Greetings from Riyadh where it’s another day of sun. Monday 23 September was Saudi National Day which is a public holiday and this year they really went for it! For the first time they had fireworks, a flyby by the Saudi equivalent of the Red Arrows and street performances in downtown Riyadh. The Saudi flag fluttered off every lampost and there were huge colourful hoardings on buildings and shopping malls marking the occasion. We were in the UAE last weekend but flew back on National Day into an airport with something of a party atmosphere. All the staff were wearing green Saudi flag sashes over their uniforms, they were giving miniature flags to the children and green roses to the adults. There was also some traditional Saudi music (maybe there were actual musicians but we didn’t see them) – so all very different from the usual airport experience! Unfortunately I couldn’t take photos at the airport. It’s still very unusual to hear music in any public place in Saudi – there is none in the shopping malls, in the shops, in Ubers – some restaurants are starting to play music but they are the exception. In the past music was banned as being unIslamic – it still is, but there is a softening of attitudes.

Because we were away we missed most of the festivities and we were warned against venturing out anyway as Riyadh becomes traffic gridlock with everyone out driving around in their cars and honking their horns (this was the only way they could celebrate in the past because they weren’t allowed to congregate in public spaces). So this year was all very new and exciting with things to see and do. The shops were also full of Saudi themed merchandise:

Just following National Day there was a huge announcement by the Saudi Government on World Tourism Day that tourist visas are being made available for the first time ever so people from 49 countries can now get hassle-free 90 day tourist visas:

The new tourist visas are available in 49 countries and they take only days to issue – or you can apply for one when you land at the airport. This has created a huge buzz in KSA and I know of one family who have already applied for one so that their daughter can come and visit them – so it works! The opening of the country and the investment in tourism is part of an ambitious overall project to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and cash in on the valuable tourist dollar and also encourage Saudis to staycation as every year over $6billion is spent by Saudis taking trips abroad. So who’s booking their ticket for KSA?? ;0)

In other news we went out for a meal recently at a plaza and afterwards took a walk around the shops. One was a very upmarket Saudi designer clothes shop – it was very cool! They had some gorgeous ‘modest wear’ dresses – which were stunning (but also had stunning price tags)!

And finally it is date season in KSA. There is even a dedicated date market selling all the different varieties and the supermarkets have huge displays. What I have learned is that dates are green or yellow before they ripen to brown and they can be eaten at any stage – when they are yellow they are more crunchy, but still taste good. Here they are looking a little bit like baby new potatoes!! Saudis love them and eat them washed down with a cup of cardamom coffee (qahwa).

And that’s all for this blog – I hope you have enjoyed it. I am trying to post once a month so stay tuned for October’s edition!!

Anne :0)

Greetings from Riyadh where it is another day of sun!

Things have been very quiet here on the blog since the end of Ramadan. Basically we went on holiday to Thailand (which was fab!) and came back to the desert heat of Riyadh. While we were away the temperatures suddenly jumped ten degrees from 36 to 46 – and they will stay around that until the end of August. Most days are the same, sometimes there is also a hot wind and last week there was a duststorm which lasted the whole day and was particularly unpleasant – very, very hot, cloudy and so dusty you couldn’t go out without your hair and mouth covered.

The schools here are also closed for the summer which means many of the ex-pat families (Mums and children) have headed back to their home countries for a couple of months to escape the heat, and because there are so few people around all compound social activities are suspended making things very quiet. It is also generally very quiet in Riyadh as well.

So with things being so quiet there has not been much material for the blog! We did go to a stargazing event at Yamamah Park in the DQ one evening which was interesting:

Basically it happened because one guy decided to set up his telescope and open it to the public to enable them to gaze the night sky. When he got 300+ registering to attend he asked a telescope shop to set up another couple of instruments. To make it more of an event there was an ice cream van and chairs and tables were set up under water spraying fans to keep everyone cool in the night heat – and in traditional Saudi style families arrived laden with picnics which they ate on rugs under the trees. There was a huge full moon and we were able to see Jupiter in all its glory.

Events like this are still very new to KSA – for many years since the early 1980s there were no organised social events other than individual family gatherings, but under Vision 2030 that is beginning to change. Currently there is a festival season being held in Jeddah (Fifty Cent and Janet Jackson performed at a huge open air concert last week) and there is to be a Riyadh Festival season in the autumn (details to be announced). Last year, which was the first Riyadh festival season Cirque du Soleil performed, so we are looking forward to see what will be coming our way!!

To escape the heat (marginally!) and for a change of scene we went on a last minute trip last month to Cairo to see the pyramids. The husband said when we are currently only a two hour flight away it would be a travesty not to go and see them – so off we went! And they were AMAZING!! Cairo is one crazy city though – we thought the driving was hair raising in Riyadh – Cairo takes it all to another level!!

And that’s about all I have for this blog – as I say it has mostly been quiet and HOT lol!

I did however, take a photo of two supermarket items which you don’t see on your average weekly shop at Sainsbury’s Forestside:

And that’s all for this blog folks, hopefully it won’t be so long until the next one!!

Stay cool!

Anne :0)

Hello and greetings from Riyadh where it’s another day of sun! Temperature today 38 degrees at 11am – although I am told this is mild for May.

This month we’ve been experiencing our first Ramadan in a Muslim country so I thought I would write about what that experience has been like :0).

Ramadan lasts for four weeks and the start is timed to coincide with the cycles of the moon. For Muslims Ramadan is time for reflection, contemplation and celebration. They fast from sunrise to sunset which is 5am to 6.30pm and fasting means no drinking or eating anything during the hours of daylight. They break their fast at sunset with a meal called Iftar and later at around midnight they have another meal called Suhoor.

During Ramadan working hours are shortened to make it easier for those who are fasting – so generally office hours are 10am – 4pm (with no lunch break) – some offices will close at 3pm. Shops , including supermarkets, still open during the day (but close as usual during prayer time). Restaurants, cafes etc do not open during the day – they will generally open 6.30pm – 2am. The children are also on holiday from school and shopping centres put up decorations so there is a festive feel everywhere.

The evening Iftar meals are a big event – families gather to share the food and huge feasts are prepared. Hotels and restaurants also put on massive buffets. We have enjoyed a number of Iftar meals and were lucky enough to be invited to share a meal with the family of a Saudi colleague of my husband (see photos above).

We also had an Iftar meal with friends at at restaurant:

An Iftar meal traditionally begins with dates, Arabic coffee and lugaimat (small, sweet, fried dough balls) This is then followed by salads, samosas, stuffed vine leaves, and then a range of meat koftas, chicken and lamb dishes with rice – and lasagne appears to be popular as well! Afterwards there are sweet milky deserts flavoured with rose and pistachio, honey cake or baclava – all washed down with water or pomegrante juice.

Our compound Wadi Quortoba also put on an Iftar for residents with entertainment including a camel and pony offering rides for the children and a man pouring pomegrante juice from a large jug-like contraption on his back…

During Ramadan families also like to gather together outside after sunset, and this year there was a special festival put on at Al Bujairi Heritage Park with pop-up shops selling traditional crafts, coffee stalls, demonstrations of traditional crafts and live storytelling. These type of festivals are still very new in Saudi Arabia where until recently people had not been encouraged to gather. Al Bujairi Heritage Park is on the banks of Wadi Hanifa where old Diriyah (the forerunner to modern Riyadh) was founded and is now a UNESCO world heritage site. It is being renovated and is due to open in 2020, with a bridge over the Wadi linking it to the Heritage Park.

There was a lovely atmosphere at the Heritage Park, there must have been thousands of people all milling about as it covers a huge area with everyone just soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying all the entertainment, food and drinks on offer.

And that’s been our experience of Ramadan in KSA! Ramadan is followed by a five day national Eid holiday when many people go on holiday – including ourselves, so the blog will resume in a couple of weeks time!

I’m off to pack!!

Anne :0)

Ramadan Kareem, hello and greetings from Riyadh where it’s another day of sun! We have actually been experiencing very strange weather lately – thunderstorms mixed with dust storms. Apparently that’s the normal pattern when the weather changes from the cooler months to the hot summer months. The temperatures are also starting to go up – the last couple of days it has been 38-40 degrees – so it’s time to crank up the AC!

Last week was also the start of Ramadan – so that’s another very new experience for us in a Muslim country. I will do a longer post about it later in the month, but at the moment it means our working hours are shorter and cafes, restaurants etc only open at night because everyone who is Muslim is fasting during the hours of daylight.

Anyway, for this blog I thought I would share some photos from a recent visit we made to the DQ in Riyadh, some photos from the compound we live in and finally tell you about the Financial Sector Conference I recently attended through my new job!

So a couple of weekends ago we headed off early to the DQ (as the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh is known). It’s where all the embassies are situated. There are also businesses, hotels, parks, residential housing etc. It’s a large area in the west of Riyadh which was built on the edge of Wadi Hanifa (the temporary river which gave birth to old Riyadh). In the 1970s all the embassies were instructed to move from Jeddah to Riyadh. Today there are lots of parks and a walking track around the perimeter overlooking Wadi Hanifa which makes it almost like a green oasis in the middle of the desert. It’s a lovely place to go for a walk or a run and it’s also popular with dog walkers. You can follow up your walk/run with a coffee or brunch at the newly opened Oud Square which is packed with cafes and restaurants and has a very European vibe. Another major attraction of the DQ is that you don’t have to wear an abaya!

In contrast to Wadi Hanifa the compound we live on is called Wadi Qortuba. It has a man-made wadi running through the middle of it which is filled with plants and trees and there are also some resident ducks on the central pond #quack. Our compound is a mix of apartments and villas built in the Lebanese style. They are large, airy and light with big windows – in contrast traditional Saudi style is to have few, small windows to either keep the warmth in in the winter and the heat out in the summer!

Living on a compound means we also have access to a clubhouse which has a gym, aerobics studio, tennis courts, squash courts, a swimming pool, a cafe and a restaurant. The compound also runs shopping buses twice a day to the local malls and supermarkets and for those with children it operates a bus service taking the children to the different schools – British, American and multinational are the most popular, and we are about 30 mins from downtown Riyadh. The management also puts on a residents’ BBQ once a month and a coffee morning with craft sellers once every couple of months. It’s a very nice community to be apart of. The majority of nationalities are Lebanese/Jordanian, South Korean and Western. It’s a relatively new compound so it is not yet full but it’s a good way to meet people and share experiences of living and working (and surviving!) in Saudi Arabia!!

Finally, as I mentioned in a previous blog I have got some part time work working with a PR company and as part of that I attended the recent Financial Sector Conference 2019. It was held at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Centre which is part of the Riyadh Ritz Carlton complex – and Oh My Word – I have never been at such a luxurious conference centre, or such a high level conference. There I was in the same room at the Saudi Minister of Finance, the CEO of Aramco, a former Italian Prime Minister, the head of HSBC etc. Basically KSA wants to diversify its economy and move away from its dependence on oil so it wants the world to know it is open to investment. It really was a pinch-myself moment just being there. Here are some photos to give you an idea of the scale:

And that’s all for this installment – I hope you have enjoyed!

Until next time,

Anne :0)

Hello and greetings from Riyadh where it’s another day of sun (well almost, it’s warm but overcast). Life has been going along as usual with the slight addition that I have got some part time/freelance work with a PR firm based in city centre Riyadh, which is why things have been a little quiet on the blog recently – but exciting to be working in KSA!

I might do a blog about working in KSA in the future, but for now the only differences to working in Belfast are that I have a driver who brings me and collects me, the air conditioning is so cold I have to go outside at lunchtime to warm up and when I go to the coffee machine I have to wear an abaya (I don’t have to wear it in our actual office as there are no Saudis working there) – apart from that work is work wherever you are in the world!

I thought I would do something different for this blog and write about our recent weekend in Dubai. It was our second trip to the glamorous, glitzy UAE city and I thought I would include some recommendations from things we did and others still on our list, which might be of interest for anyone planning a visit!

Dubai is all about luxury and big shiny new things – skyscrapers, cars, hotels, shopping malls etc. It’s not really a budget option and top end has no end! However we were on a visa run from KSA so our approach was not so ‘extra’ but we still had a lot of fun running around the city.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt which is really big! It’s close to the airport and Dubai Creek (Al Seef district) – so a bit of the way out from the city centre, the Burj Khalif etc… but perfect for us.

We visited Dubai Frame at Zabeel Park which is essentially a large steel and glass picture frame (150 m high) and from the top you can see new Dubai on one side and old Dubai on the other. It opened just over a year ago and basically you take an elevator up one side, walk across the top the take the elevator down on the other – but the views are good and there is also a clear glass walkway down the middle of the floor on the top which is a bit hairy for those not so good with heights!

Next we visited Dubai Creek which has lots of winding, narrow streets. The buildings have been built to recreate the traditional Arabian style of architecture and as it’s in the Indian quarter there are a lot of shops selling Indian pashminas, clothes, flower garlands, incense etc. We took a walk around and then hopped on a traditional wooden abra boat for a trip along Dubai Creek which was really lovely!

Then we hopped in a taxi over to the QEII which is permanently moored in Dubai and is now a floating hotel. There was a really interesting exhibition on the history of the ship, but we were a little underwhelmed with the actual ship itself… but it was good to see!

Of course no trip to Dubai is complete without experiencing the Burj Khalifa laser light show which happens every hour from 7pm. We watched it from a bridge over the lake at the Dubai Fountains and the lights together with the music and the dancing fountains were spectacular – definitely something not to be missed – it’s the number one thing on every tourist’s list of things to do in Dubai!

The Burj is the tallest building the world – 160 stories high with a mix of hotels, apartments and offices. We didn’t go up to the top but instead, on some good advice, we went to Neo’s cocktail bar on the 63rd floor of the Address Hotel just across the way from the Dubai fountains and enjoyed the view from there!

Of course being out of the desert and by the coast we had to make a trip to the beach. We visited Kite Beach which is one of Dubai’s public beaches. There is lots going on: exercise classes, beach gyms, festivals, kids’ entertainment, pop-up shops, coffee stops and food trucks. We went to SALT which is the original Dubai food truck and the mini sliders were delish!!

One evening we went to another beach area called La Mer. It has a lovely buzzy vibe restaurants and cafes lining the boardwalk. We went to a restaurant called Masti – cocktails and cuisine, which was very cool. The food had an Indian twist and the cocktails were soo good. Another restaurant recommended to us was Osh serving Uzbekistan food – next time!

We also took part in another local tradition – the Friday afternoon sparkling brunch. We opted for the Al Dawaar revolving restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and it was sooo good! You buy a buffet package including either bottomless soft drinks, wines or champagnes and sit and graze on all the delicious foods all afternoon with your bottomless glass – what’s not to like?! Also as the restaurant revolves you get a constantly changing view (and it doesn’t go so fast that you feel dizzy – you barely notice it moving).

And that’s about it from our Dubai weekend. Some other top tips we would pass on – alcohol is very expensive so you might consider paying a visit to Dubai duty free on your way out of the airport ;0). Also look up and the happy hours, nearly all the hotel bars have them and it can make a sundowner go down that bit easier!

We’ve also been told Ceasar’s Palace hotel is the one if you’re looking for the Dubai super luxe hotel experience – it’s newly opened and the restaurant is by Gordon Ramsey – apparently the breakfast are amazing!

Other recommendations for restaurants include (in no particular order) Kismet, PaiThai and PierChic.

And of course no visit to Dubai would be complete without a visit to a mall – and although they’re massive they are also really, really busy so steel yourself for that!!

And as they say here we are halas (finished) for this Dubai weekend blog. I hope you have enjoyed it – until next time!

Anne :0)

PS It wasn’t very sunny but it was warm and really humid!

Greetings from Riyadh and another day of sun.

I thought for this blog I would document our night out last Friday as it’s a good illustration of Saudi culture and the Saudi way of doing things!

I had seen on social media that there was a Korean Festival being held in Riyadh with 40 stalls offering food, crafts, music, traditional dance, a DJ etc . There is a large Korean population in Riyadh and with strong ties between the two countries the festival looked like it would be a lot of fun.  A group of us, including Korean and Italian families made plans to go and check it out.

The venue was about a forty minute drive from where we live. The entrance to the festival was through Gate 7 into the grounds of a major hotel however, there were no signs on the access roads outside so it took a bit of trial and error to find the actual entrance. When we arrived we had to walk up a poorly lit gravel path to a nondescript booth to pay  – there were no signs or posters, or any indication of a festival taking place behind a large wall.  There was also no queue and no sign of anyone else arriving.

The festival had been promoted as 50SAR (£10) pp but when we arrived we were told it was 200SAR (£40) per person/child because there was a all-girl Korean pop group playing on the night. We showed the lady selling the tickets the e-flyer we had, to which she apologised and said the Friday night price was different and had been promoted on Snapchat (which is the most popular form of communication throughout the Middle East) but none of us have Snapchat…

It was too much to pay and we felt disappointed that the marketing had not been clear and that we were going to miss the festival we had been looking forward to.

Many events in Saudi are announced a day, or a couple of days before they take place, there is also scant information about them (ie opening times, travel arrangements, who/what is appearing etc!).  They also have a habit of suddenly announcing a day before a festival is due to end that it will be extended.

A local instagram account @riyadhtours recently posted a photo from the recent King Abdulaziz Camel Festival which ran for about a month saying :

“We hope to see it again better organised next year and with more clear information about it in advance.”  So it appears our festival experience was not a one-off!!

Instead of going to the festival we decided to go with our Italian friends for pizza instead. However it was only 25 minutes before the next prayer time so the pressure was on to get back to the city centre, get parked and get to the restaurant before it closed for 30 minutes prayer time! We made it just in time and the pizzas were great #phew!!

The restaurant was close to the King Fahad National Library which is one of the iconic buildings in Riyadh. In front of it is a square surrounded by date palms. The place was absolutely buzzing, so we went for a walk to soak up the atmosphere…

The Saudis love to gather once the sun goes down especially on a Friday night after prayers and the square in front of King Fahad National Library was filled with families enjoying the balmy weather. There were large family groups picnicking on the grassy areas and around the edge of the square stalls selling food drinks and children’s toys. There was also an array of bikes, electric mini cars, scooters, pedal carriages and crazy electric three wheelers for hire. They were all whizzing around at top speed by some very excitable children. It was a free-for-all with so many heart-stopping near collisions!

The children we were with were very disappointed that their parents wouldn’t allow them to have a go #sadtimes!!

And that’s about it for our Friday night out, from a failed attempt to visit a Korean Festival, to pizza, to a walk with the very real fear of being mown down by an electric-car-driving-toddler  – all-in-all  just your average Saudi night out!

Just one final thing which is unique to KSA – we have seen these in other places but I hadn’t taken a photo of them, they are public self-serve prayer mats:

You use the handle at the side of the box to roll out the prayer mat (you can just see it hanging down underneath). You can use it if it’s prayer time and you aren’t near a mosque or you just want to pray. They are placed around the city at different points on the side of footpaths and I’ve seen them being used on a few occasions. And after you pray you wind them back upgain #simples !

And that’s all for this week, please feel free to leave a comment – feedback is always appreciated!!

Anne :0)

(I’m also on Instagram: anne.mcgrath248)

Hello and welcome to another day of sun in Riyadh! It is spring here now and the days are like the best of our summer weather – warm, cloudless and sunny, days for shorts and Tees. I think we have to make the most of it before the temperatures begin to soar.

We were home for a short while to renew our visas but we’re back and the blogs will be getting back on track also!

So this week was St Patrick’s Day, or as it’s called here, Ireland’s National Day (no referencing saints!).

We were lucky enough to be invited to a reception at the Irish Embassy to mark ‘National Day’ and it was such an interesting evening. There were about 700 people including diplomats from other Embassies, together with representatives from Saudi government organisations and businesses mingling with so many Irish people who are all working and living in KSA.

The evening was hosted by the Irish Ambassador and the guest of honour was the Governor of Riyadh Region, Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He is 75 and is the King’s nephew.

There was quite the skirmish and buzz as he arrived. He went into the Embassy to be received by the Ambassador then they came out and both national anthems were played. The Ambassador then made a short speech which was followed by the cutting of a cake with a shamrock on the top which they used an Arabian ceremonial sword for, then the Governor popped back into his car and off he went!

Following his departure the dinner buffet was served which was a smorgasbord of Arabic and Irish dishes. And the evening drew to a close with displays of Irish dancing and Arabic music. It was really something of a pinch yourself experience. Not something you expect to experience in Riyadh. A National Day we will not forget!!

And the National Day fun did not end there! Apparently Kingdom Tower (tallest building) in Riyadh joined in with the rest of the world and went green, but unfortunately we couldn’t see it, although if the weather had been clear we would have been able to on our way to and from the Embassy – it was just a bit of a hazy night.

I also held an informal coffee morning for the other women in our compound to mark the occasion. There were women from South Korea, Lebanon, Jordan, China, Pakistan, England, Poland and South Africa and everyone got into the spirit by wearing something green, even though I think none of them had ever heard of St Patrick’s Day, they were still keen to enter into the spirit. I served wheaten bread, soda bread, fairy cakes iced with shamrocks and of course the ubiquitous fifteens which were a huge hit (as was the novelty headware)!!

Then, just to keep things even, and completely unexpectedly, I went to a newly opened supermarket on the compound bus – only to be greeted by this:

To say I was taken aback was an understatement. And there was more:

And then they played God Save the Queen at top volume (and they never play music in supermarkets!) It was a real pinch yourself moment. Obviously it is a brand promotion for British goods, but I have never seen anything like it before… (here or at home!!)

You just never know what this city is going to surprise you with next!!

Until next time,

Anne :0)

Hello and greetings from Riyadh where it is another day of sun!

Today is Sunday, but the first day of the working week in KSA.

Yesterday we went on an outing to Bujairi Heritage Park and came across a classic car event with cars from all over the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council). There were lots of big American cars and cars adapted for the desert. It had a very chilled vibe with families strolling around taking in the spectacle. There were also food trucks and tables where you could pick up complimentary bottles of water. I think this kind of event is still quite new to KSA so it wasn’t overly busy. Outdoor events are also quite new and they have to hold them at this time of year when it is comfortable enough to be moving around outside (It was around 25 degrees yesterday and also a bit cloudy). We hadn’t known it would be on so it was an added bonus for us!

The classic car event was held in Al Bujairi Historic Park which is a modern development overlooking Old Dir’aiyah, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Work is ongoing to preserve the historic city of Dir’aiyah which was the original home of the Saudi Royal family in the early 1800s. The ruins of the old city include the remains of palaces, bath houses etc and is an example of traditional architecture. The area is being excavated and preserved but there are plans to turn it into an open-air museum.

Old Dir’aiyah was established beside Wadi Hanifa, a green valley where waters gather when the rains come. The Wadi has been landscaped into a park which is popular with picnic-ers and families. Al Bujairi Hertiage Park which overlooks the Wadi and the old city includes a square, a mosque, cafes, restaurants and shops built in a style resembling Old Dir’aiyah.

There are plans to open four new museums and turn the overall area into a national cultural and tourist centre.

I have read Old Dir’aiyah is due to open sometime this year, but as yet no date has been announced. It will be fascinating to actually visit it. It is so tempting being able to view it and see the bridge leading over to it, but not be able to access it!

And that’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed. Until next time…

Anne :0)

Hello and greetings from Riyadh!

This week I can’t say it’s another day of sun because there has been thunder and lightning and last night there was a torrential downpour. They don’t have drains (mostly there’s no need) so the roads are all very slippery (and the drivers have little experience of driving in wet conditions = white knuckle morning commute!) . The rain water that pools lies until eventually it evapourates.

Also ahead of thunder storms (or any extreme weather) the civil defence sends out warning texts to everyone on the Saudi network which is v helpful.

Anyway, enough of the weather update!

The other evening we went for a walk in our local area. The north west part of Riyadh we are living in was desert two years ago and close by is a a main highway leading out to the desert. The Saudis have a passion for camping and picnicking so to facilitate that are a cluster of shops and stalls selling all things camping related – a good place to stop off for anything you might have forgotten before you hit the desert for real. Most of the stall sellers are only there once it gets dark (about 5.30pm at the moment).

There are also corn-on-the cob sellers and you can stop off for a cup of Qahwa (cardamom flavoured coffee) is you’re in need of a top up…

Apart from evening walks we also paid a visit to the Saudi National Museum. The first gallery is dedicated to geology. Normally a small section in any other museum, but given the benefits of oil to Saudi Arabia geology gets a top billing here!

At the same time we visited there was also a large group of Saudi Scouts. I had no idea Scouting was a thing here but a quick Google reveals there has been an official Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association since 1961!

We visited the Museum on a Friday which opens after prayers at 4pm and stays open until 10pm. When we came out it was dark and the square around was teaming with life. Families were enjoying the cool night with picnics and little children were racing around on bikes and scooters:

Finally, we were very lucky to be invited to the Irish Embassy to watch the Ireland v England Six Nations Rugby match. We sat outside under a large wooden gazebo watching the match on a projection screen surrounded by palm trees. The result might not have been what we would have wanted but it was a lovely evening and a surreal experience to be watching rugby at the Irish Embassy in Riyadh surrounded by a sea of green rugby shirt-wearing supporters.

And that’s all for this week – until next time,

Anne :0)

PS please feel free to leave a comment – it’s always good to know what people think about the blog! And I also post more photos on my Instagram: anne.mcgrath248