The towering gate looms in the distance visible to all travelers on their their way south to Jeddah, with disembodied head of King Abullah Aziz smiling benevolently down. I had often wondered what it was like inside this mysterious segregated city, which I was told, was being raised out of the desert according to some mad architect's plan, with the aid of unlimited Saudi oil wealth. What wonders lay beyond that gate? Sadly, there are few...and yet I don't think I will soon forget the experience.Most Thursdays, some colleagues of mine and I do something after work. In a bid to do something different, I suggested we go to King Abdullah Economic City. You need to have an invitation from someone who lives there, just to get into the city...and I'm told that Saudis aren't even allowed inside. Luckily we knew someone at work who was living there, so we were able to procure an invite.
It took us about half an hour to drive from Rabigh to the gate. Once past, the road continued...for a long time. Thinking it would be just a short drive into a bustling little city, I was amazed to discover that there was a lot of road, but not much city. We drove for about fifteen minutes on beautiful, freshly paved asphalt before we approached anything like civilization. Huge swathes of land on either side of the road had been carefully groomed to lie flat, bereft of vegetation, let alone buildings.
Finally as we approached the coast, the tiny buildings of the horizon grew to full size. Most notably, there was a massive, modern-looking block, shaped building that I imagined was for business. Beyond that, we discovered swaths of handsome sea-side apartments with well-maintained lawns, trees and bushes. In the center of the coastline, was a promenade along the beach. Beyond: more apartments, and an excellent mosque.
After trying to find a downtown that seemed eerily absent. We went back to the promenade, poked our head into the cafe and the restaurants, and gawked at the locals. Women without abayas! I had a moment of astonishment. The female form in jean shorts. Was I still in the Kingdom, or had I been in an auto accident and gone to the afterlife? Also...and there is a good chance I am mistaken, but I thought for a moment, I saw people drinking beer. No. Certainly not in the kingdom.
Well the beach was fine and well, but Ahmed and I wanted to search for the illusive Hyper Panda (grocery store), which, so we surmised must be in a commercial area, which we must has bypassed. We took the car and the other two stayed at the beach. On our search we picked up a hitch hiker and gave him a ride--an Indian laborer. It took us fifteen minutes to drive him to his barracks, which was out in the middle of nowhere. In return he pointed us to the Hyper Panda, which was also in the middle of nowhere.The Panda had no obvious signs from the highway, and even the parking lot was hidden. I think we were both surprised to find it open an operating. A fully-stocked, modern grocery store in the middle of a barren plain. A true desert oasis! Inside we met a couple of Somali guys. Ahmed, being half Somali, stuck up a conversation. Apparently, these guys were working in the country illegally. I wondered how in the nine hells they got access to the city, let alone procured employment...although I may be putting the cart before the horse...
Soon after our colleagues at the beach called us. They had had it. They were bored with this most modern of ghost towns. So we picked them up and spend out of there. We ended the night eating student food at a light night restaurant in Rabigh.
I'm sure in a couple of years, the Economic city will be a very different place--a bustling, western-style metropolis. But for now, it's little more than a skeleton, containing the basic infrastructure. Oh, how it will change! I look forward to coming back later and seeing the progress, and writing about it here. Check back next year for part two!
sounds eerie.
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