Eid Al Fitr Celebrations In Riyadh!

Riyadh Municipality is organizing Eid Al Fitr celebrations for the year 2013 in over 200 locations around town. There's events for family, women only and children. It might be hard for expatriates to know where the festivities are and the timings. Finding the information in English is hard every year, unfortunately it's quite poorly advertised and promoted to the English speaking expats in Riyadh. I gathered some of my favorites here for you and your family to enjoy this Eid in Riyadh!
Eid Mubarak to all Blue Abaya readers!
For Blue Abaya's Top Ten List of Things To Do During Eid in Riyadh, go here: http://www.blueabaya.com/2013/08/top-ten-things-to-do-during-eid-al-fitr.html

 Locations:
King Fahad Football Stadium
Suspension Bridge
Prince Faisal Stadium
South of Salam Mall
East of King Abdulaziz Manakh Park
Al Ha'ir neighborhood

Prince Sultan University

National Museum Park right has lovely fountains, streams and light shows and is the perfect place for a family picnic! Nearby is the King Abdulaziz Historical Center folklore tent where traditional music, dances, poetry recital are performed. 

The King Fahad Cultural Center is set on a beautiful location on its own, situated on the edge of Wadi Hanifa. The center offers various activities aimed mainly at children and women only events.

What would Eid celebrations be without some traditional dances? The folklore tent at the King Abdul Aziz historical center, right next to the National Museum, offers some of the best shows! Dance groups come from all over the Saudi Kingdom; Eastern Province, Jizan, Makkah and of course, the Najd Ardha dances! The dance performances are shown on the first three days of Eid and start up around 5:30 pm continuing until after midnight.

The folklore tent also has poetry recital and it's a great chance to listen to old Bedouin love songs played with the 'Desert Violin', the Rababah. 

For a bird's eye view of the festival area, and the best place to view the Eid fireworks show from, go up the water tower located inside the amusement park next to the National Museum!

Top Ten Things To Do During Eid Al Fitr Holidays In Riyadh

UPDATE: Eid Al Fitr has been confirmed to begin on the 8th of August! Meaning, the Eid celebrations will be held on the first three days 8th, 9th and 10th of August!

My article from the Destination Riyadh Magazine August 2013 issue:
Top Ten Things To Do During Eid Al-Fitr Holidays In Riyadh

Eid Al-Fitr 2013 in Saudi Arabia is expected to begin on the 7th of August. Most companies and businesses in Riyadh will be closed for the first three days of the Eid celebrations. A few malls and restaurants remain open, but many a times Riyadhiens find themselves puzzled during this time, what is there to do in Riyadh during Eid?

Every year the Riyadh Municipality organizes various celebrations and festivals all around the city. There are events designed for families, for ladies only and for men only. Most of the festivities concentrate on celebrating the Saudi heritage with traditional dances, music, poetry, foods, displays by craftsmen and craftswomen, exhibitions portraying the Saudi culture and traditional handicraft markets.  For the full list of celebrations and locations, visit the Ar Riyadh website or look out for the Riyadh Municipality Eid Al Fitr newsletter which is distributed in the large shopping malls before Eid.

1. Participate in the King Abdulaziz Historical Center celebrations. Every year the biggest and best celebrations are held in a vast area spreading around the Historical Center buildings and the National Museum. Traditional Sword (Aardha) dances, Najdi music, songs, and poetry recital fill the warm evenings and nights in a beautifully decorated setting. Enjoy a picnic in the National Museum Gardens watching the fountain and light show. Children will enjoy playing on the grass fields and running through the cooling fountains.
   
2. Explore the Qasr Al Hokum  Square festival area surrounded by Saudi history. Highlights of this festival, situated next to the Al Musmak fort, include traditional folklore tents, handicrafts markets, Saudi food stalls and lots of activities and games for children. This area is usually separated for men and women.
3. Watch the Eid fireworks show organized by the Riyadh Municipality. The fireworks will be held at 9pm on the first three days of Eid Al Fitr and launched from various areas around the city. The best places to view the fireworks from are the King Fahad football stadium, the suspension bridge and the water tower viewing platform, located next to the National Museum. UPDATE: This year 2012 the Riyadh Municipality has announced the fireworks show to begin at 11:50pm each of the three nights!
   
4. Dine outside with views to both Mamlaka and Faisaliyah towers which will be specially lit for Eid. Café Lenotre and Lusin Armenian restaurant on Centria Mall’s third floor both offer family seating areas under  the stars and cooling mists. Reservations during the first days of Eid are an absolute must.
5. Check out the spectacular views from the water tower viewing platform. The tower is located inside the small amusement park next to the National Museum. From up here you can and get a bird’s eye view down to the festival area, the beautifully lit mosques, historical buildings, festive lights and decorations of the area. Also one of the best places to watch the fireworks from.  Admission into the amusement park is 10 SAR and an additional 5 SAR to go up the tower. If you’re aiming to see the fireworks arrive at least half hour early. 
   
6. Go to Wadi Hanifa dam in Historical Diriyah for a family BBQ .The area is dotted with picturesque picnic spots, each has a BBQ pit, seating areas and privacy. Adults can enjoy the breeze from the Wadi and views down to the valley while children can eat ice cream and play with the toys sold by vendors on site.
7. Kindy Plaza Square inside the Diplomatic Quarters has one of the best organized and beautifully decorated festival areas. The square also has the best traditional dances from all around the Kingdom, dance groups from Najdi region, Eastern Province, Jazan and Madinah entertain family audiences for three nights in a row. There’s also a crafts market and Saudi traditional foods such as Marasi'a made on the spot by local women. On some years the Kindy plaza festivities have been cancelled last minute due to security concerns.
   
   
   
   
8. Mingle with the local ladies at the Women’s festival building in the King Abdulaziz Historical Center. Mothers and daughters can have henna tattoos made, watch theatre and comedy shows, have face paintings made and the height of the evening a chance to watch Saudi women dancing and singing traditional Saudi songs.
   
9. Men and children will enjoy the activities at the Show’s Square off exit 10 next to the AlSager Aviation Museum. This huge area has lots of motorsports and can be visited by the whole family. High Diving Show, motorcycle show, modified cars show, wall trampoline, flying trapeze, remote controlled cars shows and competitions.
10. Take the family or a group of friends for a fun day out in Thumamah sand dunes. Choose from Quad bike rentals, camel rides, kite flying, horse back riding, or dune bashing and sand boarding. Rent an outdoor istiraha with a traditional Saudi tent and enjoy a meal by the camp fire or inside the air conditioned tents.
    

Finnish Cinnamon Rolls "Korvapuustit"

Many people have been asking me for the recipe of "pulla" or Finnish cinnamon rolls I've mentioned a few times on the blog. Since it's Ramadan and lots of people are baking I thought now is a great time to share the recipe. These would also be perfect to serve for Eid!

Pulla is very popular in Finland and it comes in many different variations. Pulla can also be said to be coffee bread because Finns always serve their coffee with them. Pulla basically means any kind of sweet pastry made from this dough. "Korvapuusti" are specifically the Finnish style cinnamon rolls, directly translating to "ear buns" because of their appearance which resembles an ear. What makes the Finnish cinnamon rolls special is the dough which is made with milk and contains lots of ground cardamon giving it a unique taste and appearance.

The most fluffy and moist pulla is achieved by using fresh yeast. The filling is less messy and not overly sweet like the american version. Korvapuusti is also shaped a certain way and always topped off with pearl sugar.

There are many variations to the recipe out there and over the years I've made some small changes I liked and thought to make them as fluffy and delicious as possible!  I always make the dough into milk because I think it makes the result more moist. If possible I will use fresh yeast. If anyone knows where to get it in Saudi please do let me know! I just brought four packets of fresh yeast back from Finland where we have it readily available at all grocery stores.

Another important factor is the cardamon. It has to be roughly ground, so that small black parts can be seen and of course free of any residue from the pods. Yet another spice I haven't been able to find in Saudi-Arabia, they only seem to have finely ground cardamon which looks like a powder. After trying and testing, I can say this won't work well in the pulla. After a few failed attempts of crushing the cardamon seeds myself and sifting the pods out, I continue to bring my cardamon from Finland. This is what it looks like:

When making the dough the temperature of the liquid has to be carefully measured for best results. I always use a thermometer to check. For fresh yeast it needs to be a bit warmer than your hand temperature, +38c and for dry active yeast +42c for the yeast to "awaken". This way the dough will raise the best. The pulla is actually raised on two separate occasions before baking! If the liquid was too hot the yeast will die and the dough will become like a heavy rock, also if the milk was too cold it will take many hours if not until the next day to properly raise. The dough should double in size before you start baking. Make sure all the ingredients are room temperature too!

So here are the ingredients for approx 25-30 korvapuustis depending on what size you cut them.

5 dl milk
50g fresh yeast or 20g active dry yeast
2 dl sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1,5-2 tbsp roughly ground cardamon
200g unsalted butter or baking margarine
12-15 dl flour

for the filling
100-200g butter/margarine
brown sugar (white works fine too)
cinnamon
optionally cardamon

Start with warming up the milk in abowl in the microwave. Make sure the temperature is right for the type of yeast you're using, then dissolve the yeast into the milk until clear. Add the sugar, salt, cardamon and egg and mix well.
Next start adding the flour by first whisking in about 5-6 dl in to make the dough airy. Then mix in 5-6 dl more into the dough by hand. Knead well. Now add the melted butter and continue kneading. Lastly add just enough flour to make the dough comes off from the bowl, but not too much so it doesn't become too hard. It should be soft and easy to handle. Leave it to raise covered in a warm, draft-free place. I use the top of the oven or inside the microwave is good too because there's no draft. The dough should double in size in about half hour to an hour if the yeast has had optimal conditions. To speed up the raising time you can put the oven on very low heat (30-50c)and place the bowl there or place a cup of hot water inside the microwave.

When the dough has doubled in size take it out and start kneading it again thoroughly. Divide it into two sections. Take one and start rolling it out into a thin layer. Next spread a layer of soft butter all over the dough. Then sprinkle some sugar, again using your own taste of how much you want to add. I sprinkle generously! Next sprinkle plenty of cinnamon on top to cover the rest of the filling and for cardamon lovers you can sprinkle a little bit additional cardamon too.

Start rolling the dough from the top toward you trying to make the roll as tight as possible and leave the seam on the bottom.
Now cut the roll into pieces with a knife into shapes like this:

Then take each piece and press your index finger in the middle so that the "ears" of the roll pop out. Then press gently on the ears so that the top stays closed.

Place them on a baking tray on a baking sheet to raise in a warm draft-free place while you do the next batch. When the korvapuusti's have risen to about double their size use the beaten egg to swipe them and decorate with pearl sugar. If you don't have pearl sugar you could use large grained sugar. Bake in 200C for about 6-8 minutes or until golden brown from top.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee or cold milk! The rolls are delicious even the next day, just pop in the microwave for 10 seconds (if you have any left at that point)!

Saudi Road Trip Part One: Riyadh-Abha

My mother recently visited us in Saudi and we wanted to show her as much as we could of the country so we decided to go on a road trip around Southern Saudi-Arabia. What an awesome way to explore the Kingdom! I love the fact that you can stop wherever and whenever you like to check out the surroundings. The highways are mostly in excellent condition and well, gasoline is basically free. Or at least it's cheaper than water.

There are affordable car rentals everywhere and we had our eye on a nice GMC Suburban but the agency screwed it up last minute. So we ended up having to take whatever was left so last minute: a crappy Land Cruiser. Sitting in the back seat of this so called vehicle reminded me of the times I road on the buses in the Ecuador mountains. Fun times!

Lucky for me I was assigned the back seat and got to experience the constant rocking, bouncing, grinding and swirling motions of the car full on. We left two hours late from schedule because we had to clean the car after the previous users. Apparently that's not included in the service here. That is Saudi customer service as its best for you!

It was Eid Al-Adha time and my husband got almost two whole weeks off work. We planned to have the following itinerary: Riyadh-Kharj-Layla-Wadi Al Dawasir-Khamis Mushayt-Abha-Jizan-Farasan...and back. But we ended up improvising and changed plans on the way, which makes road trips all the more fun!

My little girl was only 7 months old at the time and she is just such a little trooper. Sat in her car seat for hours without any complaints. We read books, played, watched the scenery and slept in the back seat while my mom was the head navigator in the front.

Our journey was so long and I took literally over a thousand pictures so I decided to divide it into three posts.

All in all it was an amazing, surprising and enjoyable experience. The occasional setbacks and all the hours spent in the car were well worth it! Special mention goes to my husband the designated driver who always stayed up those long hours while the rest of us slept just to get us there on time :)

On our way out of Riyadh we saw many trucks carrying full loads of sheep on their way to Saudi dinner tables. During Eid it's custom that Saudi families slaughter sheep for the special occasion .

In Kharj we stopped to meet my husband's great grandmother, my daughter's great great grandmother! Her eyesight and hearing is a bit impaired and she didn't expect us but nevertheless welcomed us into her house with such warmth and hospitality.
Births were not registered in Saudi back in the day so she did not now her age but estimated it to be near 90. She had 14 children that lived to adulthood and over 100 grandchildren. Imagine how many great great grandchildren that means!

While we were served tea and fruits by this sweet old lady, she told my husband how she had scolded some family members for not accepting his choice of wife because I was not Saudi. She said the most important thing is who she is and told him that she liked me and my mother. It felt so good to hear this. As the eldest family member her opinion will have powerful influence in the extended family.

We were shown all around her house and she would not let us leave, insisting we stay for lunch. She was amazed to hear we were intending to drive all the way to Abha that day. So we thanked her profusely and continued on our journey. This was one of the highlights of our trip.

The area around Kharj is dotted with green farmlands and date palm trees. My husband's family has a farm in the town of Hotah and we stopped by to take a look. It was like a small oasis! Huge palm trees, obese lemons and pomegranates. Nearby were some ruins of an old mud village.

In case you wondered, this is what an obese (raw) lemon looks like:

The road between Hotah and Wadi Al Dawasir was (according to the map) supposed to pass by a town called Layla. But we never found it! It remains a mystery. There was supposed to be some amazing caves near Layla, a town named after the tragic love story of Layla and Majnoon, the Arab equivalent to Romeo and Juliet.

This ^ is camel herding for the modern day (or very lazy) Bedouin.
Not much to see for about the next 500km. Read our near death experience from the trip here:http://www.blueabaya.blogspot.com/2011/12/lessons-learned-on-saudi-roads.html

We reached Wadi Al-Dawasir and it seemed to be such a charming hillbilly town. The atmosphere was pretty laid back, men were sitting on couches at the gas station. Strangely there were no women in sight on the streets. Then we spotted a child driving a car, which is really not such an uncommon sight in the Kingdom. Women are not allowed to drive so the boy was most likely taking his mother around town for some shopping.

Finally we reached Khamis Mushayt, a small city next to Abha. It was very late so we only stopped at McDonald's for a quick fix of ice cream. I was standing in line at the family section when a Bedouin man cut me in line(what line?). He started asking for a menu and didn't understand the stuff was all up on the board. I cracked up when he started asking for "gambaari" He wasn't asking for a drink but SHRIMPS! He kept repeating gambaari, gambaari, jib gambaari!
Dude haven't you been to McDonald's before? Mafi gambaari.

We reached Abha in the middle of the night. I recall it being almost 2 am. My husband went to the reception of the hotel we had booked. We wanted a family room with two bedrooms. They had an issue with this. They questioned him about my mother! Who is this lady and would not believe it's his MIL despite the same surname. The staff told us to go to the police station and get a clearance that we were related! The nerve!

I was pretty pissed off at this point because a) It's 2 am for God's sake! We are checking into a family room with an infant, just let us go to sleep. b) if this isn't my mother than who the heck is it? c) if she's an unrelated random female why would she be travelling with us? c) if it were our Indonesian maid you would have no issues with her staying with us and d) are you implying that we are up to something haram in your hotel?
Yet another example of customer "service" or should I say disservice in the Kingdom.
This was the only hotel that asked for proof during our whole trip.
Needless to say, we changed hotels. But not to this "I'm Hotel"! Duh we can see that you're a hotel!

Abha turned out to be a very green and colorful city surrounded by lush mountains. Unfortunately very few traditional houses are left in the city. Most had been torn down. We headed out to the Asir National park, such a beautiful place! Check out more images here: http://imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/search/label/Abha

Asir National park is famous for its baboons. Some of them were behaving aggressively toward the baby, showing their teeth and making weird noises. Unfortunately they seemed to be accustomed to tourists giving them food. I saw one man feeding them popcorn in order to get better pics!

We bought some delicious honey from this man. The honey was from Yemen and the man from Tahamah.

Unfortunately it was considered off season because Saudis find it too cold beyond October to visit the mountainous areas of Saudi and many of the tourist destinations were closed. As we wandered around the national park my mother and I surprisingly encountered some odd and even hostile behavior from Saudi men and women. I found this strange because I had heard people of Abha are friendly and welcoming. They shouted at us insults in Arabic, thinking we were Americans. I hate it when some people think you don't understand when they say right next to you "hadi amriki". You don't have to be Einstein to figure that one out.

The three men in this picture were pretty rude and aggressive toward us. Still don't understand why. My husband was walking further away from us with the baby so he couldn't do anything. Later a group of young women followed us pointing and giggling. I guess we just look so amusing!

We found a perfect picnic spot! Or so we thought. Funny how Saudis are usually really private and don't like people intruding on their privacy. Our picnic spot had lots of traffic and many "invaders" walked and talked loudly in their mobiles right next to us. Some Saudi women took their sweet time and the one in this above pic was stumbling around in high heels, peeking from underneath her scarf which she had thrown over her whole face. It was so weird I could only watch in amazement.

Look at this mess! Clean up after yourselves people! Would you throw this garbage on your mother? No? Then why do you throw it on your motherland!?

Mom and the little bear watching the sunset.

What is this? A stranded cruise ship?

Nope. It's the Green Mountain. On top a restaurant and viewing platforms with magnificent views of the city.

On the green mountain we found what I would call the best souvenir shop in Saudi-Arabia! Loved these miniatures of the traditional houses of the region. They make pretty lanterns too. I bought similar ones from Sana'a a few years back.

When we were leaving Abha we managed to get lost a few times. Actually it was kind of my fault. I was acting as the navigator in the front seat and was reading the map. I opened the window in high speed and whooosh! The map was sucked out of the window before I could even say oops. That is what happens when you're born blonde people. But hey we accidentally found this village of traditional houses so it didn't really matter much. Or at least that's how I like to see it.

Our journey continued to Jizan. The road from Abha to Jizan is very scenic and we stopped many times to take in the scenery or to get some snacks. Here a man selling corn on the cob.

Like I mentioned before in this post pink houses are very popular in this region! This one's pretty lonely out there.

The baboons are a menace! They roam in large packs and jump around the roads all the time. Many had ended up as roadkill.

The winding roads in the mountains had occasionally only "suggested" speeds. Actually it doesn't really matter what they tell you the speed limit is. Speed limit by Saudi terms means the limit is how fast you are physically able to drive under the specific circumstances. In these roads that would be about 140km/h. The only time you will see a Saudi man driving 40km/h is when he is checking women out. So much for the suggestion.

Stay tuned for the next part of the road trip: Abha-Farasan Islands!