Destination: Saudi Arabia
Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour
by Eva Holland | 09.16.09 | 12:02 PM ET
Writer Jason Rezaian has spent time in five different Muslim-majority countries—Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iran and Turkey—during the annual month of fasting, and in a short essay he reflects on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in the ways each one celebrates their shared holy month.
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Yahoo! BuzzEven Mecca Getting Hit by Recession
by Eva Holland | 07.09.09 | 10:59 AM ET
Bookings from pilgrims are “way down” in the Muslim holy city, according to Reuters. Local hoteliers also blame the swine flu panic alongside the global economic crisis.
Rajaa Alsanea Talks Dentistry, ‘Girls of Riyadh’ and Life in Chicago
by Eva Holland | 03.23.09 | 4:09 PM ET
Remember Rajaa Alsanea? Her debut novel stirred up acclaim and controversy, and opened a window into the romantic lives of Saudi Arabia’s young women (being dubbed “Sex and the City, Saudi-style” as a result) a couple years back. The National caught up with the author to see what she’s been up to since, and it turns out Alsanea is studying endodontics, a dentistry specialty, in Chicago—and working on a second novel in her spare time.
She says of that project: “People will definitely have the feeling that I have grown up and matured. I have lived outside my country and experienced a different culture and all of this reflects on the person that I am today.” The thoughtful interview is worth a read in full. (Via The Book Bench)
In Riyadh, Ronaldo Trumps Paulo Coehlo
by Eva Holland | 03.16.09 | 2:50 PM ET
Brazilian officials who were in Riyadh for a festival intended to honor their country’s literary heritage found themselves fielding more questions about the beautiful game than about books, the Arab News reports. In fact, the Brazilian delegation wound up caving to demand and redecorating with football banners and photos of famous players.
Said one visitor: “The book fair has almost come to an end and I haven’t received any questions about Brazilian literature, or even the country’s general culture.” Hmm. Maybe it’s time for a rebranding campaign? (Via The Book Bench)
Morning Links: Weird Hotels, Flight 1549: The Game and More
by Michael Yessis | 02.03.09 | 8:24 AM ET
- Marketplace looks at U.S. efforts to lure Chinese travelers.
- More than one million people have already played Flight 1549: The online game.
- Flight 1549 pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III won’t have to pay fees on the library book that’s still in the plane’s cargo hold.
- At the Window Seat, World Hum contributor Rolf Potts recommends five travel experiences in his home state, Kansas.
- AP Travel Editor Beth Harpaz has a new book out about parenting teenagers, 13 Is the New 18.
- Now we know what the penalty is for smoking on a no smoking flight in Saudi Arabia: 30 lashes.
- Rome’s traditional delis are facing extinction.
- More and more, Mexican singers of narco corridos are becoming victims of the drug-related violence that’s the subject of their songs.
- The Telegraph’s slideshow of the world’s weirdest hotels includes Idaho’s Dog Bark Park Inn.
- It’s the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, and fans are paying tribute in Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas and elsewhere. Eva
will havehas more in her blog. - Video: Overzealous Amtrak police arrested a man for taking pictures of trains for an Amtrak photography contest. Stephen Colbert has the hilarious story.
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How to Prevent a Monkey Attack
by Jason Daley | 12.30.08 | 10:25 AM ET
REUTERS Jason Daley explains how to avoid getting bitten, slapped or shoved by an ornery primate.
Architects and Mecca: Redesigning Islam’s Holiest Site
by Eva Holland | 12.01.08 | 1:36 PM ET
A shortlist of 18 possible architects has been drawn up for the daunting task of redesigning the mosque complex at Mecca, the Independent reports. Brits Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are reportedly among the finalists. The planned redevelopment would more than triple capacity at the site, from the current 900,000 to a mind-boggling 3 million, making it the world’s highest-occupancy building.
First Women-Only Hotel Opens in Saudi Arabia
by Eva Holland | 05.19.08 | 12:07 PM ET
In January, we wrote that Saudi Arabia had lifted restrictions on women staying alone in hotels; previously, women had been required to stay with, or to carry a letter of permission from, a male “guardian.” So what’s come of it? The change has opened the way for a new niche hotel: the Luthan Hotel & Spa, which the executive director boasts is “women-owned, women-managed, and women-run.” But as the Christian Science Monitor’s Caryle Murphy asks, is this a sign of progress or of deepening gender segregation?
U.S. Woman Arrested in Saudi Arabia Starbucks
by Jim Benning | 02.07.08 | 2:51 PM ET
Her “crime,” according to the Times of London: sitting with a man who was not her husband. She was hauled away by a member of Saudi Arabia’s Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The woman works for a company in Saudi Arabia and visited the Starbucks with male colleagues to use the Internet after their Riyadh office suffered an outage.
Saudi Women Now Free to Stay Alone in Hotels
by Michael Yessis | 01.23.08 | 11:02 AM ET
Facing criticism for its restrictions on women, the Saudi Arabian government said this week that individual Saudi women no longer need a male guardian to stay in a hotel or a furnished apartment within the Kingdom. However, hotels must send information about the traveler to local police, according to the AP.
Saudi Billionaire Buys First Private Superjumbo A380
by Terry Ward | 11.15.07 | 11:54 AM ET
Oh, to travel like a Saudi prince. Or the wife of India’s richest man. I was driving home from Orlando’s airport a few days ago, having just booked a long haul flight in coach and already dreading the knees-in-my-teeth-feeling to come, when I heard an NPR segment about Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s purchase of his own personal A380 superjumbo jet (like the one pictured) to the tune of just over $300 million. According to an envy-inducing piece in the International Herald Tribune, the prince, worth an estimated $20 billion and the world’s 13th richest man, regularly travels with an entourage of around 50 people.
‘Girls of Riyadh’: Saudi Arabia’s ‘Sex and the City’?
by Eva Holland | 09.17.07 | 12:40 PM ET
In June we blogged about one Western woman’s experience traveling under the abaya in Saudi Arabia. Now, Rajaa Alsanea’s debut novel, Girls of Riyadh, offers a look at the experiences of the women who spend their entire lives negotiating Saudi Arabia’s strict Islamic code. The book, which is being called “Sex and the City, Saudi-style,” was recently released in North America and the UK; it already boasts bestseller status in Germany and the Netherlands as well as a banning in Saudi Arabia itself.
A Western Woman in Saudi Arabia: ‘The Rules Are Different Here’
by Julia Ross | 06.06.07 | 4:12 PM ET
As a woman, I relish the freedom of traveling alone but admit there are times and places where gender matters. Just last week, on my first trip to Vietnam, I found myself fending off aggressive touts and motorcycle taxis on every street corner in Hanoi while male tourists walked by unnoticed. An annoyance, but nothing on par with Los Angeles Times reporter Megan Stack’s experiences in Saudi Arabia. In a riveting story, Stack recounts, in very personal terms, the rising anger she felt at being treated as a “lesser being” during four years of covering the kingdom as the paper’s Cairo bureau chief.
Saudi Arabia Lifts Photo Ban for Tourists
by Michael Yessis | 08.04.06 | 3:44 PM ET
An interesting brief Reuters story in today’s Guardian notes: “Saudi Arabia has lifted a ban on photography in public areas as part of an effort to attract more visitors. A royal decree allowing pictures to be taken in many public places was issued about a year ago and the interior ministry enacted it this week.” As before, travelers will still need permission to photograph people and private property.
No. 1: “Arabian Sands” by Wilfred Thesiger
by Frank Bures | 05.31.06 | 12:14 PM ET
To mark our five-year anniversary, we’re counting down the top 30 travel books of all time, adding a new title each day this month.
Published: 1959
Territory covered: Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Arabian Penninsula (now Yemen, Oman, Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirates)
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