A June Journey: From Lebanon to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Part I: Love in Lebanon
June was a busy month filled with love in Lebanon, celebrations in Cyprus, and surprises in Saudi Arabia! The month began with a long holiday weekend because of the Muslim holiday, Eid Al Adha.
"Eid al-Adha (عيد الأضحى), also known as the "Festival of Sacrifice," is one of the two major Islamic holidays, the other being Eid al-Fitr. It commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God — before God provided a ram to sacrifice instead. In traditional muslim homes, a sheep, goat, cow, or camel is usually sacrificed to honor Abraham's devotion." -AI Search
For our holiday, my partner and I decided to travel to Lebanon. We made this decision despite the constant political turmoil between Hamas and Israel. His family has a home in the northern mountains. There, in the quietness of nature, one forgets that conflict is happening just “south” of the border. A family from Syria now cares for the home. They wanted to sacrifice a lamb for Eid al-Adha the weekend we were there. My partner and I found the ceremony too heart wrenching to witness. Instead, we had kebabs on the outdoor grill.
We touched down in Beirut and promptly left our bags at the hotel. Then, we walked to our favorite sfiha restaurant, Lakkis Farm. I had been craving these little meat pies since our last trip to Beirut, so much that I even attempted to make them at home. We had an early dinner at Amaleen and then made our way to downtown Beirut.
Our friend alerted us that the Israelis would bomb five buildings in a specific block of Beirut that evening, the fifth of June. We did as the Lebanese do and avoided the area but weren't too concerned as we were three to four kilometers from the strikes. I saw no smoke and I heard no missiles, so I danced on the rooftop of Cee Beirut along with the diaspora of Lebanon. Everybody was fine.
The next morning, we traveled to the seaside town of Batroun. It was a weekend to celebrate our friends and their five years of love and marriage. We checked into Escape by Orchid, a boutique hotel with a beautiful space and access to their exclusive beach. A day spent at Butlers Beach, a lunch at Antibaia Winery, and an evening spent at Almaza Bay were all that I needed to feel like my trip to Lebanon was complete.
On Sunday, we had a quick brunch at Buco Burger where we ordered nearly every burger on the menu. A crowd favorite was The Classic. Afterward, our friends gave us a ride back to Beirut, and along the way we stopped for pistachio ice-cream at Sea Sweet. Back in Beirut, we said our goodbyes over an Espresso Martini at Cyrano-Le Coin de L'Apero.
Part II: Celebrations in Cyprus
From Beirut, we took a 40 minute flight to Larnaca with other friends to celebrate their marriage. My eyes closed and when they opened, we had landed! In my opinion, the best thing about Cyprus was the Blue Lagoon near Ayia Napa. The water was crystal clear and there weren't the crowds of Nissi Beach. My Block Skin looked perfect, sitting there in the sun. I applied some of my favorite sunscreen and captured one for the 'gram.
The old town was small and quaint, and Greek flags flapped in the summer breeze. I had one good meal at Stou Roushia. Their Village Salad was very fresh and the tzatziki rich and flavorful. Of course I had to try the traditional Greek loukoumades, at Lokmakoscy (Λοκμάκος). These little dough balls were just as they looked, sweet and crispy on the outside and soft and airy in the inside.
Part III: Surprises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
We arrived back to hot and humid Dubai. I spent three days preparing a Lebanese inspired dinner to host our friends on a Friday. Our table was laden with all of the Middle Eastern dishes I had been working so hard to prepare: hummus and pita chips, freshly cut vegetables, tabouleh, fattoush, sfiha, shish-barak, kibbeh, yogurt sauce, and for dessert, halawet al jibn. I worked the hardest on halawet al jibn and had to do so much research. I learned how to make my own cheese to stuff the sweets and to make the gelatin-like exterior with a combination of mozzarella and semolina. In the midst of our feasting, I made a very last minute decision to go to Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia the following day....
Growing up in the West, I was always fearful of visiting KSA and never had a desire to go. I read about the women who had fled from KSA to seek asylum in the USA, Canada, or elsewhere. They could not drive, mingle with men, and were forced to wear the niqab. I heard about "chop-chop" or Deera square in Riyadh and of the religious police patrolling the streets.
For decades, criminals in Saudi Arabia were lined up after Friday prayers at a central Riyadh plaza and beheaded by sword in a gruesome public spectacle overseen by the religious police. The main building in Chop-Chop, officially Safa Square, belongs to the religious police which Prince Mohammed neutered in 2016. **In 2016 the power of The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (also known as the religious police) was drastically reduced by Mohammed bin Salman and it was banned “from pursuing, questioning, asking for identification, arresting and detaining anyone suspected of a crime.”
Now, water fountains dance outside, music blares, and an illuminated sign obscuring their logo reads "Pulse of Riyadh".
Now, I was going on a two-week work trip to teach there! KSA was the only Gulf Country that I hadn't been to, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a quick 1.5 hours from Dubai to Dammam. I was picked up at the airport and taken to my accommodation in Al Khobar by a Yemeni driver and his friend. They didn't speak much English, but they asked me my religion, if I was married, and where I was from. Once they dropped me off at my apartment, I was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.
I was awoken by a harsh light. The sun was reflecting from the sea into the panoramic windows of my room and I couldn't open my eyes. I've never experienced such an overwhelming brightness. I grabbed the silk scarf I bought and wrapped it around my eyes, and with the darkness enveloping my eyes, I fell back to sleep. When I woke again I went to explore the surrounding areas. I was happy to see a local Saudi woman in a niqab help me at Dot Bakery and Cafe, I'm not used to locals in the GCC working in cafes. I asked for an iced latte and three waters. When my order was ready, I was given an iced latte and three hotdog fatayer. It was a lost in translation moment I suppose, at least the fatayer were good.
For the next twelve days, each morning before work, I had my coffee at Dot and made phone calls because they had strong WIFI. Similar to the UAE, KSA blocks Whatsapp; thus, a VPN (with strong WIFI) is necessary. On the second day of my visit, the twenty-third of June, my location was in Iran, and the time on my phone kept auto-switching to the Tehran time-zone. I learned from Reddit that it was GPS spoofing due to the Israel-Iran conflict and my data was safe. The airspaces were being closed, including Dubai's international airport. I imagined spending the remainder of my summer in KSA and felt slightly anxious; would the conflict between Iran and Israel be resolved? That evening, Iran retaliated to Israel's recent attack and struck the American military base in Qatar. Despite the media frenzy, I went out into my neighborhood for dinner, and I could see the lights of Bahrain flickering in the distance. Friends of mine in Doha saw the missiles in the sky, but Iran was not interested in hurting civilians and no one was harmed.
The next day, the conflict subsided and I think it of no coincidence that my location and time returned to normal.
The people of Al Khobar were very friendly. I did not see many Westerners, but I found most people to speak English at the restaurants and cafes. I decided to venture out of my neighborhood and took my first Uber to Ithra Library in Dhahran. The Uber driver was from Saudi and provided information (unprompted) of where to find alcohol in Al Khobar. He was speaking of the homemade brews, akin to the bootlegging done in Kuwait.
Ithra Library was one of the most beautiful libraries I have ever seen. Surrounded by cafes, a museum, and even a movie theater, it felt a bit surreal being permitted to take food and drink into a library! I made my way up four floors of books and then down seven to the museum. And then up fifteen to Rüya, a Turkish restaurant, for dinner.
In June 2018, Ithra opened its doors to the public, cementing itself as one of Saudi Arabia’s most influential cultural destinations. Today, the Center houses museums that explore Islamic heritage, culture, identity, artistic talent, natural history and science; a theater for music, dance and visual performances; and a library with a collection of more than 270,000 titles in Arabic and English arranged on four floors.
The following day, I walked to the souq on Suwaikat Street. My time there was especially inspirational. I stopped to try on an abaya and peaked into various stores. One of them, Reef Tybh had me captivated by its aromatic fragrances. The shop carried mastic gum and exotic spices from Yemen, India, and the surrounding region. I needed the mastic gum specifically for making Arabic ice-cream in my Thermomix and had been fruitlessly scouring the internet and supermarkets for a trustworthy brand. I left the store with a bagful of mastic gum, mixed nuts, and Turkish coffee. I also found a store, Masagti that carried Van Cleef and Cartier at a discounted price. On my walk home, I was caught up in a dust-storm and felt inspired to write this poem:
Tonight I walked in a summery snow-storm.
Dust swirled around me
and the drifts crept
from the sandlots
to the sidewalk crevices.
Surly cats roamed the streets
Unbothered.
White and black cloaks
drifted by.
Not a Westerner in sight.
"Willcome," a boy greets me,
His agal slightly lopsided
atop his checkered keffiyeh.
Eight lanes of slow moving traffic
I jog between highway medians.
Dusk settles on the Arabian Gulf.
I know I am home -
for now.
The remainder of my time in Al Khobar was spent teaching during the day and indulging in evening activities. I had ice-cream at Salt Beach House, and rode a bicycle on the corniche with City Bikes. I tried many delicious restaurants, my favorites were Em Sherif Cafe for Lebanese, Nozomi for sushi, and Al Romansiah for traditional Saudi kabsa.
My trip to Al Khobar would not be complete without a visit to the exclusive Saudi Aramco camp in Dhahran. Aramco was founded by the Standard Oil Company of California in the 1930s. It’s a California inspired town that used to have mostly Americans living there and is still a private compound with historic traces of American life. I think the novelty of Aramco has faded since KSA has become less conservative and the lifestyle within the camp may not be so different from those outside (e.g. women driving). However, I was told, Saudi families may not send their children to the Aramco school and that most of the Westerners that live there remain within the compound.
My time in Al Khobar was pleasant and I felt very welcomed by the people there. Someone recently described Saudi Arabia as a country finishing one chapter and turning the page to begin another, but not everyone is ready to read that new page. Returning to Dubai, I felt a sense of relief. It was like coming home to a place where the new chapter began long ago, and people have already settled into the rhythm of the story. And just like that, June came to a close, with love in Lebanon, celebrations in Cyprus, and surprises in Saudi.
