Arrival at 2.50am into King Khalid International Airport Riyadh, out of the Emirates Boeing 737 onto the sky-bridge that feels dark by contrast, beige and dark brown walls, dark green floor, through the typical airport corridor into an impressive space with geometric shapes and planes intersecting with each other in beige. Arabian sandstone is everywhere, with steps cascading down into immigration, with date palms set to a grid, and a huge collection of people, the biggest queue, if that is what you call it, that I have ever seen…men standing, sitting, sleeping against each other, chatting in small groups, waiting for the immigration gate to open, no pushing and shoving but a calm sense of urgency, a silent, static stampede. Having read the signs this was the line I was going to have to join behind at least 300 others.
Having taken my place or tried to protect it from the constant press of Indians trying to push through me for the best part of an hour, I felt that nothing was going to happen so went for a wander, found a comfortable bench and took a seat and just sat back and watched, having observed the static push for a still closed gate for another half an hour I happened to notice that there was another far more orderly queue comprising about 15 people under the sign that said ‘Diplomats and visiting business persons‘…worth a try…joined the back of the line to stand in place for another half hour…every now and then somebody would appear at the booth and then promptly disappear. Beyond, the baggage carousels had long ago ground to a halt, and baggage had taken up residence on the floor, any fears of bags being stolen are quickly allayed as nobody is the other side of the gate except for airport staff.
Eventually the man appears back at the booth, the gate opens and slowly one by one the people standing in front of me find their way through to the lush green pastures of the baggage hall, that is until it is my turn, look confident I tell myself, what do I have to lose, stand a chance of getting through, or stand at the back of the silent stampede that is still very much static. I step forward hand over my passport and employment contract to be faced with a very serious look from the immigration officer, stampede beckons…no there is a problem with the system, I am waved over to the adjacent line which is for GCC although at the time I was unclear what the letters stood for, wait my turn once again…step forward once again, and…system is down again, by now the guards are beginning to find the whole thing a bit of a joke, so for a third time I move to another booth and hand over my documents, my details are checked on the screen, my fingerprints are scanned and I am through. My bags have been placed next to each other, so bags on trolley, complete with porter it’s time to head out into Arrivals, I have never been so glad to see a complete stranger clutching a sign with my name on. It’s 39 Km from the airport to Riyadh, so it is quite a drive, the road surface is shiny like it is wet but is bone dry, there are lanes but nobody seems to use them other motorists will pass you on either side and sometimes quite close, there appears to be no need for indicators. It is 5.30am when I arrive at Al Mutlaq Hotel, home for the next few days.
Regarding Beer. Beer, a beverage that I have come to understand is central to British, European and probably all ‘civilized’ culture, so what happens in a country where alcohol is forbidden by the local culture? Easy you get the same American and European beer with the alcohol taken out, although having tried it I think the process has taken more than the alcohol out, the taste and the sensation of a refreshing drink particularly on a hot day comes from part of the brewing process which naturally produces alcohol, so what you are left with is something that resembles beer but is not…a bit like liquid bran flakes That said, when it is 44 degrees outside and the air is dry not having alcohol that would cause you to be dehydrated is probably a very sensible idea,
Riyadh is a car city, modern Riyadh has developed following the American model, freeways, wide streets, and the recent addition of diagonal parking on the side of the street and in some cases no sidewalks, so it appears to be very much step out of your apartment get in the car, drive right up to the front door of the mall…so navigating the city on foot becomes quite an adventure, most roads/streets have at least 3 lanes of traffic flowing in either direction and in most cases five (that is if they use the lanes), cars don’t always stop at red traffic lights, in fact it is like the American system, red means stop unless turning right.
The city is under construction, there are tower cranes all over, in the areas where there are sidewalks, you could be walking along and the sidewalk stops…replaced by a large hole in the ground that is at least five stories down with concrete barriers around it to prevent cars from driving down into it, there are large areas that resemble bomb sites, new areas of city are growing up around the periphery, highways run out into sand heaps, this place will be amazing when it is finished…
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