Today I am not in Bahrain. I am in Saudi Arabia (SA) securing my Iqama. An Iqama is residence permit that allows me to go to Saudi with D. His office for this area is in Al Khubar, SA, just across the causeway from Bahrain.
There are several reasons I might need or want to go to SA. If D has a problem, I could go and help him. Or, the best reason is we want to go diving in the Red Sea off the western coast of SA. (yippee) Another benefit of having my Iqama is that I can attend meetings of the American Woman’s Association in Al Khubar and meet the ladies living here.
To complete my Iqama process, I will stay here in Al Khubar for a week (in a hotel) while the Saudi government processes my application. The Iqama process was very complicated and detailed.
Prior to this trip to Khubar, I had already spent 2 months working on the process. There were two physicals, one in the US and one here in Al Khubar. While I was back in the States for the first physical, my passport and the results of that physical (along with extensive blood work), a multipage form and several other documents were submitted to the Saudi consulate. After that first application was approved, they issued a permit for me to come to Al Khubar and apply for the Iqama.
Working on my Iqama is exciting, BUT THE BIG NEWS is that it rained in Bahrain. We have an engineer from Virginia staying in our flat in Bahrain while he is finding a villa to move into. He sent me a picture of our balcony with ¼” of rain! Woo Hoo!
This is the first rain I have seen since May.
The chairs on our balcony have big (water proof) cushions. When DT sent me this picture of water draining out of one of the cushions, I almost fell out of my chair laughing He has finally found a practical use for the bidets in all our bathrooms. I think he has cushions draining in all four bidets.
Putting the bidet to good use.
Here I am with DW getting ready to go into Saudi. We are wearing our abayas. Women have to be covered up at all times in public in SA.
Getting ready to enter SA.
I was very excited to have the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia. I have known only a few people who have visited Saudi. It is a very unique destination. However, it was a bit of a let down when the first site we had of Saudi Arabia was a MacDonald’s restaurant.
My first view of Saudi Arabia.
Our husbands driving on the causeway.
Al Khubar is a much bigger city that I thought and so far we have not seen any areas that look old or run down. Our hotel is wonderful and the food is GREAT.
View from the back seat of downtown. Women don't drive in SA so our husbands are in the front seat driving us into SA.
Typical row of older buildings.
Employee parking lot is all sand.
View from D's office.
Orchids in my hotel.
Last night we were invited to have dinner in the home of one of D’s architects from the office. It was lovely and exceptionally interesting. We met his wonderful wife and two daughters. All of the people here are welcoming and friendly. This family was exceptional and it was a memorable evening.
On the way home, IT WAS RAINING with lightning and thunder. Typically it only rains for about one week a year here so the water drainage is not as good as we might have in the US. The water was quite deep on most of the roads.
RAIN in SA.
The first day we were here, DW and I discovered a new grocery store down the street from our hotel. It was probably the nicest grocery store I have ever been in. It is called a Hyper Mart because they also sell all kinds of things including clothing.
The amazing thing about this store was that the selection was so in depth for some items. There was an entire wall of honey, one aisle of bar soap and a huge display of toothpicks in every imaginable design or color.
Honey.
Tooth picks of every variety.
Whole cakes
Pieces of cake.
Cookies.
Tea pots.
More tea pots.
Bar soap.
Feta cheese.
More feta cheese. I am not sure what I am going to do when I go back the US. The feta cheese over here is better than anything I have ever tasted in the States. Saudi feta is also my favorite when I am shopping in Bahrain. Now I can see why. Obviously they love feta cheese.
Baking flat bread.
Olives
You can find all kinds of services in SA. This building offers skin care, laser treatments, plastic surgery and obesity care. With all the sweets and cakes they sell, they have an obesity problem in Bahrain and SA. You can find very few sugar free foods or drinks.
I think they are trying to make it perfectly clear this is a family entrance to this restaurant. Women can only enter through the family entrance for most restaurants and banks.
The family entrance to this restaurant is off to the right. Many restaurants the family (women) entrance is hidden or behind the building. And, sometimes it is hard to find.
So far, it is a very enjoyable week and SA is nothing at all what I expected. However, neither was Bahrain. So I guess all my preconceived ideas of the Middle East need to go out the window.
Our driver parked on the sidewalk when we went to the clinic for second physical exam. Because DW and I are women, we had to have a driver everywhere we went. It was nice because we would not have been able to find our way around.
View from one side of the balcony for our hotel room with rush hour traffic heading home.
Construction is not fast in this area. D says this is the main road through Al Khubar. It has been under construction for over two years.
Today I am in search of a Starbucks Coffee Shop. We have seen them as we have been driving around so I know we can find one close to the hotel. I want to buy a mug from SA. I hope they have SA mugs. I buy one in every country I visit. It makes for a great collection of memories. There will definitely be some good memories of Saudi Arabia.
I think I will go on Google Maps and plan a trip to Starbucks. Another adventure! Woo Hoo!
Cheers,
Brenda
Here is a video that was taken on the dash board of a man who is just driving around Al Khobar very early in the morning before there are people or cars on the roads. He does not take you down any of the narrow roads in the older part of the city. He goes from the suburbs to the city and along the major arteries.
In the US we have a drug store on every corner but in the Middle East there is a Mosque on every corner. There are lots of traffic circles and speed bumps along the way. This is all very normal for SA and Bahrain so you can get a sense of what it is like to go on the roads -- BUT WITHOUT THE CRAZY TRAFFIC. When there is traffic, it is very dangerous.
It's strange to see you in that clothing. What an adventure for sure!
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