Michael Bou-Nacklie

Adventures around the world: Saudi Arabia

A small compilation of my work over the last couple of years in Saudi Arabia working at different agencies from the Arab News to the Saudi Gazette and now the local tourism magazine Destination Jeddah.

One of the advantages of the job that I have as well as being in this country, is that from time to time I get to see somethings that aren't widely publicized because of fears of a backlash from the establishment. This time round I got to see one of the few outcrops of the burgeoning hip hop scene. Granted the show scene here mostly consists of posers and people who are doing it for the wrong reasons, the same can be said about the same culture elsewhere around the world. The show, which started three hours late, was supposed to be a hip hop battle and dance off kind of show but I didnt stay for the whole thing. Mainly because it was three hours late so I got the shots I needed and left. Not only that but audio engineering in this country is still stellarly lacking in any real luster. A good friend of mine is possibly one of the best sound engineers Ive ever met in my entire career. For events like this they need a guy like him to make sure that the raps and lyrics dont come out drowned out by a poor bass system. Whats really unfortunate is that the rappers were going in and out of English lacing their rhymes with Arabic some even rapping entirely in one language or the other. This kind of multicultural combinations are fantastic but ended up coming out as a bass fizzle and pop. Shame.
   
Men and women are not allowed to date openly in the Kingdom, so many rely on bluetooth to get womens numbers into their phones which they then use to send text messages as a surrogate for a dating life.
  
     
  
   
  
Slow exposure of a theme park ride.
     
  
Slow exposure of a theme park ride.
   
Slow exposure of one of Jeddah's many roundabouts.
   
     
  
The Minister of Finance is given a tour of the newly renovated Hajj terminal. This specially designed section of the airport is purposed to receive Hajj pilgrims throughout the year.
   
Ostriches at a natural reserve in Taif.
   
Heavy brush in the foothills outside Abha.
     
  
Comedian Maz Jobrani performs in Jeddah for the second ever comedy show in the Kingdom.
   
The first day of Ramadan is a period of increased business for restaurants across the Kingdom. In Jeddah an Khazakistani immigrant prepares a Bukhari meal on the outskirts of town in a low income neighborhood.
   
     
  
The adminstration building at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
   
  
     
  
The first and only female fire fighting volunteers training at their private facility outside Jeddah.
   
  
Traditional dress of Saudi Arabia
     
  
The mayor of Jeddah fields questions from Saudi reporters.
   
  
King Abdullah arrives as the guest of honor at the Islamic Development Bank's annual meeting.
     
  
A young merchant sorts dates at a market in Jeddah's urban districts.
   
  
A bird takes a stroll through a man made lake right on the coast of the Red Sea with cars zipping by less than a 100 meters away.
     
  
   
  
At Jeddah's sewage dumpsite a full ecosystem has developed with wild dogs claiming portions of the land along with migratory birds.
     
  
On the outskirts of Jeddah, towards Makkah, rich and poor live almost seemingly side by side.
   
Traditional Yemeni art decorates the outside of a museum and former palace of King Abdulaziz.
   
     
  
A female journalist for a local paper takes notes during the Jeddah Energy Meeting at the Jeddah Hilton on Sunday June 22 2008. The meeting was aimed at solving the global energy crisis. Saudi Arabia agreed to increase its production by 2.5 million bpd in order to aid the stifled energy economy on top of the additional 500,000 bpd that it had pledged a month prior to the conference.
   
  
Dancers rehearse their routine prior to the debut of the countries first hip hop show.
     
  
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the Governor of the Makkah region, speaks to journalists at a special media event held at the office of the Jeddah Mayoralty.