Last Night in Riyadh

This morning began with room service for breakfast, and then a visit to Al-Yammam College. This is a private college for men and women on the outskirts of Riyadh. We started off with a meet and greet with college students, a welcome by the president, and then we saw a debate performance by the school’s debate team on the question of whether the West’s perception of the Middle East is the fault of the Middle East itself, or of outside forces like the media. After the debate we had meeting time with the students, and then lunch. The college was very nice, and the students were great (this was our first time to spend time with male students), but it was strange to see the segregation that happens between the males and females. They don't sit together in the auditorium, and their classes are separate. After lunch we had a quick break back at our hotel before we visited a museum and a souq for shopping. Finally, this evening we visited the historical center that traces Saudi Arabia’s history from the dawn of time until the present day. The day ended with a late dinner with Saudi Aramco engineers and public relations workers. I need to get a lot of sleep tonight because this is my last time to have a night in Saudi Arabia. Tomorrow is a full day, ending at 2 AM with my trek home beginning. In the photo below you can see downtown Riyadh, with the Kingdom Tower on the left, and the tower connected to our hotel behind it on the right.

And, even though Riyadh is a modern city, you can still see signs of the past, like camels in trucks!

Here is a close up of our hotel (the building on the left), and the Al-Faisaliyah Center looming behind it.

And, this evening I took a photo from the “globe” portion of the center looking over Riyadh. You can see the Kingdom Tower in the distance.