Just a Moment

In today’s modernizing culture there is rarely an opportunity for one to get away from all the demands of life and be silent. There is something truly captivating about being silent. Not having a constant stream of texts, emails, and messages bombarding your phone or computer is refreshing. Last night we got to experience one of the most beautiful moments thus far on our trip. Allow me to share this moment and how it is forever embedded in my memory.

We are currently in Al-Ula. It is a small Bedouin desert town. A simple yet magnificent town. Our tour guide, Khalid, wanted to take us out into the desert to make us some Arabic coffee. After about a 15 minutes of driving, we find ourselves with only sand dunes and wind carved mountain-sized rocks surrounding us. We began unpacking the utensils  necessary for making traditional Arabic coffee, and for just a moment the sand and mountains we found ourselves between became our fortress, in which we were hidden from the world. We were off the map, with no technology, only each other’s company for enjoyment. Khalid prepares the Arabic coffee with the fire we help build. We set up our mat on a sand dune. Then we sit together drinking Arabian coffee, laughing, and of course eating dates. It is discovered that Joe and I posses the ability to spit date seeds nearly 20 feet! Quite an admirable talent if you ask me. For just a moment we joined in the thousands of desert travelers before us that would have come upon this traditional Bedouin hospitality. How this tradition of coffee and dates has been passed down from generation to generation is truly remarkable. We were honored to partake in this tradition.

The sunlight was leaving us, but that was only helping to set the stage for the show that was to take place. Then twinkling desert stars begin to emerge from behind the darkening sky. For just a moment the wind carved rocks become the ballroom hall, the sand becomes a stage, the distant wind becomes the choir, and the stars become the spotlight for the dance that was to take place. For just a moment our thoughts and soul were free to dance together. It was an eloquent waltz in the beauty of the moment. Once again we joined with the thousands of desert travelers who became the audience of this precious dance. For just a moment we stood in reverence for the beauty surrounding us. For just a moment we were silent.

It is no surprise to me why the Bedouin people chose and still choose to live out in desert. They understand the riches found in these lands. The desert is a vast treasure chest filled with precious moments like this.

 

So today I simply challenge you to take some time to be silent. No phone, computer, iPad, or Ipod. Just be silent and let the moment carry you.

We are forever thankful that we have had the opportunity to experience some of these rare moments. Saudi Arabia is truly a beautiful land.

-Jordan

 

 

Relationships, Religion, and History

Alot has happened since I was last able to write about our whereabouts. Let me begin where I left off.

The home-cooked meal that we were able to share with the Hijazi family was glorious. There were three tables of food with at least a dozen different dishes and not one of them were bad! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with the family and count it a privilege to have been able to share the evening with them. After we finished eating we shared tea and coffee with them and had rich conversations. As we were leaving we found it difficult to put into words how thankful we really were. Once more, true Saudi hospitality exceeded our highest expectations!

The days since then have been filled with many enjoyable and fulfilling activities. We reconnected with our friends from the desert and spent one evening at a coffee shop exchanging stories and building our relationship with a couple of them. We look forward to staying connected with these new friends even after we return to the states. Who knows, maybe one day we will have connections with several generals in the Saudi Navy. They are phenomenal guys and I would not be surprised if they went far.

The next day we were blessed to have the opportunity to share breakfast with a Muslim university professor who was well-learned in Islam. He was very educational and we were able to ask questions that we had been formulating during our time here. Our conversation with him was interesting and rich. That evening we shared coffee with an Imam from a local mosque. He, too, was a joy to talk to. Hopefully we will have the pleasure of having more conversations with men like these in the future.

Currently we are in the middle of our final endeavor in Saudi Arabia. Yesterday we made the nine hour drive north to a town named Al-Ula. With a population much less than Jeddah, it has more of a small-town feel. The village atmosphere is really neat. Our reason for coming here was to observe and experience Mada’in Saleh, an archaeological excavation of over 100 tombs and wells from the Nabatean kingdom. This civilization dates back to the first century A.D. and is surprisingly well-preserved. Mada’in Saleh, a twenty minute drive from our hotel, was the second largest and southernmost city of this ancient civilization. Also on the grounds of the reservation where the tombs are preserved is one of the main railroad stations from the Hejaz railroad, a north-south railroad running over 800 miles from Damascus to Medina. The railroad was in operation from 1901-1920. Initially it was supposed to continue all the way to Mecca in order to aid Muslims on the Hajj, but construction was interrupted due to the outbreak of World War I. Perhaps you have heard the story of this interruption from the video documenting the life of the British army officer who led the attacks, Thomas Edward Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia.

This land is rich and truly does have a special place in my heart. The people and culture, though very different from what I call familiar, are extremely beautiful and rewarding to be a part of.

Joe, once again, on behalf of all

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Saudi Hospitality

Our new friends from the corniche called us on Friday afternoon and informed us that the invitation to ride four-wheelers on the dunes was being accompanied by an invitation to share a Saudi cookout. Accepting that offer didn’t take a whole lot of consideration on our part.

They picked us up from the hotel at about 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday and we headed south out of the city and east into the interior. After a 45 minute drive and some heated negotiations in Arabic with the owners of the four wheelers, us and our new friends were driving, and sometimes flying, over the dunes of the outskirts of Jeddah. A solid hour of pure joy ensued.

After returning the four-wheelers, brushing the sand out of our hair, and comparing stories about hang-time and top speeds, we headed back out for the cookout.

Our group of friends were all recent graduates of the Saudi Naval Academy and are working in Jeddah as new officers. They shared many interesting insights into Saudi culture and we were able to answer alot of questions that they had about America. Some of them had never met an American before! We swapped stories, learned some Arabic phrases, sipped on coffee and laughed back and forth until the food was ready. When the food was finally set out at about 10pm, we were blown away. Talk about a feast! We all sat in a circle on a carpet in the sand and dug in with our hands. The chicken was grilled to perfection. They treated us with utmost hospitality. Chad commented that in all of his world travels, he has never been treated with so much hospitality. I would have to agree. There is something special about these people. They met us in a public place and didn’t know us at all and two days later treated us like princes. This experience only strengthened our growing love for the Saudi people. They truly are a beautiful people and a joy to be with.

In typical Saudi fashion, we stayed out until after midnight and didn’t get in bed until just after 1am. From what I gather, this is even considered early to some. It’s fascinating to see the streets, malls, and shops open after midnight. In reality, some are just getting started at this time, even on the weekdays!

This Saudi evening was combined with an early morning the next day. We spent all day on Sunday touring King Abdulaziz University, a huge beautiful campus with 70,000 students, and talking about the potential of Arabic study here in the future. It was exciting to talk with the instructors and investigate the program. Jordan and I both have an interest in Arabic language so we enjoyed the short afternoon of Arabic basics that we were privileged to participate in.

The trip truly has been a success and a joy. Being in Saudi has been a tremendous pleasure so far. The last two days have left us pretty whipped, so we are taking a few hours this afternoon to rest. We have to be well rested for tonight because we are going to an authentic Hijazi home tonight and sharing a home cooked meal. No doubt we may again see the wee hours of the morning. I’m looking forward to sharing tonight’s events!

– Joe, for the sleeping team

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Day One around Jeddah

Our time in Jeddah has been phenomenal. Day One was full of many pleasant surprises. We spent the early parts of the day walking around Balad (Old Jeddah) with our tour guide, Khalid. He pointed out many interesting architectural and historical facts. We got to see parts of the original wall that surrounded the city and we even got to walk through the house that King Abdulaziz lived in and ruled from in the early 1900’s. Fun fact: up until forty years ago, Jeddah only occupied one square kilometer and had a population of 7,000 people. Today it is more than 1,500 square kilometers and is home to more than 3 million people. Talk about urban growth!

Once it started getting warm at about 10:30am (and by “warm” I mean full blown Texas-hot), we headed out to grab lunch. But as we were leaving Balad, Jordan, one of our group members, received a warm Saudi welcome from an overhead bird. I guess the bird found Jordan’s eye as a welcoming target! Thankfully someone had some wet wipes! It brought a smile to most of our faces.

Khalid took us to the fish market where we picked our fish (which were still flopping around), chose how we wanted them cooked, and, quite literally, feasted.

This was followed by a nap. One of our group members was still suffering from jetlag and the rest of us used his sleepiness as a good reason to need some downtime. After we woke from the dead a couple of hours later, we spent the evening at the north corniche (a city-walk along the Red Sea). We ate some shwarmas, met several awesome Saudi nationals and were able to have great conversations and make some friends. One group of guys even invited us to go dune bashing in the desert! We’re looking forward to that! Needless to say, the people here are beautifully friendly and welcoming. Every chance we get to chat with them is a joy.

Stay tuned for more thoughts! – Joe, for the group.

 

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Rustaq

Continuing our amazing adventure here in Oman, we were invited, by the same group of Omani girls that took us to Mutrah, to a village called Rustaq that is about 1.5 hours away from Muscat. We woke up in the morning around 10 am to get ready for our awaited adventure with the girls. With all the excitement we kept looking at our cell phone to see when the girls would call to let us know that they had arrived at our house. Around 11am the girls arrived. We got in our cars and were on our way to Rustaq. Upon arriving in Rustaq we were quickly ushered into the girls’ mother’s house where we met her grandmother, aunts, dad and mother. We were shown into a room where the girls brought lunch to us. Lunch was chicken with potatoes, rice, spinach, onions, and yogurt. It was very delicious.

After having lunch we took a two hour nap that was very refreshing. When we woke up we had a snack, it was a platter of fruit that consisted of mangos, bananas, oranges and dates. After that they brought us some black coffee with a traditional Omani dessert called “Hilwa”. We headed out and the girls showed us the date farm that their family owns.

We got in the cars and we had about a 20 minute drive to a natural hot spring. The water was very HOT and we got a chance to dip our feet in the water.  People are allowed to bathe in the spring water.

After that we were taken to a fort in Rustaq, due to maintenance the fort was closed so we didn’t get to go inside but we still took pictures on the outside.

It was getting late and we had to get ready for the Omani wedding that we were invited too. Without hesitation we quickly got in the cars and drove back to the family house. The girls put makeup on us and even let us borrow their traditional dresses called “jalabiyas”.

Jalabiyas are beautiful silk dresses with a lot of bright print on it.  They are worn with a matching headscarf. Once we were all dressed up we headed to the wedding.

In the traditional Omani culture the bride is in a tent with all the women having their own party while she awaits her husband to come and pick her up. We ate dinner there which was rice and chicken and awaited her husband to come. In the meantime, we were taught how to dance by some of the women which was really fun! After a long day we drove back to Muscat and went straight to bed.

~ written by a traveler

A Guys’ Day Out

 Today was filled with so much fun that it felt like 2 days. We started off with meeting with Diaz, an Omani whom we have become great friends with. 

He borrowed his friend’s jeep so that he can take us to Quriyat, a beautiful place in the mountains where a huge dam has been constructed. About an hour and a half later we were there admiring the beauty of the scene.

Of course, we had to take some pictures. After an hour or two our unanimously voted tour guide Diaz took us to a nearby village where we picked up a few of his friends who had moved here from Ghana for work. We headed out to the beach and found a great un-crowded spot to hang out and talk. We had very interesting friendly dialogue about the culture of Oman, Ghana, and the US as well as shared interesting stories about our lives. These light-hearted conversations were most definitely the highlight of the day. 

After talking, we decided to go a short distance to the one of their friend’s boats and finish the day with some more swimming in the ocean.

Today was such an amazing learning experience for our group. We learned things that could not be taught in school, but only learned through firsthand dialogue and experiences. Here in Oman it is not the sights or even the heat that catch a visitor’s attention, but the way in which these people live and love.

Grand Mosque Visit

Grand Mosque Muscat 2012

Check out a few pictures from today’s visit to the Grand Mosque!

AE Oman Summer 2012

In a few days, college students from the USA will be participating in a culture education adventure through Oman.  During their travels, they will be adding posts and pictures daily to this blog.  Check back throughout the next two weeks to see what all they are up to and hear about their experiences.

Saudi Travel and Tourism Exhibition

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of attending the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market.  We met so many amazing people who had such a love for their country and their regions.  Each visitor was greeted with incredible Saudi hospitality.  We learned about fascinating places all around the country like the beautiful rich landscapes of Al Ahsa, historical sites that inspired famous Arabic poetry in Al Qaseem, and festivals such as the upcoming Rose Festival in Al Taif.

We also learned about the many amazing traditional handicrafts – such as knife (kanjar) and sword making, pottery, stone carving, painting, traditional architecture, weaving, and prayer beads.

A country which has fascinated us for years has suddenly become an even more fascinating land with so much to explore, discover, and learn about.  We look forward to visiting some of these amazing regions over this next year…stay tuned! 🙂

Click on the picture to see more pictures from the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market 2012!

Two Weeks

From exploring new places

to playing soccer at sunset

to meeting new people and making new friends

to hiking in dry river beds

to camping on the beach

to singing our hearts out…

the past two weeks have been filled with adventures, laughs, new friends and a better understanding of a country and people not so different from the place we call home.

*Update: AE Group is all safely on the plane and headed home.