When I first went to live in Riyadh in 1989, I learned only a few basic Arabic words and phrases. But on returning to California in the early 2000’s, I immersed myself in a two-month intensive summer program learning Modern Standard Arabic, known as Al Fusha, at University of California Berkeley.
On 23 May 2023, several Aramcon’s travelled to Johnson City and Fredericksburg, TX to chew the fat and have some wine that was not homemade. The weather was perfect and everyone was reminiscing about the good ole days in Saudi.
I grew up in Kuwait. Oil had been discovered in the Burgan oil field in February 1938, and in the following years, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) (now a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Company) started recruiting British and Commonwealth workers.
After nearly eight decades, the US Consulate in Dhahran is moving from its well-known spot near the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to another state-of-the-art compound a short drive away. The new location is on the corner of Salah Addin Al-Ayoubi Road and Abu l’baba Al-Aslami Street, just off King Saud bin Abdulaziz Road.
Retired Aramcon Andrew J. Guinosso wrote Rules of the Road for Men offering some "common-sense rules of the road that will serve most men well in these tumultuous times regardless of education, pay grade or previous life experience."
A big part of the third culture kid identity is determining for yourself how that identity lives inside of you and which portals it utilizes for self-expression. Writing is surely one of those portals for me, but I’m learning as of late that cooking is also another portal through which I share my love for culture.
71-year-old Everard has been living in Aruba since retiring. His last contact with family in the UK was on Friday 31st March 2023, stating that he was planning a walk, most likely from Alto Vista Chapel car park that afternoon, heading towards the sea. He has not been seen or heard from since.
The Aramco Retiree Golf Group held their eighth overall and first 2023 event in Ponte Vedra, Florida at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa, March 27-31, 2023. It was a fun-filled 5-days of activities including four rounds of golf at TPC Sawgrass Stadium and Dye’s Valley courses, World Golf Village Slammer & Squire, and King & Bear golf courses.
A host of floral and fragrant events and attractions are set to welcome visitors to this year’s Taif Rose Festival. Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the event runs from April 21 to May 5. Taif is regarded as the leading producer of rose fragrances in the Middle East, with about 900 farms producing more than 300 million blooms from March to April every year.
Mosques and historical monuments in Madinah have proved a big hit during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, attracting huge numbers of visitors. Visiting mosques and monuments is part of the tour program for the millions of visitors Madinah receives a year due to its high religious status as the site of the Prophet’s Mosque, one of the Two Holy Mosques.
First, some observations about what has and hasn’t changed since I was last in Kingdom in 1990. The first and most obvious change is how women are adapting to increasing freedoms and cultural changes. Women greeted us from behind the immigration desk when we arrived. Women are working.
In September 1979, Mark Lowey completed a two-year stint working in the oil fields of the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia. Before returning home to the U.S., Mark spent the next three months as a solo backpacker exploring Nepal and India, and then headed to Sri Lanka, the island nation below the southern tip of India.
Greetings! Amira and I are delighted to know that you are gathering here in Southampton for the 8th UK Aramcons reunion and sharing your memories with each other about your days living and working for Aramco. You will see amongst each other some familiar faces, people who shared their knowledge and experience in developing Saudi Arabia.
Hooriya Naushad Shah, daughter of Engr. Syed Naushad Shah, celebrated her 11th birthday on April 5th. Hooriya is the granddaughter of the late Syed Yousaf Shah, Aramco Badge ID 71533.
In the last two weeks, I got to experience my first Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C, a hallmark feature of D.C.’s culture and vibrancy. Seeing the cherry blossoms at their peak was an engagement with the concept of mono-no-aware, a Japanese expression for being deeply immersed in the sentimentality of an object; a sight, an emotion; a feeling.
Hello, My name is Martin Armstrong. I am a senior researcher at Barker Langham, a cultural consultancy currently undertaking collections research for several museum projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I have just spent nine weeks in Oman and had the opportunity to catch up with many friends not seen since before the pandemic. One of those was Mark Evans, who had just completed the second part of his Heart of Arabia expedition from Riyadh to Jeddah.
Our daily lives typically unfold in a manner of predictability, a pattern, a routine. However, every now and then, tucked tightly under our routine of daily lives, are glittering moments of serendipity...
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman traveled from Riyadh to Jeddah on Wednesday. Later, the Kingdom’s minister of media, Salman Al-Dosari, delivered a speech on behalf of the king to citizens and residents at the start of Ramadan.
My friends, today we are celebrating a historic gathering, as this is the first time we have a joint Saudi Aramco retirement reunion with Saudis and expatriates, working for the betterment of Aramco. I believe it is important for our expatriate and Saudi retirees to consider a forum to strengthen the relationship among them and build bridges of friendship and better understanding.