Old Riyadh

Yesterday--Friday--Rashed called me at 4 pm "Timothy I will be there to pick you up in 20 minutes." I had to hurry to get ready. I knew that Rashed wanted to show me around--and I was excited.
Rashed is a young handsome Saudi. He works at AEC. Speaks beautiful English and is just awesome. Rashed is going to the University to become a stock broker--he's very smart. He's been to the US at least twice and Canada at least once.
So Rashed arrives. I get in the car and off we go. I feel perfectly safe with him driving--after all this is country.
Rashed takes me to the older part of Riyadh. Shows me areas that I'm sure most Westerners don't get to see. He takes me to the "original malls"--the part of town where you still bargain for what you're buying.
In Saudi you will smell this kind of sick sweet burning smell in offices, homes or other places. I'm not sure what it's all called but they burn this wood--which gives off the kind of sweet smell--and you're supposed to inhale it--this is normally done when you're leaving so you remember the good times you had.
Rashed took me to see this old man. The man was 100 if he was a day. Old and dark--but with a spark in him--he seemed to enjoy life. Rashed spoke to him in Arabic and mentioned that I was American. The man turned to me smiling and said "How are you today?"
"I'm fine how are you?" He grips my hand.
"I am doing very well. Welcome to Saudi."
He said all this and then chatted some more to me in the most beautiful English--hardly an accent. He was very animated and I really enjoyed being in shop. By the way the wood is very $$$$. A kilo can cost over $1,000--yes dollars.
Off we went with Rashed as the tour guide. I saw guys getting fitted for a wedding--they wear a special "cloak" over the thobe and the cloak is very $$--the gold thread used to be real gold--now it's just thread. It's the cloak you'll see the King wear. It usually means that one has authority or at least money. But everyday guys have them made for special occasions such as a wedding.
I saw some awesome and manly headresses. White and hand stitched--I bought one for 120SR. It's so awesome and warrior looking. Rashed asked if I wanted to wear it. I told him not yet. He smiled and said that when I get a thobe he would show me how to wear it all properly.
More exploring. Off to the gold market. Very nice--but I wanted to see some jewels. Off we went. Again very nice. But I'll save some money before I go there again.
Then Rashed took me to a place I love going--the rug market. He took me to a certain store. The rugs! Just the smell and I thought I was in heaven. I love going in and talking to the dealers. I don't know anything about rugs--just that I like them and that a good dealer is willing to discuss the history of rugs with you.
13 years ago when I was TDY here in Saudi I used to visit a certain rug shop. The old man and I would sit around and he would chat about rugs, politics and religion. He would show me expensive rugs--I remember one for $5,000. I loved the smell of the store and his stories and went to his store as often as I could. I could only afford a tablecloth and bought one. Laurie and I use it even today--it's exotic and reminds me of Saudi. I may have bought the prayer rugs there too--but I can't remember for sure.
Today I earn a little more than I did as a Staff Sergeant--just a little more. I fell in love with a beautiful red runner. It feels so soft. The red is so rich. The blue is a gorgeous blue. The design is unusual. The man told me about the tribe that makes the rugs. Where the rugs come from. And on and on. I could have stayed for hours. He kept unrolling rugs and showing them to us. I finally asked the price of the red runner. Rashed told him to give "us" the best price. He gave a price--2,500SR. Too much I said. Another price. I told him this was my first rug--Rashed smiled at the man and said "Please give us your best price." The man said $500--ok--1875SR. I told him I could only buy it if he took credit cards. He did.
The first time the credit card machine timed out. The second time they kept it in Arabic and it went through--maybe it didn't understand English. He packed the rug up. Then he wrote the legend about the rug. The red is from pomegranate and the blue from saffron. He wrote what tribe made the rug and what country they are from.
Rashed carried the bag to the car. I was excited and nervous--maybe I paid too much--maybe Laurie won't like it--maybe it will fall apart. But wow--I bought my first rug.
Then we went to eat. I decided on Chinese. In a way I was hoping for a buffet--but no such luck. However the food was delish and Rashed paid--even though I protested and told him it was my treat for him being such a great tour guide. But he insisted on paying.
Rashed brought me home--6 hours later. What a GREAT day! I'm so glad that there are awesome men here willing to show me around and that they're proud of their culture and their country.
I waved good-bye to Rashed. Closed the door. Unpacked the rug and put it in the front hall. It's not as long as I wanted--but it looks awesome. It's so Middle East. It's so soft. I don't even want to walk on it. The red--such a beautiful red. The blues--very nice. I can't wait to buy another one--next time maybe a larger one—but with the help of Laurie and Timmie. This could be a habit more expensive than buying jewelry. The man at the shop told me that I could sell this runner for $2,000 - 3,000. Wow! Maybe Laurie and I should buy some and then bring them back next year and sell them. I can't wait to go back to the shop and talk to the man and learn more about handmade rugs.
For all you wanting to see pictures I did take some with my new mobile phone. I'll learn how to send them to Laurie so she can post them--or maybe I should learn how to do that too.