Jeddah '3aiR !

I had promised myself never to enter Saudi Arabia for all the obvious and non-obvious reasons. But against my best efforts I ended up with a long assignment in Jeddah. So it was a challenge for me on a personal level to work further outside my comfort zone.



I bought my “Islamic” Abaya and my headscarves. I carefully selected among my conservative wardrobe the longest and the darkest. I asked my host all the stupid questions I had in mind. I check with everybody who has an experience traveling to KSA. Everybody told me “Jeddah ‘3air” (translation - Jeddah is different) but I refused to believe. My bias overrode all the information I was given.

Well, I have to admit that I was wrong. I had the best of times and I learned in a week enough for a lifetime. Jeddah is different; fun and pleasant, open and modern and most importantly very familiar. It is not very different that Kuwait at all if not better in many ways.


On my last day there I had coffee with a group of young men and women in an open café at the beach. They were all talking openly and respectfully about their concerns and issues. And though they were understandable conscious of political discussions, their social and economical concerns where no different than ours.


They talked about the loss of identity- the blind copying of everything Western- homosexuality, divorce, unemployment, plastic surgeries, power of Islamic extremists, love , marriage, cost of living, parenting challenges ,,, etc.


I always believed that I am free of any form of prejudice and biases. But this experience has shown me how easy it is to fall into the stereotypes and narrow-mindedness despite your best efforts.

Unless you force yourself to get out of your comfort zone and retest your assumptions and notions you will become the bigot you see in others.

My Question: when was the last time you tested your assumptions?