December was an exciting time for Anil and I as we had the unique opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia.  A trip that started in Saudi Arabia, a land where Haj considered the most sacred pilgrimage for the Muslims, ended in Haridwar , a most sacred pilgrimage place for Hindus. Of course not being Muslim, we could not visit Mecca or Medina but we did get a sense of the culture that hosts two of the holiest of Mosques. This is a land that nearly a hundred years ago was granted the bounty of oil which helped catapult this country to a place of prominence. I believe the experiences of this trip are worth sharing for it opened my eyes to the culture and people of Saudi Arabia and helped clear a lot of misunderstanding in my mind about Saudi Arabia.

When Anil and I mentioned our upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia to friends, we got a mixed set of reactions. The most common one was “Why in the world would you want to go there?  Have you heard how they treat their woman? They have no freedom”.  There were the practical minded Indians who said “Wow! You know the shopping is supposed to be great. Do not forget to buy gold”.  And there was a small cohort of people who remarked “How interesting! It would be good to learn first hand about people in Saudi Arabia”.

In the beginning I did feel a little trepidation when a Google search did not yield too much positive or reassuring information. Most of it was very negative – either pertaining to the support of terrorism or speaking of the laws that discriminate against women.  The US state department site mentioned clearly that women should wear the “Abhaya” at all times in public and be with men who are either their immediate family member (or as some blogs said will be happy to claim to be your husband) to avoid getting into trouble with the law.   So I started my hunt for an Abhaya, which is not easy to find in the Boston area.   Fortunately our friends Dr. Deeba and Ali Rizvi of Lexington were kind enough to loan me one.

The first of the many surprises came when Anil contacted the Saudi Arabian embassy for  a visa.  The person he was dealing with was a woman thus dispelling the myth that Saudi women do not work outside the home. She was extremely polite and went out of her way to be helpful.   During our time in Saudi Arabia and meeting with their citizens, we learned that being kind , polite and generous is an integral part of their culture.  

Anil was assigned to work with Qassim University in a town called Boreida , which was roughly 200 miles from Riyadh.   We were received at the airport and taken by our hosts to a lounge in the airport, which may as well have been the sitting room in a palace. Beautiful upholstery and lovely chandeliers adorned the room. The beautiful decor of the lounge was reflected in many homes in Saudi Arabia. The rest of the trip was filled with hospitality like I have rarely seen and met some of the most delightful people it has been my  honor to make my acquaintance with.  

The traditions and the religious nature of the country became much clearer to me once I learned of the history.  The history is brought alive in a wonderful way at the King Abdl Aziz Museum in Riyadh (certainly worth a visit) .  This dessert land was home to several tribes for centuries , who lived a simple nomadic life. Most of the Shiekhs where people who had captured an Oasis.  A visit to the ancient palaces which was arranged by our guests is very indicative of the harsh life in the  dessert  that was undertaken by  these tribes.  Wars were constant as everyone tried to gain control of the Oasis which held the most precious resource - water.  While there were many attempts at the unification of Saudi Arabia for centuries only three attempts were successful. The Third Saudi state was founded by the late King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. On May 20, 1927  United Kingdom recognized the independence of Abdul Aziz's realm. King Abdul Aziz, was very interested in  the welfare of his citizens and wanted to bring western developments to improve the lives of the citizens.  His greatest concern was water and as geologists tried to locate water at certain locations ,  lo and behold they struck oil.. The discovery of oil on March 3, 1938 transformed the country.

The bounty of oil catapulted this nation from being a poor dessert land to a rich country  holding one of the most powerful resources in the world.   Given the success of his wars and striking this bounty of wealth the king naturally felt very beholden to his Islamic faith since all this happened in the land that is considered most Holy by Muslims. The King referred to himself as the custodian of the Holy Mosques and considered that his first duty to serve in that role.  Even today the King is always referred to by this title.  King Abdul Aziz  made improving the conditions for Haj and  rebuilding the Holy Mosques his top priority..  

Wealth and political stability helped catapult this nation into prominence and helped bring  modern conveniences to this nation.  While people were happy to accept the western conveniences , to bring cultural change to a culture that has remained unchanged for centuries remained an impossible task. Bringing  western conveniences without the western way of life to the Arabs must have been a very difficult task for the King.   His struggles become clear when you learn of the story of his building the first school and university.  “People had no idea of what a school was and hence in the beginning sometimes they would kidnap people and bring them to the school. Once people learned that this was a good place then the demand for education began to grow”.  Thus the King delicately balanced maintaining the traditional way of life while ushering it into the modern world.

Aided by western technology, Indian and other labor force (both highly skilled and unskilled) the country was able to transform itself in a very short period of time.  It was interesting to note that the first Saudi Arabian doctor actually received his training in Mumbai, India in the early 1920s.  The kingdom today is a place which showcases dazzling technological advances while having a culture that is strongly embedded in its Islamic and Arabic cultural traditions.

The King's investment in education has paid off.  Saudi Arabia has nearly 100 % literacy for its men and women.  While there are no coed schools and often video teaching is done if a female teacher is not available to teach a particular subject at a woman’s college, Women are educated and many do better than than their male counterparts at colleges. More and more Saudi families have both the man and the woman working.  Many women hold high positions though the field of work is restricted to education, medicine and a few others. Yes, they have to follow the customs of the country including wearing the Abhaya in mixed company, but yet in many ways the families are very like families anywhere else in the world.   The focus on woman's education already seems to have an impact. While older generation of Saudis had 9 – 10 children, the number has come down to 3 or 4 or even less amongst working families.

A prime element of surprise for me was while politically, Saudis and the westerners may not see eye to eye, most Saudi Arabians particularly the women are fascinated by the west. All women wear western clothes.  Western brand names were extremely popular and store mannequins (with no heads) sport rather daring western fashions. Thanks to the oil wealth, the homes of many Saudis resemble dazzling palaces with all western conveniences. American universities are held in prime esteem and the recent trouble with getting visas has put a damper on many aspiring parents.

In Borieda, we had the opportunity to experience the generosity and hospitality of the Saudis who consider it important to  work hard to ensure the comfort of their guests. Great food and laughter made for a wonderful time at home meals.When invited to a home, the question of “Coffee or Tea” never arises for you are always given both along with dates of which we are told there are over a hundred varieties.  I learned that the Quran recommends eating an odd rather than an even number of dates. The coffee is a blend of cardamom and coffee which yields a very delicious flavor. Food is wonderful and of course the host always considers his duty to over-stuff you.  The women are  fun and friendly and made great company. They made me feel such a part of their family. I never felt I was visiting a home in an alien culture. A lady (who is the the principal of a rural school)  said she liked me so much that if I have daughter she would consider her as a suitable wife for her son!  Internet and cell phones have made great inroads into the culture for it helps find a way around many of the restrictions.  It has the potential to dramatically influence culture and enable better understanding between cultures.

We visited a traditional camel market and some ancient ruins and got a feel for life before oil.  As part of our tours we visited universities and companies whose facilities were  state of the art. Of course the one missing element was often a woman's bathroom which did cause great concern to me. I now understand what Rosalind Franklin went through during her time and why she would make such an issue out of it.

After Boreida we visited Riyadh, the capital city. We visited the King Abdul Aziz museum which has made use of state of the art technology to create some beautiful exhibits. There are also a couple of interesting tall towers worth a visit. The shopping malls in Riyadh are wonderful . Since moview and other forms of entertainment are banned, shopping is the prime source of entertainment especially for women. Most western brand names are available at cheaper prizes. Gold ornaments that cater to South Asian taste is course plentiful.  One has to be careful of prayer times for the everything shuts down when prayer begins.

Thanks, to Ali Rizvi we were afforded a warm welcome by his fellow Aligarians ,(Alumni of Aligarh Muslim University) who arranged a special event where Anil was the guest of honor. Aligarians have a very strong presence in Riyadh and have has very successful careers in many fields in  Saudi Arabia.  Whether it was Aligarian hospitality or Saudi Arabian it was certainly most warm and welcoming.  We had the opportunity to meet Indian students and teachers from the Delhi Public School  and learn about life for Indians in Riyadh.  The meeting and their hospitality is  something Anil and I  shall treasure.  

“Hamdurillah – Thanks be to Allah as the Saudis would say - for a very special visit to that country”.

In the next issue I shall write about other travels within India which were equally enlightening.

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