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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)

Roasting coffee in the desert with our client. I'm proud of this shot - turns out that little Nikon D60 does pretty well (better in fact) when you don't use the flash at night.
Nope, that's not pigeon (although it is popular as a luxury dish in parts of the Middle East like Egypt). It's baby chicken. Very popular in KSA.
At the owners compound in the private 'tent' located onsite. This was the appetizer before the appetizer. Arabic hospitality is renowned for overwhelming portions. If you don't eat beyond your comfort level, it is considered rude and an insult to the host (loosen a few belt straps).
Montage of photos I took in the desert with the client at their family plot of desert. Very secluded. Accessible only by 4x4. Beautiful, unpolluted views of the desert moon.
Arabic coffee (not to be confused with Turkish coffee) is the symbol of Arabic hospitality. Saudi's have been known to sell their last remaining possessions to pay for coffee and dates for a guest. Very sincere culture of hospitality to a guest.
Turns out the Colonial knows KSA.
View from the hotel I always stay at (Le Meridien Al-Khobar). This is the "water tower" at the "corniche". It's a very recognizable landmark in the Eastern Province.
The best dates in the world come from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On display here are over 22 varieties. There can be hundreds of varieties grown on a single farm. Dates do not reproduce without human help. Pepole must pollinate each date palm by hand and it is thought no naturally pollinated dates have existed for thousands of years.
American restaurant brands spring out of the desert landscape faster than the winds shift.
KFC, Hardee's and Krispy Kreme all on one block. American brands black out the restaurant landscape. It's a shame really. We are exporting our worst stuff over there and imposing the fast-food culture on a 7,000 year old civilization.
The sandstorm during day two of our Riyadh trip was so powerful that we were all (locals included) using some form of protection. Every restaurant/hotel/etc lobby was filled with dust.
I was kind of proud of this shot. I'm by no means professional with photography, but I'm really getting in to it as a hobby and love when shots turn out like this.
An offering of Arabic tea. Arabic coffee is much like the consistency of American tea. The Arabic tea is even lighter than the coffee and it's very refreshing even on a hot desert afternoon.
City view in Thugba region of Dammam in the Eastern Province. Within 2 blocks there were 3 mosques. Each calls out for prayer 5 times daily by PA system. They sing and grow louder to be heard above the others. This is heard throughout the entire Kingdom. When prayer is called - each of the five times daily - all shops and business stop promptly and go dark.
Ever see a 2-story Pizza Hut in the USA? Everything American thrives there.
This photo was taken at around 11:30 AM during the sandstorm. It was a breathtaking sight to see an entire city engulfed in sand.
Taking refuge inside for lunch.
We did a two day photo shoot and a two day video shoot. For the photos, we were after 4-5 "hero shots" and took a few hundred shots to capture all of the menu items, executives, etc. Charles, the photographer we hired lives in Dubai but was originally from India.
Starbucks, Starbucks. I broke my 10 year, $1,800 per year Starbucks habit in the summer of 2009 in Istanbul and haven't had a sip of coffee since. Love their consistency though. Even in KSA, and with a different font/language on the signage, the product inside is identical.
Aaron on the left with videographer Adad (middle) and photographer Charles (right). A group of hardworking dudes on this trip.
30% of the population is under 15 years old in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Photographed this young man at the festival in Riyadh.
Another 30% of the population is over 15 and under the age of 20. Staggering. This country will see 30% of its labor force plop on to the job market in less than 4 years! Know of any other country in the world that's going to do that?
Working with the client prior to filming his interview.
Took this photo of a traditional well-digging operation. The camels go in circles and power the machinery that digs down to find the well. Several people randomly came up to me to explain the process. Seeing that I was American, they wanted me to feel welcomed and to show off their history and culture.

Tags: restaurant consultants Middle East, restaurant consultants saudi arabia, Saudi Arabia, saudi arabia restaurants, Travel

This entry was posted on Monday, June 28th, 2010 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Blog, Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.