On my way to Houston, Texas, I decided to stop in Doha, Qatar, for a couple of days. We live in interesting times. I arrived in the city in the midst of a major terrorist alert, with the U.S. having closed many of its embassies and consulates throughout the region, including in Doha. But if […]
In my search for high quality coffee drinking establishments, I have found Latasia Cafe at Al Nimran Hotel in al-Khobar. I visited the hotel and cafe last night in the hope of a unique Ramadan iftar experience, as well as to sample the coffee at Latasia Cafe, a European accented cafe inside the hotel. The […]
Two nights ago I took a bus across the King Fahd Causeway from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. As I mentioned in my previous article, this is my first Ramadan in the region and I wanted to witness the season in Bahrain. Ideally, I would have liked to have visited an old part of the city […]
It is my first Ramadan in Saudi Arabia. Today is the fourth day since Ramadan started and this morning I went to Lulu market on the al-Khobar corniche to see what special foods are available. I was a little disappointed to find that apart from large packets of chocolates and other types of sweets, and […]
Today I visited Café Liwan, located in a new shopping strip next to the corniche. It had been recommended to me by a Saudi friend as a place to find traditional Arabian coffee, served in the traditional way with a dallah (coffee pot). It states on the company’s website that the café was established to […]
Some weeks ago I found a copy of “Saudi Customs and Etiquette” at one of the Jarir Bookstore branches in al-Khobar. The book was written by Kathy Cuddihy, based on her experience from many years of living in Saudi Arabia. The book is well researched and includes a useful and fairly comprehensive glossary of cultural […]
Yesterday morning I went to al-Rashid shopping mall in al-Khobar to pick up new eye glasses and look at the new Blackberry phones. Last weekend I went to the mall to see whether I could schedule an eye test and to also look at some new frames. I chose Barakat Optical, on the ground floor, […]
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries consist of six Arab countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These countries are located in close proximity to each other across a relatively small area, alongside the Arabian Gulf (or Persian Gulf, as Iranians call it). Many travelers are likely to visit more […]
I went to Bahrain today with a Saudi friend. In the morning we crossed the King Fahd Causeway from Saudi Arabia, negotiating the customs and passport control checkpoints in about an hour. We headed first to the Bahrain Mall, a small shopping mall in the capital, Manama. The most beautiful feature of the mall was […]