Just wanted to post a few pictures of my time here so far. I've taken a bunch...I'm sure several thousand by now. Unfortunately, most seem to be from the inside of moving vehicles, which doesn't make for great quality. People around here get sort of sensitive about pictures. When there's an MOI guy on every corner, and somewhere in the line of sight of your camera might be some prince's palace, discretion is advised. But, it's still possible to get some from time to time.

These are some of the better ones...

Around Riyadh

This is the big mosque that just got finished...picture was taken back in April, just before a big rainstorm. We were out in it just as the heavens opened up, and traffic went nuts. It rains so seldom here, that there are no drains along the road. Water collects in the low places, and just forms lakes...we saw standing water that was 3-4 feet deep. At one point, we decided to get out of the traffic on the main highway (65) by following other drivers through a break in the chainlink fence separating the highway from the access road. There was actually a policeman there just allowing people to go thru unimpeded by the law. Strange. Later on, as we were on the access road, we passed a guy with his window down. The roostertail of water being thrown up went straight into his window...he was not amused (not as much as we were anyhow...).

Kids selling water on the streets is a very common site. Haven't they heard the slogan, "Be cool...Stay in School!" (of course, their school hours here are 6 AM to 1 PM, so I guess there's plenty of time for that after school job...)

We call this...ahem... "Phallus Canyon."

Al Masmak Fort:
This is right in the center of town, and is one of the only "tourist" sites in Riyadh. Right around it are areas for shopping and chopping. Juxtaposed with the numerous trinket and carpet shops is the somewhat notoriously named "Chop-Chop Square." This is where justice is meted out to those who violate Saudi (and Islamic) law. On Fridays (usually), they haul out the condemned, read the charges, give him (or her...equal opportunity here, you know) a chance to pray, and then...WHACK...off goes his head (or hand, if a thief).

Camel Truck: Seems like almost every time you go out, you see a truck with some camels or sheep in the back. One of the funniest things I've seen here was driving behind a semi trailer full of camels, and every so often, one would poke his head up and have a look around...They seemed like they were enjoying the ride, frankly. Though I'm not so sure they like being hoisted up into the back of the trucks by cranes...