I went shopping at a local mall here in Jeddah, one night this past week, with Tim. I decided to pick up a few hats to wear while I am out an about in Jeddah... I do not have to wear a scarf as a westerner but I have noticed that a head covering is appreciated by the Saudi's....  I have found it fun to wear a hat and it keeps the sun of my noggin.... :)
I found 3 hats at Claire's (like the one in the states) and they were on sale..... I ended up paying only SR 7 for all three hats which is the equivalent to $1.84..... not bad!  I love a bargain. I had one hat already and will model them here for you on my blog. Enjoy!!!

Well... what do you think! :D

Tim at Al-Tayebat International City

Last Thursday we enjoyed another event with the Jeddah Heart Group here in Jeddah. We went to the Al-Tayebat International City. It is a 10,000 square meter palace that is now being used as a cultural center / museum in Jeddah. Classes and visits are made by appointment and proceeds from the various activities benefit orphans, the poor and those in need. It houses various artifacts, displays and libraries.... we enjoyed the company of several people invited by the Jeddah Heart Group and we brought 3 people from the compound with us. They let us tour the facility and then we gathered in a large area they called the cafeteria to observe a demonstration, a young man giving an
Arabic call. There was a curator who talked about the museum... we did not stay for the talk as it was in Arabic with limited translation. They served Arabic coffee, water, and local pastries.... In all it was a wonderful evening and will be one of the events that we will remember fondly of our adventure here in Jeddah. Tonight we have been invited to attend another more private event with Jeddah Heart.... more on that later. :)
Here are some pictures we took at the Al-Tayebat International City.

Lou, Tim, Diana and Clint

Diana and Clint

Arabic presentation

Rosita

Well Tim and I went to another Jeddah Heart Group Event. This group wants to restore old areas in Jeddah and Saudi and cultivate interest in Saudi's past herritage.  We went on an earlier Jeddah Heart Group event where we participated in a tour of Al Ballad... the old city center of Jeddah... I blogged earlier about this trip. This time we went to Altayebat City Museum. It is housed in an old palace of a rich merchant and it is stocked full of old relics of the past..... and displays of current interest in science, art, a various studies..... we took some photos and I will post them later but I noted that I was photographed by one of the other participants and my photo was posted on the Jeddah Heart Group Facebook page.... along with a photo of the group that went with Tim and I to the event.... thought I would post these for you so you can see what the Saudi's see when we are out and about....:)

Guess who?

Clint, Diana, Tim, Lou, and guess who listening to presentation...

Tim was invited out to a farewell gathering for a fellow Saudi worker..... he left for dinner at 8:30.... they met at a park by the Red Sea... spread out huge rugs and pillows..... visited and drank Moroccan tea and Arabic coffee..... then around 10 someone showed up with three very large woks of rice and goat meat... every one set around in circles visiting .... playing cards.... and eating by hand out of these three big shared woks.... what an experience. He did not take a camera because he was unsure as to etiquette on this but someone did take photos and he is going to try and get some pictures....

    Well, I have been in Jeddah for three months now.... only a little while longer and our time here will be up.... time flies.... :)    It has been a change for us but we will learn a lot about ourselves and will come home more appreciative of the many blessings we have. The people here are gracious and friendly. They have a lot more layed back way of living.... just less value on how things are accomplished.... that said it is not home.... but that did not take a rocket scientist to figure out.... lol.
    We have a new kitty and now we have a name for her.... Jidda Kitty.... like Jeddah City. Jaddah means grandmother..... Jeddah is supposed to be the burial place of Eve by the way... they have covered over the burial site but you can still see it marked on the map.
    Tim and I played hockey yesterday on ice.... lots of fun but it will be the last time till fall as most of our players have gone home for the summer. That is ok..... I sort of tweeked my knees a bit and will mend up this summer with working out in the gym on weight machines, running, and swimming. Tim, Patty, Josh, and I are signed up to run a 10k back in Minnesota in October. :)
    We also went to a little zoo here in Jeddah on Thursday... They had birds and a bear and a Shetland pony.... stuff like that..... they also had a great garden shop that was fun to look through... we got some flowers, seeds, and a hose nozzle.... nice! Oh and there was a Nestle Tollhouse Cookie Coffee Cafe by the zoo and of course we did make a stop there.... :).
    Well Tim just left for work.... I best be thinking about getting ready for work also.... I am working as a sub here on compound for a couple of people who are going home over the summer.... it keeps me busy. :) Keep following.... God Bless!

Look who decided to come out of hiding....

We got a house kitty to share our Jeddah adventure with..... There are cats everywhere here. This one was saved off the streets by a teacher over at the American School. She has had all her shots and has been fixed after having one litter of kitties. Her previous owner is moving to Thailand and could not take all her kitties with her so this one needed to be adopted or turned out on the streets.... She has been adopted. :)  She was called Gina but we have not decided yet what we will call her... She loves to be petted and she loves to nibble on toes and fingers... she also talks alot.... well at least around bed time.

She loves to be petted....

Hey.... open the window here!

Here are a couple of group photos of the people we play street hockey with.... We enjoy this as an outing/ date night.... going out of town and goofing around.... the players vary from night to night but this is a steady core group... minus a few who were out of town.

Enjoy!

Ikea in Jeddah

a tunnel we drove thru in Jeddah

along the streets of Jeddah

part of our drive

can you see the Xerox building

one of the many sculptures along the streets in Jeddah

Hira Street

closed for prayer

a few more photos for you......

Well... Tim and I have sort of settled into our little routines here in Jeddah.... we play hockey... shop a little.... walk the corniche.... and take drives..... here are some of the pictures from our Jeddah life.....

taking a break during street hockey

walking the corniche

view from our walks along the Red Sea

out along the corniche which is on the Red Sea

along our walk

on our walk

Tim's dream trucks

another view of the trucks

out for a drive through Jeddah on a quiet Friday morning

along our morning drive

driving in Jeddah on a quiet morning

seeing the sites on a driving tour

on our drive...   do you see the white truck.... TATA

there are a billboards of the King everywhere

along King Fahd Road

These are just a few of the pictures along our drive..... we took this drive last Friday when it was relatively quiet on the road..... all the stores were closed.... and the residents were still just waking up....