Category: Saudi-Arabia

Ten Things to do in Al-Balad Historical District, Jeddah

Al-Balad, which literally translates to “The City”, is the historical area of Saudi-Arabia’s second largest city Jeddah. Founded in the 7th century, Balad historically served as the city center of Jeddah until the big oil boom when most families started moving out the area. AlRead more

Ramadan and Eid al Fitr in Saudi Arabia

Learn all about the Holy Month of Ramadan and Eid al Fitr holidays in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the following Blue Abaya posts. The first post on Ramadan is back from 2010 when the blog began and it’s called ‘Magic Month in the Kingdom‘. A good read for those not familiarRead more

Never Forget Who You Are

My dearest daughter and son, While you’re both fast asleep in your beds napping, I’m thinking about the two of you, here in a hospital bed waiting for spinal surgery. All kinds of thoughts are running through my head. You both are always my first concern and I can’t help thinkingRead more

The Saudi-Finnish Temperature Extremes Chart

It was a sweltering + 44C  last day of May in Riyadh Saudi-Arabia today. Meanwhile back in my home country Finland, they’re experiencing temperatures around+ 10C, which is actually quite normal for this time of year even though it might sound freezing cold to Saudis. Despite it being only 10Read more

Images of Saudi is back!

Some of the Blue Abaya readers probably remember “Images of Saudi” which is a photo journal-type photography blog I kept for a few years from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Images of Saudi is actually still online, but for a year now it’s been set for private invite-only viewing.Read more

Top Ten Restaurants in the Eastern Province (Dammam, Al Khobar, Jubail)

What are the best and most popular restaurants in the Eastern Province? Blue Abaya in collaboration with Suzanne Greenfield, the founder of the Foodies groups, recently conducted a poll among members of the ‘EP Foodies’ Facebook group, to find the most popular restaurants in Dammam, AlRead more

Red Sands Flower Fields

Last weekend we were driving around a village West of Riyadh looking for a plot of land we wanted to check out. Because of the beautiful sand dunes nearby and lovely weather, we decided to explore the area further. Following a small road past some majestic rock formations we proceeded on to a dirtRead more

Sinta, The Indonesian Prisoner-Housemaid Part Two: Escape Plans

The story of Sinta, a remarkably strong and kind woman that had become a prisoner confined in a small hospital room somewhere in Saudi Arabia continues. For part one click here. Sinta’s story ends in the final part which can be read here.  As time went by Sinta came to terms with her newRead more

Bring the ‘Magic Kingdom’ into your home!

Dear Blue Abaya readers, As you may have noticed Blue Abaya has a whole new look going on for 2014! After some setbacks the new design is now finally (almost) finished. I ended up designing and building the whole website myself. More on that later! One of the new developments has been setting up aRead more

Camel Milk- An Elixir from the Desert

Camel milk is truly an elixir from the desert. The knowledge of the healing powers and nutritious benefits of camel milk have been known to nomadic peoples from Mongolia to Africa for thousands of years. The Bedouin saying, “water is the soul, milk is the life” may prove to be true due to theRead more

The King’s Forest- Rawdat Khuraim

The weather in Saudi Arabia is amazing during the winter months and perfect for making day trips out to the surrounding desert. Rawdat Khuraim, also called the King’s Forest, is an easily accessible and pleasant ‘getaway’ from the hustle and bustle of Riyadh. It really is like aRead more

Destination Riyadh National Day Quiz!

Destination Riyadh Magazine together with Blue Abaya are hosting a ‘Name That Place’-Quiz to celebrate Saudi Arabia’s National Day, 23rd of September! By recognizing the historically significant place pictured at the end of this post, you get a chance to win a Saudi-themed smartRead more