Saudi Museums

During our winter break, we visited three museums in the area of Al Khobar.  My impression of these museums, and almost everything in Saudi Arabia, is that they must have been really nice about 5 years ago.  Also, no one goes there!  All three museums were empty or very close to empty.  Granted, the Saudi schools were still in session (they obviously don't have Christmas break...) and we went during the day.  People don't go out here until night time.

That reminds me of one of the main things that baffle me here, which I may have already written about...kids out at night.  My mom and I were at the mall doing late night shopping (it was around 10pm) and the busiest places were the children's barbershop and the play area.  Okay, it's a desert culture and people go out when it is cooler, but...in a culture where almost everyone has a nanny, why don't you leave the kids at home with the nanny?  Instead the whole family, nanny included, are out shopping after Jack has been asleep for 4 hours!

But I digress...I want to tell you about the museums we went to.

First we went to the Aramco Exhibit, which is a museum at Saudi Aramco oil company.  It tells about the history of oil production in Saudi Arabia, the science behind finding oil and extracting it, and the history of technology and science in Islamic culture.  Very interesting, and again, completely empty so Jack had the run of the place.

Jack and our friend Triniti learning to be engineers

World Travelers

Then another day we went to the Heritage Village in Dammam.  The city of Dammam is next to Al Khobar, about a 20 minute drive from our compound.  We went while Jack was napping with a babysitter, since it didn't seem like it would be toddler-friendly.  The Heritage Viallage was created by a Saudi man who is a collector.  He has collected artifacts from each of the seven regions of Saudi Arabia and they are displayed in the museum.  He also has a traditional restaurant, in which you sit on the floor on carpets.

The Heritage Village

This is the traditional seating area, viewed from above

An Old Religious Book Since 222 Years Ago

Arabic daggers

I usually use theses for cake decorating...but apparently they have a different historical purpose...

Apparently this is what they used for tea in ancient times...how exotic...

Of course Rob and my dad were more interested in the owner's truck.

The view from the top of the Heritage Village, looking over Dammam 

On our way home we stopped on the Dammam Corniche to see traditional fishing boats called dhows.   A "corniche" is a road along the coast, and most Middle Eastern cities seem to have one.  In both Al Khobar and Dammam, the Corniche has many playground and picnic areas, and beaches but of course no one swims.  The dhows are still built and used in Dammam.

Rob by some old dhows

Grandma commemorating the trip

Laura the rebel, pulling up my abaya to test the water

The third museum we visited was the SciTech Museum, which is on the Al Khobar Corniche.  It is an amazing three-floor museum, affiliated with the Science Museum of Minnesota, but like everything else, it was probably really nice 5 years ago and has not been kept up.  The exhibits were really similar to those at SMM.  They even have an IMAX - the only public movie theater I think.  They have a nice toddler room that resembles the Children's Museum in St. Paul - except a lot of pieces were missing or broken - and it was "ladies only".  So Jack and I could go in but there was a large sign saying "Men not allowed"!  Some day maybe Jack and I will go over there to have a mommy/Jack date....oh but I guess we'll have to take a taxi.

Thobes and Shemaghs

Desert Adventures - Part 3

After we had our fill of camel riding and collected enough desert roses, we packed up the cars and headed back through the desert.  We quickly came across the make-shift camel farm where our Sudanese friend made his home.  Another man, I assume his brother, was there so we stopped.  The cars were immediately surrounded by camels!

The camels were so friendly.  We fed them the leftover veggies from our lunch, and they nibbled at our ears.  They really do have long eyelashes and their noses open and close to keep the sand out.

We found out that the man's name was Ali.  Our friend Catherine spoke to him in Arabic and he asked if we want to see the baby camels.  Of course we did.  And they were adorable...

Then he asked if we wanted to try camel milk!  Yes, yes, yes!

He had the baby in the picture above start to drink, and then milked from the other side.

I was the first to try the milk...it was warm, frothy, and sweet.  Amazing.

Jack kept asking for more...he took four drinks and had an adorable frothy camel milk mustache that I unfortunately couldn't capture on film.

Ali sent the rest of the milk home with us in a plastic bag.  The next day my dad had a glass of the milk at dinner and we used the rest for camel milkshakes.

And that concludes our desert adventures.  As I said, it was the best day I've had so far in Saudi, because it was unexpected and authentic.  This is the stuff we moved here for.

P.S. Have you ever wondered what sound camels make?  Wonder no more...my dad said they are the first baby animal he's ever seen that doesn't make a cute noise.

Desert Adventures - Part 2

As the camel and rider approached us, one of the kids with us ran out to offer him a Coke.  He accepted and came over by us so we could see the camel up close and personal.  He did not speak any English, but luckily one of the teachers with us has learned a little Arabic.  It turned out he was from Sudan, and has a small camel herd not too far away.  All the camels we had seen in the distance belonged to his herd.

I of course asked (through motions and our translator) if I could ride his camel.  I had promised our neighbor Triniti that if the opportunity arose, I would ride a camel with her.  She had ridden one before and cried the whole time, so she wanted to redeem herself.  The wooden saddle is on the camel's hump (Side note: all camels in Saudi Arabia have one hump) and has a post in front and in back. Getting on was a little tricky because the camel is tall even when lying down.  The man motioned that we need to hold on tight to the front post.

It turns out he was right!  As you can see from this photo, a camel stands up and lays down in a very strange way, which puts the rider at a 45 degree angle!

Then Grandpa took a turn.  He had promised everyone in Brantwood that he would ride a camel and here was his opportunity!

Then it was Rob's turn to ride. I don't know why that camel had its mouth open like that the whole time.  It was weird.

 Jack loved the camel, as he loves every animal.  But he and Grandma decided to stick to being spectators.  Here is our best family photo of 2010.

But wait...the desert adventure wasn't over yet....stay tuned for part 3!

Desert Adventures - Part 1

We took our first trip out into the desert while my parents were here. We were searching for desert roses, and were given some coordinates for a promising site.  The simple trip turned into a very memorable day, probably the best day I've had so far in Saudi!

Airing down the tires to increase traction in soft sand

After some crazy driving over sand we found the spot, and as promised there were plenty of desert roses. Rob said it felt like driving through fluffy snow, but the fun part is you don't have to worry about hitting anything!  We saw some camels in the distance which made the experience even better.

 Desert roses are made from gypsum and barite crystals that combine with sand.  Some of them are on the surface and some need to be dug out.  Here is one my dad found.

We took a break from digging and had a picnic lunch.  Luckily T.G.W.G.S. brought a desert toilet that he had made!

Pretty clever, huh?

Jack digging for roses

The day was turning out to be a wonderful experience...sand, camels in the distance, desert roses...but then we saw someone coming toward us who would make all our dreams come true...

To be continued...

Christmas in Saudi Arabia

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  My parents were here visiting and it was awesome to see them.  Their flights were long but smooth, and they had no (major) troubles with their visitor visas.  We loved showing them firsthand all the things we try to explain to them on Skype.  It was extremely hard to say goodbye again...but at least it is only until June!

Building the tree

While they were here we had a "staycation" and toured everything even slightly interesting in the area. Saudi Arabia, of course, does not allow tourism, so there are not very many interesting or well-marked tourist attractions.  With the help of Rob's new GPS from Santa, we visited several cultural sites which will be described in future posts.

The finished product

Even though it is technically illegal to celebrate Christmas here, many of the workers on our compound and at stores wished us a "happy Christmas".  We were able to find a surprising amount of Christmas-related candy and some awesome hand-painted ornaments on which Santa is riding a camel.  Other decorations I bought in Germany or were donated by T.G.W.G.S.

The preparations for Christmas included making a snowman, assembling our smuggled tree, and making a gingerbread house...

Grandpa had to take over the gingerbread construction
after the houses collapsed.

One sprinkle on the house, one in my mouth

Decorating with Triniti and Tammy
(daughter and wife of T.G.W.G.S.)

Our gingerbread house

We had our traditional meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes on Christmas Eve, and the Bialiks (T.G.W.G.S. and family) came over.  Then on Christmas we had turkey at their house.  Almost everyone else has gone home or on vacations (to India, Sri Lanka, Romania, Germany...) so the compound was pretty empty.  To round out the holiday, we were able to skype or call several other family members.  Jack loved the gifts sent by our family - a book from Uncle Jason, a remote control truck from the Garretts, Aunt Sue's caramels (okay, I ate those all myself!), and recordable books from Gamma Nancy and Gampa Steve.

Christmas Dinner - yes, Rob is wearing a Bangladeshi skirt he got for Christmas.

Jack got two of his favorite snacks in his stocking - raisins and apple juice.

New toys

Grandpa's new hat of the Saudi flag.  Probably the only one in Brantwood!

Grandpa's new hookah

A new trike from Santa

Working off Christmas dinner with a game of soccer

Some things don't change...