site".

The unfortunate reality is the castle was falling apart, ridden with trash, there are no signs of renovations or people and the walls have been ruined with graffiti the time we visited it.

 Eagles circling around the forts tower.

The view from one of the watch towers out to the Red Sea and the port of Jazan.

 Many parts of this fort seem to be crumbling off and in very poorly shape.

The courtyard of the castle was littered with garbage.

Down in the valley the city of Gizan, home to approximately 1.5 million inhabitants.

Beware Of Humps!

Turkish Delights

Saadeddin pastry is one of the popular pastry bakery chains in Saudi-Arabia.

The baklawa is a sweet Turkish pastry and can be purchased by the kg.

A plate of pastries and biscuits is a common gift to bring to functions and gatherings.

The delightful Turkish staff at your service!

Help Me Mommy!

Some Saudi women have the habit of coming up to babies and children they find adorable and cute and snapping their pictures with mobile phones, no questions asked. Especially they seem to be curious of western looking babies. This is often difficult for westerners to understand and accept because they are not used to it and might see it as an intrusion of privacy.

Soudah Sunset

SKYWATCH Friday: The sun sets in Soudah, Asir National Park in the Southern part of Saudi-Arabia.

Zoo Animals

One of the main attractions at Riyadh Zoo are the elephants. Unfortunately the main attraction for the elephants are the humans, they have nothing in their pen except rocks. That's why the popcorn, potato chips and other junk food the humans feed them are so interesting. The guards and zookeepers stand right next to the crowds without intervening despite the signs saying "Do not feed the animals". This must be the only zoo in the world where this is even possible.

Tahlia Traffic

One of the most popular hangout places for young Saudi men on the weekends is the long Tahlia street in Riyadh. Officially it's called Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Street. This street is lined with upscale shops, restaurants and cafeterias. Only men are allowed to sit outside on the sidewalks. This street gets highly congested with traffic on weekend nights, often all the cars on the road are there just to cruise around and show off. In the photo the street officially has only three lanes on one side but the cars have crammed on the sidewalks and formed 5-6 lanes. There is a police car "supervising" but typically they don't intervene on traffic violations.

Veil Peekaboo

Peekaboo! A cute Saudi girl playing behind her mother's veil. Girls in Saudi-Arabia usually start using head scarves around the time they hit puberty.

Fresh Air

The air conditioning business is booming in Saudi. For half of the year these devices become life savers. Optimally the air-conditioning devices should be cleaned and filters changed every few months and even more often in the dusty capital. Would you have this company clean your air-conditioners though?

Secret Lake

 A beautiful lake hidden in the middle of the desert. It even grows seaweed and has fish in it.

Lots of birds and frogs have made this lake their home. The only sounds you will hear here are birds and frogs frolicking and the wind blowing in the grass.

 Such a contrast of lush green wetland with the harsh desert in the background.

But taking a closer look you start noticing the trash here and there. Like most beautiful nature in Saudi this lake too has been affected by littering.

Even though it's close to Riyadh only a few people know of its existence. If even a few people manage to leave behind this much trash, how about if this place was more commonly known among Saudis?
This post is also appears on SKYWATCH Friday.

Prayer Nap

During prayer times all the shops and restaurants close their doors for about 20-30 minutes. This employee had decided to make use of the time by taking a nap!

African Abaya

All women in Saudi-Arabia are supposed to cover their normal clothing with black abayas when out in public. In some more relaxed cities like Jeddah, where many generations of immigrants have lived for centuries, it's possible to occasionally see some women rather wearing their "traditional" albeit equally covering clothing. Seeing a woman without abaya in Riyadh is a very rare sight and she might get into trouble with the religious police with her outfit.

Camel Labor

Humans have always benefited from camels in many ways. Here one way to make use of camels, a mill powered by a rotating camel. The camel's eyes and mouth have been covered and basically it can only walk a circle around the the large container where the seeds slowly grind. Although this camel mill was just for show at Janadriyah, I have seen them in use in small agricultural villages in the southern region.

Saudi Toilets

Saudizised men's and women's toilet signs.

Nature's Frying Pan

Skywatch Friday: The summer is here and temperatures have hit above +40c (104F) this week. Visiting the desert has become almost unbearable in the midday heat. The rocks reflect the sun's heat and the desert becomes like a frying pan! At night when the heat escapes the desert quickly cools down and temperatures drop considerably.

Designer Shumagh

Did you know that head scarves Saudi men wear called shumagh can be found by designer labels such as Kenzo,Valentino, Ferre and the likes.