Until recently it was actually illegal to take photos inside a Saudi Mall. The last time I was in the Middle East you could not even have a camcorder in the country. Our correspondent from Saudi Arabia, William Lowe took advantage of the liberalization and made this video showing us the stunning Kingdom Mall in Riyadh It gives us a glimpse into this secretive Kingdom.
Lowe reports:
In my experience most people (read: Americans) envision Riyadh as a bunch of tents in the desert populated by a bunch of al Qaeda-sympathetic extremists with a Koran under one arm and an Kalashnikov under the other.
I hope these vids will show there is a developing urban center and (maybe) a more Westernized culture than most people would otherwise have thought. Most of the Saudi videos I’ve come across on the web are Saudi teens doing donuts out in the desert in their SUVs. Perhaps these might play to a larger audience.
Will’s “I miss you” is his not so subtle message to his girlfriend in Boston. :)
Alberta (Canada) is being paid $2.00 per barrel of oil. That means that Big Oil + speculation is adding $125 to the cost. Funny how profits double for them as they run around screaming about how much it costs.
I wonder what the Saudi’s get paid per barrel.
Aaron Kinney,
Would you like to take your foot into your mouth, now? Didn’t it ever occurred to you that a city that is built rapidly based on nothing but ‘big dream’ will surely fail? Billions in Debt, city’s half empty and hundreds of abandoned cars at the airport. What would you say of Dubai, now?