What not to take into Riyadh?
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 269
Likes: 0
From: London
All I can say is I'm soooooooo glad that BA stopped our crew from nigt stopping there. I don't know that I'd be able to wear that whole muslim dress and walk behind my male collegues and sit at the back of the bus. It makes me soooooooooo angry just thinking about having to do that. How can they possibly expect that from a Western girl! The airline should only roster male crews if they're stupid enough to wanna nightstop their crews there!
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 942
Likes: 0
From: dubai
SkySista
"Okay. Bibles and pictures of girls with swimsuits on i can totally get."
I can't. If these people can bring their koran to your country and mine, then why can't a Bible be bought in to their country. They are a bunch of f***** hypocrites.
"Okay. Bibles and pictures of girls with swimsuits on i can totally get."
I can't. If these people can bring their koran to your country and mine, then why can't a Bible be bought in to their country. They are a bunch of f***** hypocrites.
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 269
Likes: 0
From: London
Not only can they bring their Koran into our countries, but they build their mosques here as well!!!!! There's definately something wrong with this picture!!!!!!!
How come you can't take soft toys in???? Don't their kids have teddy bears???? What must this place be! It's worse than jail!
How come you can't take soft toys in???? Don't their kids have teddy bears???? What must this place be! It's worse than jail!
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,157
Likes: 0
From: East of Runway 21
I'm not saying they should ban bibles and so on. I'm just saying I understand why they might not want them there.
But statues? Why? I mean, okay, statues of naked people with bits on, fair enough
From what I'm told, the graven animals thing is because it's viewed as idol worship and stuff. Apparently the really really hardliners wont even accept photographs (love to know how they get along without passports then....
)
But statues? Why? I mean, okay, statues of naked people with bits on, fair enough
From what I'm told, the graven animals thing is because it's viewed as idol worship and stuff. Apparently the really really hardliners wont even accept photographs (love to know how they get along without passports then....
)
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 5,552
Likes: 25
From: ME
how long and where in the city do bmi crews stay there?
For security reasons this shouldnt be discussed...
Are the planes full on the route to Riyadh?
They havent started operating yet, however, there arent enough people traveling between Sep - Dec for the flights to be full.
Mutt
For security reasons this shouldnt be discussed...
Are the planes full on the route to Riyadh?
They havent started operating yet, however, there arent enough people traveling between Sep - Dec for the flights to be full.
Mutt
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
From: Crinkley Bottom
The following is a extract from a website which surprise surprise takes the mickey out of the Saudis!!! This bit of dialogue is supposed to be a fictitious discussion between the Minister for Tourism (M) and a member of the Muttawa or Religious Police (RP).
Funny reading!!!
RP: Good Morning, Minister.
M: Good Morning
RP: Can I start by asking how many non-Muslim tourists came to the country last year?
M: Yes, 5,537.
RP: Oh that's not many, we don't seem to be very welcoming to non-Muslims.
M: Perhaps not, but we had 7,300,000 Muslims come on Pilgrimage and other visits. Non-Muslims could have converted to Islam and there would have been no problem. However, if they don't want to do that, and I do appreciate that circumcision can be painful in adulthood, we're now going to make it easier for them to come here as tourists.
RP: That's good. How?
M: They'll be able to get visas on arrival at the airport, just like Dubai.
RP: So anyone can fly into Riyadh or Jeddah and just pick up a visa at the airport?
M: Men can, certainly, and married couples, as long as they can prove they're married, so they'll need to bring a Marriage Certificate, four copies translated into Arabic and certified by a lawyer. Not a Jewish lawyer, naturally. Women, on the other hand, will need to be sponsored by someone inside Saudi Arabia.
RP: But suppose they don't know anyone in the country?
M: Well, we can't help them there, can we? We're not a Dating Agency.
RP: And what about couples who aren't married, or gay couples?
M: Well as you know, we behead homosexuals, and stone adulterous or loose women to death, so it's probably best if we don't let them in in the first place, otherwise there'll be no end of paperwork.
RP: OK. So we'll allow single men and bona-fide married couples in. But they already go to places like Dubai in hundreds of thousands, it's a major international resort. Why should they come to Saudi Arabia instead?
M: Well, we have lots of sun.
RP: So does Dubai. Can they sit under a sunshade and have a drink, like in Dubai?
M: Certainly not, and if there's any drink in their suitcase, they'll go to prison. But we're not like Dubai, we offer a unique cultural experience.
RP: So they can go and see a show with folk dancing, the sort of thing Greece is good at?
M: How long have you been in Saudi Arabia? You know we don't have theatres or cinemas or concert halls. No, what I meant was, there are 6,366 heritage and antiquities sites in the Kingdom.
RP: But aren't we knocking these down as quick as we can drive the bulldozers?
M: That's only for the non-Islamic sites and sites that could be associated with idolatry - so just old monuments and fortresses, historic buildings, houses of famous people, things like that. Certainly not the mosques.
RP: So they can go and look round the famous mosques, like they can in Bahrain for example?
M: Well they can certainly look at the outside.
RP: But not the inside? After all, that's where they'd see the beautiful decorations, get a sense of stillness and reverence.
M Oh no, if they go inside we'll put them in prison.
RP: And of course they can't go and visit the spiritual center of Islam, Makkah, or historic Madinah?
M: If we ever found them there they'd certainly go to prison, unless they were lynched first. But they always have the option of converting to Islam.
RP: OK, lets talk about seaside holidays instead. After all, tourists usually want one of two things; a unique cultural experience, or the four S's.
M: The four S's?
RP: Yes. Sun, sand, Sangria and sex.
M: Well we certainly have sun and sand, and I think you already know the answer to the other two.
RP: Well, one thing we have that Dubai doesn't, and that's the deep water Red Sea with coral reefs. Just the place for snorkelling and scuba diving holidays. What can we offer tourists there?
M: Well, the biggest resort on the Red Sea is Jeddah, but nobody swims there, you must have read all the stories about the raw sewage. However we do plan to build some resorts further up the coast.
RP: So men and women will be able to go swimming up there?
M: Certainly
RP: Together?
M: I didn't say that. Swimming together, as you know, is un-Islamic. Most hotels only allow the men to go swimming. However there are one or two already that are more relaxed, and allow men to swim in the morning and women in the afternoon.
RP: And can the women go topless?
M Certainly not. They must keep their heads covered at all times.
RP: Isn't that a bit difficult, swimming in a full-length abaya and headscarf, particularly scuba diving?
M: No, haven't you seen the new fashions?
RP: What fashions?
M: These fashions....
RP: Don't you think that looks completely ridiculous, like a clown in a Circus?
M: Well, I wouldn't want to wear it, but then I don't have much sympathy, women should stay at home to look after the children and do the cooking.
RP: So where will you be going on vacation, Minister?
M: Well, strictly off the record you understand, and like any Saudi who can afford it, I'll be going abroad. I like the South of France. Nothing like a glass of Chablis in a pavement cafe on the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice. Why be in Saudi Arabia when there are so many great vacation spots?
RP. Indeed, Minister. Thank you for the interview.
M: My pleasure.
Funny reading!!!
RP: Good Morning, Minister.
M: Good Morning
RP: Can I start by asking how many non-Muslim tourists came to the country last year?
M: Yes, 5,537.
RP: Oh that's not many, we don't seem to be very welcoming to non-Muslims.
M: Perhaps not, but we had 7,300,000 Muslims come on Pilgrimage and other visits. Non-Muslims could have converted to Islam and there would have been no problem. However, if they don't want to do that, and I do appreciate that circumcision can be painful in adulthood, we're now going to make it easier for them to come here as tourists.
RP: That's good. How?
M: They'll be able to get visas on arrival at the airport, just like Dubai.
RP: So anyone can fly into Riyadh or Jeddah and just pick up a visa at the airport?
M: Men can, certainly, and married couples, as long as they can prove they're married, so they'll need to bring a Marriage Certificate, four copies translated into Arabic and certified by a lawyer. Not a Jewish lawyer, naturally. Women, on the other hand, will need to be sponsored by someone inside Saudi Arabia.
RP: But suppose they don't know anyone in the country?
M: Well, we can't help them there, can we? We're not a Dating Agency.
RP: And what about couples who aren't married, or gay couples?
M: Well as you know, we behead homosexuals, and stone adulterous or loose women to death, so it's probably best if we don't let them in in the first place, otherwise there'll be no end of paperwork.
RP: OK. So we'll allow single men and bona-fide married couples in. But they already go to places like Dubai in hundreds of thousands, it's a major international resort. Why should they come to Saudi Arabia instead?
M: Well, we have lots of sun.
RP: So does Dubai. Can they sit under a sunshade and have a drink, like in Dubai?
M: Certainly not, and if there's any drink in their suitcase, they'll go to prison. But we're not like Dubai, we offer a unique cultural experience.
RP: So they can go and see a show with folk dancing, the sort of thing Greece is good at?
M: How long have you been in Saudi Arabia? You know we don't have theatres or cinemas or concert halls. No, what I meant was, there are 6,366 heritage and antiquities sites in the Kingdom.
RP: But aren't we knocking these down as quick as we can drive the bulldozers?
M: That's only for the non-Islamic sites and sites that could be associated with idolatry - so just old monuments and fortresses, historic buildings, houses of famous people, things like that. Certainly not the mosques.
RP: So they can go and look round the famous mosques, like they can in Bahrain for example?
M: Well they can certainly look at the outside.
RP: But not the inside? After all, that's where they'd see the beautiful decorations, get a sense of stillness and reverence.
M Oh no, if they go inside we'll put them in prison.
RP: And of course they can't go and visit the spiritual center of Islam, Makkah, or historic Madinah?
M: If we ever found them there they'd certainly go to prison, unless they were lynched first. But they always have the option of converting to Islam.
RP: OK, lets talk about seaside holidays instead. After all, tourists usually want one of two things; a unique cultural experience, or the four S's.
M: The four S's?
RP: Yes. Sun, sand, Sangria and sex.
M: Well we certainly have sun and sand, and I think you already know the answer to the other two.
RP: Well, one thing we have that Dubai doesn't, and that's the deep water Red Sea with coral reefs. Just the place for snorkelling and scuba diving holidays. What can we offer tourists there?
M: Well, the biggest resort on the Red Sea is Jeddah, but nobody swims there, you must have read all the stories about the raw sewage. However we do plan to build some resorts further up the coast.
RP: So men and women will be able to go swimming up there?
M: Certainly
RP: Together?
M: I didn't say that. Swimming together, as you know, is un-Islamic. Most hotels only allow the men to go swimming. However there are one or two already that are more relaxed, and allow men to swim in the morning and women in the afternoon.
RP: And can the women go topless?
M Certainly not. They must keep their heads covered at all times.
RP: Isn't that a bit difficult, swimming in a full-length abaya and headscarf, particularly scuba diving?
M: No, haven't you seen the new fashions?
RP: What fashions?
M: These fashions....
RP: Don't you think that looks completely ridiculous, like a clown in a Circus?
M: Well, I wouldn't want to wear it, but then I don't have much sympathy, women should stay at home to look after the children and do the cooking.
RP: So where will you be going on vacation, Minister?
M: Well, strictly off the record you understand, and like any Saudi who can afford it, I'll be going abroad. I like the South of France. Nothing like a glass of Chablis in a pavement cafe on the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice. Why be in Saudi Arabia when there are so many great vacation spots?
RP. Indeed, Minister. Thank you for the interview.
M: My pleasure.
Last edited by Mr R Sole; 22nd August 2005 at 19:30.
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 1,444
Likes: 21
From: Beyond the black stump!
If you missed the images in the R Sole part of the thread.
Be sure to check them out. Actually I can think of quite a few women (and men) who would be much more presentable attired in this manner!
Be sure to check them out. Actually I can think of quite a few women (and men) who would be much more presentable attired in this manner!
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: baxter
I have read with great amusement!
All I can say I am so happy that Qantas does not fly there, I knew that they had severe restrictions but that is beyond reason.
And to think that we complain about JNB and BOM, those places sound like a paradise
All I can say I am so happy that Qantas does not fly there, I knew that they had severe restrictions but that is beyond reason.
And to think that we complain about JNB and BOM, those places sound like a paradise
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Dubai
you have to respect their culture flying sarah, if you are prepared to fly with BMI and be rostered, then you have to accept that for your layover you will not be able to do whatever you want! It's not a case of being belittled, or disrespected, or outrageous or disgraceful...thats their way of life and has been for many years.
And perhaps they don't want to change or accept Western influences.
And perhaps they don't want to change or accept Western influences.