Category: culture

Culture Fair for Children in Riyadh King Fahad Cultural Center

An interesting event worth checking out in Riyadh is the International Children Culture Fair organised at the King Fahad Cultural Centre. Aimed at parents and children in Riyadh, this exhibition was organised for the first time in 2011 at the beautiful King Fahad Cultural Centre. This building is aRead more

King Abdullah Starts a New Era for Saudi Women

King Abdullah has announced in his speech something monumental in regards to women’s rights in the Kingdom.  This is a historical moment for Saudi women and Saudi Arabia as a country. King Abdullah has announced that women will be allowed to vote and participate as members in the appointedRead more

The Finnish Dude’s Ultimate Guide to Coffee Drinking in Saudi-Arabia

This humorous cultural guide to Saudi coffee (gahwa) drinking ceremony is directed at the traditional Finnish man, but could be useful for any western men when navigating though the Arab coffee drinking culture. For Saudis visiting Finland for the first time it’s recommend to read the SaudiRead more

Tourism in Saudi-Arabia Faces Many Obstacles

“My Kingdom will survive only insofar as it remains a country difficult to access, where the foreigner will have no other aim, with his task fulfilled, but to get out.” – King Abdul Aziz bin Saud, c. 1930 Not exactly the most welcoming words, coming from the founder of a countryRead more

Remember to say Mashallah!

Something I learned the hard way in Saudi-Arabia was the importance of saying mashallah, maashallah, mashallaah, or mash’Allah. When I had just started working as a nurse I was full of excitement and I was very talkative with my patients. I wouldn’t give second thought to complimentingRead more

The different sides to Ramadan in Saudi Arabia

Ramadan is here and Muslims all over the world will be fasting this month. Saudi-Arabia turns into a much more accommodating place for fasting people to live during the holy month. There are many exceptions in everyday life that enable easier days of fasting, especially for Saudis it seems. OtherRead more

Janadriyah Cultural Heritage Festival in 2011

Janadriyah Cultural Heritage festival of Saudi Arabia is held annually on the outskirts of Riyadh at the Janadriyah Village. This post depicts images from the festival in 2011. For more information about the folk festival itself, the timings and dates of Al Janadriya, check out Blue Abaya guides toRead more

Saudis Love their King Abdullah

King Abdullah has returned to Riyadh from his long hospital stay abroad and he received a very warm welcome from Saudis. The streets of Riyadh are lined with flags and large pictures and posters of the King are plastered on every building with slogans like “Thank God for the King’sRead more

The Abused "Inshallah"

Inshallah, insh’Allah, insha’Allah -God willing is a very frequently used term among Muslims. It stands for “if God wills, it will happen” and it’s meant to be said as a positive thing. Responding with “inshallah” after having been asked to do something,Read 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

Expats in Saudi-Arabia and Learning Arabic

Many western expats come to the Kingdom for employment not knowing a word of Arabic and that is unfortunately also how they end up leaving. I could strongly recommend expats planning to come to work in Saudi-Arabia to try learning some basic Arabic even prior to arrival. Once here I would recommendRead more

Eid al Fitr 2010 in Riyadh

The first three days of the Eid al Fitr following the ending of Ramadan were full of different celebrations around Riyadh. This wasn’t always the case though, a few years ago there wasn’t much happening in KSA during these holidays. Most Saudis used to flock abroad this time of theRead more