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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Do you know your collar-ankle length?

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: Some useful tips on thawb buying. A thawb (Arabic: ثوب‎, ṯawb), dishdasha (دشداشة, dišdāšä), kandura (كندورة, kandūrä) or khameez (قميص, qamīṣ) is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe. Chest sizes are mentioned with letter sizes: M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL. A medium chest size corresponds to a thin person, the L to a the average 70 Kg man, XL for someone who is slightly overweight and so on.

The other challenge is to get the right length of the thawb. Thawbs come with an extra number which corresponds to you collar-ankle length. Simply work out the collar-length in inches and remove two inches to work out which thawb is suitable. A few example conversions are given below:

Thawb Length Size	Collar – ankle length	Suitable Height
60	58	5′ 10”
62	60	6′ 0”

The back door of ideas

Bismillah, alhamdulillah. In a recent shopping trip to a book store in Sharjah in the UAE I came across this book in the English section. The book was called “Palmistry Made Easy” by a J S Bright, the author of a previous book called “dictionary of Palmistry” and a practicing palmist – the fancy word for a fortuneteller.

I was only mildly surprised to find such a book in a well known store in conservative Sharjah. In a smilar vein books and articles on Feng Shui occur from time to time in the English press in even more strict Saudi Arabia. What twenty years ago was unthinkable has transformed itself into the common.

Saudi Arabia usually presents an air of impenetrability when seen from the outside but seen from the inside the picture is quite different. It has become quite porous and increasingly vulnerable to the storm of ideas that is happening in the world outside. The promotion and ready take up of English as a language especially by the young has provided a fertile ground for many ideas. Many, such as palmistry, represent an anti-thesis to the core principles of Islam. Speaking about fortunetellers the Prophet Muhammad (S) said:

“عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ أَتَى عَرَّافًا فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً“

Whoever came to a fortuneteller and asked him about something then his prayer will not be accepted for forty days. (Muslim)

Anyone who actually believes that a fortuneteller has the independent ability to know the future has committed major shirk, which takes a person out of Islam. Going to such a person for fun without believing in him/her results in a person’s reward for prayer being cancelled for almost 6 weeks.

What is that?

A quick trip to our local cheap market called Souq Al-Shati in the north of Jeddah for some head scarves for the kids. As we stand at one stall negotiating a price for a pack of head scarves my attention falls on this pack of liquids.

As I watch my wife negotiating away I start dreaming about a nice jelly dish. How nice of the vendor to have pre-made jelly for parents to take home as a simple treat for the kids.

‘Excuse me what is this?’ I inquire just making sure that it was jelly before agreeing to buy it.

‘That’s …’ he pauses for a moment and then continues in Urdu, ‘not for you, it’s for black people.’

My dreams about jelly vanish into thin air, ‘It’s what?’ the rise in my voice goes unnoticed and my wife is still busy with the head scarves but her attention has shifted to the neatly arranged box of liquids.

‘African people use it to lighten their skin.’ he continues folding the open head scarves in a matter of fact way oblivious to my concern.

I recall a story of a man who ran a shop in London and was arrested by the Health and Safety officers for selling illegal products to lighten the colour of skin. The man was taken to court and the judge found him guilty and charged him over a hundred thousand pounds. His lawyer was about to appeal for leniency when he found his client the guilty business man was already leaving his chair. A cheque for the amount lay on the table. The lawyer ran to his client and said, if you give me a moment I can try and appeal for leniency.

The business man shrugged his shoulders telling him not to worry he was making much much more than this. Skin care products was one of the most lucrative items possible. Especially the ones full of illegal and very potent steroid creams. Steroid creams in the long term are known to damage skin by thinning it irreversibly. But the combination of money and vanity are symbiotic.

Ramadan Greetings

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

I hope and pray that everyone is well.

Glad to have Ramadan here, a nice time to eat those lovely dishes at opening fast time, revel in sitting for hours staring at the television screen once we are back from taraweeh prayers. The constant infusion of food and drinks just in case we don’t wake up for sehri/suhoor. The hunt for the imam with the most beautiful voice so we can enjoy the melody of his voice rather than the melody of the meaning of what is being read.

The above paragraph is probably written in the Satanic Manual of Misguidance, probably page 1, important ways of misguiding the believer during Ramadan. Though there is probably some writing in red which has a warning printed on it, it may read: “Warning all jinn devils will be locked up, distribute this information to all human devils”.

The first taraweeh prayer here in Jeddah and the imam at the Shuaibee masjid pointed out that while the devils amongst the jinn were locked up their brethren from human kind were fully intent on mischief making and becoming more active. Special television series had been prepared with plots based on adultery and other evil to be beamed by satellite channel straight to the little mendacious box in the corner.

The imam did point out, that though the signals were unstoppable we were the people who had decided to buy the satellite receivers and televisions. He urged everyone who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger’s message to switch the television off and stop watching the filth that was pouring into our homes.

Sounds like good advice.