Memorable Moments From A Saudi Sojourn

Sakuntala Narasimhan pens down this scintillating travel experience of Saudi Arabia, the unforgettable moments that have taught her valuable life lessons. 

In November 2020 Saudi Arabia was preparing to host the G 20 meetings. Watching it made my memories go back to the time when I was in that country. After arriving one evening and settling down at our hotel suite in Riyadh (Saudis like to do everything on a grand scale, given their oil-based opulence — the hotel was a ‘7 star’) I had my first taste of Middle Eastern experiences.

How does one make an imposing, skyscraper apartment block, over twenty-five floors high, vanish overnight? It was right there, outside my hotel room window when I went to sleep on my first night in Riyadh. When I woke up in the morning, it was gone – there was just a dusty sky where it was supposed to be. I blinked twice, then again, to assure myself that I wasn’t dreaming. The block had gone indeed.

Had there been an earthquake during the night? Is Saudi Arabia prone to earthquakes? I looked around, dazed and incredulous; our own 20th-floor room seemed to be safe and sound, nothing was amiss. Even the fruit bowl on the centre table hadn’t moved.

Then I noticed that not just the high rise block but also adjacent buildings had all disappeared. As I stared out of my hotel room window, all I saw was a dusty brown sky all around. Then the answer hit me. There was a dust storm around – common in these sandy, barren parts – and the haze of thick swirling dust was obscuring the view. After an hour, the dust lifted a little, and the buildings came into view. What an experience! What a way to begin my sojourn in this Middle Eastern country!

Be sure to take along a burkha, my friend had advised me as I prepared to leave for Riyadh. I need not have worried; the hotel we stayed in, had spare burkhas for visitors and lent me one—quite a fancy one too, in rich satiny silk lavishly decorated with sequins and embroidery.

Like all visitors, we set out for sightseeing. The opulence of this oil-rich middle eastern country was awe-inspiring. The row of jewellery shops alone was enough to dazzle the eye, especially the gold artifacts, from necklaces to bangles to fancy ear ornaments, each costing a fortune and displayed with lavish abandon. As I was looking around, the call for midday prayers sounded, and immediately, the shop staff left their counters and headed for the nearest mosque. They did not even bother to pull down the shutters while leaving the shop and its valuable goods.

The place where the burglars were beheaded

I was taken aback. Couldn’t someone steal all the expensive stuff, I wondered, and asked our local guide. “No way,” he answered, placidly, before adding, “Come here, I’ll show you why.” He led us to an open space close by, with coconut palms growing around.” That’s where burglars are beheaded” he said, pointing to a tree. The punishment is so summary that no one dares to attempt any burglary or stealing. Apparently, it works.

With strict segregation of the sexes, plus all women in burkhas, the adolescents still find innovative means of circumventing the taboos and having fun. The ubiquitous mobile phone facilitates interactions without personal physical proximity. A boy on a bike sees a teenage girl in a car and dials her number (he probably knows her?) and she promptly answers; they have a long conversation, laughing and joking. Long-distance wooing? Looks like it. I have seen girls even blow kisses over the phone. Sometimes you can have fun without holding hands too….

One evening I was at a formal banquet hosted by the royal family; at the table, I had been assigned, there were three others –all women in burkhas of course, but as we sat one of them lifted her burkha to uncover her face, and I saw a heavily made up, pretty face, with bright lipstick and eye shadow, the works. She turned out to be a very rich entrepreneur, running an export business and owning an apartment in New York. What was the point, I wonder, in putting on makeup if the face is to be covered from view? She answered, “I don’t put on makeup for others to see. I do it for my own pleasure, I like putting on cosmetics and looking at myself in the mirror.” It was an answer I had not thought of earlier.

During the dinner, television cameras focused on the guests and one of them swiveled his camera towards our table. Quickly the woman covered her face and turned away. “I don’t want strangers to look at my face,” she declared. Why not? After all, she is well travelled and spends a lot of her time overseas. She gave me a long look and said, “Madam, will you lift up your sari to show your leg on camera? Of course not. Similarly, I don’t like to expose my face, it is also a part of my body.” Her reply was an education to me, about a different female perspective.

Decorum is defined in different ways in different cultures. The American woman in short, tight hot pants thinks it is okay to reveal her physical attributes. Asians differ; our cultural norms are different. Similarly, Arabian norms are different. “No, I don’t feel oppressed,” my new friend said. “It is the American woman who is oppressed by the need to dress in a particular way.”

Covering and baring are personal decisions, and what counts is the freedom to be comfortable with whatever one chooses.