Hello from AL Khobar!

I had a post that I started writing but it got lost someone on the tumblr. server so I get to start over. Before I do I wanted to post a fact that I learned about in my Natural Resources and Planning class (taught by Doc Augustine) that I don’t think many Americans really know about.

The top 5 exporters of oil to the U.S. in order: 1. Canada 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Mexico 4. Venezuela 5. Nigeria

Day 3 (Riyadh):

FIrst we went to the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce where we learned about the small-medium business happenings in the city. The representative of the chamber went on to talk about the charitable organizations they have created or support (like their orphan program). Like many of our conversations we diverged from the original topic and moved in to politics and world affairs. Our host began to speak about how wonderful he thought America was (remember many Saudis are educated in America) and how he had a fascination with the founding fathers. I asked him what he thought was the biggest obstacle facing Saudi Arabia and civil rights and his answer was simple. Arabs have had to wear a lot of hats and accumulated a lot of social values, and that they must now view and separate true religion from what is man made. I’ve heard this same sentiment expressed by a lot of people but, like Americans, Saudis have a dynamic range of differing political and cultural views.

After that we went to the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) for our next meeting. Before I came to KSA I thought that princes and princesses were more numerable than all of the sand in Rub al-Khali (The Empty Quarter). Our meeting was with HRH Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud, so I didn’t really think much of it. It wasn’t until after the meeting I was talking with some Saudis and they said things like “Oh i’ve seen him on t.v.” and “I’ve dreamed of meeting him” that I really felt the magnitude of the opportunity I was given. Prince Turki gave us an  excellent overview of the relationship of the U.S. and KSA over the past 50 years. HIs expertise in this area are robust considering he was the head of KSA intelligence. If you’d like to find out more on this meeting contact me privately. To respect his privacy I will not attribute anything further.

The delegation after their meeting with Prince Turki. Photo taken by Josh Hilbrand. Thank you Josh!

Within KFCRIS there were two exhibits. One was a modern history of Jerusalem from the mandate period to now, and the other was of the life of King Faisal (Prince Turki’s father). The thing that impressed me more than all of the gifts that the king was given throughout his life was his bed (pictured below).

A bed fit for a king. We were told he lived his life in modesty.

Our last trip was to the U.S. Embassy in what I’m going to call embassy city. The embassy was large and we had the opportunity to meet with top State Department officials and received a briefing on U.S. policies and their concerns within the kingdom. It was very informative and we got to stop by their gift shop (yes … they have a gift shop in the embassy).

Sorry it’s taken so long to get these blogs out, we really do run non-stop on this trip. Please feel free to send me any questions through Tumblr. or my email a.w.cotton@me.com . I promise there will be more to come.

Thank you,

Andrew