I believe these wool blankets were Aramco-issued in the 50s to bachelors and maybe families. At least my father had two of them when we arrived about a year after his employment in the ChemLab in Dhahran in 1955-56, and I recall seeing them in other homes around camp.
Bobby Riley shared these action shots of Kevin Durham, Kevin Riley and Sean Allen catching air while having fun in Abqaiq in the Late '70s.
To my mind, of all the wonderful textiles to be found in souqs across the Arab world, Cashmere and Pashmina are the most luxurious and wearable. Women wear them as shawls for warmth, men wear them as head coverings or around their shoulders over their jackets.
American expats have a unique appreciation for the challenges faced while living abroad. While making a home in a foreign country offers the chance of adventure and opportunity, it comes at the price of additional obstacles and increased complexity in many aspects of their lives. To further complicate matters...
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched the masterplan to develop a new project in the mountainous region of Soudah to present a new face of luxury mountain tourism. The project called “Soudah Peaks” will see a luxury mountain tourism destination set 3,015 meters being created above sea level on Saudi Arabia's highest peak.
Former Aramcon Iro Smith was chosen and included in the book by Mary Rissaki, Greek Women of the World, which features 151 successful Greek women who thrive outside and inside Greece. As the writer is a Greek Canadian author and independent publisher from the island of Crete..
Part 1 of this story describes the helicopter ride with Aramco employee Tom Swords and concludes with a shout out to Tom, his whereabouts and fate unknown. Shortly after the publication of Part 1 in the Aramco Expats Highlights, Kelly Swords, Tom’s daughter, saw the article and wrote to Tom and her mother, Jo, in their family’s group text.
We are very pleased to let you know that Gabrielle Reilly, the third generation in her family, will be visiting Dhahran from October 12th – 21st, 2023. Gabrielle is a Partner and Managing Director at Creative Planning, formerly Reilly Financial Advisors and will be visiting to meet with her extensive Aramco clients and prospects.
With the help of our community, we have successfully named all individuals in this photo of the Dhahran Teen Canteen Committee that appeared in the May 1971 Arabian Sun. Marion Slettengren was the last person to be named.
A state of being that is all too familiar to expats around the world is living amidst transitions. Life goes on while there are unpacked boxes in your living room, and the chair you were assembling is sitting half-done in front of you while you stare at it, drinking coffee in the morning, planning when you will get around to finishing it.
Aramco would bring Manwich in by the cases to the four district commissaries, and they could never keep it in stock. It was a huge bestseller in the '60s and '70s. At times, they would even have a limit on how many cans you could buy at one time on your badge number.
September 1978, 45 years ago. Six of us were working for Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and had a five-day Eid holiday ahead of us. We were at a loss as to where to go - then someone had the idea of visiting the Yemen!
Qamar (“Kim”) Ahmed is a lucky lady, even though she recently lost one of the loves of her life. Desert Designs, which she founded in al-Khobar with her husband, Farid Bukhari, in 1990 to preserve, “recycle and cycle” Saudi Arabia’s unique heritage crafts, closed July 31...
Volunteer duo Tricia and Charlie Franck of Weaverville, NC were recently recognized for their extensive commitment to volunteer service with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. At the August 15th Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Meeting, the Francks received the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service.
Blaine and Carol Dahlseide (Dhahran 1998-2016, Finance Department) would like to announce the marriage of their daughter, Katie Jo Dahlseide, to Lucas James Jensen, on June 2, 2023 in Bozeman, Montana. Katie is an oncology nurse and Lucas works in international relations. The couple will reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
When I was a child, it seemed nobody had a tattoo except Popeye the sailor, and possibly real sailors too. Strange as it would have seemed to my younger self, tattoos and body art have been part of society since Neolithic times. Today, approximately 40% of the world’s population have tattoos or some other form of body art.
Anyone and everyone who has lived or been to the Middle East knows that malls are a large part of the social life in the region. The reasons may be multifold, but the simplest reason holds the truth that it is so incredibly hot outside a good chunk of the year, that you have no choice but to seek an indoor playground!
Fancy a wedding—not to get married yourself, but to watch the ceremony in a hall in Dhahran? Or how about sampling a dark rice-and-fish dish called sayadiyah that’s famous in Yanbu‘ on the kingdom’s west coast? Or perhaps you’d like to scramble up a majestic dune at Shaybah?
You’ve seen the scene a dozen times in movies, from The Thief of Bagdad to Lawrence of Arabia. The camera zooms to the weathered face of the Arab hero and his fierce, penetrating eyes, which have been made even more mysterious by being heavily outlined with black kohl. You have to admit…
This article was originally published in 2003. We're curious to know what has changed over the past 20 years. Please share your insight by leaving a comment in the comments section. Do you spend whole days in the house? Do you feel cabin fever taking hold? Then take a day trip out around Dhahran – you may be surprised at what you find.