Link to Saudi Arabian Poet
In my last video, I mentioned a poet from Saudi Arabia that has recently released a very reflective body of poetry that deals with regional and worldwide issues, gender relations in the Middle East, and much more. I have not read it yet in its entirety, but did have the opportunity to hear her read from the book, and I think it would be a very useful way to introduce students to literature from this region.
Her name is Nimah Ismail Nawwab and her book is called, The Unfurling.
Her website can be found at http://theunfurling.com/
and includes a Teacher's Corner with resources on how her poetry can be used in the classroom.
Her book can be purchased at Amazon.com.
# - Kevin Witte - 3/10/06; 8:36:39 AM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
Final Stop For Saudi Arabia Revealed
Her name is Nimah Ismail Nawwab and her book is called, The Unfurling.
Her website can be found at http://theunfurling.com/
and includes a Teacher's Corner with resources on how her poetry can be used in the classroom.
Her book can be purchased at Amazon.com.
# - Kevin Witte - 3/10/06; 8:36:39 AM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
As I am back, I wanted to share a few closing comments about my Saudi Arabia experience. In addition, I would like to get a few comments from you on how you felt about the project or how you used the project.
My closing comments are part of the enclosed video podcast. Note that in the background of the video, you will see slides of my trip.
I have also created an online survey to gather your thoughts about the program. The survey is 10 questions and should take only a few minutes to complete. As I have a final report to submit and because I do value your comments, I would greatly appreciate you completing the survey.
To do the online survey, follow these steps:
# - Kevin Witte - 3/9/06; 9:32:33 AM - Discuss
Enclosure: KWittefinal.m4v -
Old Jeddah and Jeddah Port Authority--February 26, 2006
My closing comments are part of the enclosed video podcast. Note that in the background of the video, you will see slides of my trip.
I have also created an online survey to gather your thoughts about the program. The survey is 10 questions and should take only a few minutes to complete. As I have a final report to submit and because I do value your comments, I would greatly appreciate you completing the survey.
To do the online survey, follow these steps:
- Open your web browser
- Go to the following URL - http://techs.myelearning.org
- On the left column, you will see a link entitled Public Surveys
- Click on Saudi Arabia Revealed and then begin survey
- When finished, click on Submit at the bottom of the survey.
# - Kevin Witte - 3/9/06; 9:32:33 AM - Discuss
Enclosure: KWittefinal.m4v -
Hey Everybody!
This will be my last entry from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tomorrow, we begin the long journey home. Altogether, I think I am looking at about 33 hours of travel time from when I take off from Saudi Arabia to when I arrive home in Kearney. My return home won't signal the end of this site completely. I hope to do some follow up. I am planning to pursue a post-trip video and am willing to answer additional questions as they arise. More than anything, I hope you all have enjoyed following me along on this journey that has truly been for me an incredible personal and professional experience!
On to today's activities...Jeddah is a community of a couple million people on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. It is a very old city and the legend surrounding it holds that it is the city of Eve's (of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic creation story) burial. It has always been a great city of trade and has traditionally been the starting point for Muslim pilgrims as they arrive to complete the pilgrimmage during the Hajj or the lesser pilgrimmage (Umrah) during the rest of the year. This extensive contact with travelers and traders has shaped it as one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the Middle East.
We started our day in Old Jeddah--an area where many old homes and shops are still intact. Many of the structures were actually made from coral and then plastered over. Many of the windows contain screens or mushrabiyya that allow the air to pass through, but protect the women of the house from the prying eyes of strangers. Old Jeddah is also home to a souq or marketplace. Within the souq can be found household wares, clothing, appliances, spices, and foods of all kinds. Negotiating a price with the store owner is all part of the procedure. Looking at the wares of the souq is a good example of the globalization that has taken the world by storm. Typical Saudi clothing such as the thobe, gutra, agal, abaya, and scarves turn out to be made in China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, etc. upon inspection of the label. An Arab coffee pot I was inspecting turned out to be made in Korea.
These two pictures show Old Jeddah. Note the mushrabiyya on the windows and look for the combination of old and new structures in the second picture.
Our second stop was the Jeddah Port Authority. This port is one of the top 30 ports in the world for volume of cargo loaded and unloaded. It is also an arrival point for Muslim pilgrims from Egypt, Sudan, and other parts of Africa. The port was absolutely enormous and a flurry of activity. Some of the bigger ships were being loaded and unloaded at the same time by massive cranes. Looking at the entire process shows just how important timely and safe distribution of goods and products is in our world economy.
Later this evening, we had dinner with a number of Saudi academics and business people. Our featured speaker made a number of excellent points and others came about through informal discussion. They included the following:
# - Kevin Witte - 2/26/06; 6:53:22 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
Abqaiq and Foods of the Middle East--February 24, 2006
This will be my last entry from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tomorrow, we begin the long journey home. Altogether, I think I am looking at about 33 hours of travel time from when I take off from Saudi Arabia to when I arrive home in Kearney. My return home won't signal the end of this site completely. I hope to do some follow up. I am planning to pursue a post-trip video and am willing to answer additional questions as they arise. More than anything, I hope you all have enjoyed following me along on this journey that has truly been for me an incredible personal and professional experience!
On to today's activities...Jeddah is a community of a couple million people on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. It is a very old city and the legend surrounding it holds that it is the city of Eve's (of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic creation story) burial. It has always been a great city of trade and has traditionally been the starting point for Muslim pilgrims as they arrive to complete the pilgrimmage during the Hajj or the lesser pilgrimmage (Umrah) during the rest of the year. This extensive contact with travelers and traders has shaped it as one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the Middle East.
We started our day in Old Jeddah--an area where many old homes and shops are still intact. Many of the structures were actually made from coral and then plastered over. Many of the windows contain screens or mushrabiyya that allow the air to pass through, but protect the women of the house from the prying eyes of strangers. Old Jeddah is also home to a souq or marketplace. Within the souq can be found household wares, clothing, appliances, spices, and foods of all kinds. Negotiating a price with the store owner is all part of the procedure. Looking at the wares of the souq is a good example of the globalization that has taken the world by storm. Typical Saudi clothing such as the thobe, gutra, agal, abaya, and scarves turn out to be made in China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, etc. upon inspection of the label. An Arab coffee pot I was inspecting turned out to be made in Korea.
These two pictures show Old Jeddah. Note the mushrabiyya on the windows and look for the combination of old and new structures in the second picture.
Our second stop was the Jeddah Port Authority. This port is one of the top 30 ports in the world for volume of cargo loaded and unloaded. It is also an arrival point for Muslim pilgrims from Egypt, Sudan, and other parts of Africa. The port was absolutely enormous and a flurry of activity. Some of the bigger ships were being loaded and unloaded at the same time by massive cranes. Looking at the entire process shows just how important timely and safe distribution of goods and products is in our world economy.
Later this evening, we had dinner with a number of Saudi academics and business people. Our featured speaker made a number of excellent points and others came about through informal discussion. They included the following:
- The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States is a vital one for both and the Saudi people are thankful for the partnership that discovered Saudi Arabia's vast mineral wealth and made rapid economic growth possible.
- There are very strong connections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three believe in the same one God. Peoples of all three faiths descended from Abraham or Ibrahim (to Muslims). Muslims recognize and revere Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets that led up to the Prophet Muhammed. Problems today revolve much more around politics and land (particularly the Arab-Israeli conflict) than religion, itself.
- The media can be a problematic way for two peoples to gain a clear understanding of the other. Certain kinds of news events receive a great deal of attention, while other events of just as great importance get ignored. This shapes perceptions in a simplified, shallow way.
- Openess with one another can mend division. The more dialog that is generated, the less distrust exists.
- People are essentially similar around the world. We all want the same basic things and have the same basic needs. Traditions and cultural practices differ, but these differences are not obstacles to coexistence, instead they are to be celebrated because they make the world a far richer place to live.
# - Kevin Witte - 2/26/06; 6:53:22 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
Today, the focus of this blog and the accompanying podcast will be the foods of the Middle East, but before we begin, I should comment on an event you may have seen in the news.
At about 3pm today, an oil production facility at Abqaiq (about 45 miles south of Dammam) was attacked by two cars carrying explosives. The guards of the facility opened fire on the vehicles and prevented them from gaining access to the production facilities. It appears that this is getting steady news coverage, but if you haven't checked it out yet, try the following links:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/24/saudi.refinery/index.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D14508DD-5D4E-41CD-BB7C-1E27B88A0C56.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4747488.stm
This afternoon, the Aramco officials explained the situation and offered to answer any questions or concerns that we may have had. As you know, we are on the western coast of Saudi Arabia and this occured on the Eastern coast--and don't forget Saudi Arabia is the size of Western Europe. Like I said, it appears that protective measures the Saudis took prevented the plan from being carried out to complete success.
Changing Gears...
The Food of the Middle East
First, let it be known that I do not always know what ingredients go into every dish or the exact names, but I will provide pictures and as many names as I can here on the blog as well and take you through a typical dining experience on the podcast today. Note: There may be variations on spelling because of the nature of tranlitterating Arabic to our alphabet.
Upon receiving a guest in your home...
"greeting"
Arabic coffee with cardamom, sweets with honey, dates, nuts, and chocolates
For appetizers or mezzah...
Flatbread, cheese and meat pastries, vegetables, hummus, babaganush, tehina, yogurt and cucumber dip, grape leaf wraps
For the main course...
, 
, 
Kebabs-grilled chicken, beef, and kofta (spiced lamb), chicken livers, falafel, rice
For a very special guest, especially the first time in your home...
A whole lamb on a bed of rice w/assorted mezzah
For dessert...
Kinafa and Atayef, fruit, Um Ali, cake, chocolate mouse
I hope this gives you some idea of the Middle Eastern diet. If you have specific questions about a dish, you might want to check online for ingredients and preparation instruction.
Be sure to listen to the podcast as you look at the pictures, and I will catch you up with my daily activities tomorrow!
# - Kevin Witte - 2/24/06; 4:22:25 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: KWitte-num5.m4a -
Schools in Saudi Arabia--February 23, 2006
At about 3pm today, an oil production facility at Abqaiq (about 45 miles south of Dammam) was attacked by two cars carrying explosives. The guards of the facility opened fire on the vehicles and prevented them from gaining access to the production facilities. It appears that this is getting steady news coverage, but if you haven't checked it out yet, try the following links:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/24/saudi.refinery/index.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D14508DD-5D4E-41CD-BB7C-1E27B88A0C56.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4747488.stm
This afternoon, the Aramco officials explained the situation and offered to answer any questions or concerns that we may have had. As you know, we are on the western coast of Saudi Arabia and this occured on the Eastern coast--and don't forget Saudi Arabia is the size of Western Europe. Like I said, it appears that protective measures the Saudis took prevented the plan from being carried out to complete success.
Changing Gears...
The Food of the Middle East
First, let it be known that I do not always know what ingredients go into every dish or the exact names, but I will provide pictures and as many names as I can here on the blog as well and take you through a typical dining experience on the podcast today. Note: There may be variations on spelling because of the nature of tranlitterating Arabic to our alphabet.
Upon receiving a guest in your home...
"greeting"
Arabic coffee with cardamom, sweets with honey, dates, nuts, and chocolates
For appetizers or mezzah...
Flatbread, cheese and meat pastries, vegetables, hummus, babaganush, tehina, yogurt and cucumber dip, grape leaf wraps
For the main course...
, , Kebabs-grilled chicken, beef, and kofta (spiced lamb), chicken livers, falafel, rice
For a very special guest, especially the first time in your home...
A whole lamb on a bed of rice w/assorted mezzah
For dessert...
Kinafa and Atayef, fruit, Um Ali, cake, chocolate mouse
I hope this gives you some idea of the Middle Eastern diet. If you have specific questions about a dish, you might want to check online for ingredients and preparation instruction.
Be sure to listen to the podcast as you look at the pictures, and I will catch you up with my daily activities tomorrow!
# - Kevin Witte - 2/24/06; 4:22:25 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: KWitte-num5.m4a -
Today was our last day in Riyadh and we spent most of it touring the King Adbul Aziz Historical Center and the National Museum. This was a fabulous complex that chronicled the development of the Arabian Peninsula and reinforced much of the history that I have already shared with you. We are heading to Jeddah this afternoon and so I thought that since this is a day of transition, i would share with you my observations about Saudi schools
First, by no means do I claim to understand the entire system of Saudi education. However, my exposure to the Aramco compound school in Dhahran, and private schools in both Dhahran and Riyadh has allowed me to gain at least some insight into the Saudi system of education.
Starting with the school in the Aramco compound, it should be noted that there really is very little difference between this school and what you find in the United States. It is a school for ex-Pats and includes large numbers of American teachers and students as well as people from many other countries of the world. They follow an American curriculum and boys and girls attend the same classes. Many of the students have traveled all over the world as their families are expected to take vacations outside of the country as part of their time off from work during each year. This school included grades K-9th, but not 10th, 11th, and 12th. The reason for not including a senior high school is a bit complicated, but as a general rule, most students enroll in private school somewhere in the States or Europe after their 9th grade year and the company pays the majority of the expenses.
While the Aramco compound school for ex-Pats seems to be very similar to schools found in the U.S., the Saudi private schools operate a bit differently. First and foremost, boys and girls are separated. There is a girl's facility and a boys facility. As a result of this, I was only able to visit the boy portions of the two schools. However, curriculum and instruction are supposed to be largely the same and include Arabic, English, Math, Science, Religious Instruction, and Physical Education, etc.
In terms of curriculum, there is a huge focus within these schools on math and science. Clearly, future careers in the medical, engineering, and scientific fields are the most sought after in the Kingdom and therefore instruction reflects this. Curiously, social studies courses do not seem to be a major point of emphasis, and are integrated within a study of literature. In the schools I visited, specific world history or world geography courses did not exist. Saudi Arabian history is addressed and other aspects of social studies curriculum come out in other courses. However, just yesterday at our visit to the Al Shura council, we were told that social studies instruction is being revised and expanded.
The two private schools that I visited were very impressive institutions of learning. The students seemed to be very engaged in their learning and had high goals for themselves. Many plan to study in the United States or Europe after high school and speak excellent English. English instruction in the private schools often begins as early as first grade and within a few years they are capable of carrying on conversations in at least basic English.
We were very fortunate to have opportunities to visit with some of the students in each school. This revealed a great deal about how they viewed their schools, country, and the world. Many of them had traveled to many parts of the world, including the United States. They loved American movies, books, music, etc. They recognized that their nation is different culturally than the U.S., but that really there was little difference between them and American students. They liked to have fun, play Playstation and XBox, hang out with friends, and do well in school in order to prepare themselves for bright successful futures. They sincerely hoped that our group would go back to the States and explain to people who the Saudi people really are. There is a concern among them that the media inaccurately portrays the situation in the Middle East and that Islam is not shown as the religion of peace that it truly is. They made very clear that despite the fact that many Saudis do not always agree with American government policy, they very much like the American people and want bridges to be built between the two cultures.
These are just a few of the observations I came up with as I visited these schools. One component lacking within this discussion is that I have been unable to visit a public school. The curriculum is supposed to be similar, but other than that I have no clear idea about those schools. This would be helpful to more fully complete the picture of the Saudi school system, but access to such schools was a bit more difficult to achieve.
The following pictures show just a little bit of the facilities and students the school. Enjoy and if you have any questions about them drop me a message. Tomorrow, I hope to cover foods and put together a long overdue podcast.
# - Kevin Witte - 2/24/06; 8:26:14 AM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
Riyadh, Day 2--February 22, 2006
First, by no means do I claim to understand the entire system of Saudi education. However, my exposure to the Aramco compound school in Dhahran, and private schools in both Dhahran and Riyadh has allowed me to gain at least some insight into the Saudi system of education.
Starting with the school in the Aramco compound, it should be noted that there really is very little difference between this school and what you find in the United States. It is a school for ex-Pats and includes large numbers of American teachers and students as well as people from many other countries of the world. They follow an American curriculum and boys and girls attend the same classes. Many of the students have traveled all over the world as their families are expected to take vacations outside of the country as part of their time off from work during each year. This school included grades K-9th, but not 10th, 11th, and 12th. The reason for not including a senior high school is a bit complicated, but as a general rule, most students enroll in private school somewhere in the States or Europe after their 9th grade year and the company pays the majority of the expenses.
While the Aramco compound school for ex-Pats seems to be very similar to schools found in the U.S., the Saudi private schools operate a bit differently. First and foremost, boys and girls are separated. There is a girl's facility and a boys facility. As a result of this, I was only able to visit the boy portions of the two schools. However, curriculum and instruction are supposed to be largely the same and include Arabic, English, Math, Science, Religious Instruction, and Physical Education, etc.
In terms of curriculum, there is a huge focus within these schools on math and science. Clearly, future careers in the medical, engineering, and scientific fields are the most sought after in the Kingdom and therefore instruction reflects this. Curiously, social studies courses do not seem to be a major point of emphasis, and are integrated within a study of literature. In the schools I visited, specific world history or world geography courses did not exist. Saudi Arabian history is addressed and other aspects of social studies curriculum come out in other courses. However, just yesterday at our visit to the Al Shura council, we were told that social studies instruction is being revised and expanded.
The two private schools that I visited were very impressive institutions of learning. The students seemed to be very engaged in their learning and had high goals for themselves. Many plan to study in the United States or Europe after high school and speak excellent English. English instruction in the private schools often begins as early as first grade and within a few years they are capable of carrying on conversations in at least basic English.
We were very fortunate to have opportunities to visit with some of the students in each school. This revealed a great deal about how they viewed their schools, country, and the world. Many of them had traveled to many parts of the world, including the United States. They loved American movies, books, music, etc. They recognized that their nation is different culturally than the U.S., but that really there was little difference between them and American students. They liked to have fun, play Playstation and XBox, hang out with friends, and do well in school in order to prepare themselves for bright successful futures. They sincerely hoped that our group would go back to the States and explain to people who the Saudi people really are. There is a concern among them that the media inaccurately portrays the situation in the Middle East and that Islam is not shown as the religion of peace that it truly is. They made very clear that despite the fact that many Saudis do not always agree with American government policy, they very much like the American people and want bridges to be built between the two cultures.
These are just a few of the observations I came up with as I visited these schools. One component lacking within this discussion is that I have been unable to visit a public school. The curriculum is supposed to be similar, but other than that I have no clear idea about those schools. This would be helpful to more fully complete the picture of the Saudi school system, but access to such schools was a bit more difficult to achieve.
The following pictures show just a little bit of the facilities and students the school. Enjoy and if you have any questions about them drop me a message. Tomorrow, I hope to cover foods and put together a long overdue podcast.
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# - Kevin Witte - 2/24/06; 8:26:14 AM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
Today was definitely a packed day and a late night so I am going to comment on a couple of things and then call it a day. I hope to put the next podcast together tomorrow night after I arrive in Jeddah on the western coast of Saudi Arabia.
We started in a private school, and I will put that experience together with my experiences in other schools in the next day or two. Then we attended a discussion session with the Majlis Al Shura, the major representative and advisement body to the royal government. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, but there is recognition that consensus among a broad group of experts is important to the stable and effective governance of the nation. This council or Majlis is where representatives of various regions and employment backgrounds can discuss important issues within the Kingdom. These officials are selected based upon achievements in their fields and then form committees to match their strengths. We had an excellent visit with the Secretary General and other members. We discussed the impact of the media on perceptions between nations and how bridges need to be made between cultures to prevent false assumptions from being made. When asked what the biggest issues faced by their nation were, the first mentioned involved their unbelievable growth rate, the huge numbers of young people, and the challenges this growth presents in developing education and employment opportunities.
Questions to consider...
1. What are the major differences between our government and the Saudi government?
2. Why is the rapid growth rate such a great concern in the Kingdom? What challenges can such growth have on a society?
I'm going to keep things brief for today. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be up and running in Jeddah and get another podcast out to you. Masalama!
# - Kevin Witte - 2/22/06; 5:00:35 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006
We started in a private school, and I will put that experience together with my experiences in other schools in the next day or two. Then we attended a discussion session with the Majlis Al Shura, the major representative and advisement body to the royal government. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, but there is recognition that consensus among a broad group of experts is important to the stable and effective governance of the nation. This council or Majlis is where representatives of various regions and employment backgrounds can discuss important issues within the Kingdom. These officials are selected based upon achievements in their fields and then form committees to match their strengths. We had an excellent visit with the Secretary General and other members. We discussed the impact of the media on perceptions between nations and how bridges need to be made between cultures to prevent false assumptions from being made. When asked what the biggest issues faced by their nation were, the first mentioned involved their unbelievable growth rate, the huge numbers of young people, and the challenges this growth presents in developing education and employment opportunities.
Questions to consider...
1. What are the major differences between our government and the Saudi government?
2. Why is the rapid growth rate such a great concern in the Kingdom? What challenges can such growth have on a society?
I'm going to keep things brief for today. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be up and running in Jeddah and get another podcast out to you. Masalama!
# - Kevin Witte - 2/22/06; 5:00:35 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: -
First of all, yesterday I suggested you try to use Google Earth to find
the Shaybah oil production center in the Empty Quarter. If you
found it, drop me a message on the discussion board to let me
know. If you didn't, try to look in the neighborhood of 22
degrees north latitude and 53 degrees east longitude. It actually
does a fantastic job of rendering the facility and allows you to
explore the rest of the desert. Also, it was brought to my
attention that you can also find some center irrigation pivots out in
the desert on Google. I saw some today as we neared Riyadh in our
plane. See what you find as far as that goes. It turns out
that Saudi Arabia has exerted a great deal of effort to reach a higher
level of self-sufficiency with regards to food production, with a
desert climate, irrigation played a major role in attempting to
overcome such challenges, and it turns out that there were some
Nebraskans that came over to help install these pivots in the
neighborhood of 10-30 years ago.
Arrival in Riyadh
As I mentioned on my podcast yesterday, Saudi Arabia truly is country made up of distinct regional cultures. Today was our first opportunity to see this first hand as we traveled from the Eastern Province to the Najd region and the capital of the country, Riyadh. Riyadh is a huge city of around 4.5 million people and growing steadily. This is the heart of the Saudi Kingdom and the home of the Saudi Royal Family. Traditionally, it has been a fairly conservative portion of the Kingdom, but I think it is very important to remember that to simplify one's viewpoint towards another group to such a simple label would fail to reflect the diversity of people living in the region.
Actually, today afforded us the opportunity to tour most of the country's regions through the Janadriah Festival. This festival lasts two or three weeks and invites people from all over the Kingdom to develop displays, exhibits, craft stalls, etc. to preserve and explain the traditions of each distinct region. It was truly incredible! Walking through the festival allowed us to "travel" through the country in a way that would have been impossible any other way. Each region worked so hard and brought so much of their culture into what they displayed.
Riyadh itself is an expansive, growing city. Because most of its growth has come in the last few decades, many of the buildings, high rise offices, and luxury hotels are incredibly new and beautiful. I apologize for the fact that the following two photos were taken from the bus, but they show two of Riyadh's most interesting and iconic buildings.
These buildings and the past heritage of various regions that I experienced in the morning show quite clearly just how much change has come to the Kingdom in only a few short decades. It is important to remember that this is a very young nation that overcame a very harsh environment to build an economically viable country.
The theme of change runs within the people as well. One of the Aramco employees who assisted us with the program in the Eastern Province is currently waiting to hear how her mother did in the first ever election of female candidates for the provincial chamber of commerce. Another woman I spoke with just this evening is an ophthalmologist and surgeon and recently established a joint Saudi-American organization aimed to improve and enhance relations between the two nations. Students that our female teachers visited with just a few days ago stated that even though women are not currently allowed to drive, there will likely come a day when this will happen. Things are changing, and some on the outside see the change as being slow, but in reality, when considering the young age of the nation, change in many ways has come more rapidly than in many other parts of the world. The challenge is managing change in such a way as to preserve stability in society and protect cultural identity and heritage. It definitely makes it an exciting time to be in the Kingdom.
If possible in your classrooms discuss how societies change. What is the impact when drastic changes come to a society? Which is better rapid or gradually change? What changes would you like to see in your own community, state, country, world? How does change impact identity? Is it valuable to study the changes that have taken place in other lands the effects that followed in other parts of the world?
# - Kevin Witte - 2/22/06; 10:22:41 AM - Discuss (1 response)
Enclosure: -
The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006
Arrival in Riyadh
As I mentioned on my podcast yesterday, Saudi Arabia truly is country made up of distinct regional cultures. Today was our first opportunity to see this first hand as we traveled from the Eastern Province to the Najd region and the capital of the country, Riyadh. Riyadh is a huge city of around 4.5 million people and growing steadily. This is the heart of the Saudi Kingdom and the home of the Saudi Royal Family. Traditionally, it has been a fairly conservative portion of the Kingdom, but I think it is very important to remember that to simplify one's viewpoint towards another group to such a simple label would fail to reflect the diversity of people living in the region.
Actually, today afforded us the opportunity to tour most of the country's regions through the Janadriah Festival. This festival lasts two or three weeks and invites people from all over the Kingdom to develop displays, exhibits, craft stalls, etc. to preserve and explain the traditions of each distinct region. It was truly incredible! Walking through the festival allowed us to "travel" through the country in a way that would have been impossible any other way. Each region worked so hard and brought so much of their culture into what they displayed.
 |
 |  |
 |  |
Riyadh itself is an expansive, growing city. Because most of its growth has come in the last few decades, many of the buildings, high rise offices, and luxury hotels are incredibly new and beautiful. I apologize for the fact that the following two photos were taken from the bus, but they show two of Riyadh's most interesting and iconic buildings.
 |  |
| The Kingdom Tower | The Al-Faisaliah Tower |
These buildings and the past heritage of various regions that I experienced in the morning show quite clearly just how much change has come to the Kingdom in only a few short decades. It is important to remember that this is a very young nation that overcame a very harsh environment to build an economically viable country.
The theme of change runs within the people as well. One of the Aramco employees who assisted us with the program in the Eastern Province is currently waiting to hear how her mother did in the first ever election of female candidates for the provincial chamber of commerce. Another woman I spoke with just this evening is an ophthalmologist and surgeon and recently established a joint Saudi-American organization aimed to improve and enhance relations between the two nations. Students that our female teachers visited with just a few days ago stated that even though women are not currently allowed to drive, there will likely come a day when this will happen. Things are changing, and some on the outside see the change as being slow, but in reality, when considering the young age of the nation, change in many ways has come more rapidly than in many other parts of the world. The challenge is managing change in such a way as to preserve stability in society and protect cultural identity and heritage. It definitely makes it an exciting time to be in the Kingdom.
If possible in your classrooms discuss how societies change. What is the impact when drastic changes come to a society? Which is better rapid or gradually change? What changes would you like to see in your own community, state, country, world? How does change impact identity? Is it valuable to study the changes that have taken place in other lands the effects that followed in other parts of the world?
# - Kevin Witte - 2/22/06; 10:22:41 AM - Discuss (1 response)
Enclosure: -
I have decided to postpone the discussion I'm planning to do on schools in this blog, although I plan on mentioning it a bit in today≠s podcast, because I will be traveling to other schools while in Riyadh and Jeddah and want to wait until I have visited all of them.
Today, I will focus on a unique region of the world known as the Rub al Khali or in English as the Empty Quarter. This area includes nearly the entire southeast quarter of the country of Saudi Arabia and represents the largest of all sand deserts in the world (the Sahara is of a different variety. Temperature extremes range from nearly 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to lows below freezing during the winter evenings. Sand dunes run interrupted for miles, and until recently, there were almost no roads through the desert. Occasionally, winds of up to 50 miles an hour stir up brutal sandstorms.
We visited a part of the Rub al Khali today known as Shaybah. In the 1960s, Aramco determined that oil was present below the shifting sands. However, the remoteness of the location, nearly 340 miles from the nearest city, made it cost prohibitive to set up for production. Thirty years went by, oil extraction technologies improved, and by the mid 1990s, they decided by using horizontal drilling techniques, they could make it profitable. Industrial and residential complexes, a 250 mile service road, and airstrip were built. 700 employees currently work there and it is an important source of extra light crude oil.
As you look at the pictures I am posting, I hope you can get a sense of the remoteness of this operation. The dunes surrounding the facilities can reach 100-300 meters high and the sand is a orange color different than anything I have ever seen. In a side note, it was sprinkling while we were there. We asked the last time they had moisture, and they replied over a year ago. Such is life in one of the world≠s driest deserts.
Tomorrow, I head to Riyadh. In the meantime, I encourage you to take a look at the Rub al Khali on Google Earth and see if you can find Shaybah. I haven≠t tried it yet, but doing a search for oil facilities might help you track it down. It was hard to have a sense of where in the desert we were exactly, but I was told that we were 20-30 miles from the United Arab Emirates, so we were near the border of the two nations.
The Saudi Aramco Residential and Industrial Complex at Shaybah
Other views of the Rub al Khali
Hope you have enjoyed the pictures of the Empty Quarter and Shaybah! Check out my podcast if you want a few early comments about the school and science and technology museum I visited today. Inshallah (a common Arabic phrase literally meaning God Willing and often used to declare one will make their best effort), I will be reporting from Riyadh for you tomorrow night.
# - Kevin Witte - 2/20/06; 2:20:52 PM - Discuss (6 responses)
Enclosure: KWitte-day4.m4a -
A Day in the Compound-February 18, 2006
Today, I will focus on a unique region of the world known as the Rub al Khali or in English as the Empty Quarter. This area includes nearly the entire southeast quarter of the country of Saudi Arabia and represents the largest of all sand deserts in the world (the Sahara is of a different variety. Temperature extremes range from nearly 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to lows below freezing during the winter evenings. Sand dunes run interrupted for miles, and until recently, there were almost no roads through the desert. Occasionally, winds of up to 50 miles an hour stir up brutal sandstorms.
We visited a part of the Rub al Khali today known as Shaybah. In the 1960s, Aramco determined that oil was present below the shifting sands. However, the remoteness of the location, nearly 340 miles from the nearest city, made it cost prohibitive to set up for production. Thirty years went by, oil extraction technologies improved, and by the mid 1990s, they decided by using horizontal drilling techniques, they could make it profitable. Industrial and residential complexes, a 250 mile service road, and airstrip were built. 700 employees currently work there and it is an important source of extra light crude oil.
As you look at the pictures I am posting, I hope you can get a sense of the remoteness of this operation. The dunes surrounding the facilities can reach 100-300 meters high and the sand is a orange color different than anything I have ever seen. In a side note, it was sprinkling while we were there. We asked the last time they had moisture, and they replied over a year ago. Such is life in one of the world≠s driest deserts.
Tomorrow, I head to Riyadh. In the meantime, I encourage you to take a look at the Rub al Khali on Google Earth and see if you can find Shaybah. I haven≠t tried it yet, but doing a search for oil facilities might help you track it down. It was hard to have a sense of where in the desert we were exactly, but I was told that we were 20-30 miles from the United Arab Emirates, so we were near the border of the two nations.
The Saudi Aramco Residential and Industrial Complex at Shaybah
Other views of the Rub al Khali
Hope you have enjoyed the pictures of the Empty Quarter and Shaybah! Check out my podcast if you want a few early comments about the school and science and technology museum I visited today. Inshallah (a common Arabic phrase literally meaning God Willing and often used to declare one will make their best effort), I will be reporting from Riyadh for you tomorrow night.
# - Kevin Witte - 2/20/06; 2:20:52 PM - Discuss (6 responses)
Enclosure: KWitte-day4.m4a -
My first full day in Saudi Arabia has just wrapped up so I thought I would fill you in on what I encountered. This morning we were greeted at the Saudi Aramco Exhibit Hall by a number of Aramco employees. During this reception, we were served dates with almonds inside and cardamom flavored tea. We watched a very impressive 3-D video on Saudi Aramco's role in world energy production and then toured an interactive exhibition on the science of energy production and Islamic contributions to tecchnology and science. After I finish recounting the day, I will elaborate on the science and technology behind oil production (stay tuned science teachers).
We had lunch with the President and CEO of Saudi Aramco. He warmly invited us into a guest house for the occassion, and we had an opportunity to visit with a number of Aramco executives and public relations people. (I'll fill you in on what we ate in a few days after I compile a good sampling of regional foods.)
Later that day, we took a tour of the compound itself, which includes housing for both families and non-married individuals, a commissary (grocery store), a community center for mail, banking, and other services, a golf course (grass greens in the desert; used to be sand "greens" until recently), a library, restaurants, bowling alley (tried it out tonight), and just about anything else you might expect to find in a moderately sized American town.
Further Discussion of Oil Production and Use of Technology
Today's focus was on the oil industry itself and Saudi Aramco's role within the industry. Here are some things to consider to better understand this industry.
You see, the Arabian Peninsula was at one time part of Africa and a good portion of the eastern side was covered in the waters of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Later on, a great rift was formed in Africa, which also split the Arabian Peninsula away from Africa, created the Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and raised the western side of Arabia creating mountains. This tilted the whole peninsula and "drained" the water off the eastern side. The land dried out, but an incredible amount of organic matter-plants, plankton, and other creatures of the sea had been deposited over the millennia in this area. This matter was covered by sand and rock and eventually, under intense pressure, became oil and natural gas. This occured throughout the region, and consquently, these conditions led to this region of the Middle East or Southwest Asia containing over 60% of the world's known oil.
Check out the West-East tilt of the peninsula.
Teachers, ask your students to brainstorm ways that we use oil and why technology is such a vital part of a maintaining a stable oil supply. Then feel free to show them the following pictures.
These are just a few of the products made from petroleum.
This a display of a drill used to move through thousands of meters of rock to find reserves of oil.
This display shows the wellhead cap used to control oil flow and supply.
Obviously, the size of Saudi Aramco's reserves make them a major force in the energy industry. If you have additional questions about how this industry operates, please let me know.
Otherwise, I hope you have enjoyed today's materials and be sure to check out today's podcast. Tomorrow, we visit the Aramco Career Development area and the Saudi Aramco schools. Talk to ya then!
# - Kevin Witte - 2/19/06; 10:07:21 AM - Discuss (2 responses)
Enclosure: KWitte-day3.m4a -
Arrival at the Saudi Aramco Compound in Dhahran--February 17, 2006
We had lunch with the President and CEO of Saudi Aramco. He warmly invited us into a guest house for the occassion, and we had an opportunity to visit with a number of Aramco executives and public relations people. (I'll fill you in on what we ate in a few days after I compile a good sampling of regional foods.)
Later that day, we took a tour of the compound itself, which includes housing for both families and non-married individuals, a commissary (grocery store), a community center for mail, banking, and other services, a golf course (grass greens in the desert; used to be sand "greens" until recently), a library, restaurants, bowling alley (tried it out tonight), and just about anything else you might expect to find in a moderately sized American town.
Further Discussion of Oil Production and Use of Technology
Today's focus was on the oil industry itself and Saudi Aramco's role within the industry. Here are some things to consider to better understand this industry.
- Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil company and fourth largest producer of natural gas.
- Saudi Arabia contains 25% of the world's known oil reserves.
- Current known reserves number some 265 billion barrels.
- 1 barrel equals 42 gallons of crude oil.
- The largest oil field onshore is Ghawar in Saudi Arabia. It is about 160 miles long and 15-20 miles wide, which makes it larger than the country of Lebanon.
- There are five grades of oil from light crude to heavy crude. It is said that the purest light crude can be put in a gas tank and cause no problems...However, I don't recommend it.
- Current reserves of oil are projected to last another 77 years or so under current consumption. However, research and development is continually locating new oil pockets and developing ways to more efficiently extract what is already available. New sources of oil have maintained the 260 billion barrel capacity for ten years (i.e. as soon as it is shipped out and used; newly discovered reserves replace the old in the figure.)
- This quest to continue locating new sources or bettter extract oil from current oil fields is powered by an exremely sophisticated array of computer clusters and software programs.
- This technology harnesses the power of hundreds if not thousands of computers, links them together, and allows them to function with the power of a supercomputer at a fraction of the cost. In doing so, teraflops of processing power is used to drive demanding applications and simulations to develop better ways of modeling and simulating important variables for production. In addition, a highly organized, massive system of data storage (thousands of terabytes) organizes the data developed by engineers, geologists, and computer technicians.
You see, the Arabian Peninsula was at one time part of Africa and a good portion of the eastern side was covered in the waters of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Later on, a great rift was formed in Africa, which also split the Arabian Peninsula away from Africa, created the Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and raised the western side of Arabia creating mountains. This tilted the whole peninsula and "drained" the water off the eastern side. The land dried out, but an incredible amount of organic matter-plants, plankton, and other creatures of the sea had been deposited over the millennia in this area. This matter was covered by sand and rock and eventually, under intense pressure, became oil and natural gas. This occured throughout the region, and consquently, these conditions led to this region of the Middle East or Southwest Asia containing over 60% of the world's known oil.
Check out the West-East tilt of the peninsula.
These are just a few of the products made from petroleum.
This a display of a drill used to move through thousands of meters of rock to find reserves of oil.
This display shows the wellhead cap used to control oil flow and supply.
Obviously, the size of Saudi Aramco's reserves make them a major force in the energy industry. If you have additional questions about how this industry operates, please let me know.
Otherwise, I hope you have enjoyed today's materials and be sure to check out today's podcast. Tomorrow, we visit the Aramco Career Development area and the Saudi Aramco schools. Talk to ya then!
# - Kevin Witte - 2/19/06; 10:07:21 AM - Discuss (2 responses)
Enclosure: KWitte-day3.m4a -
Hey everyone! I'm sitting here in the comfort of my room in a residence hall/hotel on the Saudi Aramco compound to fill you in on the journey over and my first few moments here in Saudi Arabia. First, I want to thank all of you for signing up and also thank those of you who have left comments. It was a very pleasant surprise to fire my computer up after 25 hours of travel to find that so many people have registered and left responses. I still don't have a definitive itinerary, but I will do my best to address some of the topics you would like to know more about.
It seems like Thursday and Friday have completely ran together, and I have a full day tomorrow, but I encourage you to check out my new podcast to hear about my journey from Houston to Dammam airport and my first few hours here in Saudi Arabia.
# - Kevin Witte - 2/17/06; 3:45:37 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: KWitte-day2.m4a -
It seems like Thursday and Friday have completely ran together, and I have a full day tomorrow, but I encourage you to check out my new podcast to hear about my journey from Houston to Dammam airport and my first few hours here in Saudi Arabia.
# - Kevin Witte - 2/17/06; 3:45:37 PM - Discuss
Enclosure: KWitte-day2.m4a -
Last update: Friday, March 10, 2006 at 8:36:39 AM
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