One Year On

It's hard to believe that I have been living in Saudi Arabia for almost one full year. It's strange to think how different life has become. It's interesting to note that wherever you go, the one thing that doesn't change really, is you.

I don't mean that thoughts, opinions, interests, relationships or even beliefs don't change, but there is something quite inherently me that, despite my travels and my change of circumstances, has remained consistent. I still need to be planned and organised with plans for a day off or I will literally sit and do nothing. I still fart around, procrastinating while leaving the more complicated or uninteresting stuff to gather dust in the hope that it will go away. However I still love getting to know new people, and enjoy helping people connect and become friends. I am a thoroughly people person who, while I enjoy my time on my own much more than I ever used to, thrive when I am in and around others with whom I share a common interest or purpose.

Not just my location has changed however. I left a busy, intense church and church family to live in a country where, while I am allowed to follow my own faith, there are no churches and congregational worship is generally 'discouraged'. I left a situation where the majority of my friends were Christian, and where I found it difficult to make time for activities out with what had become quite a substantial bubble. Don't get me wrong, I love many of these people dearly, and think about them often, but there was something that just didn't make sense to me. Christ said that his yoke was easy and his burden was light, yet I found that life had become very heavy. I don't think I realised how much, until on my recent return to see friends, almost everyone commented on how much more relaxed and happy I had become.

Does this mean that I have abandoned my faith? Not at all! However I am beginning to see things differently. This process had begun before I left, but continues as I walk through my time here.

I have also found it really refreshing to have friends who share different beliefs and views to me. It has been great to learn more about Islam, and what it means to be Muslim. I am by no means expert and in fact still find myself confused and frustrated at many aspects of it, but appreciate the opportunity to learn from experience instead of by misinformation.

I have learned that many things we automatically assume about faith is often cultural. There are many practices here that in the west we think are synonymous with Islam, but are in fact merely cultural norms for people living in the Middle East. I imagine the same is also true of our own society and culture. Things we often assume are Christian, are merely the way things have always been done. We only need to look as far as our celebrations of Christmas and Easter to find that they replaced traditionally pagan festivals.

Anyway, that will help to put you in the picture of how this year has impacted me. The baggage has been left behind, and I am on a journey of discovery and rediscovery.

An old hill-fort near Usfan

Saudi is a fascinating country, traditionally thought to be filled with endless sand dunes, camels and bedouin men living in tents. While these are true understandings in part, it is much more than that. I have learned that the country itself is roughly one hundred years old (give or take). For centuries it has been occupied by bedouin tribes, but has been rules by various different people groups. There is evidence of this in some of the old architecture and other such structures. There are abandoned churches, wells, and forts. Some of the wells and forts made up the routes of the ancient Hajj trails when the Turks would travel to Makkah with their camels. They dug wells and channels to provide water for their camels and forts to provide safe shelter for their groups.

Makkah is probably about the same distance from Jeddah as Edinburgh is from Glasgow. Some people commute from here to there and vice versa. It is a no-go zone for non-Muslims, which I find frustrating as I would love to visit and learn more about what makes it so special. I can also understand how it is considered sacred and why it is protected in such a way. I have heard that it is possible to visit, however I would have to have special permission from the King who is considered the Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques, Makkah and Medinah. It is also frustrating as when I make friends with people from Makkah, I have to rely on their ability to travel to Jeddah to be able to see them.

While driving past Makkah, on the non-Muslim by-pass, I can glance over, through the hills that surround it and see some of the lights, and catch a glimpse of the clock tower which stands tall above the other buildings there, and is illuminated so can be seen from quite a distance.

One of the Mosques in the Ta'if Old Town

Saudi Arabia can throw up some wonderful surprises though. A town I have visited several times is around one and a half times higher than the peak of Ben Nevis. You reach the top of the winding escarpment road to find a huge plateau covered in small towns, which largely are joined together these days to make up Taif. It is a more conservative town, but also seems more organised, cleaner and better thought out. It is much cooler up there also so, while it still receives much less rain than in the UK, is the major hub of farming in the country and many delicious fruits and vegetables can be found there, along with delicious honey.

Looking out over Wadi Mehrim

The surrounding areas ascends even higher and awe inspiring views can be found that look down into the Wadis which are river valleys which for most of the year are dry, but come alive during the rain. On a hike one day we found beautiful red dragon flies, tadpoles and frogs and numerous plants that can't be seen elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, it is still huge heaps of rock, but the variety of rock to be found in one area is even quite fascinating. These mountains are also home to many large, red bottomed baboons.

You can go higher still to places like Ab'ha, that I am still to visit, where they even will get snow in the winter months.

A friendly clownfish I met on my first dive

Jeddah also sits beside the Red Sea, where I have learned to dive. The lack of wildlife on land is more that made up for by the absolute wealth of wildlife under the sea. From tiny clownfish, to enormous whalesharks, dolphins, crabs, starfish and coral, all in colours you wouldn't imagine. Many of these can even be seen on a short swim from the shore without the need for diving equipment, but when you go under the water you enter another world of beauty and tranquility.

What do you call an exploding monkey?

Head along the coast to Mastourah, Rabigh, and Yanbu, and you find more and more delights. No two dives are the same so there is always something new to see.

Over the first few days of Eid, I am travelling to Bahrain and heading back, by car with some friends where we will explore some caves and an underground lake.

I haven't yet scratched the surface of what there is to see and do here in and around Jeddah, and what I have shared thus far is only a fraction of what I have experienced so far. I hope to try and pick up my blogger's hat more frequently to share about the exciting, often funny and fascinating experiences I have here. I hope that in some way, I manage to break down some of the preconceptions that people have of this fascinating country and a people that are so very often misunderstood.