Riyadh: Six years on
[It's been six whole years since we left Riyadh. The first time we went for a visit, it felt like we never left. The third time we went for a visit, it felt like my lifetime in Riyadh was surreal. This visit, the fifth, I looked at the streets and the people with detachedness. I looked at them with the new fresh look of a visitor, rather than that of a person who made most of her childhood and teenage memories under that sky. Six years on, that sense of childhood love and belonging is gone.]
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The air smells different there- there’s a very distinct, rather overpowering sweetness to it no matter where you are. And with the dry heat, Riyadh feels like you’re living inside an oven busy with baking a cake.
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There’s no sound pollution in Riyadh. There are no honking horns, wailing cars, or screaming kids. The air vibes are constantly streaming a very gentle buzz, from the cars, the airconditioning, the movement of trollies. It reminds me of when we first moved to Amman, and I couldn’t sleep properly because I was too used to going to sleep with the buzz as my lullaby.
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Saudis are extremely civilized people, regardless of what the people who have never been to Saudi Arabia and who only see Saudi tourists know and believe. I will happily admit that they are a lot more civilized than us Jordanians.
You bang into someone, they smile, and say “excuse me”. They never cut lines. When your eye meets someone’s eye there’s always a nice smile waiting for you rather than a “what are you staring at” look. They patiently wait for you to pass when walking in a tiny aisle. The Saudis who work as cashier men or who help around in the shops are very nice and willing to help. Most importantly, even though I surely looked odd as I was one of the very few people walking around without a scarf, no one, and I mean, NO ONE, ever stared at me. No one even ever looked. And that’s really very comfortable.
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My father is an amazing man.
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I cannot stand the smell of bakhour, oud, or any other form of preferred perfume used by the people there. It is suffocating.
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American cars are absolutely hideous.
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You see a lot more scantily dressed people in Riyadh in two days than you see in a year in Amman. Although we grew up in that environment, I was still mildly surprised by what the people in the compound were wearing.
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Ikea damn rocks.
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For the first time since Zain came to life, I was happy being a Zain user. Moose could call me from Amman for the same exact tariff for local calls for Zain-Zain Amman calls. Five piasters. That was really awesome.
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Saudi’s are in love with humongous structures. Everything in Riyadh is oversized- the malls are fricking huge, Toys R’Us is fricking huge, the museums with nothing in them are fricking huge, the compounds are fricking huge, the supermarkets are fricking huge, electronic stores are fricking huge, schools are fricking huge. Everything is fricking huge.
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The trend of glass architecture is pretty funny, both in Amman and in Riyadh. Greenhouse effect, anyone?
Ghassan Yonis
September 2, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
Well, first I have to admit that you lived in Riyadh most of your life, and I only was there for a week, but through that week, I came a cross a lot of Saudis with idiotic behaviors (along with some intelligent Saudis too), not to mention the really bad careless drivers.. over all, didn’t like the weather, liked the food, the people aren’t that good neither that bad.. would I live there for a million dollars, no I won’t.
Bakhour and Oud.. same here
American cars.. the most popular car in the states is Toyota.. should I say more!
Myrna
September 2, 2008 @ 10:35 pm
thought you said you were humorless?!?! not in my book :)
khalid jarrar
September 2, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
i particulary agree with the part of American cars,
simple fact of the day: Americans cant make cars. not only that they are ugly, but they cant steer too. fast in a straight line, and absolutely useless in everything else.
il7amdilla 3assalamih :)
Mike B
September 2, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
In Canadian French, the slang term for dollar is “piastre” (pronounced “piasse”). I never really thought it had a cognate anywhere else, kind of neat to see that it does.
Also, the most popular small car in Canada is the Honda Civic :3 But, American cars are cheaper and really quite comfortable for long drives (300km ), which many people do make from time to time. They have their place.
gjjoe
September 3, 2008 @ 1:04 am
yeaaaaah!!
It has been 6 years too for me since I left Riyadh! Exactly 6 years. Actually I spent like 2 days in Manarat el Riyadh and I remember telling mom that i felt lost because it was frikin huge! :D
This post made me extremely nostalgic. I never went to a visit since I left btw, although my dad still works there
w ba3deen ezzay nobody stares? what about those hindus and pakistanies!!
LOL @ there is no sound pollution. i rememeber the many times we ran to the balcony to see why was someone honking there car.
P.S: We lived in Olaya Street! I don’t think this is important to mention, bass i remember when the faisalyah was first opened and the street was packed!! A normal traffic day here in Cairo (similar to Amman) was an eventful day in Riyadh!
mo
September 3, 2008 @ 1:26 am
as a caprice owner, i am offended >8-(
ive been living in ruh for a little more than two months now .. cant say that i agree with everything you said but anyway
Ehab
September 3, 2008 @ 3:07 am
I had to write (ya3) for the anti-spam word to be able to post my comment! I wonder if this is a sign regarding what we’re discussing here! :)
I was born and raised. luckily only until I was 11 in Riyadh, and no matter what happens that city will have a special place in my heart! Probably that special place will be confused with so many conflicting feelings, still it is special.
I agree with you on many things.
1. Saudis are civilized, whether our arrogance accepts it or not. I’ve recently met so many Saudis that can make any Arab proud. They still have idiots, like everybody else, but overall they are not different from any other arab nationality.
2. American cars suck big time! A box, 4 wheels, and an engine! and yes I can live without a caprice!
3. Air scent, and all that. It is true, Riyadh is unique.
4. They are in love with big structures.
5. I love their accent!! Totally amazing. You can talk to a teenager in there and he will make you feel like a 5 year old! Sweet choices of words, and their perfect use of complementing language (Also the ones religiously related) is awesome.
Now, I have to disagree with you on some points!.
The headscarf thing. Well, I hope you are not generalizing what you might have seen in compounds! Riyadh is a lot different from the compounds. Ever heard of these locales (Shmeisi, Manfoha, Murabba3, Malaz, 3leisha, or maybe even in Olayya!). They will stare, they will make comments, and definitely they are gonna extra smile at you, if not do something more.
Driving!! Total insanity! An adventure that needs to be calculated. And they have no manners when it comes to driving.
Grown up Saudi men, are polite with expats. Saudi kids and teenagers however, are incarnations of Satan!
But I wouldn’t want to live there. Maybe go for a visit, but not for a long time.
Welcome back.
Batoul
September 3, 2008 @ 6:21 am
Wow, this was a lot of scattered thoughts…
Yes, American cars suck and IKEA rocks. Oud makes me want to faint, tooo strong!
khalid jarrar
September 3, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
“” and yes I can live without a caprice! “”
**laughs**
keeef na3eesh keeef na3eeeesh bala caprice! :D
oh and as for Oud, i LOVE it. a while ago i got a very fancy 2anneenih of oud as a gift from saudi arabia, smells AMAZING.
Mesh
September 3, 2008 @ 1:13 pm
for me I had to write ‘zeft’ for anti-spam , i hate Oud, i remember my mom used to ‘etba5erna’ each jom3a before going to mosque , i also remember that day in amman i woke up m7asses wo ma5noo2 men re7et el Bkhour, as my mom 7abbat tetzakkar ajwa2 el kuwait, my day was ‘zeft’ then.
American Cars Sucks ? 7aram 3leekom !
if i participated in the development of Google Chrome, i will definitely be having Cadillac XLR or Evoq ( concept ) lol
Deee
September 3, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
I loved the fact that you bothered mentioning how “Saudis are nicer than you think they are!” because I have my reasons to believe that media has everybody stereotyped, whether its Saudis, Gulfers, Egyptians or Shawam, or anyone for that matter.. and this is just ridiculous generalization!