Rain in Riyadh

I’ve been in Riyadh for a day now and I haven’t seen much. I spent most of the day at the hotel trying to get up to speed on stuff for the case before my first visit to the client tomorrow. I have a few early perceptions, but they are no more than that, and many of them will change I imagine.

It rained today, a rare event. Riyadh gets over half its rain in March and April. I guess I caught the tail end of the rainy season.

The city is dirty, but not in the ways I’d describe NYC or Shanghai. It’s dirty because it is covered in sand. In some instances cars are literally coated every inch in a thin layer of sand. They don’t look all that different from a car in Boston after a light snow storm. It’s not just the cars. The streets, the buildings – they all show the impact of being built in the middle of the desert. It’s like living on the beach but with no water (today’s events withstanding) to wash anything away. As a result, nothing looks shinny or new (so far)

I haven’t seen much of the city but it’s quite different from the only other Middle Eastern city I’ve visited, Dubai. This didn’t surprise me in the least, but the variance is drastic. Saudis are notoriously private people and it’s obvious in their architecture. The buildings have few windows and are often surrounded by walls. In fact, if I didn’t know better I’d think the city was littered with strip clubs. The people are polite but reserved. The city is unsurprisingly conservative and formal in terms of dress, though there are many Arabs dressed like westerners (just not women).

Speaking of, I can’t help but ponder the impracticality of traditional dress. I was watching some construction workers (though they were likely not Saudis) laboring in long loose robes and it just seemed unnecessary. That’s definitely the overbearing westerner in me rearing his head. I’m sure it won’t be the last time…

In some parts of the world it’s good to be American while in others, not at all. Here I believe it’s probably somewhere in the middle. Everyone is aware of those in the region who dislike us, but many others here see us as intelligent, progressive, and sophisticated (collectively speaking, I’m sure I’ll make them question that thinking).