THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

When I moved to Saudi Arabia in 2007, sight unseen, I knew my life would be changed forever. But what I never expected was to completely and utterly fall in love with the Saudi people and its culture. 

It took me a while to accept and get used to many things about life here.  Early on I could never see myself being happy living here long term. 

Without realizing exactly when it happened, I grew to love this wondrous and mysterious land and appreciate the simplicity, history, generosity and goodness that it had to offer.

Saudi Arabia has been my home for the past fifteen years - and now it's time to say goodbye. Over the years I've made extraordinary  friendships, mostly through my blogging, that I will cherish forever. 

I'm proud that I've been able to help others in navigating this land of contradictions, fascination, and enchantment.  But now that I won't be living here any more, I feel it's time to hang up my blogging hat. 

So I just want to say "Thank you, Saudi Arabia!" for always making me feel safe and welcome wherever I went. Thank you for opening my eyes and my heart to your ways and wisdom.  

Thank you to my wonderful husband for changing my life forever for the better by taking me on this amazing adventure with him.

Thank you to my readers who were as inquisitive and interested in this wondrous place as I was. And thank you to my friends who included me in their outings and made it easier for me to be able to explore this country.

It's been an amazing ride. I will leave a big piece of my heart here when I leave in the coming days.  

There is so much more I could say but I'll just let these photos say it for me.

 

Good bye - until we meet again!

UNIQUE SAUDI HOME ARTWORK

The Batterjee House in Al Balad, the oldest sector of Jeddah, was the location of the very first US Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Its distinctive light blue wooden window coverings are called roshan, which make it one of the most photographed buildings in Jeddah. 

This is a custom painted wall mural in the entry of a beautiful home in Jeddah.  The roshan window coverings are a unique and practical architectural feature of this region.

This stylized painting romanticizes the camels as graceful and elegant creatures of the desert, evoking thoughts of ballet dancers - at least that's what I feel when I see it!  

As some of the old crumbling buildings in Jeddah are torn down, many of the unique architectural features are salvaged and repurposed as art.