Camels in the Camel Crossing

It took a year but Russ and I were on our way to Riyadh and finally were able to take a photo of camels in the background of a camel crossing sign. We had sheep photos, we had goat photos, but only a camel in the background would do.

Colorful Chicken

I had a chicken recipe that sounded good but by the time I finished adding the "extra" stuff I like it ended up being much more colorful and much more flavorful than the original. I baked this in the oven and it tasted great.

Fahga (Truffles)

The Northeastern area of Saudi Arabia is the number #1 prime location for growing fahga. I went looking for it in the markets in Hafr Al-Batin and couldn't find any. So I called my friend Fahad Al-Sahli and he told me to quit looking and he would bring me some to work in the morning. I told him I was wanting a kilo so I could share with my friends and that I would pay him. True to his word, he brought a kilo the next morning and would not accept any money for it. According to the paper the going rate is 200-250 SAR ($50-$70 USD) per kilo.

I shared with some of the guys and I scoured the interent for recipes and kept coming up with fancy French methods. I talked to some friends and they gave me guidance from "cook it like a potato" to " cook it like a piece of meat". I ended up cooking it with pasta and a bit of garlic, with pasta and a spaghetti-type sauce and with a tomatoe, onion and pepper sauce. It gives the food a smoky-earthy flavor not at all like any mushroom I have tasted. All were equally good and I will try it again next year.

Can You See Me?

This is the first photo of SSK's kittens since soon after they were born. This one thought she was hidden well until the camera flash went off and she hissed and retreated further back into the bushes. Whether you like or don't like cats, you've got to admit their kittens are always entertaining.

Another funny note is these little runts can climb a stucco wall with no problem. After they get up there though, there is no place to go but down. One of the Laws of Physics (gravity), you know.

I guess I am one of those people who are easily amused at animals because I can remember laughing out loud watching pigs run as if on cue every time Rick or George honked the feed truck horn out at the Stephens' place. Picturing a mass of young pigs all snorting and running to who knows where is still hilarious to me now.

SSK Kittens

My immediate neighborhood is about 8/10ths of a mile all the way around with 55 houses or villas as they call them here, of which less than half are occupied. With that many hiding places for a cat to choose from I haven’t been actively trying to find Salty Saudi Kitty's kittens. I figure when they are old enough to eat solid food they’ll be around my back porch often enough. Nothing is more fun to watch than little puppies or kittens play so I admit I have been anticipating seeing them.

My co-worker, Russ, is coming back from vacation soon so I was doing a little bit of work on his car when SSK appeared. I searched around a little and she had hidden the kittens behind Russ’ house in a lantana bush. They’re real cute but are feisty enough to hiss and howl if you pick them up. I tried to handle them a bit, so they’ll get used to people, and paid for it with a couple scratches here and there.

How Soccer (Football) Explains the World

I have a book titled How Soccer Explains the World, by Franklin Foer, which attempts to explain our world through the history of teams from soccer-loving nations. I lived a little bit of Foer's book the other evening.

This is a photo of my buddy Shallah’s tent which is in front of his house, inside his 3 meter stone fence. This is where we watched Saudi Arabia play Portugal in an International Friendly Football match. These matches are played as tune-ups for this year’s upcoming World Cup matches to be played in Germany beginning June 9.

It is true Sports transcend cultural, national and political boundaries. I enjoyed rooting for the Saudis even though they lost. It was so funny, because just like after a Chiefs or Jayhawks game, the Saudi analysts opined about the plays and players for another 2 hours. I can only understand bits and pieces of the language but the expressions and animation of the Saudi team's analysts didn't need any translation.

I am very jealous! Shallah’s tent has everything guys need to have a good time. It is carpeted, fully lighted and has running water, a TV, fireplace / grill, back rests galore and soft pillows to lean on while you drink your tea, coffee or snack on fruit. I think I'll bring one home with me.

Springtime is Barbeque Time

For all of you who barbeque even in the snow and rain (like my family and I do at home), you know it doesn't have to be good weather to cookout. Well, this weekend was SO NICE I had to cook something outside.

I went to the local fish market and bought a tuna and a grouper. I had the tuna cut into steaks and filleted the grouper. I cooked the grouper enclosed in tin foil with a mix of scallions, onion chunks, fresh garlic, green peppers and tiny little hot pickled peppers from Turkey all covered with a bit of teriyaki, soy and Worchester sauces mixed together and OH MY GOSH! I cooked a potato with garlic and onions to go with it and nuked some frozen peas. The fish was so good I forgot the peas in the microwave until I was almost finished.

What a perfect barbeque. Only thing missing was family and friends! :-) BTW - SSK had a fish-head soup feast for about four days. She REALLY loves me now. I may not do that again though, as I had a heckuva time getting the fish smell out of my soup pot. Any pointers from you cooks out there on how to get rid of that fish smell?

Shopping in Hafr Al-Batin

Hafr Al- Batin lies about halfway between Majma'ah and Kuwait City. While you are driving to Hafr, with just a little imagination, you can visualize a caravan trekking across the desert on the same old route. This sign mandates a 120 kilometer per hour speed limit. In the background you get the jist of how desolate this area can be.

The travelers across this land must've been so happy to get to Hafr in the olden days. This is a small portion the main souq or marketplace in Hafr Al-Batin. You can find anything you need to sustain yourself in the desert or city for that matter. Tents, pots, stoves, rugs, pillows, camel saddles (I have one in my living room I use for a foot stool), food, sacks of spices, shoes, clothing and gold. It's more fun than going to Riyadh.

In the "Office"

This is what the cockpit portion of my "office" looks like for those of you who wonder. From the seats forward the simulator is about 99% exactly like the aircraft. However, it is more difficult to fly than the actual aircraft. Partly because it is more sensitive to control inputs made by the pilots, but mostly because literally any combination of weather (ice, sand storms, low ceiling, bad visibility or even lightning & thunderstorms) and mechanical emergency problems can be programmed to stress the pilot's workload.

The Pearl Monument

The fishbone looking supports are supposed to be dhow 'sails' holding aloft a giant pearl. The dhow is a sailing boat / ship found in this region. This is one of the more recognizable landmarks in Manama, Bahrain. Before cultured pearls were farmed, Bahrain was known well known for it's pearl trade. The pearls were harvested from the shallow waters of the Gulf surrounding the island.

Salty Saudi Kitty's Kitties

With the help of Charlie, a neighbor across the street, I found SSK's kittens again. She had crawled through a window in the middle of the night and had found a clothes hamper to hide the four little one's in. Charlie was a little miffed, but he got over it.

I moved them to my house in the original box I had for them. The kittens have since been moved again to who knows where.

Future Pilots?

One gratifying aspect of aviation is seeing the smiles and enthusiasm on children's faces when they see aircraft up close and personal. Today we had a large group of grade school visitors and at least one of them was reported to have said that as of this day he would one day become a pilot.

Camels Everywhere

Though it is 7-8 hours going to Riyadh and back, traveling through the desert is never boring. Due to the limited rain and the resulting grass, there are goats, sheep, and camels everywhere this time of year. The camels tend to graze closer to the roadside and sometimes travel on the shoulder. The two babies in the foreground illustrate the extremes in the coloring.

If you click on the photo it will open in a larger view. Look closely in the left rearground and you can see one of the shepherds riding along on a camel.

Bahrain Trip Home

I’ve had a busy week at work and haven’t finished posting the finale of my trip to Bahrain last weekend. So here it is.

I left the 70 degrees and sunshine and started home. On the way the temperature dropped and it became progressively windier as I went further north. More and more sand started blowing and in less than an hour the sun was obscured. The sand actually accumulated on the highway sort of like drifting snow in the Midwest.



I had some roadway obstacles to contend with along way too.



By the time I got within 50 miles of home it started raining.

Is Manama the Next Dubai?

Anwar took me into Manama, which is the capital of Bahrain, and we searched high and low but never saw the one-glove-singing-dancing-man Michael Jackson. It could’ve been we saw him and didn’t even know it if he was dressed like a woman again. I don’t know.

In Manama, the Bahrainis are beginning to build on a scale similar to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Think back just ten years ago and you probably wouldn’t have heard of the Dubai Desert Classic (Tiger Woods recently won this year) or the Dubai World Cup (the richest horse race in the world) or the Burg Al-Arab found in Dubai, which is in my opinion the most beautiful hotel in the world.

Bahrain is busily building 50+ story skyscrapers, hosting it's own Fomula 1 race for the first time this year, and has begun improving their airport to handle the expected increase in visitors. With all of this progress, I hope it doesn’t lose the qualities that make it such a desirable place to visit here in the Middle East.

Visit to Bahrain

I went to Bahrain yesterday for a short visit. I had to make the trip to keep my visa valid, but that is another story to tell some other time. I left the house around 5:00 am for the 4+30 hour drive expecting to see the sunrise and lots of camels, goats and sheep. I have only driven down there twice and both times there were herds everywhere.

The first 100 miles of the trip is very flat, and unless you see a herd of sheep goats or camels here or there, it is totally void of remarkable features. This is the part of the desert where I met dhub (see one of my earlier posts if you are not familiar with dhub the lizard). I drove with only my headlights lighting the way and anticipated the sunrise. I know there are Bedouins living in this area, but without any man-made lights or sunlight of any kind, it is total darkness and you can only guess where they may be. Not to mention the fact they’re spread out miles away from each other and are always moving their tents for better pastures.

I saw the suncome up and after one stop for benzene (that is what gasoline is called at the pumps here) I pulled into Al Khobar on time and met Anwar, from India, at none other than the Holiday Inn! I am not allowed to take my vehicle outside the Kingdom so I had arranged to meet Anwar to take me across the causeway. What a gorgeous day for a visit! Not only did I not have to drive, which allowed me to sit back, relax and take some photos, it was perfectly clear and around 70 degrees.

I had never been across the causeway and didn’t realize it was such a short trip. I think it is something in the range of 15 miles of bridges. A couple are high enough so ships can make their way underneath, while some are on little manmade islands and finally others are on concrete pillars sunk onto the sea floor. The view of the Gulf was spectacular and I enjoyed it very much.

Another View

This is another view of the mosque overlooking the Arabian Gulf.

A Normal Day

I’ve been asked what a “normal day” is like here in Saudi Arabia. First of all, we start our work week on Saturday and end it on Wednesday. That leaves Thursday and Friday for weekends.

A normal day starts here about an hour and fifteen minutes before sunrise when the Muslims go to the first prayer. There is another prayer at sunrise and then everyone goes to work until mid-afternoon. Most people go home for a light noon meal and then a nap.

Work starts back up at 4:00 p.m. until the sunset prayer, the time of which varies of course depending upon the time of year. The sunset prayer is followed an hour and a half later by the final prayer of the day. Then the stores open back up again until midnight or 1:00 am. It is not unusual at all to hear children playing outside at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning.

The normal day in Saudi Arabia follows the seasons and cycle of the rising and setting sun. For example, last summer on a Tuesday night, I was called by a friend of mine and asked to go to a barbecue at 8:30 pm. I went and didn’t get home until 4:00 am, just in time to get cleaned up and dressed for work. It was just another normal day in Saudi Arabia.

Gem on the Seaside

I took a short weekend trip to Damman, Dhahran and Al-Khobar, which are on the Arabian Gulf and saw this beautiful mosque right after the noon prayers. The white of the exterior against the blue water looked so nice. I just had to photograph it for future memories.

I am always very careful when taking photos around people because of the high degree of emphasis placed on privacy and security here, however there was absolutely no one around.

I enjoy admiring the buildings over here including everything from homes to skyscrapers. The homes usually have a six foot high privacy fence around them with a court yard inside. The gates to the fences are especially interesting. They normally have varying degrees of welded designs. Some very fancy and other somewhat plain, but nonetheless pleasing to look at.

During Sandstorm

This is the view of the gate this morning.

Yesterday gave absolutely no hint of today's weather. It was Southern California warm and sunny with only a slight wind. Today is another story. Windy and dust everywhere with the taste of fresh dirt in your mouth.

If you're the type of person who pops popcorn and has a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings DVD marathon on a rainy or snowy day you'll know what it is like.