Saudi Arabia Revealed Messages

Link to Saudi Arabian Poet

Kevin Witte — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:36:39 GMT

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.

Final Stop For Saudi Arabia Revealed

Kevin Witte — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 15:32:33 GMT

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:

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.

Thanks again for joining me in my journey of Saudi Arabia Revealed.

Old Jeddah and Jeddah Port Authority--February 26, 2006

Kevin Witte — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 00:53:22 GMT

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:

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.

I hope you have enjoyed these closing comments. Again, I welcome any additional questions or comments regarding Saudi Arabia Revealed, and be on the look out for a post-trip video shortly after my return.

Abqaiq and Foods of the Middle East--February 24, 2006

Kevin Witte — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 22:22:25 GMT

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!

Schools in Saudi Arabia--February 23, 2006

Kevin Witte — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 14:26:14 GMT

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.

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 23:10:10 GMT

Weather was in 50s, 60s, and occasional 70s in both Dhahran and Riyadh. Now in Jeddah it is much warmer, probably will be 80-85 tomorrow. In most places it is not culturally acceptable to wear short sleeves so yes, I have been wearing long sleeves out of cultural respect, not weather-although I have been quite comfortable with the temperatures we have been experiencing.

Re: Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 23:06:10 GMT

The Aramco compound in Dhahran is several hundred miles away. If you found a complex of buildings, an airstrip, and some roads, then you did probably find Shaybah.

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 23:04:15 GMT

No Egypt Air. This time it is Saudi Arabian Airlines. Very interesting to fly this carrier. Flight attendants wear a hat and cover their hair. There is a travel prayer that is said before every takeoff. During the flight, the video screen shows the direction of Mecca in relation to the position of the plane. Also, today on our flight to Jeddah, there were a number of people traveling to make the Umrah or lesser pilgrimmage. For those of you unfamiliar with the Umrah, it is a religious pilgrimmage like the Hajj and does result in the forgiveness of sins, but it does not count as fulfilling the Pillar of the Faith that requires one to make a pilgrimmage during the Hajj at least once in one's life if possible. It was easy to tell these people were on their way to Jeddah to participate because they where white garments-one is almost like a long skirt and the other wraps around upper body. Just the men were dressed this way. From Jeddah they will then travel by land to Mecca, which is not far-25-50 miles.

Saudi oil tycoons: Hmmmm. High level executives today are mostly Saudi, which wasn't always the case before about 1980 or so when ownership of the company completely came under Saudi control. The business people I met mostly wore the traditional clothes of Arab men-thobe, gutra, agal. However, I was browsing through a magazine about Aramco and noticed that when they traveled elsewhere they usually wore suits and ties.

Women in positions of power: Actually, Aramco has been leader of some sorts in this field of female employment. Within the public relations department, which we probably had the most contact with, there were a number of well-educated, professional, well-traveled women. I believe that the numbers of engineers, managers, and other high level positions is still quite low. However, in the Aramco schools, one of the assistant principles was a women (she happened to be American not Saudi) I have also met a number of very strong women who are advocates of women's issues in the country. One is a highly regarded poet, both here and in the State, one is a surgeon that also runs a non-profit organization, and another started a school of her own at age 13 in order to have an opportunity to continue with her studies and later built a museum in her home to preserve Saudi culture. There are still some struggles in terms of opportunities within the nation, but the female members of our group who visited the girls schools said that girls were taught a challenging curriculum and many had very high aspirations

Change in the Kingdom--February 21, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:46:42 GMT

Thanks for the question.

I think there are people in the Kingdom that are unsure or even resistant to certain changes that are taking place. It is hard to get a sense about actual numbers or percentages, but there is recognition among people I have talked to that some Saudi's support the further opening up of the press, extension of greater opportunity to women, expansion of tourist visas to include non-muslims, etc. Some of it is tied to religion, but I think it might have more to do with cultural traditions that some hold fast to, and also for some there is disillusionment about the direction the country is heading because they don't feel connected and empowered by the changes taking place. Unemployment numbers are hard to come by, but a 2003 study said it was near 30%. That may or may not be the actual percentage in 2006, but my point is that there is significant number of people that haven't been integrated into the changes that have already taken place and seen their standard of living improve. This can breed distrust and reluctuance to move the nation further in new directions. I think education and a broadening of one's worldview can also play a role in this.

Re: Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:34:53 GMT

Thanks for the questions!

First, as far as seeing women walking around in Riyadh, you're right about them not being in pictures. That is mainly because it can be considered offensive to take pictures of people without them knowing it. Also, most of those street pictures were taken of performers, craftsmen, and merchants at a festival on a day that only men and boys were allowed to visit. Later that day, I was in a souk (marketplace) and there were many women out shopping. They are not allowed to drive themselves, but many have private drivers hired to take them where they want to go.

Sandstorms: I haven't seen any while I have been here. I asked about it the other day and was told that most occur in October, November, December...although they could happen at anytime.

Thanks for following along and let me know if more questions come up!

Kevin Witte

Re: Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006

Nick Weber — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 17:27:10 GMT

Kevin, my class was wondering if you have seen many women walking around the city? There does not appear to be any women in your pictures.

Nick Weber - Tecumseh High School

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Nick Weber — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:44:26 GMT

Kevin, the students here at Tecumseh wanted to know if you have experienced any sandstorms while you have been there?

Nick Weber

Re: Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006

Bob Bednar — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:15:49 GMT

Kevin, Thanks for sharing what you are learning in Saudi Arabia. When you talked about change in the Kingdom and how it is difficult to maintain stability, we are wondering if there is resistance to change among certain groups within Saudi Arabia. We discussed in class whether there is controversy between certain religious groups about how fast change is happening. Have you observed any resistence or discussed this topic with your tour hosts?

Bob Bednar Pleasanton High School

Riyadh, Day 2--February 22, 2006

Kevin Witte — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 23:00:35 GMT

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!

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

kate — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:29:05 GMT

Inshallah- you'll make it to your next destination provided you'll be flying Egypt Air.

Great pictures. Exactly what does a Saudi oil tycoon look like?

How many women are in positions of power in this company?

Thanks,

Kate

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

bill becker — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 22:47:57 GMT

Kevin,
Is it cool there. I see you are in long sleeves. I know you can't wear shorts there but must the arms be covered also?

Re: Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006

Chris Pocock — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 21:51:56 GMT

Is the compound just north and east of 22N, 53E? I found a very detailed area there.

Arrival in Riyadh--February 21, 2006

Kevin Witte — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 16:22:41 GMT

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.


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?

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Kevin Witte — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:08:13 GMT

The food has been pretty amazing. That night in the desert they slaughtered 10-15 lambs and put one on each platter in a large permanent tent-like room. We rarely go any more than 2-3 hours without eating something.

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Kevin Witte — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:05:10 GMT

Thanks for the comments, Bob.
I have visited two schools already-one on the Aramco compound and one in Dhahran for mainly Saudi students. Tomorrow, I will be visiting a school in Riyadh. After that visit, I plan to do a segment on my impressions of the various school systems.

Thanks for following along and showing some of your students,

Kevin

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Bob Bednar — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:46:50 GMT

Hi Kevin,
I am enjoying your daily updates on your trip! I showed our sophomores at Pleasanton what you are doing on the trip, your daily updates, and we listened to your podcast. This same group is learning to make podcasts themselves, and you are a perfect example of how a podcast can be used. We will revisit your site tomorrow in class.

Your pictures really give a sense of how remote your location is. Will you be visiting any schools in Saudi Arabia? Will you have much interaction with Saudi educators or American educators who are teaching in Saudi Arabia?

Thanks for all the work you are doing to share what you are learning with all of us.
Bob Bednar
Pleasanton Public Schools

Nebraska investment in the empty quarter

Gary Needham — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 14:05:59 GMT

Kevin,

I never found where you went in Google Earth, but while looking around the area I saw many center pivots, especially at 20 degrees north and 44.5 degrees east.

Gary

Re: The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Chris Pocock — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 13:23:29 GMT

Wow! You are really in the desert. Are they feeding you constantly? When I spent a week on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, with my father-in-law, the food was amazing, and always available.

The Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)--February 20, 2006

Kevin Witte — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 20:20:52 GMT

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.

Re: A Day in the Compound-February 18, 2006

Kevin Witte — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 03:17:29 GMT

Actually, very little within the compound is Saudi. The compound itself is designed for the Expats living there and for the most part, reflects American culture or you could say a combination of many cultures from the West to the East. The power plug-ins are the standard American plug-ins. The school has an American curriculum and Saudis, by government mandate, are not allowed to attend. They must go to Saudi schools. They used to be able to attend the compound school, but there was a concern that these Saudi students were losing their ability to speak Arabic and not receiving enough religious instruction. However, the compound is very international. There are people from all over the world living there. There is a Lebanese restaurant chain, Cafe Najjaf, right next to a bowling alley. To be honest, it looks very much like a suburb in southern California. There are museums and resource centers that promote Saudi culture, but actual day to day life in the compound is fairly western or at least international. Modest dress--pants and long sleeves are the general rule, but women are not expected to wear the abaya on the compound. Also, women can drive on the compound, but cannot off of the compound. There are other compounds were more Saudis live...last night we went to another compound where many of the executives live, most of whom are Saudi, and their homes definitely reflect their own native culture.

Re: A Day in the Compound-February 18, 2006

Jason Everett — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 02:44:30 GMT

I was really interested in the computing power used to find oil. I am amazed by the supercomputing power and the clustering they used to crunch all the numbers. And the storage capacity is mind boggling. It would be quite a sight to see how they traverse all of that data and how long it takes.

As you travel outside of the compound, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the county is as far as modernization. It sounds like the compound has all the amenities we enjoy here in Nebraska.

I'm excited to get your next blog/podcast. Thanks for all the information you are providing and the work you are putting into this project.

Re: A Day in the Compound-February 18, 2006

kate — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 19:39:31 GMT

Is the compound completely American style, or are there many things Saudi there? Is so, what was very Saudi?

A Day in the Compound-February 18, 2006

Kevin Witte — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:07:21 GMT

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.

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 might ask where all this oil came from, well to understand that you have to think back millions of years...

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.

Check out the topographical map of Saudi Arabia that shows the tilt toward the eastern side!">

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.

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This a display of a drill used to move through thousands of meters of rock to find reserves of oil.
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This display shows the wellhead cap used to control oil flow and supply.
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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!

Arrival at the Saudi Aramco Compound in Dhahran--February 17, 2006

Kevin Witte — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 21:45:37 GMT

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.

Re: Pre-Departure Orientation in Houston--February 15, 2006

John Stritt — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 02:10:07 GMT

Shukran for using some of the Arabic language. Noticed that there are 20 individuals registered. I checked the weather also. Good move to go in February. Take care. John

Re: Houston, We Have Lift Off--February 14, 2006

Mary Kay Redman — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 01:48:03 GMT

Kevin,

Found the information interesting! Hope all is going well! Dr. K. is doing great. MK

Re: Check out the weather along the trip!

Judy Witte — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 23:36:40 GMT

Dear Kevin,

Your info from Houston gave me a lot of background on Saudi Arabia. Many people are following your trip. Stay safe and have a wonderful time! On the topic of weather, we are getting some snow today. Not too much but maybe a foot in northwest NE. It sounds like S. A. is having mild, windy weather. I wonder if it varies much in different parts of the country. Later.

Love,

Mom, Dad, & Chester

Pre-Departure Orientation in Houston--February 15, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 14:35:23 GMT

Today, we had our pre-departure orientation at the offices of Aramco Services here in Houston. This was our opportunity to learn more about Saudi culture and what we could expect during our visit I'd like to share some of the information we were given and some of the observations about Saudi culture with you.

What is Aramco?
Saudi Aramco is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the sponsor of this teacher program. Originally a joint Saudi-American venture, it is now owned by the Saudi government, but still employs many Americans and other foreigners from around the world. It is the largest oil company in the world and contains nearly 25% of the world's known oil reserves. Aramco Services is the American division of Saudi Aramco based in Houston, Texas and provides support in employee recruitment and public outreach programs such as the program I am participating in. Note for teachers: Aramco Services produces an excellent magazine with tremendous pictures of and articles on the Arab world called Aramco World. It is free to subscribe. Instructions on how to do so as well as the online version are available at

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200601/

Check it out! It is an excellent publication and teacher resource.

What is the Arab World and how is it different from the Middle East?
The Middle East is a interesting name for the area in which Europe, Asia, and Africa meet, but if you think about it, it can be a little vague. After all, what is it in the middle of exactly? However, the Arab World is fairly descriptive and clear. It includes the countries of North Africa-such as Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania,Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt; and the countries of Southwest Asia-such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen...I think that mentions all of them. The centrally unifying characteristic is language. Arabic is spoken in all of these nations, although there are many different dialects. Notice, I left out Israel, which is not considered an Arab country, although there are Palestinian Arabs living throughout the country and occupied territories.

How is Saudi Arabia unique within the Arab World?
Saudi Arabia is unique in that it is the birthplace of the dominant religion of the region-Islam. The prophet, Muhammed, brought Islam to the people of the Arabian Peninsula and Mecca and Medina were established as holy cities of the faith. Islam dominates public and private life in very significant ways in the country. There are mosques (muslim places of worship) all over to ensure people a place of worship. Citizenship requires that one be a follower of Islam. If it is helpful, think in terms of Saudi Arabia being for Islam, what Vatican City is for the Roman Catholic Church. It is the homeland and headquarters of the faith. I will reflect more on this very special relationship between Islam and the nation later on, but I encourage you in your classes to locate and discuss the five pillars and history surrounding the birth of Islam in order to gain a greater sense of what this faith of over a billion believers is all about.

What are the important values of Arab culture?
A great deal of our orientation discussion today centered upon understanding Arab values and culture. Here is a short list of things that are very important to the cultures of the Arab world and specifically, Saudi Arabia.

Family is extremely important; family ties are very strong and it is a key support structure; every effort is made to make sure that one's behavior maintains or enhances family honor.
Men and women socialize separately for the most part. (This is especially true in Saudi Arabia and a has a basis in faith and ancient cultural traditions that developed before Islam.)
Hospitality is extremely important. Guest are to receive the very best of what a host has to offer.
It is very important to develop strong relationships and avoid embarassing or rude confrontations. (A shopkeeper may offer you tea and visit for an extending period of time before a transaction is ever conducted).

These are just a few and I will reflect about more as I observe them firsthand.

Finally, I wanted to share with you the Saudi Arabian flag and its meaning.
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The Saudi flag strongly reflects the union between Islam and the nation. The flag itself is green, which is a traditional Islamic color and reflects the desirability of the green vegatation present in a desert oasis. The writing above the sword is the Islamic Shahada or declaration of faith in Arabic script. It states, "There is no God, but God; Muhammed is the Prophet of God." This is one of the fundamental pillars of belief and establishes Islam as a monotheistic faith. Underneath the Shahada is the sword, which represents the conquests of Ibn Saud as he unified and established Saudi Arabia as a modern nation. Together, the declaration of faith, sword, and green background combine to demonstrate the integration of nationhood and faith that Saudi Arabia represents.

Tomorrow (Thursday, February 16), I will be departing for Saudi Arabia. I will arrive in the evening on Friday, February 17 in Dammam. For those of you that were wondering, Saudi Arabia is nine hours ahead of Central Standard Time.

Possible Activities
While you are waiting for me to reconnect with you, it might be useful to investigate and discuss the five pillars and history surrounding the birth of Islam. Because Islam permeates Saudi culture so directly, it will be helpful to understand the major tenets and background of the faith.

I also encourage you to leave questions or make comments about items of interest so that I can make this program more useful for you in the classroom.

Shukran (Thank you) again for following along and masalemma (Goodbye) until you hear from me again in Saudi!

Houston, We Have Lift Off--February 14, 2006

Kevin Witte — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 14:34:57 GMT

Well, I've arrived in Houston, TX, the site of our Pre-Departure Orientation. For the most part, the program organizers are letting us get settled and the program participants (25 teachers from across the U.S.-Including me!) will be arriving throughout the day. In the meantime, I thought I would try to take care of two things...

First of all, for those of you that took up the challenge of finding the answers to the two questions I posed on the Pre-Lesson Video--see if this matches what you came up with.

How did Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Faisal Al Saud, also known as Ibn Saud, is the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. In 1902, he was responsible for retaking Riyadh from a rival tribe by waiting until nightfall and climbing the city walls. His small force of supporters routed the very surprised city guards. After taking Riyadh, Ibn Saud set about conquering the territories of other rival tribes. In addition to force, Ibn Saud used diplomacy and the offering of marriages to secure partnerships and alliances. This process took time and the official founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took place on September 23, 1932, which is now celebrated as the Kingdom's day of independence.

For further discussion...Consider thinking about why it might have taken thirty years for Ibn Saud to unify the country? What was it about Arabian society at the time that made this unification so difficult?

When was oil discovered in the Kingdom?
A survey to determine if oil could be found in the Kingdom was conducted in 1932 and an agreement was signed between the United States and Saudi Arabia in 1933 that granted Standard Oil of California (Socal) the rights to extract oil. In 1935, Socal found a location with great potential and eventually found Dammam No. 7-a well that would eventually produce 1,500 barrels a day. Extensive commercial production began in 1938.

For further discussion...How do you think the discovery of oil impacted the young nation? How did it change the economy? How might it have changed its relationships with and importance to other nations of the world?

I hope you find these answers and discussion questions useful and thought-provoking. Switching gears, however, I encourage you, if you haven't already, to sign in by selecting the "Join Now" link on the right side of the page. This will enable you to leave comments, questions, and feedback. It also allows us to have some idea about how many possible classrooms and interested individuals are following my journey. Thanks!

Saudi Arabia Revealed - Prelesson Video and Assignments

John Stritt — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 14:29:21 GMT

To download video, enter http://vod.esu10.org/Streams/Witte/KWitteipod2.m4v in your web browser.

Check out the weather along the trip!

Kevin Witte — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 20:58:53 GMT

Weather Channel Forecasts:
Dammam (Near Dhahran), Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Exciting Enrichment Opportunity

Jason Everett — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 15:52:49 GMT

Welcome to Saudi Arabia Revealed! This web site is home to an interactive enrichment opportunity brought to you by Kevin Witte, Social Studies teacher at Kearney Public Schools and John Stritt, Tri-Valley Distance Education Consortium Director.

Mr. Witte will be traveling to Saudi Arabia February 14th to the 28th and you have the opportunity to be with him in his travels via blog, podcasts, photos, and video chats as technology allows.

This enrichment opportunity will have several phases of implementation. Your journey will begin with a pre-lesson. You can find more on the lesson on the Lesson Information page. There will be a post-lesson following the enrichment activity also.

Make sure you also visit the other links in the navigation. Stay tuned to this site for more information. You can also Join Now to get current updates in your email and to particpate in discussions with Mr. Witte and other educators and students.