3:25pm Thursday 18th February 2010
By Nigel Wild
I am a little further east of Oxford than normal. Quite a lot further east actually, 3,500 miles to be precise. I am in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, pursuing the day job of business consultant and helping the Kingdom grow its biotechnology industry.
Ar Riyadh means ‘the gardens’ in Arabic and particularly those formed in the desert after rains. Arid and parched sands can bloom into lush green almost overnight, although rainfall here is minimal, with March and April the wettest months at perhaps an inch each.
Temperatures range from a blistering 50C in midsummer down to freezing in winter. Frequent and choking dust storms can reduce visibility to yards and are said to be worse because of the Iraq conflict. Bombing has stirred up the desert sands, which are then blown south.
The capital city never sleeps, a bustling, thriving metropolis of nearly seven million people and growing at eight per cent per year. Almost 40 per cent of the population is expatriates — this is a crossroads, an international melting pot of so many nationalities.
Although English is widely spoken, Arabic still predominates. Thus Saudi Arabia attracts the peoples of the Arabic-speaking nations of the Levant and Africa. Huge numbers of staff are from the developing world, eager to earn salaries far beyond those of their homelands. The added bonus is that the Kingdom has no personal income tax.
Riyadh sprawls across the desert. It is perhaps not as big as Birmingham, but it must be pushing it close. There are now worries about urban sprawl, such that the low-rise policy is being reconsidered, with future expansion upwards, not outwards. Two skyscrapers dominate the cityscape, the Kingdom Tower and the Faisaliah Tower.
Resembling a giant bottle opener, the Kingdom Tower reaches nearly 1,000 ft, and its famous Skybridge affords visitors unrivalled views across the city. The Faisaliah Tower, designed by Sir Norman Foster, is almost as tall at 900 ft and is dominated by a golden ball housing a revolving restaurant.
Built on the grid principle, Saudi’s capital is geared to the car, with as yet no public transport. With petrol at 10p a litre, everybody drives, and apart from public holidays, the city chokes on its traffic.
Few animals are to be seen, just a few birds and a smattering of cats, tiny creatures with the characteristic triangular Arabian heads. Nonetheless, keeping pets is popular, with ample supplies of Whiskas, Iams, vets and boarding kennels. The only camels in the city are in the excellent zoo.
The camel is a symbol of Saudi Arabia, a beast of burden and a source of milk and meat. The Saudi camel, now a domesticated creature, is a dromedary with one hump: its Bactrian, double-hump counterpart can be found in East and Central Asia.
The camel’s physiology is almost uniquely adapted to its environment. The famous hump does not contain water, as is commonly believed, but fatty tissue which metabolises into water, yielding more than one gramme of water for each gramme of fat converted.
The blood cells are oval, not circular like other mammals. This allows better flow in a dehydrated state and allows the beast to drink 100 to 150 litres of water at one intake without adverse effects.
The coat reflects sunlight, sweating is at skin level so that evaporation aids cooling, and moisture exhaled in the nostrils is returned to the body system.
With a tough mouth and the ability to digest anything, the camel can survive in harsh conditions, not only between watering holes but sometimes between seasons.
For my colleague Abdullah Al Akeel, breeding camels takes him temporarily away from being a city dweller and back to his country’s nomadic roots.
Abdullah is an engineer, with a degree in electronic engineering from Cardiff University. A true Anglophile, he tucks in eagerly to fish and chips.
But at least once a week, he drives nearly 40 miles into the desert to see his camels. A camel-breeder for many years, he now has over 30. While some breed for meat or for racing, he just enjoys having his flock. The joy on his face when with his animals is something to behold.
These are delightful creatures. Forget the archetypal, evil-tempered beast spitting a noxious green slime. Instead, we find warm, gentle and loving mammals, delighted with human company and eager to be stroked and petted.
The desert in most of Saudi Arabia is far removed from the classic Lawrence of Arabia image. The dunes and ergs of ‘Awrenz’ are to be found in the Rub Al’Khali, the Empty Quarter in the south of the Kingdom. Here, the desert is a mainly flat, featureless and rocky shale, with only a few sparse tendrils of scrub braving the elements. The temperature, even in high summer, is at least 10C cooler than in Riyadh.
Drive off the blacktop and Abdullah’s little encampment is one of many, and he has a group of friends around him who likewise enjoy the freedom of the open air and communing with their dromedaries.
The Al Akeel flock is tended by herdsman Suleiman, who lives happily on site in a tent. The camels are penned and but occasionally sample desert scrub. Their diet is a green alfalfa, a rich diet which minimises their need for water.
Suleiman nurses the mothers through their pregnancies and is a dab hand at expressing breast milk so that the calf can begin to suckle. Camel milk — and camel urine too — are said to have great healthgiving and healing properties, and scientists continue to try and isolate the key elements in these two liquids.
Under a black and velvety sky, we are heading back towards the metropolis when Abdullah spots a group of his young friends camping out. This is a favourite pastime in autumn and winter.
For over an hour, we sit on carpets outside a tent, warmed by a brushwood fire, and drink Arabic coffee, a lightly roasted variety seasoned with ginger and cardoman and served in tiny cups. A large pot containing a stew waits its turn over the flames.
We have to go and Abdullah says he will hitch a ride back. The next morning he appears, looking a bit stiff, and admits he eventually spent the night in the tent.
Back to his roots.
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