First impressions

Ahead of me are long stretches of desert lands. I am passing the first petrol stations. These are big complexes, each of them surrounded by shops of all sorts, restaurants and inevitably a mosque. Quite a few of them, however, are deserted, with rubbish and rubble strewn around and blown over by dunes of varying sizes. The roads are lined by camel fences decorated with plastic bags. I pass through the first villages, quite poor affairs, to the left and right shabby houses and lots of old tires left lying in front of workshops. This is not how I had imagined Saudi Arabia. The land where the oil bursts out of the ground, bringing affluence and wealth.
And something else feels different, something which took me quite a few towns and settlements to recognise. Everywhere you see men walking, Saudi men wearing Thoubs, the long white robe and their headdress, the square cloth held in position with a black rope intermingling with Afghanis and Pakistanis, dressed in their Shalwar Kameezes and headscarves. But this is not the only thing that feels different. It is the total absence of women! Not only in the streets but also in the shops. Men serve, men sit at the cash registers (a wonderful impression, the Saudi men sitting on the checkout wearing their thoub), only men seem to do the groceries.Read more