A day with the Saudi royals

Yesterday was so full of cool things that I did not get the time to catch up on the blog with this trip. Starting in the morning with a visit to Fort Masmak (where I got to hang around with a falcon) in Riyadh, we headed to the souq nearby. 

There we were surrounded by sellers offering everything ranging from carpets, oudh, spices and clothes. After this, we went to the national museum which pictures the pathways Saudi followed from pre-Islamic times until now, giving great insights about how the nation state was formed.

For lunch, we had the honor to dine with HRH Prince Turki bin Faisal at his house. He used to be the former ambassador for the Kingdom in the US and thus we questioned him on Saudi foreign policy and its role in mitigating regional conflicts like those in Yemen, Palestine or the disagreements with Qatar. This gave me a much better clue on Saudi's stance in these matters. We also got the chance to hear about the social transition Saudi is currently going through in terms of modernization and women's rights. HRH highlighted many initiatives that are running now and what the pathway to go will be. I am so excited to see how Saudi will further develop and I trust the country's future will stay great. Not only did I learn a lot during this lunch, but also got to eat the most amazing food.

Following this very informative lunch we went on the Globe, one of Riyadh's main high risers to enjoy the view of the city. After a quick tour there, we were invited to go to a horse race at the King Abdulaziz Equestrian Field. At the VIP lounge we were being told that we might as well join to watch where the royal family was enjoying the race. It was an amazing experience to take part in this event and see so many excited people when the horse they 'bet' on was winning and to see the owners of the winning horses enjoy themselves. We felt very welcomed there and I was honored to be able to see the price giving, the horses and some members of the royal family so closely. This day really sounds as full as it was and after a very late dinner I crushed into my bed and fell asleep within seconds.

Today, we spent the morning in Riyadh at the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies. We had two academics who had debates with us regarding Saudi's foreign and domestic policy. There, I learned more about the causes of some of the difficulties Saudi has had with certain countries in the region, but also how the country keeps reviewing its strategies to become better and to ultimately unify the region. Afterwards, we headed to Dammam and tomorrow, I finally get to visit Saudi Aramco and find out more about how they are doing after the bond offering, IPO and attacks on its premises last year. I cannot wait to experience more in this amazing country.