Though the Arabian Peninsula has a long and storied history, first being mentioned in the Babylonian chronicles which complained of the bands of camel and horse riding warrior "Arabs" allied with their enemies, Riyadh is quite young and one of the oldest buildings dates only to 1856 or so. It is a fortress: Al-Masmak (picture at right). It is a giant, mudbrink structure built by the former rulers of Riyadh after the Saudi family had been driving out by a rival family and were in exile in Kuwait. In 1902, King Abdulaziz, founder of the modern state and father of King Faisal, the subject of my project, stormed the fortress and conquered Riyadh leading to a series of victories that ultimately led to the modern state of Saudi Arabia. In 1905, about the time of the of the early decisive victories, Faisal bin Abdulaziz was born. His name, which means (as the dicitionary puts) decisive criterion, was, according to some sources, named for this auspicious era (or for an ancestor).
This relative youth of Riyadh and the fact that it was built of mudbrick, means that much like the United States, Riyadh and much of Saudi was not burdened by the decaying or decayed remains of past civilizations, but has been able to build a modern city whose freeways and malls would not see out of place in LA or Las Vegas.
This is a picture of the skyline seen from the Globe, a highrise restaurant cum observation deck in Faisaliyah, the skyscraper my hotel is located in. The tower in the picutre, Kingdom tower, anchors the other end of the main road, though there are plans to build a larger skyscraper between close to Faisaliyah.
I was able to see some of the city with my new boss's secretary who was asked to chaperon me through the night life. I am somewhat troubled by the kindness of Arabs, not because I suspect ulterior motives, but because I doubt my ability to be so generous in return. We Americans are a solitary bunch and even Utah, somewhat more communal than most of America, is nothing, in my experience, to social life of Arabs. It is overwhelming to me sometimes, but I kind of like once I get my feet wet.
Here is a picture of some armor and weapons used in the battle to unify Saudi Arabia. Most of it is nineteenth century. It is a marvel that in less than one hundred years, Riyadh has transformed itself from a mudbrink regional capitol to a world city. You can see the contrast in this picture; chainmail, spears, sword, but at the same time they were using rifles and pistols. It was pragmatism. They used everything that had regardless of where or when it came from.
Tonight I was able to visit some of the nightlife of Riyadh-nothing exciting. With no movie theaters or clubs aloud, visiting the mall is, according to Raid, my guide to all things hip in Saudi, the major past time. He took me to a mall in Olaya, the fashionable part of north Riyadh and I was able to visit a books store, which sold everything from the complete sayings of Mohammad to the latest Ken Follett or Robin Cook novels. It also had a Starbucks and wireless hotspot. Very exotic.
I worry that in writing this, someone will either say, "You are pointing these out only because you had bigotted views about the backwardness and/or otherness of Saudi Arabia," or, "You are representing only how the westernized elite live, not the opressed majority." Both charges likely have some merit, but it is useless to deny that one has prejudices and expectations. That is part and parcel of the human thought process. In order to make decisions and avoid insanity, the brain creates categories and shortcuts to speed up decision making. Everyone has prejudices. Were it not so, you could not function because your mind would be constantly overwhelmed by every little detail. You would be, in other words, Autistic. It is interesting, therefore, to note that in some literature on Austism, researchers have pointed out that Autistics are less likely to be prejudiced; they are childlike in their openness to new information and hence overwhelmed by the minutiae of life.
This is a picture of some of the rock art in Saudi Arabia (don't worry they're are lots more where this came from! The ubiquitious sandstone and rock art which its delicate arches, mesas, and sheer rock cliffs reminds me of Southern Utah quite a bit. I hope at some point to be able to visit.
Finally, a picture of Faisaliyah Tower, my hotel is not visible as it is part of the lower complex that forms the base of the tower. The Globe, from which I took the aforementioned picture, is visible. It is primarily a restaurant with some stores. The complex also includes the King Faisal Foundation headquarters and the library/archives, though they are building new headquarters nearby that will have a place dedicated to the archives I am assisting with. There are also condominiums, offices, stores, a gallery and so on. The Faisaliyah is a major downtown landmark close to some of the major shopping districts.
This relative youth of Riyadh and the fact that it was built of mudbrick, means that much like the United States, Riyadh and much of Saudi was not burdened by the decaying or decayed remains of past civilizations, but has been able to build a modern city whose freeways and malls would not see out of place in LA or Las Vegas.
This is a picture of the skyline seen from the Globe, a highrise restaurant cum observation deck in Faisaliyah, the skyscraper my hotel is located in. The tower in the picutre, Kingdom tower, anchors the other end of the main road, though there are plans to build a larger skyscraper between close to Faisaliyah.I was able to see some of the city with my new boss's secretary who was asked to chaperon me through the night life. I am somewhat troubled by the kindness of Arabs, not because I suspect ulterior motives, but because I doubt my ability to be so generous in return. We Americans are a solitary bunch and even Utah, somewhat more communal than most of America, is nothing, in my experience, to social life of Arabs. It is overwhelming to me sometimes, but I kind of like once I get my feet wet.
Here is a picture of some armor and weapons used in the battle to unify Saudi Arabia. Most of it is nineteenth century. It is a marvel that in less than one hundred years, Riyadh has transformed itself from a mudbrink regional capitol to a world city. You can see the contrast in this picture; chainmail, spears, sword, but at the same time they were using rifles and pistols. It was pragmatism. They used everything that had regardless of where or when it came from.Tonight I was able to visit some of the nightlife of Riyadh-nothing exciting. With no movie theaters or clubs aloud, visiting the mall is, according to Raid, my guide to all things hip in Saudi, the major past time. He took me to a mall in Olaya, the fashionable part of north Riyadh and I was able to visit a books store, which sold everything from the complete sayings of Mohammad to the latest Ken Follett or Robin Cook novels. It also had a Starbucks and wireless hotspot. Very exotic.
I worry that in writing this, someone will either say, "You are pointing these out only because you had bigotted views about the backwardness and/or otherness of Saudi Arabia," or, "You are representing only how the westernized elite live, not the opressed majority." Both charges likely have some merit, but it is useless to deny that one has prejudices and expectations. That is part and parcel of the human thought process. In order to make decisions and avoid insanity, the brain creates categories and shortcuts to speed up decision making. Everyone has prejudices. Were it not so, you could not function because your mind would be constantly overwhelmed by every little detail. You would be, in other words, Autistic. It is interesting, therefore, to note that in some literature on Austism, researchers have pointed out that Autistics are less likely to be prejudiced; they are childlike in their openness to new information and hence overwhelmed by the minutiae of life.
This is a picture of some of the rock art in Saudi Arabia (don't worry they're are lots more where this came from! The ubiquitious sandstone and rock art which its delicate arches, mesas, and sheer rock cliffs reminds me of Southern Utah quite a bit. I hope at some point to be able to visit.
Finally, a picture of Faisaliyah Tower, my hotel is not visible as it is part of the lower complex that forms the base of the tower. The Globe, from which I took the aforementioned picture, is visible. It is primarily a restaurant with some stores. The complex also includes the King Faisal Foundation headquarters and the library/archives, though they are building new headquarters nearby that will have a place dedicated to the archives I am assisting with. There are also condominiums, offices, stores, a gallery and so on. The Faisaliyah is a major downtown landmark close to some of the major shopping districts. As for the job. I have been doing some research. My new boss, Mashail (pronounced Ma-shaw-il with a slight pause between shaw and il like the double "t" in the cockney bottle or little (bo'il or li'il)), will be providing me with her research so that I can begin creating a database of the archives to ensure I don't waste days redoing work already done. That is one of my major tasks for this trip. I hope I get it soon so I don't waste much time. Right now, I have too much spare time to have fun! That doesn't feet right. I will right again soon.
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