Maden Saleh

Maden Saleh has been in the news a lot recently (at least here in Saudi Arabia).  Most people will have heard of Petra, the famous Nabatean site in Jordan.  Sadly Jordan is not a place we have ever been able to visit, although it is on our bucket list, but we hear from people who have been there that Petra is a truly amazing location.  Maden Saleh is its ‘little sister’, the second and southernmost city of the Nabatean empire. 

We had wanted to visit this mysterious place, 800 kilometres to the north of Jeddah and close to the town of Al Ula for some time.  A little while ago we heard that it had been closed but nothing ventured nothing win and a request to the Royal Commission for Al Ula for a permit for a weekend visit proved fruitful.

The drive north was long, over eight hours in total, but not dull.  The costal motorway up to Yanbu soon gave way to smaller but well-maintained roads into the interior.  Camels, a significant hazard, wandered in front of the car and we moved from the flat scrub to mountains to stony desert to true sand.  Nevertheless, by the end of the journey our hotel, nestled in a canyon, was a welcome relief. 

The next morning, we were up early to beat the heat and make our way to the Maden Saleh complex.  The first thing to greet us was a railway station – Al Ula was a major station on the Ottoman sponsored/German built Hejaz railway (of T E Lawrence fame).  It was here that three great Hajj routes met and pilgrims took a break to restock their supplies.  The Germans built not only a station but a complex of outbuildings and an engine shed a the location and these have all been lovingly restored.  Some engines have also been fixed up and proved a big draw for the children. 

The engine shed has been fitted out as a museum showcasing the history of the railway.  Funded by subscriptions from the Muslim faithful around the world it must have made the difficult journey to Makkah so much easier and the photos of the inauguration ceremonies at different stations along the line show the real pride that those who worked on the project had in it.  I had not seen any sections of the railway before (although I once lived next to that other Ottoman/German rail collaboration the Berlin Baghdad line) but my father, who was visiting us, had been to a museum of the railway in Syria in happier times for that nation. 

From the railway we walked over to an Ottoman fort – small it might be but this fort was strong, well designed and built around a well which must have made it a fabulous stronghold in the old days.  Now it is set to a more peaceful purpose and serves as a museum of the Hajj.  The well is said to be the well of the she -camel who is connected to the story of the Prophet Saleh and the rather unpleasant people of Thamud (Maden Saleh) as narrated in the Koran. 

Little remains of the town of Maden Saleh but the site is famous for its tombs (it boasts over 130 carved into the rock hillsides, many more depressions are cut out of the tops of the rocks as well, - possible pauper graves perhaps).  We looked around some of the smaller tombs before walking over to the main complex in the hill underneath the chamber of the girl.  The story is that the chamber is so named because a princess was locked up there by her father as punishment for her refusal to marry the man of his choice.  

Tombs are carved into every section of this hill.  Many are topped by a face which we were told represented Baal and an eagle which represents Dushra, the supreme god of the Nabatean religion.  The eagles have been beheaded but other than that much of the carving survives including many inscriptions, written in Aramaic, showing who built and is interred in the tombs. 

A little further on the Divan is also well preserved and from there a cool, dark siq leads to spectacular red rock formations.  We climbed up the hills to look at the site before driving on to the most famous of all Maden Saleh’s tombs, the Qasr al Farid, alone in the middle of the desert, huge and unfinished this tomb is truly something very special.  One of the most fascinating things about the tomb was the fact that, in its unfinished state, it showcased the building methods of the Nabateans.  The stonemasons started at the top and worked down, it is impossible to know why this tomb was never finished, what led to its being abandoned – perhaps the untimely murder of a she camel… we will never know.

Maden Saleh was one of the most unique experiences of my life.  As it is officially a closed site we had the whole place to ourselves, the only other time I have ever been lucky enough to see a site without hoards of other people was a visit to NemrutDag.  The dry desert atmosphere and lack of human impact (many people believe the site is cursed and so do not wish to visit) have ensured that it is phenomenally well preserved.  All the infrastructure is there – the coach parks, the (empty) shop, the bathrooms, the information plaques.  With recent developments this site is now opening up again and is to be one of the cornerstones of the new tourism projects for Saudi Arabia.  Indeed media is full of photographs and information about the site and a concert was held in the nearby town of Al Ula just recently.

We were lucky beyond belief to see the site as it is now, lonely, hot and unforgiving yet mysterious, beguiling and beautiful.

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How To Be An Expat In Saudi Arabia: Driving And Getting Out And About!

Driving is a big ticket issue here in Saudi, the only country in the world where women are not allowed to drive.    Many locals and residents protest the status quo which is a real problem for families.  Women have to either use taxis or hire a foreign driver to take them places which is expensive, particularly for those on lower incomes.  It also means that women have to plan their lives around the availability of transport.  Arguments against allowing women to drive include that it would leave them vulnerable to attack if they broke down and that male drivers would seek to intimidate them. I have also seen claims that the driving seat acts as a vibrator and gives women guilty pleasures, I can't say I have ever noticed this but perhaps it only applies to cars in Saudi.  It may go some way to explaining the distracted driving we see on the roads!

 I know some expats, mostly women and some men who say they would never feel comfortable driving here.  I disagree, I love to drive, I love the freedom it gives me and I loathe being dependant on others.  With the exception of Mr EE and some other family members I hate being driven.  Even when the roads and other drivers are bad I prefer to rely on my own skill as opposed to those of people who may never have been taught to drive properly.  Nevertheless the situation is what it is and my opinion will not change anything.   I always think expats should be careful when commenting on local issues, at the end of the day it is not my fight to fight, and there are many Saudi women (and some men) advocating for the end of the restriction. 

The driving in Jeddah can only be described as ‘fruity’.  While it is not the worst place I have ever seen (Lagos wins on that count) drivers are very aggressive, probably because they are all male and the roads seem to run on testosterone.  The roads are generally wide and well maintained but, because of the lack of public transport, there are a huge number of cars using the roads at any one time (the photograph above is a quiet Saturday afternoon, in rush hour the same road is blocked). Most people drive the biggest car they can afford to ensure that they can see and be seen.  We have seen the odd Kia Picanto or similar but they must be a very uncomfortable drive.  Light cycles on junctions are long.  There are a few roundabouts to ease traffic flow but roads are generally managed by legal U turn lanes.  These are few and far between so you can find yourself driving a few kilometres in the wrong direction in order to get where you are going to.  Main roads will have a parallel access road (you can see one above), most of these do not filter onto the main road as such, there are access/egress points at regular intervals and it is not uncommon to see two cars racing, one to get on one to get off waiting to see which one will give way first.  

 Fines for infractions are high and have recently been pushed up, a friend told us he was caught going through a light as the amber changed to red.  He now chooses to stop on amber and will prefer to be shunted than fined. Mobile phone use while driving appears to be obligatory, while use of indicators is optional.  Weaving in and out of traffic, standing on breaks, jumping into a stream of fast moving traffic from a standstill, filtering into a 'lane' without looking and of course undertaking are all expected.  Less common, but not unusual, is for the driver to hold a baby or toddler on their lap.  While it all looks rather chaotic I suspect, as with all places, that there are local conventions that make driving easier which you only find out when you are the driver, like flashing  your lights to someone to go ahead in the UK or making eye contact with a driver to be let into traffic on a main road in Kazakhstan.

In terms of  our own transport practicalities I don’t need to take the children to and from school as we live in compound that is connected to school.  Mr EE has a (very good and extremely competent) driver for all work related travel and we can use him for the odd private trip as well.  The compound runs a bus to various destinations twice a day and I can take that for free if I want to.  Alternatively if is very easy to hire a taxi through the Uber or Careem apps on my telephone.  The app tells me how long I will need to wait, directs the driver to my exact location by GPS and then tracks our journey home.  It is safe and the cars are all very well maintained, most drivers speak some English but it is a good idea to learn directions in Arabic just in case. You do get the odd very poor driver and as the law here does not require seat belts in the back and I can't sit in the front with a 'strange' man I do feel vulnerable at times.  If they are really bad I stop the ride and order a new cab.  We book 'executive' cars when we travel with the children as they are more likely to have functioning seatbelts.  Whether or not these apps will continue to work well is not certain.  There is a move to restrict the right to drive an Uber or Careem to Saudi citizens only.  This will, at least in the short term, reduce the number of cars available for hire as many of the drivers are expats.

We hope to be able to buy our own car as this will allow us to explore further afield.  The real pain for us will be that as I will not be able to take over when Mr EE is tired we will be restricted to shorter distances than if we had two drivers available.

How to get about in Jeddah:

• There is no public transport.
• Street taxis are plentiful and identified with a standard livery, I rarely use them.  Negotiate a price before setting out and if you are a woman alone be very obvious about texting the number plate to a friend (I do this as a matter of course with street hails in many countries).
• Install Uber and the local (better) equivalent, Careem, on your 'phone.  These are tracked apps and therefore safe, you do not need to carry cash or if your card is not registered to the app you can pay with a large note and have it credited to your account.
• Buy a car (and hire a driver if you are a woman).
• Walk!  Obviously this is more difficult in the summer when the temperatures get very high and it is not really common to see women out walking on their own as you can be hassled but it is fine for short distances or with your family or a group.  Jeddah is not pedestrian friendly, there are very few designated road crossings and traffic is busy.  It is difficult to walk and cross roads with a pushchair.
• If you are buying a car be aware that expat ownership of the larger 4x4s is restricted, only expats with larger families may purchase them.

In other words there are plenty of options but you will need to plan.

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Settling In To Expat Life In Saudi - Things Are Different, Very Different!

This week we will have been in KSA for 4 whole weeks.  The time has flown and while we are still in the inevitable ‘honeymoon’ period we are all enjoying our new life.  Inspired by posts I have seen other newly posted expats write,  I thought I would write a post on the things that surprised me about life here.  This is probably best done while we still retain that early posting amazement (‘oh my goodness we are in SAUDI!’) and before the whole experience becomes humdrum (‘oh yeah Saudi, home, ho hum’).

Firstly I will say that life here is really not what we expected.  I am not sure what I thought it would be like but not being allowed out of the house and being swathed head to toe in black were a big part of it together with a lack of leisure activities leading to a lifestyle devoid of entertainment.  

Here in Jeddah I can’t drive but I can leave the compound.  When I am out and about I can get more in the shop, both grocery and clothing here with greater variety than our last posting and with greater ease than I would be able to in the UK as it does not involve a trip to the capital but I have to plan around the availability of transport.  Nevertheless life in a new country is full of surprises and here are just some of the things that surprised me in the last few weeks.  N.B. I understand that Jeddah is far more cosmopolitan than other parts of the country (that we have not yet visited) so what I mention here might not apply elsewhere. 

Segregated Life

Saudi law requires that there is strict segregation of the sexes outside of the family home.  While the rules are observed it is not as strict as I thought it would be.  Every café and restaurant has a separate section for bachelors and for families.  Women must eat in the family section and men are only allowed in there if they are with their wives or children.  Some shops are also restricted to women and families only, no single men allowed. 

Before the children and I arrived in Jeddah Mr EE was confined to the bachelor sections when he went out.  He found them quite dull and felt that he was being kept away from ordinary life.  I must admit that I have never felt this when I have been out and about on my own as the family sections are very welcoming.  The male sections do look rather lonely.  Of course there are some places that will only serve men and I am unable to visit them, we were turned away from a juice bar a few weeks ago as only the men’s section was open, the family section was upstairs but closed and I would be lying if I did not admit to being frustrated and annoyed at the time and it is an experience that would get old and tired very quickly.  We are still trying to work out where Mr EE should go when he is on his own with the children.  We have seen some men with daughters in prams in the bachelor section.  Local friends have said that the restaurants will probably advise on a case by case basis depending on which children he has with him.  

This families only sign made me laugh

Public Displays Of Affection

We were initially worried that I would not be able to hold Master EE’s hand and that Mr EE would not be able to hold Miss EE’s.  A quick glance at any local family shows that we did not have to be worried about this in the slightest.  By the time that it would start to become questionable the children will probably have grown out of it in any event.

One of the things I do find difficult, however, is not being able to hold Mr EEs hand or give him a kiss when we go our different ways to run errands in separate shops.  We do see the odd Saudi couple holding hands but it is not common by any means and a kiss is completely beyond the pale.  In 19 years together we have never left each other even for a moment without a kiss and an ‘I love you’ (I am talking only about a kiss on the cheek by the way, no inappropriate PDAs).  As a result we find that we have to make a concerted effort not to do this when we part and it still feels very, very weird!

Opening Times And Prayers

Shops are open in the morning and then close for midday prayers.  While some of the malls open in the early afternoon many shops stay closed until about 4 or 5 and then open again until late (very late).  I understand that during Ramadan the hours shift to much later in the evening and night.  At all times of the year everything closes down for prayers.

There are five prayer times during the day but the ones with the biggest impact on our day to day life are Dhuhr, ‘Aser, Magrhib and Isha  which take place at mid-day, mid-afternoon, sunset and night.  During these times the shops shut for about half an hour to enable people to complete their devotions.  Public places such as malls, hospitals and airports etc will have separate prayer rooms available for men and women.  While some people pray during these times many more do not. 

Some of the larger shops such as supermarkets allow those inside during prayers to continue to browse and fill their carts and people who have been served food, either in a restaurant or fast food outlet in a food court are permitted to continue to eat.   The malls remain open for people to walk around even though the shops themselves are closed.  We try to time our trips to the supermarket to coincide with prayer time as much as possible, by getting in just before we can shop in relative calm and then check out when the shop is open again.  We try and do the same if we want a coffee or a snack, timing it for just before prayers means we have something to do in the half hour when we would otherwise be waiting aimlessly. 

I had heard from some expats that prayer time was a massive inconvenience but we find that with a little planning it can be fine.  It is, however, frustrating if you are caught out and we try to keep a track of closures by using a ‘phone app that tells us what times prayers are every day so that we can plan around them. 

Mosquitos

I did not expect to be plagued by mosquitos in Saudi Arabia.  These little pests are something that I associate with marshy, swampy or tropical areas.  About 10 years ago or so Mr EE and I were diving in Marsa Alam in Egypt which is just the other side of the Red Sea from here and there were no mosquitos there.  Jeddah, however, is full of the little blighters and we have sacrificed an inordinate number of our plug sockets to anti mosquito plug ins that seem to have very little impact.  Luckily the area is not malarial and dengue is not an issue here but I had hoped to get a break from bites on this posting at least. 

Even children wear expensive clothing....

Conspicuous Consumption

To be honest I was not sure what to think about this before arriving in Jeddah.  The Middle East, Dubai in particular, is well known for its very conspicuous consumption and people flashing the cash.  Saudis abroad also have this reputation (the press reports of the person bringing gold cars to London earlier this year is a case in point) but one wonders how much of that is a show.  Turns out not much really; conspicuous consumption is a normal and accepted way of life here.  From gold cars (yes we have seen a few) to designer clothing (to be worn at home and female only gatherings), expensive handbags and designer shoes not to mention home décor that can be a little ‘bling’ for our tastes (gold effect wardrobes anyone?) flashing the cash is socially acceptable here.  One need not worry about inadvertently embarrassing someone by giving a gift that is too expensive. 

Given the economy is in a down turn, suffering from the effects of the low oil prices I can only imagine what life is like here when things are going well!  Not everyone is wealthy though and  this is even more true when looking at the income ranges of expatriates.  While we are able to lead a very comfortable life many expatriates here to work as drivers and maids exist on a pittance and some are treated very badly.  It must be very difficult on a number of levels to see this world from the inside and yet not be a part of it.  

This mall has high end high street alongside designers such as Missoni,
Alberta Feretti, D&G and many more

Clothing

While men can wear whatever they want from traditional thobes to t.shirts (shorts are not acceptable outside the compound) women who venture out of the home must wear an abaya.  This does not have to be black and many women sport highly decorated and embroidered examples.  Most Saudi women wear a head covering of some sort, ranging from a simple scarf to a full niqab.  The head covering is not, however, compulsory, and very few expat women cover although all carry a scarf in case they are asked to. 

Children, including pre-teen girls, can wear what they like.

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