Saudia Arabia, Briefly

The day of departure was not much different than most. We arrived at the airport early and stood in a very exciting line waiting to drop our bags. While waiting in line, Paul was informed that he may not be allowed on the plane while wearing shorts. This was to signal the beginning of the single most unique airline experiences I have had. Paul quickly pulled out a pair of jeans and sealed up his bag before going to the desk. When we presented our passports to the person at check-in desk, she went through every single page of my passport, twice. I had been warned that if I had an Israeli stamp, I would not be allowed in. Me, being the cautious type, went about getting a second (legal) passport. I was so grateful for this, as she studied every page of my new, nearly blank, passport. We were let through without further ado. 

Everything seemed normal until we got on the flight. We were surrounded by an unusual amount of families and piles and piles of children, but that was not the most unusual bit. They started out with a prayer to Allah for safe travels sang out in Arabic. Then about an hour later when we were in there air, another prayer. A final prayer was said before we landed. I didn't realize there were religious airlines out there!

During the flight, Paul and I watched several movies, which explained at the beginning that they had been edited for content. The first film I watched was Divergent, where they deleted an entire fight scene, making it hard to follow the plot for a while. Through the other films we watched, we noticed that several things were blurred or bleeped out, including:

• Any mention of any alcohol, or showing any alcohol
• The swastika
• A map showing the countries in WW2
• The tail of a plane (we have no idea what was on it)
• Low cut tops and legs
• Possibly more things that we didn't notice

 Once we arrived in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, we went through transfers then security. Hah. Security. Paul didn't even have to empty his water, and none of our electronics were taken out. I went into a special women's security screening and passed over with a metal detector. Once we arrived on the other side, we found a very uncomfortable terminal. The toilets were abysmal (no tp, no soap, no way to dry your hands), and the actual terminal wasn't much better. The two shops didn't offer much besides stale croissants. Even worse, even though the shops were open, no one seemed to actually be behind the counters, no matter how long I waited. At least there was painfully slow internet to entertain us for 3 hours. 

The worst part about being in Saudi Arabia was how uncomfortable I felt. I was wearing jeans and a short sleeved top, but by the way the men were reacting, you would have thought I was in a bikini. I eventually had to put on my cardigan and scarf to feel comfortable, even though it was well over 20C in the terminal.

Finally it was time to leave, and I was ready. We went back into the terrible heat to board the plane, and I promptly fell asleep, missing all the praying. That 3 hour encounter in Saudi Arabia was enough for a lifetime, and I feel no need to ever go back.