Tag Archives: Jeddah

Expats in Saudi Arabia Alarmed as Raids Target Illegals

Posted on April 4 2013 by MEE Administrator

Saudi_police_hunt_down_undocumented_EthiopiansCross-Posted from Arab News

Labor authorities, supported by police, have stepped up a major campaign to drive out illegal workers as well as those involved in cover-up businesses in different parts of the Kingdom. The move has triggered shock waves among expatriates, especially those who are not working for their sponsors.

Police have reportedly arrested a large number of expatriates for violating iqama and labor regulations during the past week, sources told Arab News.

Many shops and firms have been closed down in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as they either did not have enough workers under their sponsorship or fear punitive action.

A ministry spokesman, however, described the raids as a routine measure.

Labor Minister Adel Fakeih said on Tuesday the government would not tolerate any violation of the Kingdom’s regulations and that tough action would be taken against violators.

“The Cabinet has identified the duties of the Interior and Labor ministries to track down illegal workers and businesses,” the minister said, adding that a royal decree has been issued to beef up labor inspections with police.

“We’ll intensify inspections in coordination with the Interior Ministry,” Fakeih said.

“The move is aimed at driving out illegal aliens and violators of iqama and labor laws,” he added.

The Labor Ministry has classified nearly 250,000 small and medium enterprises in the Red category of the Nitaqat system yesterday when the deadline given to them to employ at least one Saudi in their firms expired. Continue reading →

Rapping with Germans and Saudis in Jeddah

Posted on February 19 2013 by Sam Shropshire

German and Saudi rappers mix it up

German Consul General Rolf Theodor Schuster held a “mind-blowing” concert put on by German and Saudi rappers at his residence here in Jeddah on Wednesday evening, January 30. This live performance was given ample coverage in the local Saudi Gazette.

I got to enjoy dinner with these rappers and hip hop artists later in the week. Continue reading →

A day and a night in the Arabian Desert with Bedouin friends

Posted on February 15 2013 by Sam Shropshire


Sam Shropshire (in white thawb), pictured here with (l-r) Majed Olayan, Majed Bandar and Fahad Olayan, is given expert Bedouin instruction in hunting desert quail with an heirloom 12-gauge, single-shot shotgun!

Back in the desert, hunting for quail

Abdullah Al Ghamdi picked me up yesterday after noon, and we headed for a rendezvous with my Bedouin friends near the Red Sea coast town of Redigh–about 120 miles north of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There we met up with the Olayan brothers Majed and Fahad and their friend Majid Bandar. Abdullah and I jumped into their Toyota 4×4 Cruiser, and we headed out over the dunes into the Arabian desert.

It led to an afternoon hunting desert quail, and an evening of Bedouin music, and a meal of fish, rice and fresh camel milk.

The majority of Bedouins, in the past, have traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle, spreading from the Persian Gulf all the way across northern Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the borders of Turkey as far south as Yemen.

The word “bedouin” comes from the Arab word bedou, meaning “desert dweller.” Estimates today indicate nomadic Bedouins constitute about one-tenth of the population of the Middle East.

In my many meetings with Bedouins it has become all too apparent, that Bedouins regard themselves as the “true Arabs” and the “heirs of glory.” The family I visited yesterday were exultant when they showed me some of their 60 incredible camels and more than 1,000 very well shepherded goats.

I’m very grateful to my Bedouin friends for hosting me for one of the most incredible days of my life. Continue reading →

“Dune Bashing” in Saudi Arabia!

Posted on January 9 2013 by Sam Shropshire

 Weekend "Dune-bashing" attracts thousads to the desert outside Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Riding the dunes near Jeddah

Yesterday my Saudi friend Ra’id Baty came by to pick me up. He said, “Sam, we’re taking you to something really special. We’re going to a car rally in the desert near Mecca.” I really didn’t know what to expect, but I quickly changed into my Saudi thawb and climbed on board.

We headed south from Jeddah in Ra’id’s 4×4 Nissan Pathfinder, eventually turning off the road. As we took off directly into the desert, we flew by several other SUVs that had stopped to let some air out of their tires in order to get more traction in the sand. We were roler-coastering up and down over several miles of huge sand dunes.

So now I’ve discovered a favorite weekend pastime for many Saudi young people and adults—“dune bashing.” Continue reading →

Falcons on the Arabian Peninsula

Posted on November 13 2012 by Sam Shropshire

Sam Shropshire with falcon “Shusan”

“Shusan” pays me a visit

Two of my Saudi Bedouin military friends, brothers Majed and Fahad Olayan, dropped by my office a couple of days ago for a surprise visit with their Saker falcon “Shusan” (Arabic for brave). “Shusan” is being trained for hunting rabbits in our nearby deserts.

The falcon has amazingly acute vision and can identify prey at a distance of several kilometres. It can fly at speeds of over 100 km per hour, approaching 200 km per hour during dives. The art of falconry is a big deal here in Saudi Arabia, with well-trained birds selling for thousands of dollars.
Continue reading →

Saudi Arabia Moves to Eliminate Plastic Debris

Posted on September 20 2012 by Sam Shropshire

Sam joined Hasan Zahani, a Jeddah city councilman and professors from King Abdullahziz University in organizing an environmental committee for meeting the challenges of environmental problems affecting the Arabian peninsula.

Environmental awareness committee formed

I am a proud founding member of a Jeddah municipal committee to study many of the environmental problems adversely affecting the Arabian peninsula. We will suggest solutions, improving life here for people and animals alike.

Our committee has strong support from the Jeddah City Council and is made up of area professors and engineers with a common mission of correcting many of the harms now contributing to Saudi environmental degradation.

Having provided leadership in the United States for clean air, banning phosphate fertilizers, banning plastic retail carry-out bags, banning the hormone-disrupting chemical BPA (bisphenol-A) from baby bottles, etc., I am able to provide consultation in Saudi Arabia for environmental cleanup.

Our committee will begin by researching several known challenges in our Jeddah community–one being plastic debris. Plastic bags and bottles cover the banks of the Red Sea, are scattered about through the deserts, line city streets, and fill public landfills.

Hundreds of camels and thousands of sheep and goats die annually from ingesting plastic bags. They are also killing marine life in the Red Sea.

Our faiths have a lot to say about the environment

If the Abrahamic faiths of Muslims, Jews and Christians believe God created the world, then it follows logically that we must honor God by caring for his creation. As believers in the God of Abraham we must respond to the damaging influences of over-consumption and pollution that are ruining planet Earth. Continue reading →

I’m inviting NASA to Saudi Arabia. Find out why…

Posted on September 7 2012 by Sam Shropshire
Sam in full Saudi costume standing in the Arabian Desert near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The photo inset shows a Curiosity photo of the Martian desert in the Gale Crater.  The similarities are striking. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

I just can’t help wondering about the universe

The NASA rover Curiosity landed safely in the Gale Crater on August 6th, 2012.

You ask, “What in the world? Why are you deskbound in Saudi Arabia mesmerizing about NASA and the universe (and God)?”

So, I confess. I’m a space buff—have been since 1970. That’s when I studied astronomy at Shelton College.

During the past month I’ve been closely following NASA’s Curiosity landing. What an incredible accomplishment—an SUV-sized rover that travelled three-and-a-half months to the red planet, descended like a fire ball through the atmosphere during what NASA called “seven minutes of terror” and then parachuted to the Martian surface landing at nearly pinpoint accuracy in the Gale Crater.

NASA studies Mexican desert

Curiosity carries the biggest, most advanced suite of instruments for scientific studies ever sent to Mars. The rover will analyze organic samples scooped from the soil and drilled from rocks. According to NASA scientists, the record of the planet’s climate and geology is essentially “written in the rocks and soil.” The rover is looking for the chemical building blocks of life (e.g., forms of carbon) on Mars and will assess what the martian environment was like in aeons past.

Now studying the planet Mars, one might think, means travelling there or exploring only by means of satellites, landings and robots, but that’s not the case. NASA has a Mars research program going on in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert, where the vast, scorching plain is said to be very much like ancient Mars.

The NASA scientists working in this largely arid and extremely hostile climate are looking for organisms able to survive on a minimum of nutrients, high salinity, soaring temperatures and high ultraviolet radiation.

My invitation to NASA

So, I say, “NASA, come to Saudi Arabia! I have something to show you here!” Continue reading →

Happy Ramadan! Ramadan Kareem!

Posted on July 23 2012 by Sam Shropshire

Eman Kaskas and high school students from the British International School in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Eman and students have collected more than one ton of food to be distributed to Jeddah’s poor immigrant families during the Ramadan holidays.

Celebrating my first Ramadan in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In all three major Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) religious holidays play an important role in celebrating our faith in the God of Abraham. Here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I’ll be participating in my first Ramadan observance with my Muslim friends. There is an air of excitement as this holiday begins.

Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان‎ Ramaḍān; variations Persian: Ramazan‎; Urdu: Ramzān; Turkish: Ramazan) has arrived. It is being celebrated July 20th through August 18th. It is the ninth month of the lunar Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days according to the visual sightings of the crescent moon.

Muslims around the world refrain from eating and drinking during the daylight hours. The thawab (spiritual rewards) of fasting are believed to be many, but during this special month, they are said to be multiplied. Muslims fast during this lunar month for the sake of demonstrating submission to God. They also offer more prayers and Qur’an recitations. Continue reading →

Enjoying Desert Quail Cookout on Saudi Arabian Mountaintop

Posted on July 17 2012 by Sam Shropshire

Majed Olayan, Sam Shropshire, Majed Badar and Fahad Olayan enjoy desert quail and rice. The city lights of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, can be seen in the background.

I had heard there were camel herders in the far, southeast neighborhoods of Jeddah. My driver and friend Abdullah Al Ghamdi was kind to take me to what turned out to be a sort of “strip mall” of camel markets along a bumpy road.

We stopped, got out and walked around at one of these camel markets, striking up a conversation with the Sudanese immigrant herder. He smiled, quickly milked a camel right in front of our eyes, strained the frothy milk and poured it into a couple of mugs. He then handed us the mugs, and we drank this delicious gift.

It was at this roadside market that Abdullah and I met other camel milk customers—two brothers Fahad and Majed Olayan and their friend Majed Bandar. Continue reading →