Al-Sholah Mall (finally!)

I'm sitting at my dining room table/work station at 4:30 am (Riyadh time) unable to sleep while catching the mid innings of Game 7. This is an unexpected treat though I wish that the insomnia had visited me last night so that I could have witnessed the exciting Cardinals victory over the Texans. Since I don't have a "dog in this hunt", I default to support for the NL - unless of course the hated Atlanta Braves are in the game (an old story grounded in Pirates history...)

In order to close the loop on my initial blog, I provide an excerpt from my notes on site at the mall last week...

Sitting rather comfortably in the central foyer of the Al Sholah Mall - a bizarre configuration of tired but still attention-getting pastels: lavender benches, muted pastel blue and pink surrounds, Easter egg yellow hand rails arching up the spiralling walkway to the second level, all in need of repainting, a decade late!  Speckled black and white marble floors with salmon pink diamonds leading to the centerpiece - a non-functioning fountain and moat encircled by a marbled ring of beige and red-ochre triangles. All this eye-catching but frayed, tired, careless of maintenance... but business must be healthy here given the number of retailers, no vacant shops.

I bought my coffee - an excellent bold Costa Rican and long chocolate covered glazed donuts (so far my favorite Riyadhi food!) - at the aptly named Coffee Stop. Across the small courtyard a Baskins-Robbins and Pizza Inn complete the fast food court. I'm alone in the court until two young Saudi males sit down briefly perhaps hoping to catch the eye of veiled Saudi ladies were there any in sight... The only other bench-sitter is an elderly male dressed in a white caftan with a skull cap (not the typical Saudi uniform) and cane stretching his legs on a bench apparently waiting patiently for someone - who a half-hour later appears, his elderly wife burdened with shopping bags. I wonder if he is concerned about the number of Saudi riyals that left his account but he shows no emotion...

After leisurely enjoying my breakfast I wandered through the mall, small by US standards, likely the equivalent of one wing of Ross Park or Pittsburgh Mills. All the stores are clustered by product: men's clothing, women's clothing, perfume, gold and silver jewelry and mobile phone shops are predominant, interrupted by one sad little "book store" (actually stationery and school supplies) and an eclectic home furnishings store. It begs the question of how one decides which of the ten men's stores to choose given that they seem to have the same inventory. Perhaps it's stubborn customer loyalty... In any case I saw little actual commerce in action.

It should be noted that this space is in marked contrast to the gleaming, modern and conspicuously affluent Kingdom Mall which I visted in my earlier trip in January and plan to revisit with a full wallet after payday!

I feel a bir sheepish spending so much attention on Mall culture but it appears to be central to both Saudi and expat life. Since there is literally no other "night life" in Riyadh, by default the mall is the place...
 

The Evening Prayer Train

One of my favorite times in Riyadh is the 5-minute walk back from my workout in the fitness center to my villa at about 7:00 pm. It has been dark for the past hour, there's a refreshing breeze, and I'm at peace. Except for an occasional resident walking from or to the bus stop, a child on a scooter or a compound employee on a bike, the streets are deserted. I feel completely safe here, ironically - as unconcerned as I would be on the tree-lined streets of my neighborhood Aspinwall.

I walk to the chants of evening prayers in overlapping waves of praise to Allah - the only word I can clearly distinguish. From the Yamama compound I can distinguish trains of chanting from at least four different mosques within my hearing, realizing that the prayers are being repeated all across the Kingdom and beyond. The language and cadence are too alien for me to regard the prayer chants as beautiful or even musical; yet the overall effect is one of mystery and majesty. I expect that as I learn more Arabic the prayers will have even greater impact. But now they are somehow comforting even as the prayer chanting reminds me that I'm the outsider listening in to the cries from the heart of others, a whole people at worship.

The opening of the Koran (Qur'an), the fatiha, is translated: "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all being, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate, the Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee only we serve; to thee alone we pray for succor..." Of course I don't know if this is included in the spoken prayers but I must assume this theology infuses them. As a Christian I find much in common with this characterization of God (the Father) and my own conception of the Almighty. Perhaps even the non-believer would recognize the elegance of the language... But Islam is certainly much more complex than my meagre initial observations can begin to touch. So enough said... I'm at peace after dark in the ever-mysterious Riyadh!

Mall Talk Revisited

I realized after thefact that I never shared my observations about this mall nor the Saudi mall culture. Malls (at least in Riyadh) are one of the triangulation points of Saudi culture along with the mosque and the family residence. Thus far I have been to three malls varying widely in terms of ambiance and products and services available. In an earlier visit to Riyadh (my recruitment trip) I spent most of my evenings people-watching and drinking coffee (Starbucks if you please!) in the Kingdom Tower (featured in the photo used for my blog portal). Kingdom Tower is as upscale a mall as I've ever experienced but then again I've never been to Dallas or Rodeo Drive... Most of the clothing, electronic, perfume and jewelry stores are European and the clerks are all male.  I understand that in response to growing displeasure among women about having to purchase lingerie and sleepware from male clerks, an edict was issued that all retailers except the very smallest who sell these items must employ a female associate... Small steps slowly but progress under King Abdullah.

The main attraction for me as a consumer - since I didn't have nearly enough Saudi riyals for even the low end jewelry - was the discovery of the food court... a junk food oasis shimmering in the desert heat (well the mall was fully air-conditioned but grant me some poetic license here) that offered along with the ubiquitous Starbucks, Subway, KFC and (my heart leaped at the sight), Mickey D's. The court also includes a British bakery/coffee stop that sells donuts including the white powder variety that I crave! So the Kingdom isn't that different after all when it comes to satisfying the basic needs of life!

Which, however, introduces an important cultural note: the Starbucks has a small dining area separated into a family section and bachelors only (single or groups of men). At McDonald's (no seating) there are two separate lines (side by side) with the same gender divide. Both lines are served simultaneously so there appears to be no redictable advantage being in either line but it's odd to Western eyes... The woman all wore the black abayas down to the the shoe line covering the ankles. While the full veil is predominant, most Western and Asian women wore head scarves, some with floral prints. I have yet to see the presence of the Saudi cultural police, enforcing the dress code, but I understand it does occur... Oh yes, Kingdom Tower also has a females only floor where I presume the lingerie is sold - and perhaps a lounge wher the ladies can drink tea and escape the tiresome males in their lives - but that's just speculation...

Time flies when in the blogosphere and I must get ready for the shuttle bus... to be continued

Tea Shack (!)

Across from my shuttle bus stop is what I've referred to as a tea shack, a square tent open on one side facing the Yamama III compound road and entrance. Since it's about a city block from the bus stop - and considering my best eye is about 20/40 corrected - the only thing I can see inside the tent from that vantage point are one or two men usually sitting on either side of a table. Not until recently, did I see one of the men leave the shack wearing camoflauge desert colors of the Saudi National Guard. Well, my eyes were opened wide later that day when I caught a ride home from campus with a physician expat who had use of the company car. When entering the compound all vehicles are stopped, ID checked and the trunk and hood are opened to do a routine check for explosive devices. This follows a zigzag course of entry established by jersey barriers placed at diagonals. In discussing the onerous nature of this security, my new friend pointed toward the "tea shack", saying "Well, that's Plan B if a bad guy gets past gate security." Although the guys in the tea shack may well be enjoying tea or more likely Arabic coffee to while away the time on duty in the heat of the day, their main responsibility is to operate if necessary and maintain the military submachine gun(s) mounted in the tent!

So I felt both embarrassment at my missing the point and an added increment of relief on the security front mixed with another reminder that "Toto, we really aren't in Kansas, not to mention, the 'Burgh, any more, not even close!

Well, another day in the desert - another lesson learned...

Wes

A morning at the Al-Sholah Mall

Loved ones, friends and the merely curious -

I am indeed alive and well and settled in here in Riyadh, specifically Unit #154, the Yamamsa III expat compound, a quite comfortable but cookie cutter set of more or less identical villas with excellent amenities, including the equivalent of a GetGo convenience store with a wider selection of groceries and an excellent fitness center and swimming pools. The truth is that I have been feeling more relaxed, healthy and energized than for a very long time. Yes, I'm still adjusting to the heat and I'm not close to being oriented to the relative location of my key coordinates: my villa, the King Saud bin Abdulaziz campus, the shopping malls, the US embassy. As for the weather report: hot 90+ F, sunny and cloudless with 0% humidity - and that's for the entire month of October! - apologies to those who have already heard this one! To my surprise I felt an actually (well almost) cool (sort of) breeze this morning. This I'm told is the precursor to the ravages of winter (January and February) where on the most severe days the temp may drop to 60 F and rain might fall imperceptibly (.05 inches for the entire winter).

So what are my reactions to this new environment - natural, built and socio-cultural? The words that continue to emerge include: fascinating, perplexing, mysterious, dusty (as construction is ever-present at least in the venues I frequent as well as dahntahn Riyadh) and frustrating. Imagine for a moment the organization you most enjoy vilifying for its red tape, layered processes, inefficiencies, glacial rate of change, etc. - well I would give the 1st place trophy to the Saudi bureaucracy hands down, no close competition. I'm sure this topic will be revisited as this is only my 3rd week in the Kingdom.

On the plus side I have found my Saudi and expat colleagues to be extraordinarily courteous, warm and welcoming. This suggests another characteristic that took me by surprise: how cosmopolitan Riyadh appears, perhaps especially at the King Abdulaziz Medical Center and the University, both linked under the NGHA umbrella and within walking distance on the same campus. The nurses at the hospital are virtually all expats and just at the bus stop I've met and shared stories with nurses (and a few docs) from Ireland, Scotland, Slovakia, Canada and South Africa. Many if not the majority of the nursing staff and other nonmedical service staff hail from the Philipines, Malaysia and sub-Saharan Africa...

And yes, I have befriended an expat research administrator I met at the shuttle bus stop who is an actual yinzer and - this does strain credulity - is a distant cousin of Andy Warhol... Go figure the odds!

Enough for now but I'll be offering my own slices of Saudi life, impressions of the moment, and occasional poetic reflections while keeping whining and whimpering to a minimum. Please be advised of this disclaimer: I am unlikely to address any hot-button political or cultural issues since I'm not here as a journalist or scholar of Saudi society and serve at the pleasure of my employer, Saudi National Guard Health Affairs.  Enough said for now!

I would truly appreciate keeping up a conversation with you either in response to my ramblings or to update me on important developments in your life or in the 'Burgh. Brief is as good as lengthy (sometimes better), and spontaneous outpourings from the heart will always be welcome as will updates on Pitt football and basketball - as this gets limited coverage, to say the least. I did learn that the New Zealand All Blacks (their uniforms, not ethnicity) will be contesting the French team (really!) for the Rugby World Cup. Apparently, the French lads pulled off a controversial upset over Wales which being of Welsh heritage annoys me greatly! Well that's more than you wanted to know but that's sports (along with soccer and cricket) in the Middle East...

Wes