December 1, 2007 - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
"Life doesn't give us what we want; it gives us what we need."
~ Bikram Philosophy
Riyadh temperature high: 78 degrees F
Hood River temperature high: 43 degrees F
I have often found it is scary to receive what we want. There is a comfort in the feeling of rejection and loss. In 1902 Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud captured the Masmak Fort in Riyadh and wanted to unify the entire region under one leader, one government, and one religion.
Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud accomplished this goal in 1923 through a very diplomatic process. From each Arabian tribe he conquered or made an alliance with, Ibn Saud married a daughter of its chief so that the alliance would "last for as many generations as possible". To the tribe's chief, this also meant his daughter would become the mother of a future ruler. Thus Ibn Saud married more than 40 wives and went on to have children with each wife. There are currently more than 1,500 princes (sons and grandsons). Due to women not holding stature, the numbers of princesses have never been counted.
Last night we arrived at the world-renowned, 5 Star hotel at the Kingdome Centre in Riyadh. We refer the building as the “bottle opener” due to its shape, however there is nothing low-class about the tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdome Center is owned by Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a prince of the Saudi royal family. The building include privately owned apartments, the highest mosque in Saudi Arabia, offices, and a connected shopping mall. One floor of the mall is dedicated to only women where they can take off their veils and long robes and shop in casual clothes. Stores on this floor include Saks Fifth Avenue, Giorgio Armani, and Nine West Shoes.
The 4 Season’s Hotel is also housed here and we have the privilege of being their distinguished guests. Upon entry into my room, I immediately drew a bubble bath in the sauna tub, lit the complementary candles, and enjoyed a fresh juice from the fridge.
Although impressed by the amenities of our Educators to Saudi Arabia experience, there is a feeling of limited exposure to only the upper class.
I am also astonished by the rapid advancements this country has experienced in the last 100 years. In order for King Saud to complete the fall of the Ottoman Empire, unify the Arabian tribes, and obtain leadership in 1902, he first had to capture a fort built in 1865. While visiting the fort, in historic Riyadh, I was reminded that these earthen-ruins were built at a time when plans for both the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower were underway. Constructed skyscrapers in New York City complete.
Within 40 years of unifying the country, King Saud asked American geologists to find water. Instead, these geologists recognized rocks indicative of underground oil reserves. Within another 30 years, the oil boom resulted in a rapid industrialization through western influences, and the dependency between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia was formed. Franklin D. Roosevelt, and every president after, has promised unlimited military protection in exchange for oil assets.
As my friend Mike and I stood on the observation deck at the top of the Kingdome Center, we looked down at a land filled with extremes. Extreme wealth, poverty, dress-codes, religion… However, we also experienced the thrill of a moonlit eve overhead, while an array of colored lights danced at our feet. A vast construction strewn desert lay before us, leaving the future of this country, dependent upon a non-renewable resource, for us to ponder.
In 1969, King Saud’s died; nevertheless his memory will never be lost, and his achievements forever remembered due to the naming of the country after himself – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
