Diaries of a Ghanaian Saudi Princess- Part I

I went to Saudi Arabia from the 2nd to 6th of December for the Gulf Africa Investment Forum and witnessed another part of the world! It was the most amazing experience ever! I'll be telling you about my experience in several parts through a diary I kept while I was away. Tried my best to keep it as short as possible, but I guarantee you that it is a must read!!!

Diaries of A Ghanaian Saudi Princess

2nd December 2010

“I’m not Ethiopian”

After an arduous week we finally make it onto Ethiopian airlines. In my humble opinion, Ethiopian airlines in Ghana, is the epitome of quality service and customer comfort. The services they provided certainly helped the journey begin on an excellent note. I came across several individual who mistook me to be of Ethiopian descent. These individuals consisted of flight attendants as well as citizens of the country. To my surprise, some were so convinced of my ethnicity to the point where they engaged conversation with me in their local tongue which is Amharic. When I told them I was not Ethiopian, the reactions I received were varied. Some were so convinced of my ethnicity that it resulted in the nudging of their spouse for confirmation to take a closer look at me. Others got offended and gave me the “I can’t believe you are Ethiopian and don’t speak your language, shame on you!” look. That was an experience in itself. At the airport at Addis Ababa I saw a lot of Muslim women, either on a journey to Mecca or returning from Mecca. To my surprise, the women were more colourfully draped than I expected. Seeing all those women dressed in black Abaya’s (that’s what they are call it) made me feel out of place. Luckily I had visited Nima (in Ghana) before embarking on my journey and had purchased one to take along with me. I quickly reached into my back and covered up as to not offend their way of life.

Working my way through the Saudi Arabian immigration was a breeze since I now looked like an Arab! I have come to the realization that I may have a unique ability to blend into various cultures. I stood in awe as I observed all the women draped in black Abaya’s and the men in crisp white Kaftans’ with their Ghutrah’s (red and white checkered head gear with the black crown on it). I noticed a lot of cloth and silk drapes all around the airport. Then I thought to myself, you can have a bad hair day and still look fabulous! All the males carried themselves as kings and I could not help but wonder if they felt that way as well.

3rd December 2010

“Kicked out of Restaurant”

Upon arrival at my destination, I slept for about 5 hours and woke around 4am and went downstairs for breakfast and to prepare for the conference. I was truly anxious to confirm whether my research of Saudi Arabia and its customs were true. My boss, Mr. Edward Boateng sees me for the first time since my arrival in Saudi Arabia and was overwhelmed with laughter at my Abayan outfit. He stated that he did not find it necessary to go to such a great extent of wearing the clothing of the Saudi women. I on the other hand disagreed entirely. According to my research and the taxi driver who drove me from the airport, he stated with his Arabic English accent “as a foreigner you have 24 hours from airport to hotel, next day Abaya!”. That was the first full sentence he was able to make in English so naturally, I cracked up with laughter. Before leaving Ghana, it was my intention to follow the concept of “When in Rome do as the Romans Do!” and that is exactly what I did.

At breakfast at Golden Tulip in Saudi, I noticed people were staring at me. Especially the men, well there weren’t many females around! I wasn’t sure why. Either it was because I wasn’t fully covered (showing only my eyes) or they couldn’t figure out if I was Arab? I proceeded to eat my breakfast and went to register for the conference.

As we got to the gate of the conference, we were stopped and our taxi driver and the guards at the gate of the King Faisal Conference hall exchanged some Arabic words. Soon after he said “sister in the back (pointing at me) not allowed inside!” Naturally I was stunned and confused especially since I had travelled all the way from Ghana for this conference. I thought to myself “Clearly there had to be something wrong because I registered for the conference as a woman and so why didn’t they tell me this?!” So we explained that we were here for the conference and he finally let us in! I was amazed but had just experienced my first encounter of being a woman in Saudi Arabia.

After registration Edward, Isaac Yankson ( My favourite Camera man) and Myself decided to head out to town to get some Saudi Arabian food to eat! So we asked and found a fast food joint near the hotel. We get to the restaurant venue and realized that they were all closed for prayers. It turns out people in Saudi Arabia pray five times a day so each and every time they go to pray everyone closes their stores and business seizes for the 20 minutes that they pray. It’s quiet normal to find some people not praying either because they have already prayed or have plans to do it later on. Working hours are usually as follows, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4p.m. till 10p.m. if I remember correctly. Even with that, if prayer time falls within those hours everything closes temporarily. So we waited outside the fast food place for about 10 more minutes and entered. We really wanted to sit down on the floor where they had carpeted the place and had these little center tables to sit around with people, but as a woman I was not allowed to sit there so we sat on the table. Shortly after trying to order, someone who appeared to be the manager of the place literally pointed at my boss from a distance, shook his finger in a disapproving manner and pointed his thumb out the door ushering us to leave! Yes, leave because I was a woman and wasn’t allowed to eat with men in an open area. So we got take away and left. It turns out that you are only allowed to eat in areas where they have family sections (where they basically use room partition to hide the women who eat with their husbands). As the day progressed we met up with the Ghanaian delegation and that marked the end of my interesting day.

Watch out for Diaries of a Ghanaian Saudi Princess- Part II