Ramadan

August 22 marked the beginning of the Ramadan in the Muslim World. I arrived from holidays yesterday which means I will spend the whole Ramadan here...what a great timing eh?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar in which Muslims have to observe compulsory fasting from dawn to sunset. The Islamic lunar calendar, being 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, migrates throughout the seasons.

The daily period of fasting starts at the breaking of dawn and ends at the setting of the sun. In between, that is, during the daylight hours, Muslims totally abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex. After sunset there is the sunset prayer, followed by big meals.

Business hours are also different, typically during Ramadan they go from 9.00 to 16.00 without break for lunch. No eating or drinking is allowed for us too, at least not in public as that might offend the Muslims in our office. Well, we do it anyway but behind closed doors. All restaurants are closed too.
The good thing is that we are home much earlier, grab something to eat and dive into the pool:)

Trip to the Desert

I'm enjoying my holidays in Portugal, but in the meantime I leave you some pictures of a trip to the desert 3 colleagues and I did 2 weeks ago, during the weekend just for fun. We just took the car and drove out of Riyadh, without any plan, we'd just see where we would end up. Check it out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/wiglejan/DesertTripEastOfRiyadh

You know you've lived in saudi Arabia when....

I found this on a expat group on facebook and I'm really recognizing most of them....and that after only 3 months:)

"You think SR500 is a good price

Your idea of housework is leaving a list for the housekeeper

You think black is appropriate daytime wear

You wear a jacket inside and take it off when you go out

You know which end of a swarma to unwrap

You think that the further you inch into an intersection the faster the light will turn green

You give directions by landmarks

You have more carpets than floor space

You expect gold for every birthday

You send your friends a map instead of your address

You begin admiring other women's "Designer" abayas

You expect to pay more for water than for petrol

You remember not eating in public in the daytime during the holy month of Ramadan.

You have ever had to wait for prayer call to be over to finish shopping.

You have friends from 50 different countries

Rain is still one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.

You have sat in a "men's" or "women's" section in an airport, hospital, or restaurant

You think a red light means "step on it

You don't think it is ostentatious to own more than one Rolex.

Your school closes early because of sandstorms

You are not surprised to see an 8 year old driving the car next to you

You can't buy anything without asking for a discount

You think cars only come in white."

Masmak Castle

Near Al-Bathaa, one of the oldest sections of Riyadh where we were 2 days ago, there is a very impressive fort as well. I did some research about it and I found that it's known as the Masmak Castle (Qasr al Masmak), built in 1865 under the reign of Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Rasheed. Masmak is the site associated with the foundation of Saudi Arabian kingdom. Today the castle is one among several buildings that form the King Abd al-Aziz Historical Center, a series of restored buildings in Riyadh. The fort is dominated by a square-based Al-Murabba tower in the center along with four watchtowers and thick walls. Its 3.65m high and 2.65m wide palm tree gate is named as al-Khokha. The castle encloses a mosque and a well too.The interior roofs of the fort are covered with painted palm-tree, taramic and Ethel wood while the communicating doors of the rooms and courtyards are also of painted wood. The building received some important renovation in the 1980s and became a museum in 1995, which displays many antique guns, costumes and agriculture artifacts. I will definitely visit the museum next time!!

Burqas

Yesterday I went to Al-Bathaa, downtown Riaydh, one of the oldest sections of the city, known for its cheap shopping and lodging. Among other things, I went with a goal in mind...I wanted to buy some burqas!! Monica and Vanessa, I got your burqas:).
What most people don't know is that the word burqa only refers to the head-covering part. The dress, which covers the rest of the body and normally worn over the usual daily clothing, is known as 'abaya'.

So, the full garment is composed by the abaya and the burqa, which on its turn is normally composed by 2 pieces: the face-veil portion and the head-scarf. In Al-Bathaa you can buy almost anything and the good thing is that the shops are grouped by the kind of stuff they sell.

To find the abayas/burqas shops we just had to look for the 'darkest' section of the market:)

I was able to take a picture with my mobile of one of the burqa shops. I had to be very quick not to be caught so the quality is quite poor. The other picture is just an impression from the area.