Da list

Inspired by 'Da List' on Ammena's blog who was in turn inspired by Molly, I have decided to make my list of things I would and would not miss in the event of leaving Saudi Arabia.

Things I’ll miss and not miss when we finally leave Saudi Arabia. Things in green I will miss, things in red I most certainly will NOT miss!

1. Adhan!
The shops staying closed for over half an hour for every prayer and the shops being closed between zuhr and asr which is generally 4 hours.

2. Going out shopping or for any other activity and having a mosque or prayer room in the vicinity
Having to rush and go to the mall in the morning if I want to go anywhere apart from the supermarket as the mall shops will be closed between zuhr and asr and then it will be really hectic in the evening especially after isha.

3. Going out in Abaya/hijab/niqab and feeling just like everyone else, not different
Being stared at when I start to speak to my children because I look like everyone else but don’t sound like everyone else.
My pretty, hijab-wearing 12 year old being gawped at by perverted weirdos.

4. Living on a compound where the children can go out and play freely
Having to listen to moronic, bigoted compound politics… well actually I just try to stay out of the way and ignore it as much as possible

5. Having a decent sized, spacious home
Trying to clean it!

6. Halal food everywhere, not worry about pork or alcohol
Nothing not to miss here!

7. Going out to eat where everything is halal and no bar in sight
Again nothing not to miss! Actually… having to get into the restaurant right after isha prayer before the restaurant really fills up

8. Being able to do exciting things like driving to Makkah, Madinah or UAE
Having to leave all the driving to dh and some of our trip within KSA are approaching 1000KM which is a LOT for one person.

9. Being in the close vicinity of other countries like Oman, Yemen, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain
Having to get a stupid exit-reentry visa every time we want to leave the country so unless we have a 6 month exit-reentry there can be no spontaneous, “Hey! Let’s go to Bahrain!” We decided at last minute to go to Al-Khobar recently and would’ve loved to drive that little bit further to Qatar or Bahrain but… no exit-reentry visa!

10. Having to rely on taxi drivers who seem to speak no known language fluently and getting stranded at some location for a period of time while I try to rearrange return transport due to misunderstandings. Grrr!
Where's the positive for that?!

11. The sales - they really are fab here! Bargains galore and sadly enough, am very much looking forward to getting back from Algeria to browse the sales in August!
Nothing not to miss about that is there?!

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A few additions from my two eldest daughters.

DD2 (10) says, "I will NOT miss:

• The stupid maniacs who crash everyday


• The people who do that annoying gesture and go “shway shway


• How only men can work in malls and supermarkets and women can't


• Having to get the school bus to school every day."

DD1 (12) says, "Things I WILL miss:

• My friends


• Compound - having freedom


• People wearing abayas and being fully covered


• My school


• The fact there is a swimming pool, shop, recreation centre two minutes away from home


• The sun

Another wasted day...

I overslept today and didn't wake up until 7:15am which meant that the children missed the school bus. Of course 7:15 would have allowed us 45 minutes to get ready and get to school if I could drive - but I can't! I have had a British driving licence for about 17 years, the car is sitting out on the driveway going nowhere, the fuel tank is full, the keys are in the cabinet... and I am not allowed to drive it because I am in Saudi Arabia which prohibits women from from driving.

This is just another of those annoying days where I feel the need to rant because I have the children home for no apparent reason. *sigh*

Yesterday being able to drive would have come in very useful too when a friend phoned me at 7am almost crying in pain but instead she had to wait four hours for a compound driver to become available to take her to the hospital to get checked over.

I wonder what other incidences in this country turn into major emergencies because women cannot drive themselves to the dr at the first sign of a problem or when their children injure themselves...

Saudi woman detained for driving

It will be interesting to see how this story pans out:

Saudi woman detained for violating driving ban

Agencies, Published: June 15, 2008, 23:44

Riyadh: Saudi police have detained a woman for violating rules banning women from driving in the country, a newspaper said on Sunday. The woman from Buraida north of Riyadh was stopped by a police patrol after driving 10km to collect her husband, Al Hayat newspaper said. The woman's "legal guardian" - her husband - was required to sign a declaration that he would not allow her to drive again, it said. It was not immediately clear if she was released or would face legal action.

UPDATE 30/06/08: Interesting post from American_Bedu about the women in Riyadh who took to the roads in 1991 and the outcry that ensued and the repercussions on the families of these women.

Sand, sand, sand!

The title sums up the conditions in Riyadh right now. The sky is a gloomy shade of off-orange and sand is all around having been transferred by the wind from here:

to here:

Yes, that's the car windscreen with a good couple of inches of sand on it just since yesterday afternoon. Everything else is covered with sand too: the doorsteps, the table and chairs outside, the kids' bikes parked outside the house, even my bathroom now needs a top to bottom clean as the bathroom window was not securely closed and blew open.

This weather has also brought with it sore eyes which have me running for the eye bath liquids and planning a camomile teabag treatment before bedtime.

If you go outside the sand and generally dustiness sticks in the throat resulting in coughing and for those already asthmatic, the suffering would be worse.

I now understand why the foreign labourers who work outside have shmaghs wrapped around their face much in the fashion of the Touareg of the Sahara - it keeps the sand out of the nostrils and airways. Good thinking!

Such is the weather of the desert and these bouts of dusty and sandy weather occur at any time during the year giving the feeling of gloom just as the persistent grey clouds do in the UK.

Aubergines and peppers...

Now what to do with all the aubergines (eggplant) and peppers (capsicum) that hubby found on special offer?!


I decided to make them into salad. First I put the washed peppers and aubergines on the barbeque and turned them occasionally until the aubergines were soft and the peppers blackened in parts and blistered. I also put a bulb of garlic on the bbq to see how it would turn out.

Another aubergine I sliced; also peeled a sliced a butternut squash, tossed in oil and then cooked on the griddle until soft.




I chopped up the sliced aubergine and sliced butternut , placed on a plate, sprinkled over some crumbled feta, homemade French dressing and chopped fresh parsley.

Once the barbequed aubergines were cooled I peeled them and mashed them roughly, added the peeled and chopped peppers, a couple of cloves of garlic finely grated, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, the juice of half a lemon and then gave it a good stir...

Delicious served on toasted baguette or ciabatta... I was too hungry to toast the bread though!