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Islamic studies in Jeddah

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with gratitude and praise for Him

There are opportunities to listen to study Islam in Jeddah, but these are not as abundant as in other cities in the country and few well advertised opportunities exist in English. I have tried to list what I am aware of sources and places to learn in English and Arabic primarily. I have briefly touched upon Urdu. Where possible I have tried to clarify the location of places.

Learning Arabic in Jeddah

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Learning the host language of a land you have come to helps your integration into that community. Learning Arabic can be quite a challenge to people coming to the Middle East, especially the Gulf. There are various challenges and this article describes my Jeddah experience with this:

Decline of the Islamic calendar

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

The two Islamic Eids usually witness a great deal of controversy over their precise dates. Proponents mainly in the West argue for the use astronomical calculations to determine the probability of visibility of the new crescent, which marks the beginning of the new month. The method chosen by the Saudi authorities is more simple and relies on the presence of witnesses whose testimony is accepted on oath by a judge. The process by which the Saudi authorities decide which sightings to accept or not is obscure. The lack of public scrutiny of this process only fuels the general suspicion that the process is subject to other factors.

 

The Hajj Trade Fair?

Bismillah alhamdulillah.

Driving back on the long road from the shores of the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea I looked in amazement at the snaking convoy of cars that was stretching over 800 km. Cars laden with overhead luggage and coaches were passing one a second all the way from the outskirts of Riyadh to Makkah. Assuming an average of 5 passengers per vehicle in a period of 12 hours a million pilgrims had driven themselves away from Makkah. The press figures state that the total number of pilgrims this year were 3 million – a staggering figure. Somewhere between 30-60% of this 3 million are pilgrims from outside the Gulf area. This amazing gathering provides an opportunity for furthering links between the various parts of the Muslim world. One such link is trade.

Driving in Saudi Arabia – Roundabouts and gaps

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

According to the Wikipedia: “roundabouts are statistically safer than both traffic circles and traditional intersections“, they are supposed to have 40% fewer collisions, 80% fewer injuries and 90% fewer fatalities compared with intersections they replaced. It will not come as a surprise that roundabouts gained popularity post the 1960s when British traffic engineers assessed their safety compared to intersections.

Translating these findings traffic engineers in Saudi Arabia have introduced these ideas onto roads in Jeddah and other major cities. Whether the safety record of roundabouts in Saudi compare well to the safety of roundabouts in other countries is highly debatable.

The picture below shows a sign indicating to whom preference should be given. In English it clearly reads ‘PRIORITY FOR CARS INSIDE THE ROUNDABOUT’, though the Arabic version of the signs says priority is for cars which are بداخل ‘in’ or it could be understood as ‘entering’ the roundabout. This may be one of the reasons contributing to the confusion at roundabouts.

A possibly confusing sign in Arabic at a rondabout

A typical approach to a roundabout in Saudi is to speed up and play a game of brinkmanship. The usual approach speed for a roundabout is a minimum speed of 60 km/hr with the average being around 80 km/hr. Drivers entering the roundabout assume they have priority and zoom straight on.

It does not take rocket science to work out that the result is a mess of weaving cars, near misses and accidents. Though it may seem illogical the received wisdom of drivers in general is to be as aggressive as possible at roundabouts and to play a high stakes-hit brakes late policy. This usually results in some heart stopping moments but seems to add to the general thrill of driving in Saudi Arabia. The tactic of going slow and obeying the rules is generally counterproductive and more likely to results in an accident.

On the bright side roundabouts provide an outlet for artistic expression. Various roundabouts are adorned with giant geometrical structures or everyday objects. A sort of modern art. The word for roundabout is دوار dawwar though official signs use the word ميدان maidaan which is best translated as square. In keeping with Islamic norms statues are not found at such roundabouts, instead geometrical and other forms of valid Islamic artistic expression are given life, though some leave you wondering what exactly is going on. As in the picture below of a large roundabout on ‘Malik Road’, this is a large roundabout with what looks like a set of sails in the middle.

The sails of a ship on a roundabout

If your over 30 you may remember a cartoon called Wacky Races, well driving in Saudi Arabia is quite a bit like that. The concept of lanes as discussed in the previous post does not exist. The golden rule is testosterone driven and involves trying to take advatnage of any gap no matter how small or dangerous that lies ahead. Here is one common undertaking manoeuvre special as demonstrated by the driver of a white Humvee.

A white Humvee notices a small gap to squeeze through on the inside lane

The Humvee decides to increase the efficiency of lane usage as both cars share the inner lane

The black four wheel drive is forced aside as the Humvee pulls past

Given this general attitude when driving and the knowledge that side impacts pose greater danger to occupants than rear and front collisions, it is a reasonable policy to use the car as a defensive sheild. Imagine you are a Formula 1 driver and make sure you have plugged all gaps sufficiently well when driving, if not do not be surprised if someone is trying to squeeze through.

Driving in Saudi Arabia – Lanes

Within the first few hours once the new comer to Saudi Arabia has circumnavigated the various barriers to entering the country S/he will usually be greeted with a friend, company car or a taxi to ferry him from the airport to their residence. This is where the literal ‘crash’ course in driving begins. The fast journey with the weaving through queues of cars and skipping into the lane the exists between lanes is the visitors first impression. As the days pass and precariously weave themselves together into a greater tapestry a deeper understanding of driving in Saudi Arabia begins to dawn. I thought I would pen down all the various observations that have come to mind as the months have melded together.

Lane markings

The first thing one has to realise when driving is that the various lane markings that may or may not appear on various road surfaces are an after thought and should not be followed strictly. Strictly following a lane increases your chances of having a collision. The faulty assumption is that the other drivers on the road follow the lane markings. The key to driving on the various roads is to keep one’s peripheral vision trained on the bonnet of the car on your side and its proximity to your door. Keep this distance a constant and watch out for rapid manouvres especially near slowing traffic. Perhaps it is the slowing traffic though I am not sure this is the only factor, certain drivers are clearly mesmerised by the road ahead and think they are driving a snake rather than a car and attempt to slither through the traffic.

In general ignore the lane markings and aim to keep the distance between your car and the one next to it constant. On big roads this is easiest to do on the outside or fast lane. On roads within the city it is best to stick to the middle of the road. The advantage of doing this is soon realised within a few days of driving around. Usually in countries where driving rules are better followed feeder roads joining a main road have a give way sign and cars slow down or stop and wait for the main road to be clear before joining. Here it is quite common practice for cars to swing onto the main road with little regard for what is coming down the main road. It is is assumed that the inside lane (furthest away from the other side) is always empty.  Sticking like a good driver to the slow inside lane will increase your chances dramatically of being hit sooner or later by a car.

The outside lane, is also a bit of a headache within the cities. Most of the large cities have a one way system, with the occasional ‘U’ turns which allow cars to change lanes. When cars wish to change their direction they use these U turns to turn around, unfortunately nobody seems to have realised that the cars entering the U turn are in the outside or fast lane of the large roads. As you are merrily driving down you may suddenly notice that the large queue of cars in front of you are actually stationery and not moving. Be prepared to hit the brakes though not too sharply as drivers tend not to observe the car in front that carefully.

One of the often used ‘cheat sheet’ methods at a ‘U’ turn is to come on the middle lane upto the ‘U’ past the long queue of cars trying to turn and then take a left into the ‘U’ turn, watch out out for this maneouvre when driving in the middle lane.

On smaller roads where the roads are not one way, the going and coming lanes are further blurred and it is not an uncommon sight to see a car venturing down the ‘wrong’ side of the road. The best policy in these situations is to slow down rather than choose the wrong lane and allow the approaching car to whizz around you. Most drivers in these parts tend to think they can whizz around any barriers like a fly zooming around someone’s head, unfortunately when both drivers heading in opposite directions have this mentality it tends to lead to mid-road collisions.

Other lanes that you may not realise but do exist especially on the various highways are the service lane on the inside and the patch of desert on the outside. Both are used quite often as traffic density increases especially on the way to popular destinations such as Makkah. If you happen to look in the rear view mirror and see a cloud of dust coming up on the outside lane, that is usually someone driving faster than everyone in the outer lane but along the desert track. Other places where an extra lane is squeezed out is the small gap between the outside lane and the crash barrier on the Jeddah-Makkah highway. It is a daily sight to find people flashing away at the car in front and overtaking squeezing through gap between the cars in the outside lane and the crash barrier. In such conditions miscalculations are not infrequent and it is best to avoid this outer lane when traffic is moving at high speed, in particular on the Jeddah Makkah highway.

Next post, God willing, will be on the art of round abouts.

How do you install a water tank in Jeddah?

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

We needed a water tank as the old one was leaking. These tanks sit perched at the highest possible point on a building and are quite large. The smallest capacity is 1000 litres costing 750 Riyals at that volume. Other more expensive varieties exist which claim to keep the water cool and can start at 4000 Riyals.

Being quite large you can’t carry them through the door and up onto the roof via the roof access. The word crane had been mentioned and I sat waiting for the delivery of the tank. I was very surprised to find that it arrived in a small pickup with no crane in sight. On inquiring two men brandished their coiled ropes and said don’t worry they would sort it out. The pictures tell the rest of the story. As with programs for children this one goes with a danger warning – do not do this at home!

First: One worker climbs onto the edge of the wall on the flat roof and assesses the situation from the third floor.

Second he squats calmly on the edge and lowers two ropes down.

Third the ropes are tied around the water tank, with a third steering rope.

Fourth, he is joined by his colleague, equally happy to sit perched on the edge of the roof oblivious of the potential danger.

Fifth, with a gravity defying deftness they stand up and begin to haul up the water tank.

Sixth, job done.

Welcome to Jeddah.

Observations from a British nurse

“It’s amazing that patients accept treatment from people who don’t speak their language. We would never accept that in the UK”

“Saudi Arabia is a high context culture in contrast to the UK which is a low context culture…”

“…here the context of a situation is part of the communication…”

“…people here see, more than they hear’

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Driving licence – Jeddah style

Bismillah, alhamdulillah:

With my international driving licence wearing away I decided it was time to grit my teeth and take the trip to get my licence. The international licence had come in handy as it allowed me to hire a car for the first few months. But the international licence does not last forever so I started by trying to work out the requirements to apply for a Saudi Arabian driving licence:

Medical form: These are presumably present at the licensing office. Most large companies have a department or at least a person dedicated to helping foreigners negotiate the various official requirements. The form is issued by the General Traffic Department ( Ar. idaarat al-aamah lil muroor). The medical exam is quite cursory and the signing doctor confirms your blood group, eyesight and whether or not you are disabled in any way that will impair driving. No mention of heart attacks, epilepsy, stroke or diabetes is mentioned. Don’t forget to get the piece of paper suitably stamped, nothing like a good old round gleaming stamp.

Photocopies galore: I count the papers carefully making sure I have everything:

1. Identity card (known as your iqaamah or hawiyyah)

2. A copy of my current licence (European and N American licenses qualify),

3. A copy of my passport

4. A copy of the visa entry page in my passport

Letter of Introduction: A letter known as a ‘Letter of Introduction’ (Ar. kitaab ta’reef), this paper is essentially a letter from your employer confirming your are employed with your company. It should be on an official letter head addressed to the Traffic Department.

Eight photos, yes 8, two less than the total number of fingers that most people usually have. What happens with the eight copies of the photos is unclear but rest assured make sure if you come to live in this part of the world always carry a ready stash of photos in your wallet. Tip: Photos are cheaper than in the West, most studios will give you a digital copy of your photo which you can carry on a USB stick, it will save you some time when you ask for more copies. Carry two sizes a small and a normal passport sized one to cover most situations.

The fee, it is a very reasonable 75 Saudi Riyals for a five year licence. Just in case you could flash your Visa card take a deep breath. Fees must be made via an ATM machine directly to the government, so far so good. But one slight problem, it seems only certain banks are linked into this system. Most foreigners tend to have a fair degree of doubt about the efficiency and reliability of local banks. They tend to opt for banks that are familiar to them back home but come unstuck when they need to pay the various government fees. Local banks such Al-Rajhi are fully linked to the payment system. Where foreigners do not have accounts with such banks they usually find someone who does and pay them in cash and request a payment on their behalf. The ATM spits out a receipt which has the payment receipt, reference and your iqaamah or ID number.

Cash: You also need to carry 75 Riyals in cash to pay for the translation of your licence. This is separate to the 75 riyal fee above.

Having counted all my papers I made my way to the assisting department, a day was set for me to be taken to the licensing office and we were off:

08:45: Left place of work. We weaved across Jeddah via Madeenah Road, then Tahliah, then Makaronah, right at Ameer Maajid (aka sab’een road), left at Garnata street and then right at Arbaeen street. A U turn about half-way down and a right just after Manarat school. Roughly 1 km down the road we turn right and park the traffic office lies on our left.

09:10: The outside of the traffic department was a sea of people and make shift cabins where people were seeking help to fill in their forms. Photocopiers powered by petrol generators dotted the pavement and customer support staff were hawking the streets looking for people who looked a bit lost and tried to guide them to their shop. Walking quickly behind my guide I avoided their queries and we were soon through the gates entering into a building probably built in the late 60’s or 70’s. Soon we were through the front door and into a chaotic mass of people. The first thing that struck me which was unexpected was the presence of large easily read signs. They were written four different languages (Arabic, English, Fillipino, and one Indian language) were clearly numbered and easily read. I was looking around for a sign that would give some helpful instructions but could not find one. My guide asked me to join a queue while he waited for my arrival at the front.

Counter 1: the queue moved quickly, a man stood inside with a cup of cold coffee in a polysterene cup carefully placed on the inside ledge keeping him company. He was the ‘have you got all the papers’ man he would quickly glance at the papers and make sure all the paperwork was in order. He gave my papers a quick look and then with a flourish that he probably maintains for the first 2 hours of work he stamped my form. Forms in hand we moved to the next stop.

Counter 2: Eyesight test, I walk into a room a man sits with a long cane behind an empty desk. I sit down on the only other chair in the room and look at a mirror which reflects an eye chart from the wall opposite. Armed with his cane he looks rather sinister and blows a puff of smoke into the air. The cane is manouvered onto a letter – I repeat the letters and three letters later I have bagged another stamp and signature and move on.  As I leave the eyesight testing counter I spot a room where blood tests are being performed on an industrial scale, blood groups are done locally I take a mental note.

Counter 3: The translation booth, I give my 75 riyals and hand over the card part of my licence. A few minutes of standing and the licence is translated. I dispense with paper part deciding making things complicated would slow things down – nobody blinks an eye and we soon move on.

Counter 4. A ticker tape system stands on the right and a dull red sign hanging overhead with numbers changing regularly. I instinctively head towards the ticket dispenser and take a ticket. My guide has decided to ignore the system and makes his way pushing through the people at the counter with my papers. He waves my papers at the officer standing on the other side hoping to avoid the queuing system. I sit down waiting to see what would happen. To my surprise he is politely rebuffed and asked to get a ticket number.  I wave the ticket in my hand and let him know I have a ticket, he joins me and we sit down on the provided chairs. A moment to pen some of my observations down.

Soon our number appears and we submit our papers and use the ATM paid 75 riyals to submit the payment. We pay at the cashier pick up a receipt and the first stage comes to an end. My licence will be ready sometime later the agent tells me and he will pick it up and bring it back to my workplace. I look at my watch and to my surprise it is only 09:23.

As we leave without my new Saudi licence I wonder when I will get it, I am told by the guide about 2 days. As we return it turns out he is a second hand car sales man. After discussing what type of car I was looking for he just happens to have a car waiting outside the car park which he can show me. I have a quick look at the car and nearly faint at the strong smell of smoke that permeates the fabric of the car. I thank him and say sorry the car is not one I would be looking for. I am not too sure whether this disappointed him or not but the 2 days stretched themselves into 2 weeks, no clear explanation was given but I eventually acquired my credit card sized  licence. I don’t complain as I am suely becoming acclimatised to the slower pace of life in this part of the world.

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