every country or bust!
this hotel, in addition to being opulent, is famous as the location where saudi crown prince muhammad bin salman imprisoned and shook down numerous of his own extended family over a number of months in 2017. it was also where donald trump danced and placed his hands on a ridiculous glowing orb with mbs during the former’s first international trip as u.s. president. it is not a tourist site, but i had a lot of fun exploring its opulence nonetheless!
this is a modern, airy, massive air-conditioned museum, telling the (albeit biased) story of the kingdom of saudi arabia, from pre-human history to the present. the culmination is large scale models of the 2 holiest mosques in islam in mecca and medina. everything was labeled in english which was nice.
i went to the city of medina, the second holiest city in islam. it is famous for being where the prophet muhammad is buried. until very recently, it had been haram (prohibited) for non-muslims to even enter the city limits, a regulation which was stringently enforced. while this policy was never officially changed, i had seen a few reports of non-muslims visiting without repercussions, so i thought i’d give it a try, and all went smoothly!
the city of about 1.5 million people is centered around the green-domed al masjid al nabawi – the prophet’s mosque – beneath which the prophet is buried. after mecca, this is the second most important pilgrimage site in islam, and countless massive hotels ring the area around the mosque and its huge courtyard, which can hold up to 1 million people at a time.
i stayed at the hilton hotel, and even got upgraded to a “mosque-view” room! non-muslims are still not allowed to enter the mosque courtyard, but can walk around the outskirts. as with elsewhere in the muslim world, the busiest time to be out and about is at about 2am. there are people there from all over the world, which is fascinating. one night i chanced upon a museum/exhibition on the life of muhammad, called the “international fair and museum of the prophet’s biography and islamic civilization,” an impressive new cutting edge audio-visual display, through which there was an english tour led by a smooth-talking saudi in a kaffiyeh. the tour was attended by multiple men from around the muslim world, and was punctuated by multiple tense theological debates between them. the entire tour was also live streamed and loudly over-narrated by a man who i can only presume is an aspiring muslim social media influencer. it was fascinating to hear this all play out in english!
jeddah is saudi arabia’s second city, and the most “liberal” city in the country. i spent a few days here. there is a massive new airport terminal, built to handle 100 million passengers per year. in the arrival lobby is the world’s largest airport aquarium tank! they are also building what will be the world’s new tallest building here, and also have the world’s tallest free-standing flagpole and the world’s tallest fountain – the king fahd fountain, which shoots water from the red sea 900 feet in the air. i had a good time, but beyond all these superlatives, there isn’t actually that much exciting going on for a visitor. there are multiple large malls, which i always enjoy. the red sea mall is the best one, followed by the mall of arabia and salaam mall. i also wandered around the al-balad neighborhood, which is jeddah’s old city, composed of crumbling multistory buildings built from coral, and visited the interesting historical tayebat museum.
the al balad neighborhood is jeddah’s old city. it is composed of many crumbling buildings built from coral from the red sea, with boxy wooden windows which allow the breeze to waft through the homes without anyone being able to see in. the area is rapidly gentrifying, and likely won’t be crumbling for long. in a country modernizing very fast, it was interesting to walk through an area which hasn’t changed much in centuries.
this museum was fascinating. it took what seems to be a saudi theme in museums – collecting and showing every iteration and variation of a given thing – to a new level. the place is a maze, and there are about 6 levels, and no one else there. there were rooms showing the lifestyle of saudis in different parts of the country, which was quite interesting. there were also rooms and rooms of random posters; seemingly any posters they could find. there were hundreds of variations of niqabs and other women’s clothing on display. and even all the variations of metal pipes used in saudi infrastructure. the building is built in the hejazi style.
from lucerne, switzerland, i went up nearby mount pilatus! there are options to take a series of cable cars, or a cog-wheel railway, or one up and the other down, which is recommended. the cog-wheel railway is the steepest in the world! at the summit, there are hiking trails and many different viewpoints. sadly it started to rain heavily once i got up there, but it was still amazing!
my second day in zurich, at ann’s urging, i took a quick and very efficient train ride to nearby lucerne. it too has a very nice old city, and a famous wooden covered pedestrian bridge in the center of town.
i had just under two days in zurich en route to saudi arabia, and it was great. i walked around the very nice old city, seeing many churches, such as fraumunster church, which has stained glass windows made by marc chagall, and grossmunster cathedral, which has a belltower one can ascend for some nice views. in the afternoon i went to zurich baths and thermal spa, which is a wellness destination housed in a former brewery. there were no pictures allowed inside, but you’ll have to believe me when i say it was amazing and very much worth the swiss entry price. there was a rooftop thermal infinity pool where i watched the sun set over the zurich skyline!
i perused kunsthaus, zurich’s major art museum, as it was free the day i was there. nice, but in my view not worth the $40 typical admission on a normal day.
