Poppe Wanted a Turkish Coffee.

Poppe wanted a Turkish coffee, so we walked to the Bon Café drive through on the way back from lunch. It’s open 24/7/365, except for prayer time five times a day. Even now, I’m not sure what to think of my cappuccino, as the thought of a Turkish coffee so close to Turkey had me wary. It was hotter than blazes, thick, and immensely powerful. I probably won’t need another dose until tomorrow. And silt. Lots and lots of silt.

Fortunately, it only cost me 10 Riyals – cheap anywhere for a froo froo coffee. On the whole, this seems the right cost. I bought lunch for four of us for 65 Riyals, about 17 bucks, and we were stuffed – hence, the need for strong coffee. It’s been worse, costwise. The lunch buffet at the Radisson in Riyadh was 208 Riyals (you do the math). Expensive, but the lamb was mighty tasty.



Riyadh was another huge middle eastern capital city. Not quite as chrome and glass as Abu Dhabi or Dubai, but still expansive, crowded, and dusty. Traffic was horrible. Not as crowded as Cairo, but the drivers are worse and they tend to drive large American cars and SUVs. No shit, I think the most popular car here is the Crown Victoria, followed closely by the Grand Marquis. It’s like a step into the past, except that they all look to be of fairly recent vintage. Of course, if could be that the arid desert climate keeps them pristine, but if that was the case, we should be seeing more thirty year old Tatas.

[Actually, I have no clue if Indian cars were ever imported into “The Kingdom”, or if it was even an automobile manufactory thirty years ago, it’s just that women are very rarely on the street, and those that are are very well hidden – so it’s just Freudian.]

I eventually choked down the coffee, but fluidization is paramount here, so I’m now enjoying (if that’s the word) a Green Apple Flavored Budweiser Non Alcoholic Malt Beverage. Perhaps one day, centuries from now, real beer will be available here, but I’m not counting on any change very soon. The cultural restrictions here are too deeply ingrained. Meanwhile, the GAFBNAMB isn’t horrible, probably better than the Tang they serve for breakfast, so I’ll likely have another. There are small shops scattered generously around the hotel, so a new supply of beverages is easy to obtain, along with some tasty local dates and, as has become the norm on these excursions, ice cream after dinner.

The ice cream selection isn’t nearly as good as in Japan, but ice cream is, usually, ice cream. I say “usually” because Jim and I stopped at a small shop in Riyadh while walking around last week and what they scooped and served to us looked like the real deal, but must have had something extra to prevent melting. Perhaps it was latex, I can’t be sure, but it was sort of rubbery, and I broke the little spoon.
With the free time we have today, a group of us will head south from Al Qassim to Al Koht, where we are scheduled to tour a date plantation and factory, and perhaps check out a heritage village. It’s sure to beat spending another day in a crowded conference room. Besides, we leave Al Qassim tomorrow for points north, and I’ll probably never have another chance to see the sites of this district.

This tour started in Riyadh, the seat of government and, for my purposes, the seat of the Ministry of Defense and its assorted acronymic agencies. Over the next few weeks, we’ll visit four more sites and do our thing. I’m not entirely sure how the Saudi Land Forces are organized, but our meetings thus far have been a little top heavy, with three generals attending the first and two more generals attending the last. Fortunately, as aviators, they all speak pretty good English, so it’s easier to get various points across. “No problem” is a common phrase, but I think that’s just them trying to sound accommodating – some things are a real bono fide and actual problem, which is why they hired us.

But we solve problems like these all the time, so logistics have been the biggest problem. There are twelve of us on this traveling squad, so our ability to modify plans on the fly is severely curtailed. It also means a three vehicle convoy (we’re driving borrowed USG Expeditions) and an hour to check in and out of each hotel, which means slow going most of the time. No problem. After the second week, the bulk of the group will head home, and we should be down to a more manageably sized contingent.

Word of advice – avoid the restaurant at the Al Qassim Ramada. There is a line of schwarma shops just down the street who do a fine job. Visit them instead.