American Bedu

We mostly see pictures of gleaming high rises and glittering malls when the news reports on the country. But there is beautiful domestic architecture in Saudi Arabia as well. The Farasan Islands are know for their wonderful sea life, but some beautiful remains of houses can be seen as well.

The historic centre of Jeddah, ”Al Balad” (the city) is much neglected and run down, an application for it to become a UNESCO world heritage site has been rejected. The representative said the dismissal of the Kingdom’s application was purely down to technical reasons, as Jeddah’s historical sites had been subjected to negligence and misuse from people who did not recognize its value. He said the negligence had greatly influenced ICOMOS’ decision.

Most of the restauration work has been done by individuals.  Jeddah residents have moved away from Al Balad, which is now mostly inhabited by immigrants and  very poor people. At Ramadan the place is very busy, All jeddawis visit Al Balad at Ramadan. The buildings are made of fragile coral rock, and many houses are crumbling and the rubble litters the streets according to visitors. Visitors also complain about the dirt and the litter and garbage yet all agree if one is in Jeddah al Balad is a ”must see”!

One of the most beautiful houses is Naseef house which has become a museum.

The Bedouin houses have a special charm, with their white decorations on mud walls. Building with mud is an ancient technique. While it needs frequent upkeep, mud structures can last for centuries. It’s cheap, eco-friendly and sustainable. And you can make beautiful buildings with mud.

This an old photo from maybe the 70s, so I suppose this amazing house has disappeared by now.

Old multiple story mud house in Najran. These ridges, sometimes made with flat stones, are to stop the rains from washing away too much mud.

Old house in Yanbu

Traditiona house interior

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We have been seeing a lot of ”firsts” for Saudi women lately.

Saudi woman Raha Moharrak reached the summit of Nepal’s Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, in a first for the conservative Muslim kingdom where women’s sports are severely restricted, tourism officials said on Sunday.
She reached the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) summit early Saturday morning with a party of 12, consisting of other foreign mountaineers and Nepalese guides.

In Saudi Arabia sports for women are severely restricted. Last year after great pressure Saudi Arabia allowed for the first time for two women to participate in the Olympic games, last month the government allowed girls in girls schools (schools are segregated of course) to do some sports under certain restrictions.  The schools will have to ensure girls wear “a covering and decent outfit” for sport activities in “suitable areas”.

Raha Moharrak is 25, she is not only became the first Saudi woman to attempt the climb but also the youngest Arab to make it to the top of Everest. Raha is part of a four-person expedition that also includes the first Qatari man and the first Palestinian man attempting to reach the summit. The group is trying to raise $1m for education projects in Nepal.
Originally from Jeddah, Raha is a university graduate currently based in Dubai.
Raha’s climb team stated that as a woman from Saudi Arabia she had to break a lot of barriers to achieve her goal.
A biography on the expedition website said convincing Raha’s family to agree to her climb “was as great a challenge as the mountain itself”, though they fully support her now.

“We have been able to contact her and she is very exhausted and now resting,” according to Hassan Moharrak, the climber’s father, adding that the family was very happy with her achievement.

“I really don’t care about being the first,” she is quoted as saying. “So long as it inspires someone else to be second.”

AA

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We have posted on the first Saudi movie directed by a woman before. The movie by now has gained many accolades, and there is a trailer for the movie.

Saudi Arabia’s first woman film maker, Haifaa Al-Mansour, said her country was becoming “more tolerant and more accepting” as she picked up an award in Cannes on Saturday for her acclaimed film “Wadjda”.
The 2012 tale of an impish young Saudi girl who plots to own a bicycle in defiance of a ban has won the hearts of critics and public alike in France, Germany and Switzerland, where it is being distributed.

Filming “Wadjda” was an odyssey in itself.
In conservative neighbourhoods, local residents would block shooting, or Mansour would have to direct from a van with a walkie-talkie, as she could not be seen in public together with male crew and actors.

In Saudi Arabia the film itself will only be seen on DVD or on television, as cinemas there are banned.

AA

Read more:

Yahoo news

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The family and friends of Carol Fleming are uniting to raise money to help her with the costs in her battle with breast cancer.

Carol is beloved friend, sister, mom, aunt and grandmother. She is also a breast cancer Warrior. What she has overcome in the last few years in her battle has been truly amazing and her fight has brought inspiration to us all.  She is a selfless individual who has shown us all that with valiant determination and a “never give up” attitude that the sky is the limit and all things are possible.

But at this time Carol needs your help. Her cancer is quickly spreading and the prognosis is not positive. Her doctors have stated she requires 24×7 support if she remains living in her home, which is Carol’s wish. Carol’s friends and family are going to strive towards this goal, but there will be times when full 24×7 coverage may not be available and hired help may be required. These costs are very expensive and Carol and her family do not have the ability to cover all costs. We’ve received many inquiries from friends that may not be able to stay with Carol, but still want to help in some way so Carol’s time with us can be as positive, comfortable, and of the best quality as all possible. This site will give people the ability to contribute to a fund in Carol’s name that will be 100% utilized for her and her care. We thank you during this tough time for all of the love and support.

To donate please visit Carol’s Care Page

5/22/2013 Update:

Carol is resting comfortably at home for the past few days. Her family and friends are surrounding her with 24×7 care and love. She is very grateful for all your support.

The fund drive is progressing well. We are at 24% of the goal so far, due to your generous contributions. Please, keep Carol in your thoughts and prayers and visit her Care Page,  if you are able to contribute and/or would like to leave her a message of support.  

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One of the readers asked about showing old pictures of Saudi Arabia, so here are some vintage photos.
Now it is very easy to find old photos of Mecca, of the ”picture postcard” type, but I choose to show some images of people. These sets of photos show the human face of Saudi Arabia, Saudis are normal people just like everybody else. They have families, cook dinner, go on outings.
These photos are from before the social engineering project to force all women to wear abayas, so you see women in the 50s and 60′s wore a large variety of clothes in public, from full traditional covering to Western fashions.

Enjoy.

A Saudi family in the 50′s.

A Saudi feast!

Saudi women  enjoying the seaside in Jeddah. This photo is also from the 50′s or 60′s.

Saudi couple on an outing in the desert.

A garden in Jeddah

Saudi family in traditional dress in the 1930′s

When oil production really took off there was a large influx of expat families, Here you see women and children from Aramco visiting king Ibn Saud.

Old colour photograph, from the 70′s?

AA

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Neighbors called in the FBI when Saudi student Talal Al Rouki was spotted walking across the street carrying a suspicious looking object.
Which turned out to be a pressure cooker containing khabsa he was taking to bring to a friend. (Saudi men are very good at cooking rice)

Talal said he was questioned by the FBI last Friday about the suspicious ”bullet-colored” pressure cooker.

“I was eating breakfast and I heard the [doorbell] ring at an unusual time, and when I opened the door… [there was an FBI team] and one of them asked me, ‘Are you Talal?’” Rouki told Okaz, according to a Huffington Post translation of the article. “In that moment I was nervous, though I am confident and I have nothing to hide, so I replied to them that they are in front of Talal [right now].”
“So they [questioned] me calmly at the door, after that they asked me for entrance into the house so I allowed them that and their questions revolved around my studies and the history [of my time] in the United States and the activities I plan to [pursue] after college,” he added.
Satisfied, the agents withdrew, but not before one of them told al Rouki to “be more careful moving around with such things.”

When contacted by The Huffington Post, FBI spokesman Christopher Allen said he is not familiar with the incident. A representative for the FBI’s Detroit office had no comment, and a representative for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Another Arab man was detained at Detroit airport, also for carrying a suspect pressure cooker.
His nephew, Nasser Almarzooq, told The Associated Press that he had asked his uncle to bring him the pressure cooker so he could make lamb. The college student said two pressure cookers he bought in the U.S. were “not good at all,” and said the ones available in Saudi Arabia are higher quality.
“I’m Arabic,” said Almarzooq, who is studying mechanical engineering at the University of Toledo in Ohio, about 55 miles south of Detroit. “I always use pressure cookers to cook”.

A criminal complaint alleges that Al Khawahir arrived at the airport Saturday on a flight from Saudi Arabia via Amsterdam, and that he told agents he was visiting his nephew.
He originally said he brought the pressure cooker with him because pressure cookers aren’t sold in America, then later said his nephew had bought one but it “was cheap” and broke after one use, according to the complaint.
Agents said they also noticed a page was missing from Al Khawahir’s passport from Saudi Arabia. He told them he didn’t how it had been removed, and said the document had been locked in a box that only he, his wife and three children have access to in his home, according to the complaint.
Al Khawahir was read his Miranda rights, which he said he understood, and he invoked his right to remain silent, according to the complaint.
Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Detroit, said Al Khawahir made his initial court appearance Sunday, but his Monday detention hearing was delayed until Tuesday afternoon. A message seeking comment was left with his defense attorney.

Pressure cookers have been a source of tension in the wake of the Boston bombings, the bombs were made out of shrapnel filled pressure cookers they killed three people and injured 260.

AA

Read more: Okaz

Huffington Post

Yahoo News

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We posted on the possible censorship of services like Skype on the 3oth of March, CNN now reported that Saudi Arabia may indeed try to block internet social media. The social media on the internet gives Saudi people new possibilities of interacting. Social interaction between different genders has been forbidden over the last few decades and is very difficult in the real world for people who live in Saudi Arabia. Although it does happen. Facebook and Twitter are hugely popular in Saudi Arabia, but now Saudi Arabia may block access to popular Internet messaging applications like Skype, Viber and WhatsApp if telecommunication providers there don’t comply with rules and regulatory conditions, according to the country’s official news agency, SPA.
A statement from Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission released via SPA read, “The Commission emphasizes that it will take appropriate action regarding these applications and services in the event of failure to meet those conditions.” The statement did not address how the applications in question — which allow Internet users to communicate with each other via text messages and voice calls — were violating any rules, but it did highlight the need for service providers in the country to quickly “work with the developers of these applications to meet regulatory requirements.”

This desire for control over people’s private lives and communications may be inspired by the fact that for example the Egyptian overthrowing of Mubarak was engineered via social media, and the footage uploaded via the internet of Jarir square and atrocities committed by Mubaraks thugs preceded the newsagencies reports. There have been some small scale demonstrations in Saudi Arabia, calling for the release of political prisoners, these were organized via ”WhatsApp”. According to the blogger Eman Al-Nafjan Saudi activists feel safer communicating using applications like WhatsApp and Skype, as they are encrypted. “A lot of human rights activists that communicate in Saudi Arabia do so using WhatsApp,” added Al-Nafjan. “And women’s rights movement members are communicating using WhatsApp.”

Saudi authorities threatened to ban BlackBerry service in the kingdom in 2010, accusing the company of not complying with regulations. The CITC demanded the company install local servers so the service could be censored. An agreement was eventually reached but it is not known what steps were taken by the manufacturer of the Canadian smartphone in order to do so. This was all over the news in the Middle East, so people are well aware of the dangers and will simply move on to another method of communication.
“People who are aware know that it’s not that big of a deal even if these applications are blocked,” said Eman Al-Nafjan. “The issue is if they ban the Internet or if they don’t provide Internet sevices. As long as the Internet is available, there’s no way that they can end freedom of speech  it’s gone beyond the point of no return.”

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has called on the Saudi Telecommunication Authority to drop these reported plans to block social media platforms, describing the action — if implemented — as a “losing war.”
Alwaleed Bin Talal announced in late 2011 that he and his investment firm, Kingdom Holding Co., had bought a $300 million stake in Twitter.

AA

Read more: CNN

CNN

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Dear friends and readers of American Bedu, I am sorry to have to tell you that Carol is not doing well.  Carol has been admitted to ER last sunday, her cancer has taken a turn for the worse.

The news has been a bad shock to her family and friends.  Carol is in hospital now, but due to the heavy pain medication she is not able to read or write. Her friends will read to her all the sweet, encouraging and supporting comments you have written and will write, as soon as she feels up to it. Your support and prayers will give her great support.

Although her son and friends are still hoping she will pull through she may not make it. Carol is very courageous and a great fighter.

Carol’s friends are holding a 72 hour prayer rally, starting today, Monday, at 3pm until Thursday 3pm.

AA

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In our modern sedentary world we need to go out and make sure we get our daily dose of sports to keep healthy. We can go to the gym, engage in sports, go walking, or take the bicycle to work instead of the car.

All these options are not open to Saudi women, Women’s gyms are closed by the authorities as quickly as they are opened, as a woman one cannot walk the streets without getting harassed and molested, so many women go to the malls just to do some walking and get some exercise.

When Wodjan Sharkani, the first Saudi judoka to have entered the Olympic games returned home her reception veered from lukewarm to open hostility. She was attacked by the religious with racial slurs and baseless accusations of being a prostitute.
Because when women engage in sports they reveal their private parts (dr Mohammed al Arifi)

Steps of the Devil: Denial of Women and Girls’ Rights to Sport in Saudi Arabia, a devastating report by Human Rights Watch details the profoundly deviant yet tenaciously held religious objections of Saudi clerics to women engaging in sports. Allowing Saudi girls and women to compete would invite them to engage in immodest movement, aberrant clothing, and performances in front of unrelated males that would lead to immorality and desecration of the purity of the Saudi female, influential clerics insist. They argue that vigorous movement is a threat to the health and honour of the “virgin girl,” a profound deterrent in a shame-and-honor-centred culture that places extraordinary value on the intact hymen of an unmarried woman.

Which is of course balderdash. Women need to engage in physical activity and get the sun on their skin to stay healthy just the same as men.
Men and women are the same species.

But, luckily for the Saudi women, change is coming in the opportunity to stay healthy and fit as well. Last month Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia will license women’s sports clubs for the first time. In heavy opposition of the clerics.

Saudi women’s soccer team practising at a secret location in Riyad

Saudi Arabia’s official press agency, SPA, reported that private girls’ schools are now allowed to hold sports activities in accordance with the rules of Shariah, or Islamic law. Students must adhere to “decent dress” codes and Saudi women teachers will be given priority in supervising the activities, according to the Education Ministry’s requirements.

“It’s about time,” said Aziza Youssef, a professor at King Saud University. “Everything is being held back in Saudi Arabia as far as women’s rights.”

Youssef said she sees the decision to allow sports for girls in private schools as part of package of wider reforms targeting women, but that continued restrictions on sports is a discrimination that negatively impacts women’s health.

Education Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Dakhini was quoted in SPA saying that the decision to allow girls to play sports in private schools “stems from the teachings of our religion, which allow women such activities in accordance with Shariah.”

The government had previously quietly tolerated physical education in some private schools, but there is no set curriculum.
The decision, which also orders private girls’ schools to provide appropriate places and equipment for sports, is a monumental step that will likely soon affect public schools and universities, which are also gender segregated, Youssef said.

The Saudi government plays a role in private schools, providing text books and directors.

AA

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Dear fellow readers of American Bedu, Carol is not doing well, she has been in hospital with lots of pain and she has been there for a few days now.

Carol is courageously battling a tough disease and her doctors are trying to help her, but there are up- and down moments, and this is a down moment.

This blog is very important to Carol, you all can make her happy by contributing, writing lots of interesting and serious comments, and engaging in lively discussions.

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