Category: about

The Move From Hell-How NOT To Move House in Saudi Arabia

Apologies for being away from the blog so long. But I had a good excuse! We were finally able to move into our new place in the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh. For the move we were planning to hire a moving company. Last time we moved the company destroyed many precious items I had brought fromRead more

Stuff That Annoys Me. Only in Saudi Arabia

I’ve noticed myself pretty annoyed lately. Lots of stuff going on last week. Some things in Saudi just tip off my irritation. I’m going to have to rant to let some steam out. If you’re easily offended and don’t have a sense of humor, stop reading now PLEASE. What really getsRead more

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

This Tuesday Ten will be a light-hearted post to balance out the recent heavy topics that have been discussed on Blue Abaya :) I got this meme from a fellow Finnish expat blogger Heli who currently resides in Norway. Thank you Heli! Her Norwegian Diary blog (in Finnish language) can be foundRead more

Lessons Learned on the Saudi Roads

Let me share a story and a valuable learning experience from our Saudi Road trip. So we were cruising on the highway in the rented SUV somewhere between Kharj and Wadi Al-Dawasir surrounded by literally NOTHING else than rocks. The scenery out there is just flat. Not even the random camels youRead more

Tuesday Ten From Saudi-Mom’s First Week in Saudi

I saw this idea on Noor’s blog Little Pink Strawberries and I thought I must give it a try too! The idea is to post ten random things from your life during the past week, So here are ten random things from my life in the Magic Kingdom this week..Mom is staying with us for some while here inRead more

Saudi Government Offices- Women’s only sections

Saudi-Arabia is a gender segregated society where government offices are no exception to the rule. Women are not allowed in the main buildings at all because their male family members are supposed to take care of most of the woman’s issues. However there are specific much smaller sections forRead more

Thank you my dear Saudi patients!

Dear patients, I wanted to write this letter to all of you to express my gratitude for everything you have given me during the years. I will not be seeing you for a while because I will soon be going on maternity leave. It is all of you wonderful patients that I will miss the most from the ward.Read more

Honeymoon Destination: Tonga

Why choose Tonga for our honeymoon destination? We love to travel ‘off the beaten path’, meaning to destinations that have not yet been changed by the mass tourism industry. That way you get the most authentic experience from the local culture and the nature remains mostly unspoiled.Read more

My Saudi Husband and his love for animals

Yesterday my husband told me the touching story of what he had done for a little stray kitten. He was leaving work and was greeted by a little black kitten at the parking lot. The kitten started following him and walked behind him all the way to the car. When my husband opened the car door theRead more

A Saudi Guy’s Finland Experience

We’ve just returned to Riyadh after a relaxing summer vacation in Finland. My husband and I spent most of our time at my families summerhouse by the sea in Southern Finland. It’s a wonderful and peaceful place to unwind surrounded by my family and my dear little nieces! So how does aRead more

Why My Abaya Is Blue..

First of all what is an abaya? For those who don’t know, it’s the black “overcoat” or “cloak” some Muslim women choose to wear over their normal clothing when they are in public. Read this post to learn more about abayas: Underneath the Abaya In Saudi ArabiaRead more

Welcome! Tervetuloa! Ahlan!

Welcome to my blog The Blue Abaya! I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a while and now I finally got myself some time to create it. I’m not the most computer savvy person and it took a while to understand some things. I’m hoping some day the blog would have a nice design butRead more