Day 81 & 82 ~ Yanbu Al-Bahr, "Spring by the Sea"

March 31, 2022

The sky seemed bluer here.

90-ish, sunny. Time to break out the cotton clothes while making sure I'm covered from neck to ankle, from shoulders to wrist to maintain my modesty and not tempt anyone to lust. Though frankly, at my age, I'd count any day I could enflame someone's lust a very good day indeed! 

“By means of water, we give life to everything.” —Koran

Since we'd already been ground on the administrivia grindstone in Jeddah, our arrival in Yanbu Al-Bahr was simplicity itself. We simply walked off the Star and onto our waiting bus for our included excursion. Our guide today was Muhammed, a very well-spoken young man with a friendly manner and clear command of his material. He represented his culture, his country and his town very well. 

First, he explained that Yanbu Al-Bahr means "spring by the sea," which marks it as supremely important to a country that has no natural lakes or rivers and very limited rainfall. Even Yanbu only receives an average of 1.3 inches of rainfall in a year, so an underground water source is golden. Muhammed was justifiably proud to take us to their manmade lake! 

The area reminded me a bit of Boston Commons with the water features and flowers.

How many birds do you see?

From the moment we stepped off the bus, the air was full of birdsong. Muhammed explained that this manmade oasis had been built as a buffer between the residential areas for the workers in the refiners by the coast and their very sandy, smelly place of work. And it definitely did its job. The are was fresh, and noticeably cooler amid the trees. There was a playground for children, plenty of benches to relax on, and calming colors to refresh the eyes.

But it was nearly deserted save for our bus.  

That's because in Yanbu, people start their days later than we do. And then take several hours off in the middle of the day to escape the heat, working later into the evening. Families with children will come around after sunset to enjoy picnics on actual grass. 

The DH switched from his BBcap to his sunhat! 

I'm not surprised. 

My sister Jenn and her family used to live in Lake Havasu City, AZ, and they actually flipped their days and nights around to cope with the blistering summer temps. She couldn't let her kids play outside in the heat of the day lest they burn themselves on a car door or a metal swing. It wasn't unusual for her to grocery shop at midnight. 

After this stop, we drove around the city while Muhammed pointed out places of interest. One was a large new building that is a school for women. It used to be only men who could attend a trade school or university, but the Saudi government has realized that women can be highly productive members of society and the key to all advancement of a society is education. I was delighted to hear it. I wish we in the US would prize education as highly as a means of upward mobility and a better life. 

Migratory birds have discovered this little oasis and it's sometimes overrun with parrots from Africa.

Prayer tents set up by the side of the road for the upcoming observance of Ramadan. Not sure what the plastic cannon is about...

 

Old Town Yanbu is very near the Star's berth, and is currently being renovated piecemeal. It's the same sort of Hejazi style we saw in Jeddah, with its multiple stories, bay windows and ornate wooden carving.

The Old Town is also home to the Night Market, which used to open late to serve the returning fishermen. As our tour group approached, they opened early for us. It was a dim rabbit warren of narrow alleys faced with small shops on either side. Several merchants lit incense cones and the air, which had been merely close and breathless, became cloying. I made for the nearest exit. But later that night, we sat out on our balcony and watched the Old Town come to life!

Young families pushing strollers walked along the seaway. That wonderfully atonal Arabic music drifted from a dozen open air restaurants.  The laughter of children cut through the music, and we could see a number of them zipping around the area in little electric play cars they call "Bentleys." It looked like fun! And it gave us a peek at the life of young Saudi families.

Friday April 1st was another day in Yanbu, but we needed to to some laundry and we had Petra in Jordan looming large on our horizon, so we stayed on board and rested. As soon as the Star unmoored from the dock, the wine began flowing in the restaurants and bars again. For the entire time we were in Saudi Arabian waters, we were a "dry" ship. All liquor and wine had been taken off the shelves and put under lock and key. Prior to that, Viking offered to put wine and liquors in passenger staterooms, but asked that all guests refrain from drinking on their verandahs where we might be seen. We were free to drink in our staterooms.

However, I saw one lady drinking champagne on an open deck. I'm sure there were probably other infractions. 

Why? Just why? 

About dress codes. Not only women were requested to dress modestly. Men were asked not wear shorts that would show their knees or shirts that bared their shoulders. I have no idea what point this guy was trying to prove.

 

When you visit someone's home do you spit on the floor? No. You show respect for them and their ways. One of the most important things I've learned from travel is that I can't expect to find America everywhere I go. We are a very permissive society. Some aren't. I have to respect their culture while I'm in their country or I give my whole culture a black eye. 

Okay, I'm hopping off my soapbox now. As usual, you're free to disagree with me. It's the American Way.