Children Are Treasures Not Airbags!

Dear parents in Saudi-Arabia, I’ve noticed that many of you don’t care too much about the safety of your children in the cars. I have always wondered how you can have this nonchalant attitude whilst driving among the most insane, irresponsible, reckless maniacs drivers in the world? 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

Sans Abaya in Saudi

One of the most unsettling aspects of traveling to Saudi-Arabia for women are of course the abayas. The abaya always seems to make women wearing it for the first time feel insecure and very self-conscious. Wearing abaya for the first time feels strange but expats quickly get used to them. ThatRead more

Filthy Rich Arabs Doing Forest Work in Finland

I stumbled upon this news article on a Finnish tabloid magazine about the GCC youth camp that has been arranged for the first time in a tiny town in Eastern Finland. The article about these millionaire Khaleejis in the Finnish forest made me laugh a few times but it was also interesting. Looks likeRead more

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

Incredible Istanbul

Our family recently took a quick trip to Istanbul and I wanted to share some photos I took of this magical city. We had just under a week there which I found was not enough to explore everything Istanbul has to offer. Incredible, irresistible, inspirational, intriguing, sometimes irritatinglyRead more

Ice Skating in the Desert

Ice-skating in the desert? Well yes, in a shopping mall that is. Actually there are quite a few places in Riyadh and around the country where they have small ice-skating rinks inside the children’s entertainment areas. The problem is (if you’re a Finnish woman craving to do someRead 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

Dear Riyadh

Dearest Riyadh, I hope this letter finds you in good health and inshallah the dust is not covering you too much. How have you been doing otherwise? How is your great grandfather Old Diriyah doing? I have been wanting to visit him for a long time but it has been too hot! I heard he has done someRead 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