i went to the kingdom of saudi arabia! i’ve wanted to go for as long as i can remember, mostly because it was basically forbidden until very recently. it was impossible to get a tourist visa until 2019, and then covid shut everything down again, so until now very few westerners have been there as tourists. saudi arabia is one of – if not the most – conservative and oppressive societies on earth, but is a country which is rapidly changing. since the ascension of the new crown prince mohammad bin salman, women have begun driving for the fist time, cinemas have opened around the country, justin beiber has performed for local fans, and females are technically allowed to walk around without covering their heads (though few do). all these things would have been unthinkable even 5 years ago. the regime also recently brutally dismembered journalist jamal khashoggi, disappears nationals who openly espouse dissent, treats women horribly, and has been bombing yemen mercilessly, so a case could certainly be made for not visiting, but i wanted to get a taste of the saudi arabia of today because it is changing so fast. visitors are monitored very closely – especially in the age of covid. i had to download an app which tracked me everywhere i went while in the country, and even after deleting it upon leaving my phone is still having weird glitches leading me to believe the saudi government continues to monitor me …
saudis are known for their hospitality, and even though i stuck to the big cities, most of the people i met were very friendly. i was amazed at how many of the young people spoke very good english, and were happy to chat with a foreigner!
riyadh is an ever-expanding massive city in the middle of the desert, with about 6 million official inhabitants. there are likely about 1-3 million additional undocumented inhabitants there as well. my first few experiences in riyadh were less than ideal, but par for the course. first, my baggage got lost and didn’t arrive until about 1 week later. i was going to rent a car to drive around the country, but they “didn’t have” my reservation and wanted double the price, so i deferred and decided to just take ubers and a few budget flights throughout the rest of the trip. and when i got into what i thought was my first uber ride from the riyadh airport, i soon learned the guy driving me had no connection to uber, and he ended up shaking me down for too much money with lots of yelling when we got to my hotel, but i made it!
a can’t miss thing to see in riyadh is the kingdom tower, which is the tallest building in the city, and is shaped like a bottle opener (ironic because booze is not allowed in the kindgom). there are great views from the top. i also went to see the ritz carlton hotel in the suburbs, famous for being the location where bin salman imprisoned numerous of his rich uncles shortly after coming to power. and the national museum of saudi arabia was quite interesting as well.
downtown, there is a fortress called al masmak, which is the location where the house of saud won a major battle to create the modern kingdom. nearby is the large deera square, also called “chop chop square” by expats, where each friday, the state would decapitate people for the public to watch. special drains were built in this square to drain all the blood from this. this practice has now been moved out of sight.
overall, i had a great time in riyadh, medina and jeddah, and despite the clear problems with the regime, the saudi people are wonderful. i’d highly recommend anyone who is interested in changing societies to visit the kingdom while it remains very unique, as in the coming decades it may begin to look much more like the rest of the world.
