256
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse
tree branches, yellow copper, pottery, wood, and old and
modern bracelets.
Near the Qateef Oasis (meaning “fresh potable water”),
in the turquoise water of the Arabian Gulf, there is a small
island by the name of “Taroot”. Archeologists have it that
this was the oldest settlement in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. This settlement was one of the major centers
of Sumerian civilization that flourished in the south of
Mesopotamia five thousand years ago. The city was
known for its pearls and precious stones market. It was a
link between the Arabian Peninsula and the oldest centers
in the world, which are now Pakistan, Iran and Egypt. In
the Sixteenth Century, the last of the Arabian Peninsula’s
conquerors rebuilt and completed the citadel, which had
a great strategic importance once upon a time. But now
there arose a cute and unusual situation. Thus while the
presence of women in the citadel was quite natural, the
representatives of the masculine sex are now strictly
forbidden from entering it. These solemn archeological
places have been prepared for the comfort and relaxation
of women.
Adjacent to the eastern coast of the Kingdom are
many islands in some of which one can find remains of
old Turkish fortresses. The Ottoman Empire was keen
on protecting its outer edges. Today such islands attract
holiday makers.
Khubar is the most youthful part of the eastern Province.
Before oil, its population were involved in pearl-diving.
Today it is a modern multinational city. It has a high-rising
business center, an international airport that serves the
257
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse
whole Province, a large pier equipped for the anchoring of
oil tankers that transport oil to Bahrain where it is refined,
many hotels, parks, restaurants and amusement centers.
I visited Khubar with my husband more than once, on
our way to Bahrain. This youthful city has left a pleasant
impression on us with its wide boulevards, the glittering
shop windows and beautiful beaches. What we remember
most is a trade center with hundreds of stores, restaurants
and children’s recreation spaces, an amazing computerized
jet that has what looks like glass pipes that wind and
intercross, attracting many curious spectators.
I still remember the circular restaurant, which provides
seafood. Its furniture reminds one of an old pub. Its walls
are lined with dark seemingly burned wood planks, within
which are erected water basins wherein exotic sea creatures
abound. Ropes were hanging all over the place together
with sails of old ships that exhibit old designs. The outside
glass wall is circular like a bow and overlooks the sea that
extends behind the horizon, giving the impression that
one is on board a ship.
At the entrance, there was a one-meter long fishing boat
that was skillfully made, with all the necessary accessories,
on an old piece of wood as though it had been in the water
no less than a hundred years before. In the main hall and
behind the glass of he refrigerator, one can see all species
of sea creatures: crabs, lobsters various types of fish of
unusual size. Here we were asked to choose the dish
we would like to eat. We sat round a huge wooden table
covered with a cannabis cloth on which there was a basket
full of loaves of bread, fresh from the oven, from which
258
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse
there emanated a wonderful smell. We helped ourselves
to this bread and were almost full before they served the
main dish we had ordered. I am, personally, not keen on
seafood , but I must say that I had never tasted anything so
deli cious! We had quite an experience, tasting almost all
types of delicious dishes in this area.
In 1986, an unusual engineering project was completed.
It was one of the longest bridges in the world extending
for 25 kilometers from the shores of Khubar to Bahrain
(now Kingdom of Bahrain).It bears the name of King
Fahd because it was constructed with direct participation
of the King with Saudi Arab funds (870 million dollars).
It was instrumental in the development of the bilateral
economic relations between the two states. Thousands of
cars cross the Saudi-Bahraini borders daily, as the distance
from there to Riyadh is merely 400 kilometers. Customs
and border control is carried out on an artificial island
near the Saudi coast. It is full of verdure and has two
observation twin towers on both sides of the borders, their
glass balconies overlooking a breathtaking view along the
Persian (Arabian) Gulf.
The bridge itself has a winding shape and is made up
of a series of supports. Travel along these unique heights
is quite an experience, particularly as one descends. I
remember that our grandchildren were thrilled here. Every
now and then we would see shoals of small gay dolphins
in the transparent water and we took pictures of them and
enjoyed breathing the fresh sea air.
Description of the Eastern Province will not be complete
if we omit talking about the pearls that are desired by every
259
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse
woman. Its extraction from the Arabian (Persian) Gulf goes
back to ancient history. History tells us that until recently,
before the spread of Japanese artificial pearls, this was a
highly organized and profitable business. At certain times,
the Persian (Arabian) Gulf provided 80% of the world
output of this exquisite natural jewelry. At Jubail only
up to 200 boatloads would be extracted (boats were the
counting units at the time) and the Gulf ports abounded
with ships from London, Paris, New York and Bombay.
Foreign traders would go ashore to conclude trade deals
and send their agents along the coast for gleaning news
from the markets on a big black or rosy pearl that was
found by a certain person and then they rush to find the
happy pearl-diver before other potential competitors find
him.
Pearl-diving used to take place from May till September
from boats and small ships. Divers would dive close to the
coast round coral islands and would go as far as the Indian
Ocean. A typical team would consist of a chief, who is
usually the owner of the boat, a diver, who puts a weight
round his waist, and an assistant who would pull up the
diver at the proper time. Businessmen, in their private
boats or in hired boats, would roam round the fishing
boats and buy the recently extracted pearls from the chiefs
of the teams. Then they would sell them to the traders or
their agents. The new owners of the pearls would classify
the pearls according to their size, color, shape, touch and
brightness. Then they would gather them in strings and
sell them in far off lands at prices that are many times their
original price. As to the divers, these could hardly make
Dostları ilə paylaş: |