My Saudi friends tell me they wished that I posted some of the modern things from their country. I admit I am guilty of posting the scenes I expect to see from childhood stories and maybe the sights a westerner can see only here in the Middle East. Camels, sheep, sand dunes and sand storms, etc. For me it is still all new.
My friends are very proud of their modern buildings and modernity in general (as they well should be). Yet they also enjoy a picnic, overnight campout, or a stop for gahwa & tea in the desert just as much.
To me, the modern Saudi Arabia is exemplified by a sight I saw at a fuel station while traveling one day. I saw a car pull up and three young Saudis get out. The first was in traditional Saudi clothing, the second in traditional garment but with a baseball cap and the third in western clothing. All the young men seemed to be equally comfortable dressed in the clothing of both worlds.
My buddy Russ took this photo of the Mamlaka skyscraper at dusk. I took the night time photo on another trip. Every time I go to Riyadh I search for it in the distance as a sign of my journey's end. It lights up at night in varying colors of purple, blue, green, gold, orange and red.
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