News From Retreads Dennis & Flo Richardson
- Community
- Current Aramco Employees
Author: Flo Richardson
Released 17 April 2005
Hello, hello from the Sand Dunes!
The weather here has been beautiful. Most days, there isn’t even a cloud in
the sky. Unlike what you may think about being in the desert, it isn’t hot 365
days throughout the year. The weather right now is like our Florida, cooler but
very dry. Nights have been chilly getting down to the lower 60’s with the
humidity around 25% to 35%.
Now, after New Year’s many families have returned and very quickly I’m being
introduced to them. Many of the men went home and brought their wives back here
also. There is a women’s group that meets several times a month, with their own
‘little house’ that was refurbished during December. Within the next week or so
they will be having their first function there. Activities include a cooking
class, book club, mahjong, bridge, arts and crafts, luncheons and more.
There are several sports facilities, only one strictly for women. The ladies
facility is very nice including a pool, which is too cold right now to use.
However, in the summer the water will need to be cooled. A few of us have been
going here for aerobics every Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday. However, starting
this week is the Hajj Holiday and the instructor who happens to be Moslem, has
cancelled until she returns, about the 12th of February. On Tuesday we go to the
coffee shop inside the Star Market which is similar to a Wal-Mart Super Center.
After coffee we do our grocery shopping and take taxis back to our homes since
the women are not allowed to drive -- not bad really, since the taxi driver
helps us with our groceries both into and out of the trunk of the car.
As more families have returned after the New Year, and as a way for those of
us ladies who are new to meet one another we went to lunch at an Indian
restaurant last week. This week, we went for coffee at an Indian lady’s home
which was more of a brunch that started at 9:30 a.m. Next week, the Radisson
Hotel will be sending a bus to pick the ladies up to take us for a special
luncheon only for women. This luncheon will start at 9:30 a.m. and they will
bring us back around 3:30 p.m. Hopefully, we won’t be eating all that
time! Every time there is a gathering, there are more new ladies, like me, or
others who have returned from an extended stay in their home countries,
therefore the gatherings are a “welcome back” to those who are returning and a
“welcome to Saudi Arabia” to those of us who are
new.
The Radisson also has a fabulous buffet breakfast/ brunch starting early on
Friday mornings. The weekends here are Thursdays and Fridays, so this is more of
a "Sunday" brunch. A large group meets there weekly. The hotel gives us the
whole large dining room which they tell us is to be considered a “family area”
in order that the men, women and children can all be together.
This last Friday after breakfast we went with several other couples out to
the desert up into the jebbels (mountains). Having been so clear lately, we can
see the jebbels in the distance from the main streets here. We went to see the
Turkish fort. It was built sometime around 1935 to 1943. It is about an hour
away, and is a really beautiful drive. Along the way we past several herds of
goats and camels. It was so sweet to see the baby camels tagging along with
their much larger parents or just playing out in the field. We also went to a
deserted village. Both the village and fort is in ruins, but we could see signs
of reconstruction especially at the base. The village was up high on a hill and
was originally surrounded by a wall. We climbed up the rock hill and found
ourselves walking in an ancient village complete with a communal center. Looking
down below we could see evidence of rushing water in the sand. The surrounding
mountains were deeply gouged from centuries of water erosion.
The nearby fort was up much higher than the village. We climbed up the sides
of the fort and found ourselves in awe looking down to the dry river or lake
below. We found some sea shells along the lake or river bed, giving evidence
that this land was at one time under the sea. The fort, although much smaller
and in better condition, was also being restored. There are several large holes
dug around the inside of the fort for storage of food, ammunition and water. It
was hard to determine which was which as they were filled with debris and sand.
At both the village and the fort, the rocks dug from the desert used for the
restoration were fabulous. We saw beautiful rocks in black, orange, pink and red
sparkling with crystal. We also saw some white quartz.
We then decided to take a drive out to the dam. Along the way we passed more
camels and goats, but as we got closer to the dam, there were many date farms.
Once we turned down the side road toward the dam we could see it in the distance
framed by the date palms along the road. As we got closer and saw clearings
between the date palms we saw the dry lake or river bed. The road wound upward
toward the top of the dam. The guard house was even up higher on the mount than
the dam itself. We wound around the road expecting to see water somewhere. There
is evidence of rushing water in the dry bed, but nothing. Finally we reached the
top, and were amazed that even the other side of the dam was totally dry. There
were little islands in this dry lake or river, and we could see the waterline on
the dam itself, but not one drop. It is amazing for the two weeks that it does
rain, that so much water can accumulate in the area up to about 120 feet high
and then be dry as a bone for the rest of the year. The mountains surrounding
this area had huge gouges from the water erosion. The view was fantastic, like
being on top of the world. We were all a bit tired from our climbing and hiking
and glad we were able to drive up to see this.
I’ve missed my tennis and can’t wait until our racquets arrive in the air
shipment. There are tennis courts nearby at the school and I can’t wait to step
foot on them. From what I have been told there is no actual ladies tennis
leagues, but there are many very competitive players. Guess they'll be glad to
get some “fresh competition” once I get my racquet.
We’ve both been kept considerably busy, and find many things similar to when
we lived here before, however, we also find so much has changed. The new housing
of yesterday, has become older housing of today, the new plants of yesterday
have matured and made shady streets and lovely boulevards for the main streets.
We are enjoying meeting new people and starting new
friendships.