One of your light covers explodes due to the coldness of the air and the heat of the bulbs. Yes; this happened the other night in our home and thankfully no one was in our foyer when this happened with our overhead light. The glass splinters went everywhere. I had never experienced such a thing before and was sure that we had an electrical problem but my spouse assured me from his past experiences it was the simple matter of hot meeting cold.
Indeed, winter has arrived in Riyadh. We do not receive snow but the temperature will drop to freezing and below – Celsius that is. Many Riyadh homes are not equipped with furnaces so many residents use room heaters. Propane heaters seem to be the ones of choice. Our villa does have central heating but the way that it is set up one must heat the entire house. There is not an option to shut off vents in various rooms. We have used our central heating already but not on a regular basis. Tonight I consider a serious clue that perhaps it is time to leave it on rather than turning it on and off for various periods.
With the arrival of winter in Riyadh, the men have changed from their traditional pristine white thobes to wearing dark colored thobes of a heavier fabric. In addition to continuing to wear the long white pants under many have also added insulated long johns too. Ones home may be comfortable but offices can be quite chilly and it is wise to wear the extra protection.
This would be a good time to point out that a popular winter item is the “Beduion Robe” or ‘bedu robe.’ The bedu robe is made like a typical robe one wears over their nightclothes but these particular robes are often lined with fur or other soft, heavy warm fabric. The outer design of the robe also has typical beduion designs and patterns. Wearing a bedu robe makes one feel nice, warm and quite toasty!
While winter has arrived we are still in fact awaiting the winter rains. They are badly needed here as the air is both cold and dry which irritates the skin and those with asthma. The special prayer for rain has been said twice at differing times. All hope it will be answered soon.
Filed under: culture, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, travel, Uncategorized
Warm greetings from this Atlanta, Georgia cat mama. Delhi4cats, you are a fantastic person and I am very much enjoying all the knowledge and perspective you generously share on your blog!
I was also touched by the post about praying for rain which showed your concern for the people here who’ve suffered drought.
A blog like yours can help make the world a better place.
Peace and blessings!
Hi Morticia! I certainly hope the weather and drought situation in Georgia is better now. Thank you so much for your kind comments. I hope you will be back and continue your comments.
Best Regards,
Carol
Those “bedu” thiab actually sound nice. I have never seen one.
My husband is wearing his tonight as this has been our coldest evening yet!
Actually…if you caught the coverage of the Bush visit, last night Saudi television was showing Bush and his entourage at the King’s farm and everyone was given a bedu thobe and they were all wearing them while being filmed!
Brrrrrrr.
I have been in Riyadh when it was below 0 and it seemed the dry cold is worse than what we see in the US. I hate to see your heat bill if you’re living in a traditional Saudi home with minimal insulation.
Stay warm…
Saudi in US,
The weather report is stating that if it remains as cold as it is with rain in the forecast (fingers crossed) then Riyadh could possibly see snow!
Our home is “quasi-traditional” in that it is a Saudi type compound but the homes were built in a nice blend of Saudi/American styles. We do have central heating and cooling.
This must be quite a challenge for you. If it’s really going to freeze, take care of your waterpipes! I’ve heard from friends in Kansas that they like snow actually better than rain, something to do with snow remaining where it falls.
Aafke, the news was actually warning residents to leave their outside taps on with a light drip because of the freezing weather. I know this is routine in so many places but a whole new phenomena here!
First time i’ve heard of a light globe exploding because of the cold. Brrrr… it must really be cold there to cause that.
Greetings from Tasmania
Tasmaniac,
Welcome! I had never heard of the exploding lights due to cold either but my Saudi husband was not surprised!
And in an aside, the weather continues to get even colder.
I’ve been living in Riyadh for the last four years now and i’ve never experienced cold like this before. (ever in my whole life!) I mean temperature wise i’ve been in 10 below when i used to live in D.C but i guess because of the lack of humidity here the cold here feels a whole lot worse. Then again i grew up in sunny Los Angeles where the only thing cold is the pacific ocean. So i guess you can say i’m kind of spoiled. (weather wise) =)
arabic arabic – I do agree that the lack of humidity here does make the cold feel more piercing!
I am supposed to move to Riyadh by the 12th of October, I am originally from Egypt, any suggestions for what clothes to bring ?
Mohafez – welcome! You will need to bring clothes for all seasons – hot, very hot, cold and very cold! Contrary to popular belief it can become very chilly (at the freezing point) in Riyadh. And if we are fortunate to have a rainy season this year along with the cold, many homes will feel damp and quite cold.
I hate these cement houses…its far colder inside then outside during really cold weather. Its hard to do house work etc when your bundled up as if on the way out the door….sigh.
Carol I have to take exception to your “pristine white thobes” remark…Ive seen some fairly stained white thobes in my time…and I sometimes have the suspicion that the man in question doesnt realize he has a stain(s)…wearing white is so hard…I dont know how they manage to stay as clean as they do.
Yes…cement houses with marble floors inside…great during the searing heat but not as practical in the winter cold.
Most of the men whom I see whether at a mall, at work or on the streets seem to be wearing pristine white thobes. At least in my experience in Saudi it seems to be the exception to see a Saudi man wearing a thobe with stains…and I agree with you … I don’t know how they do it in keeping them white and clean!