Normal Life

As we are getting closer to our departure, our social life has been picking up!  That’s probably going to be my biggest regret about leaving Riyadh…  After almost two years here, we’ve made acquaintances and friends in various circles and now it seems that all those circles are intersecting!!!  We’ve been so busy lately, with parties, get togethers, barbecues, movie nights, Masalama parties and this weekend our last party at the American Embassy with a whole bunch of friends. 

Just last week I was talking with a Lebanese friend who’s lived all over the world and, after I was telling her my regret about leaving, she told me that it is the hardest part about moving on, but also that it’s hardest the first time!  I guess we acquire special skills at making friends.. 

So, if you are reading this before moving to Riyadh, it is totally possible to have a very busy social life…  Just make friends around your compound, join a hash group, attend social and cultural events at the embassies, and make friends at work…  If you stay at home, take part in the coffee mornings and the social activities on your compound.  Lots of expat women don’t work and are so busy while their kids are at school.  There are lots of things happening….it’s just a matter of finding a way to find out about them!

Men's Fashion

Everywhere you go in the Kingdom you will see Saudi men wearing the traditional Thawb and the head cover. I’ve always find them intriguing and like to observe the different ways of wearing the Shamag and the many cuts of the seemingly simple thawb. Here below is a very easy to understand description of the various components of the traditional Saudi dress for men, adapted from http://www.saudiembassy.or.jp/DiscoverSA/TC.htm

The Thawb is the full-length, loose garment with long sleeved made of cotton or a polyester mix. The color is usually white. However, in the winter, you can see some in darker colors such as brown, navy blue, black made out of wool for warmth.

The Taqiyah or Kufeya is a small white cotton hat worn directly over the hair. Wearing the taqiyah keeps the headscarf from slipping off the head.

The Ghutra is a square shaped cotton fabric, folded diagonally to form a triangular shape. When worn, the Gutrah is also folded from the front. Men wear their gutrah on the top of Kufeya. Some men wear theirs directly over the head.  The typical color of Gutrah is white.

The Shumagh is similar to the Ghutra, except that it is embroidered with white and red threads. . It is folded into a triangular shape and placed on the top of the head. 　

On top of the Ghutra or Shumag, a doubled black rope-like cord called igal is worn in order to hold ghutra in place. Igal is generally made of tightly woven black goat-hair and sheep's wool.

For special occasions like wedding, the men wear a bisht over the thawba.  It is usually made from cotton or camel/sheep wool and comes in many colors like black, brown, gray, and cream color. Bishts are trimmed with beautiful golden embroidery.

Every man is very particular when selecting their thawb.  Tailors all over town stock shelves after shelves of the similar looking white fabric used for the making of the thawb.  I cannot imagine having to select just ONE fabric as they all look and feel the same to me!  Same goes for the selection of the shumagh.  Stores sell them in nice boxes and although they all look the same, they are different in texture, thickness of the fabric, even designer as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and like are producing designer shumagh!

Once the different pieces of their wardrobe selected, it is time to put it all together.  And again, although it could look like a uniform, men have acquired their own style of folding their shumagh... just check out these three Saudi men, who were standing next o each other...all alike but all different!

Flying Saudia

Over the years, I’ve flown many airlines, but until I was IN Saudi, I had never flown Saudi Airline or Saudia like the local call it! In all honesty, I hadn’t heard much about it, except that it didn’t serve alcohol on any of its flights, domestic or international… You know that Saudi is a DRY country and so is their airline.


I’ve now traveled on Saudia several times and have had good service, not outstanding, but not bad. Flights were on time for the most part, no luggage was lost and food service still takes place on all flights, which really doesn’t happen on many airlines anymore. In Riyadh, there is an entire terminal for Saudi domestic flights which makes it quite convenient and painless.

You can now even check in online and print your boarding pass from home, for all domestic flights. That service is not available for international flights though. The whole boarding pass at home simplifies your travel, and being a woman, expedites security very much. Last time I flew, it took me less than 5 minutes from when the taxi dropped me in front of the airport to the gate, as women have to go inside a curtained room to be “wanded” for security away from prying eyes…and since way less women travel than guys, it is a rather fast process!

There is also another aspect of Saudia I have enjoyed…the first class lounge! To tell you the truth I don’t travel first class, always stuck in economy. However, at the Jeddah airport, as a Western woman, if you walk in the first class lounge like you belong there, the attendants don’t even bother asking for your boarding pass and you can enjoy the amenities.. food, juices, yogurt, cappuccino machine, PCs with internet access, TVs, magazines…Yeah, the only thing missing, you guessed it, are the libations…Oh well, can’t ask for everything in this world!  By the way, keep this a secret!