The Wandering Scot

I’m at Al Ula in Northern Saudi Arabia. The main local attraction is the ancient city of Madain Saleh. This was the second city of the Nabateans, whose capital was at Petra, and there are many similarities to Petra.

There is nothing as grand as the Treasury at Petra, but there are scores of imposing and well preserved rock cut tombs.

Overall the site is very impressive and well worth visiting.

Al Ula is also set in a very scenic area, with stark rocks crags and pinnacles everywhere.

My Madain Saleh tour also included a stop for an “immersive” play. This was unexpectedly interesting: traders dressed as Nabateans gaped in surprise at us weird-looking foreigners and then tried to sell us things, then soldiers appeared, a fight broke out, etc. But the highlight was the reconstruction of a death scene and Nabatean funeral, including wrapping up the “corpse” of an actor and carrying him into an authentic Nabatean rock cut tomb!

I’m enjoying visiting Saudi Arabia. I hope the current social thaw persists.

Note: The Madain Saleh site is currently undergoing restoration and won’t be generally open to tourists until “later in 2020”. I was able to visit on one of the special tours running during the annual Winter at Tantora festival.

I’m in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a land where much is changing.  There are sparkling skyscrapers, Starbucks, Uber, all mixed up together with traditional conservative ways.

Here’s a photo of a typical Riyadh Starbucks. Note the two entrances, separated by a wooden wall. The entrance on the left is for “singles” (unaccompanied men) the one on the right is for “families” (one or more women, possibly with attendant men). The wall continues inside, all the way across the store to the counter. Woe betide a single man who enters on the wrong side.

As a single male, it was of course a great relief to see this sensible arrangement and to know I could drink my mocha in peace, safe from the predatory gaze of lascivious women.

But this is all about to change. The government is currently updating the law to remove this requirement. I’m curious how that will play out – it’s possible that some women will still prefer to use traditional family sections where current social norms allow them to relax and unveil.

Another Starbucks issue is prayer times. Yes, they roll down the blinds and lock the doors for 15-30 minutes or so at the mandatory prayer times. If you arrive at the wrong moment you have to wait patiently until they reopen. (But if you get inside in time, it’s OK to keep sipping.) 

Of course it’s not just Starbucks that’s segregated:

Burger King

Texas Chicken

Buffalo Wild Wings