Saudi Arabia
 

Well, I have waited for a bit to mention this, but thought; although not general knowledge I should mention that I am in Saudi Arabia for a 1 yr contract. Was laid off last October, no jobs and unemployment ran out, so a "job" was needed. Saudi is very interesting so (no internet in my room for a week or two; so using a library computer).

You can buy most anything here, sometimes more expensive, sometimes cheaper (not counting gas, its very cheap)


Anyway, I will be on the forums during your day hours most likely, as they are 9 hrs ahead of east coast time.


Ed

My friend is currently traveling in United Arab Emirates. In the phone, he told his wife what he saw .... or his wife remembered wrong .... saying the government there sending a check of USD$30,000 to each household (or citizen?) every month, without request them doing anything.

True?

Hey Ed,

Thanks for keeping in touch. My only advise today is use SUNSCREEN. :)

Hi Ed,
I wish you a nice and interesting time over there in the "no-beer-zone":cheers:
Come back safe.
Best wishes,
Andy














.

Arabic language is a hard one. A good oppertunity to figure out what they wrote on those Persian Mausers :)

Alvin?

Wouldn't those be in Farsi?

FN

Fred, I hope I knew. Only remember the language contains many horizontal bars with dots above or below them. Imagine road plates with full of those characters.

Alvin,

Yeah, I'm sure I don't know if the two languages use the same written characters. Maybe not as the Persian LP.08s don't have arabic numbers. ??? Might be like English 'english', and American 'english'. I once tried to do the crossword in the London Times. NOPE! Where I can whip right through the NY Times.

FN

There is a huge difference between Arabic and Farsi, like Russian and English.
BTW,the numbers we are using nowadays are based on Arabic numbers like 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
instead of Roman numbers like I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
The Arabs teached mathematics in their universities thousands of years before Sokrates, Pytagoras and other genies in Greece even were born,
about 4000 years before the German born genie Einstein developed his theories.

Ed,

If it sounds like fun, you might go hunting in the desert for "Saudi diamonds" (quartz) which can be cut into very nice diamond looking stones for not much money. Could be good souvenirs.

A buddy who was in Saudi Arabia working would go out in the desert at first light to see the stones glint or sparkle in the slanting sun light. Found a bunch of the stones. Had them cut/faceted in Bangkok for a few bucks. He had fun for years giving them away or selling them for $5-15 a stone to recoup the cost of cutting them. He had match boxes full of "Saudi diamonds" that looked like real diamonds.

http://dubaibestbuys.blogspot.com/20...-diamonds.html

Gene

Not sure, but I think the link is showing faceted "Saudi diamonds" and not CZ.

Farsi and Arabic use the same alphabet, but they still are two different languages.
The same alphabet is also used in Urdu, that is the language spoken in Pakistan.
This is from my experience, as i have been in this three countries, due to working reasons.
About the numbers, we use the arabic ones, coming directly from ancient arabic. The numbers now used in arabic language come from some indian alphabet.
As you can see, there is a little confusion out there.
Cheers
Antonio

Thank you, Antonio, for clearing that up. Very interesting.

FN

I hate to askn this, but what have they done in the last 2000 years?

They have boned us for oil :mad:

Hi, Ed!

Best of luck in the sand. I spent a year in Tabuk in the early 1970's. It's in the northeast corner of the nation on the road to Amman, Jordan.

An very interesting assignment with a very intereting culture.

Very sincerely, David

Ed,
Best of luck to you, just be careful my friend and stay far away from any visiting politicians from the US.

Jim

The Saudi's and their culture are both interesting and quite different than our own.

I have a distant relative that married a Saudi pilot (the son of a Saudi 747 pilot). They are both well known and respected, one being trusted to the extent of flying Yasser Arafat to New York for attendance at the United Nations.

They live in Jeddah. In her words it has been like winning the lottery with nothing to spend it upon! They live in luxury with servants, etc... She is not allowed to drive, so must be driven when she needs to travel. This also means that there is always someone with her.

A few years ago, she got inattentive about her appearance, and let her hair show outside her head covering and scarf. The town religious "police" warned HIM about her behavior, yet she continued to do this. Eventually HE was brought in for a ritual beating to punish him for not controlling his wife.

There are cultural things that I'm sure will take some time to get used to. For example, don't talk about your pet dog in Saudi Arabia. Dogs are considered dirty, and keeping one barbaric. Also, don't cross your legs and show the bottom of your shoe to anyone. That's a rather significant insult!

Best wishes... Every time I'm overseas, it's a great learning experience.

Marc

You are missed Ed. Keep us posted on all happenings there, and let me know if your family needs anything at home... I'll do what I can.

Ed,

Good luck in Saudia Arabia. I was in Bahrain in January. Everyone goes to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the weekends to party.

Take care,

Tracy

Marc, Tracy and all thanks.


Finished my "in-processing" and start work tomorrow. I am aware of some cultural items, but will try to remember what you said Marc. Evidently the interpreter assigned to me (most of the time), I will ask for his help in being culturally aware, as that is important to me.


Now that i have internet access, I'll be around, just at weirder times :D

Ed

Hi Ed, Please keep us posted on your adventures, it's been very interesting so far. All the best, Norm

Norm, I will my friend. I will try to take some worthwhile pictures of the "open" areas and buildings.

I have "mentioned" to several people that I collect lugers (usually I keep it on the QT, but figure that it won't hurt here). Maybe I will get lucky and someone will know someone who has a collection (thinking of my arabic interpreters) ;)

Ed you may remember that a forum member managed to import FIVE Lugers that he found in a shop somewhere in the middle east, Yemen I think, for well below market price about 10 years ago... I hope you are as lucky and that they are all Simson's or Krieghoff's... :)

john, I forgot about that, but remember it vividely now that you mention it :>)

Hi Ed, Maybe you'll find Lawrence of Arabia's Luger, if Ralph Shattuck hasn't already beaten you to it. Regards, Norm

FYI:

Persian Mausers are in Persian, not Arabic.

Sieger

Ed, Thanks for a couple of your recent referals. Have you seen any "gold bar" venting machines, like I've seen shown on TV? I wonder how long one of those would last here at a local bank? Or more importantly, have you found a beer machine on base? As a ole Navy vet, it's had for me to imagine liberty without a bar staffed by good looking B-girls. Should we all send you some good books? Although, I understand possession of a Playboy is a "heangin' offence". Tom

Things here are interesting, on our compound they get away with a bit more, but the mails are subject to search and I think they do; so mail is not the best way to send me inappropriate material.

They say that if you want it, you can get in the kingdom, but the penalty is still there; so I can wait till out of country for many things ;)


Ed

Well, I could ship 110 lbs, to include the shipping boxes (which weighed 10 lbs), so out of 100 lbs, you can see what was important to me ;)

you got all the right books, thats all you need......take care of your self.

What are firearms laws like in the Kingdom?

Marc

Don't forget in your travels and adventures to ride a stinky, nasty, spitting camel.

Marc has a great question... Ed are you allowed to enjoy the shooting sports in the kingdom?

I have heard not really, but I am not with any gun guys right now.

I do get to play with the F2000, the Five-SeveN Tactical, the M240 version they have and their assult rifle in the next month...


Ed

Hi Ed , I'm in Las Vegas for a week (on business). It's probably just as hot as where you are, except there's more booze and broads. All the best, Norm

Ed:

When I was in Saudi Arabia, I had to make a trip to Khamis Mushyat in the south eastern portion. My co-worker there was a gun collector and, in the course of our conversation, he told me that he had been offered a Luger by a gun seller in the suq (market). This came up after he showed me a small, very collectable revolver that he had acquired there. I don't remember the maker or model.

We went to the suq the very next morning and found the seller. When asked, perhaps because he did no recognize me, he would not produce the Luger. He did, however, produce a K98 that was in mint, virtually unfired condtion, with no track on the loading ramp showing a cartridge had been run up into the chamber.

He passed on the K98 which in later years I much regretted.

My Chief of Section in Tabuk told me of his early time in the same area. He was told that there was a storage of 1866 "yellow belly" Winchester rifles under control of the prince of that region and, if I recall correctly, the prince awarded one to someone, not a Saudi national, who had excelled at some effort the about which the prince was concerned. The Winchester was in mint, unused condition.

Not that in the dry, near zero percent humidity, exposed steel surfaces in Saudi Arabia do not rust. In my location in Tabuk we had mint, new, unrusted but sand covered parts for 1956 Chevrolet trucks that had diappeared long before I arrived there in 1973.

It's an interesting place.

David
David

Learned something interesting this last weekend (even tho today is Saturday, its OUR Monday). One of the guys at our Saturday (your Thursday :rolleyes:) evening mentioned he saw gun shops downtown?

I said "really???"

I looked it up on-line today, last fall 2009 it was officially allowed in Saudi Arabia that people could own gun shops! And of course folks can buy guns. So, now I am very curious and copied 4 or 5 "sports stores" and will be very curious to see what they have! (in January 2010 five permits were issued, unsure about how many now)

The pictures and article talked about hunting rifles and shotguns, but also said handguns could be sold. The reason, and get this, was to STEM the tide of illegal guns! It was felt by the gov't that many illegal guns were flowing into the country and were already in the country and this would prevent it. A great move by any country if you ask me.

:thumbup:

Ed

Ed,

More than likely you will see early BRNO sporting rifles. Please keep an eye out for those also.

Steve

I recall boarding a flight from Riyadh going to Tabuk. The aircraft was a Boeing 727. At the start of the flight, I saw a steward or stewardess standing in the front of the aircraft near the entrance holding a .45 US Government model that she had received from a Saudi gentleman who had just boarded the flight.

I assume that he received his pistol back when he reached his destination.

David