Riad Salam Zagora

... were quite frugal on how much they served. Understandably so I suppose, but not when you want to sample every thing on the wine list because it's going to be the last time for nearly a year! <br><br>One more interesting thing, the flight erupted into applause upon landing into Riyadh. I've experienced this on other predominantly Muslim flights such as ones into Maldives and Egypt. Perhaps it's a celebration for having returned home from ...

... 020 ft). It is also host to the highest mosque in the world. The Tower Contains a total of 43 floors excluding the 4 levels of basement. The Kingdom Centre is owned by Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a prince of the Saudi royal family. It is also the headquarters of his holding company: Kingdom Holding Company. The total cost of the project was US$ 1 billion and the contract was taken by Saudi Arabian Al-Saif and The Italian Impregilo.<br>

This is my first entry into a sort of journal for all my family (that includes you too, la famille Coguiec). I had hoped to have started earlier and posted some pictures and info online but there were two major set-backs to this.<br><br>First of all, I forgot my camera in England with Rachel in Bournemouth. Silly me! Until I get it sent over then I will just use the camera on my phone which is perfectly adequate for daylight shots. Anything that requires a longer exposure time ...

28th...bought an abaya in Dubai. The young woman at the shop showed me how to put on the sheelah (the head scarf)...an hour later i asked another nice young Saudi lady in the waiting area to show me again, because i took it off and couldn't get it back on properly...there is a knack to it. Met her family while waiting...really lovely people. Her mother said not to worry about putting on the ...

... each year is staggering.<br><br>With that delay we passed Makkah then Ta'if, and then it was sunset as yet again we entered the sandstorm areas. We stopped again at a Sapco for sunset prayers, Nusaiba and I causing a stir in the ladies restroom at the masjid -- I gather they don't see a lot of Americans there. When we went in a woman asked where we were from (from our coloring we are obviously not local) and was visibly shocked when I said America, I ...

... popping and we noticed lines of trucks with their hazards flashing as they struggled to keep their vehicles going at the slow rate down the sloping roads. The views are breathtaking. I particularly enjoy the odd assortment of rocky outcrops -- amazing how these jagged towers are shaped by nature.

... a cart lane and surrounded by kids clambouring for money and sweets from us. Mum gave them a British apple... makes a change from oranges at least, but I really didn't have anything remotely edible or worthwhile to give... a torch with a dead battery perhaps? Anyway, we bid farewell to ...

... me to the exit through their shops could suppress it. What a magical little place, really in the middle of nowhere... coming out of those mountains and bumping into this, well, it has to be seen to be believed, for sure. All of this before lunch aswell! Vegetable couscous and Moroccan ...

... getting quite warm as we left the High Atlas and Middle Atlas and got closer to the Sahara Desert. We stayed in a nice hotel in Zagora and looked forward to using the pool -- though we never did get that far and really there were ulterior motives for selecting this hotel (watch for future entries)!

... shouts "Couscous!" as he whips us around the desert. (Couscous the grain is shaken through a sieve to separate impurities before cooking.) Once in a while he'd catch sight of the other 3 cars, and immediately tear off in another direction before they spotted us. His 5 passengers would squeal and whoop as if we were on a theme park ride, which only fueled his enthusiasm. "Couscous!" he yelled as he turns up the native music and takes both ...