Cappadocia

As I told you before, I took a fair few photos during my trip to Turkey. You can find my photos from Istanbul here and here. We also visited the central part of Turkey, called Cappadocia. The area is well known for it's fairy chimneys, which have formed through slow erosion during thousands of years. The caves built in these rocks were previosuly used for housing, but in the past fifty years or so the locals have moved in to more traditional stone houses. Many of the abandoned residences have been turned into guest houses and small hotels. The area is very well on the tourist track, but the town of Göreme (where we were staying) still has a very laid back countryside feel to it.

Som ni redan vet så tog jag en hel del foton under resan till Turkiet. Foton från Istanbul hittar ni här och här. Vi besökte också den centrala delen av Turkiet, ett område som kallas Cappadocia. Här hittar man sockertoppsformade berg som formats som en följd av långsam erosion under tusentals år. Tidigare bodde lokalbefolkningen i grottor i dessa berg, men numera har de flesta övergått till mer traditionella stenhus. Men grottbostäderna finns kvar och många har konverterats till små hotell. Vi bodde i staden Göreme, ett ställe som är väl etablerat bland turisterna, men trots alla turister så är stämningen fortfarande lite sömnig och väldigt lantlig.

First time in my adult life riding a horse!
För första gången i mitt vuxna liv gav jag mej ut på hästryggen!

Age is just a number

Yesterday morning I was met by the news that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan, had passed away. Now if you are like me, you'd think that an heir to the thrown is a man in his best years. Let's face it, most European crown princes/princesses are in their thirties or forties. Prince Sultan however, was in his eighties! Depending on the source of the news the age stated will vary, some say he was 80, others say he was 83.

Let's have a look at the current ruler, King Abdullah, who is said to be in his eighties as well, however some sources suggest that he might be 90+! Imagine ruling a country at the age when most people in the west are enjoying retirement and an easy life, some people may not even live to that age!

The reason why all the rulers are of a mature age is that the succession to the throne goes from one brother to another, rather than from father to son. It is said that the father of the current king, the founding father of modern Saudi Arabia King Abdul Aziz, had dozens of children. At least 20 of them were boys and while many died young there is still about a dozen brothers that all have a right to the throne, at least in theory. Some have however, relinquished their right to the throne due to health or other reasons. The youngest brothers are in their late sixties and they may never succeed to the throne at all.

In recent years the debate regarding the order of the succession to the throne has been discussed. Any changes are not to be expected any time soon, this is after all a place reluctant to change.

Saudi Arabia: six months on

Yesterday marked the 6 month anniversary of our arrival in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Time has flown by and both me and my husband feel like we have not done enough exploring of our new "neighbourhood" and its surrounds. The weather has finally cooled down over here, that means that we are starting to experience temperatures below thirty, yay! With this change in the weather we are hoping to do some road trips over the coming months!

So what has the past six months in this strange land tought me?

1. Check your common sense in at the door Saudi border. Things here work in their own sweet way and usually with no logic at all. Comparing things to how much easier, more efficient and spectacularly more realiable it is back home will just increase your frustration and make it harder to readjust. This is especially important for those who work here, who will have to deal with broken promises on a daily basis.

2. The expat community makes a huge effort to take care of one another. I have found it much easier to meet people here, than it ever was in Australia (except for my time at uni). If you lend someone a helping hand you will find this being reciprocated exponentially whenever needed.

3. Get amongst it. As a stay at home spouse it is easily to enclose yourself into the cocoon that the compound living provides. I have heard of people who lived in an Arabic speaking country, but never bothered learning a single word of the language! I have been taking Arabic lessons for the past few months and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I am still very shy when it comes to putting what I have learned into practise, shame on me! Travelling locally in Saudi Arabia also seems to be something that many people miss out on, they rather travel to Europe or to other countries in the Middle East. This is a real pity, because as an expat you have a rare opportunity to explore the country as visitors purely for the sake of tourism are not allowed entry. I have a list of places in Saudi Arabia that I would love too see: it is time to start making a few ticks in those boxes!

4. Try to understand local culture and customs, this usually means learning a little bit about islam. I am not expecting people to learn the ins and outs of the religion, but living in Saudi Arabia provides a good opportunity to understand why some things are the way they are. I also think that this can help correcting any misunderstandings that people may have about islam.

5. Always buckle up! I have said it before and I will say it again: people here drive like crazy! High speeds are combined with erratic and dangerous maneuvers, usually while talking or texting on the mobile phone. I have seen a number of car accidents, most of them very minor with a few scratches or dents as the only damage. But I have also seen the outcome of accidents that make you think "How did that car end up there, facing that way?!" My husband says that it's all about keeping a track of what the drivers around you are doing, that means the five cars in front, behind and on either side of you as well as the guy 100 metres behind you who is approaching at a speed around 140-150 km/h! But because sometimes whatever you do is not enough, the seat belt still remains the cheapest life insurance!

Gårdagen markerade 6 månaders jubileet av vår ankomst till Saudiarabien så jag tänkte att jag skulle dela med mej av vad jag har lärt mej hittills.

1. Lämna det sunda förnuftet vid dörren gränsen till Saudiarabien. Saker och ting fungerar på ett helt annat vis här och man blir bara mer frustrerad när man tänker på hur lätt och effektivt allt görs därhemma. Dethär är särskilt viktigt för dom som jobbar här, eftersom saker på arbetsplatsen sällan händer enligt utlovad tidtabell.


2. Immigranter i Saudiarabien ser till att ta hand om varandra. Att lära känna människor här är väldigt lätt, dels för att alla befinner sig i samma båt. Att lära känna lokalbefolkningen är mycket svårare däremot.

3. Ge dej ut i äventyret! Att bo i Saudiarabien erbjuder en bra chans att lära känna ett land som många bara kan drömma om att besöka. Att ge sej ut och undersöka delar av Saudi Arabien är något som del flesta aldrig tar sej för att göra vilket jag tycker är synd. Att lära sej några ord arabiska är definitivt att rekommendera. Själv staplar jag vidare med mina arabiskalektioner och jag kan nu läsa skyltar på butiker coh vägnamn, etiketter på matprodukter etc. Oftast har jag ingen aning om betydelsen av det jag läser eftersom mitt vokabulär är väldigt begränsat!


4. Försök förstå den lokala kulturen och dess traditioner, vilket ofta innebär att lära sej lite om islam. Man behöver ju inte lära sej allt utan och innan, men att bo i ett muslimskt land erbjuder en bra insikt av religionen som är väldigt annorlunda från det mesta som återges i TV eller sensationella böcker.


5. Använd alltid säkerhetsbältet! Här körs det alltid over hastighetsbegränsningen, med underliga och farliga manövrar (vänstersväng från filen längst till höger är mycket vanligt), samtidigt har dom flesta bilisterna mobiltelefonen i högsta hugg. Det är bäst att köra defensivt och se upp för alla omkring en, inlkusive fartdåren som kör 100 meter bakom dej men som kommer att köra om dej om några sekunder. Billigaste livförsäkringen är att alltid ha bilbältet på sej, bilolyckor är mycket vanliga även om de oftast handlar om tillbucklad plåt och skråmor i lacken.