Electronic Games Shop Sign

Many of the business signs here in Saudi Arabia are in both Arabic and English, and many of them also have lots of visual graphics, like this colorful one for an electronic games shop.

Spotted Camel

I think what’s happening with this camel’s hump is that he is maturing and developing more hair in a different color on his hump. However, I haven’t really seen other camels that have this appearance of small tufts of hair in a different color on the hump, and I couldn’t find any information about it either. Please feel free to contribute if you can. The one hump dromedary camel is native to Saudi Arabia, and it’s naturally low fat milk is quite a popular drink.

Men in White

The men dressed in the white thobes in this photo are customers waiting for their orders in a local fisherie. Saudi men traditionally wear the thobe with long white pants underneath, a scarf or small white cap on their heads, and sandals. The fisherie offers a selection of fresh fish or you may bring in your own fish to have it cleaned, gutted, and cooked to your specifications. Fisheries are very popular here in Saudi Arabia.

Waiting

This is the scene right outside a large mall in Jeddah. There are dozens of men sitting around waiting. They are the drivers employed by many families in Saudi Arabia since women are not allowed to drive in this country. As in many countries around the world, shopping at malls is one of the favorite pasttimes of many women here. The drivers might drive the lady of the house to the mall and then wait outside until she is ready to be driven elsewhere. This is a very common scene here.

The Flower

This Jeddah sculpture is called The Flower. It is a fountain and sits in the middle of a large roundabout of a busy intersection of the city. The fountain is turned on in the evenings and it is lit up with purple lights. I’ve seen many people enjoying the grassy areas surrounding the sculpture at various times. Jeddah is well known for its overabundance of beautiful and interesting public works of art for all to enjoy.

Workers Praying

All businesses in Saudi Arabia are required by law to close their doors for the five daily prayer times. Many men go to nearby mosques to pray, but many working class men don’t have time to walk to and from a mosque to get back in time to open the shops back up. Because of this, lots of working men merely gather outside a designated business to pray together. Prayer rugs might be available for them to use or they might bring their own – this group actually has them provided on a cart visible in the lower right corner. Shoes are always removed, and the men pray either in bare feet or in socks facing Mecca. I have never seen women out praying in the open like this, only men.
Countless times I have attempted to get good photos of these groups of men praying on the sidewalks in Jeddah, but we are rarely out during prayer times, and when we are, we are generally zooming by in a speeding car, trying to get home quickly for prayer time. So I apologize for the blurry quality of the photo.

Sitting Around Al-Balad

While driving through the old Al-Balad section of Jeddah one day, I saw this group of men sitting on a corner in front of a business. Most of the men are wearing the traditional long white dress, called thobe. Even though I try to be discreet when snapping informal photos like this one as we whiz by in a car, it’s amazing how people here always seem to spot a camera in this country. Not many people go around taking photos.

Soccer Practise

Soccer is a popular sport among boys and young men in Saudi Arabia. This is a soccer field in central Jeddah. One thing that I find sad is that women here are not allowed to watch their sons or husbands play any sport. This is due to the severe segregation of the sexes in this country. My impression is that most Saudi women would not be that interested in attending the games or practises anyway and do not care to take a more active role in this manner. I can only think back to my youth when my mom was awarded a trophy by the Little League sponsor of the baseball team all four of my brothers played on – she never missed attending one game in all the years that my brothers played, spanning a period of almost twenty consecutive years. I always thought my name should have been on her trophy too since I always tagged along myself! It was such an important part of my childhood – yet women and girls here are prohibited from taking part.

Mosaic Mirrored Sun

Jeddah is a very artsy place with interesting and artistic architectural detail on many buildings in addition to countless works of public art on display around the city. This mirrored mosaic of a sun was constructed on the outside front wall of a new business that is under construction. I’m not yet sure what type of business will be housed in the building, but I thought the design added some interest.

Friendly Employee

Many lower level service positions in Saudi Arabia are filled by ex-pat workers from other poorer countiries in the world. Most that we have had contact with have been very helpful, friendly and certainly customer service oriented. This photo is of an employee in a local family coffee house. Coffee and tea are very popular drinks. There are even many small drive-through coffee shops.