People & Clothing in Saudi Arabia

But the clash between cultures can produce jarring inconsistencies. Store mannequins display sexy lingerie, yet the mutaween, or religious police, might lash a woman on the wrist for letting a strand of hair escape from under her veil. Satellite dishes bring in risque fare from all over the globe, yet Saudi Internet providers block the Web site of England's Middlesex Cricket Club because it has "sex" in the name.

www.sptimes.com/2002/webspecials02/saudiarabia/day1/story1.shtml

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Ahmad and Mohammad are two very special little boys. When they where born they where conjoined at the pelvis, chest and abdomen.
The operation was done at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, where a team of highly qualified surgeons and support staff, headed by Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Consultant Pediatric Surgeon, performed the operation. King Abdulaziz Medical City has performed this operation twice before, on Sudanese and Saudi twins, and both where very successful.

http://multiples.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ngha.med.sa%2Fmalaytwin%2Fmain.html

Surgery date: 17/09/2002

Surgery time: 07:30 hrs

Head surgeon: Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah

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Population: 24,293,844
note: includes 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:

     0-14 years: 42.3% (male 5,245,413; female 5,028,595)
     15-64 years: 54.8% (male 7,700,121; female 5,622,099)
     65 years and over: 2.9% (male 393,173; female 304,443) (2003 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.27% (2003 est.)
Literacy: total population: 78.8%
Ethnic groups: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
Infant mortality rate: total: 47.94 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.73 years
www.theodora.com/wfb2003/saudi_arabia/saudi_arabia_people.html

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Children with muscular atrophy

Saudi Arabia Awakes to the Perils of Inbreeding.

When she was 17, marrying age for a Saudi girl, Salha was presented with a husband. She was lucky, her parents told her when they planned the wedding, that she was to marry such a good man, a man from her own tribe, a man who would care for their children and make a good living. He was the son of her father's brother — her first cousin — and everyone, including the bride, agreed that "a first cousin was a first choice," she said.

The couple had two healthy boys, now 22 and 20, but their third child, a girl, was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a crippling and usually fatal disease that was carried in the genes of both parents.

Their fourth, sixth and seventh children were also born with the disorder.

www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/international/middleeast/01GENE.html

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At times, living and working there felt positively like what must have felt to be Alice in Wonderland. However, I was fascinated by this beautiful country and I have met some overwhelmingly kind people. My students were great, and the general hospitality of the people I have visited will be one of my fondest memories ever. And, to my own surprise, I felt quite at home towards the end of my stay, just like Alice. www.silvija.net/2002SaudiMay/diving.html

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August 24, 2001 Septuplets Born at GU In Critical Condition
The Qahtani septuplets born July 12 at Georgetown University Hospital are in critical condition in the neonatal intensive care unit, with two boys still dependent on antibiotics and ventilators.The septuplets join two other sets of seven alive in the world. One set of septuplets was also born to a Saudi Arabian family.

http://multiples.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehoya.com%2Fnews%2F082401%2Fnews6.cfm

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Jan. 14, 1998 Hasna Mohammed Humair of Saudi Arabia gives birth to surviving septuplets, four boys and three girls. http://www.twinstuff.com/thisdate.htm

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Some good tips at this site

Etiquette in the Gulf States www.medea.be/site.html?page=2&lang=en&doc=762

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I have the utmost respect for those wealthy people who give to those who are less fortunate than they are, this center was begun by a female doctor, daughter to Sheik Juffali. All children are treated, regardless of wealth.

The Help Center began operations in November 1986 in one villa in Jeddah, with three therapists attending to three children with varying disabilities.
In October 1993, the late Sh. Ahmed Juffali, founder of the Help Center, laid the founding stone of the current premises. These facilities were completed in September 1995.
More than 320 children are enrolled at the Help Center and attended to by 150 specialized staff.
www.helpcenter.med.sa/webapp/wcs/stores/HelpCenter/default.jsp

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We come upon a Saudi film crew that is shooting a scene for a local TV show. A social satire, the show is similar to soap operas in the United States. One of Dariyah's old buildings has been transformed into a set for the show. We never guessed that filming for an ordinary TV program would take place in such a historic environment. www.saudiembassy.net/publications/Magazine-Winter-01/wonders.htm

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An Example of Arabian Hospitality

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A typical 21k gold jewelry store with rings, necklaces, belts and head pieces. View the original, really nice!!

Picture: www.the-eddys.com/Holidays/saudi.html

all gold!!

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Although every jewelry store carries men's gold jewelry, it's mainly for the foreigners as the majority of Saudi men do not wear yellow gold. They will wear either white gold or silver because Islam Sunnah states that a man should not show off his financial status.

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Jewelry Center, a new mall in Jeddah, dedicated to just that!

Tomorrows Angel at virtual tourist -- a well traveled person gives many pages of pictures and lots of info and tips about Saudi!!! This picture from her collection http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/5e2c4/bc1/

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Whatever their job or social status, Saudi men wear the traditional dress called a thobe, perfectly suited to the hot Saudi climate. At special times, men often wear a bisht or mishlah trimmed in gold. The higher the status the more gold braiding.

www.arab.net/saudi/culture/sa_clothing.html

Picture: http://www.desertstore.com/dir/15.html

Man's formal dress.

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The mishlah is the equivalent to formal dress and is the one exception where all men wear gold due to the gold trimming, although some are made with silver braiding.

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Hand made Enaail

Completely hand made from leather, these sandals are worn by almost all men during the daytime. Originally made locally but now the majority are made in Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea, etc.. There are brand names as well now!

Picture: www.desertstore.com/dir/15.html

While in Riyadh this summer I bought these women's 'enail' for my sister, I think they'd be good with long jeans.

my picture

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Date: 17 June 1985 11:31 GMT. Discovery. Program: STS

First Saudi astronaut

www.astronautix.com/flights/sts51g.htm picture: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/al-saud.html

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During the month of Ramadan in June 1985, Saudi Arabian prince Sultan-bin-Sulman faced a difficulty never
before encountered by any devout Muslim. He called down to the NASA engineers. "While I'm up here in the spacecraft, which way do I turn to properly face Mecca (for his prayers)?" NASA engineers were flummoxed. Good problem-solvers that they were, they phoned a mosque. After some discussion, the reply was beamed heavenward. "As long as you're generally facing Earth, your prayers will be properly received."

www.realchangenews.org/pastissuesupgrade/2001_11_29/misc/notes_from_kitchen.html

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A very typical scene on any street in the kingdom, the 'che-sha' or hubbly bubbly. They fill the top with a mixture of dried fruits and set hot charcoal on it, also popular with many women!

http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/.../jeddah-city.html