Posted
on September 23, 2013
Today
Saudis celebrate the 1932 unification of their kingdom.
 |
| A modern nation? |
Saudi
Arabia is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, thanks to the fact
that it has the second largest oil reserve on the planet. Although
the nation's oil wealth has allowed it to modernize many aspects of
life, it has not modernized the role of women. Saudi Arabia is, for
example, the only country in the world that bans women from driving.
All women—even non-Muslim tourists—have to wear hijab, a
veil that covers the head and chest. Every adult female has to have a
male relative as her guardian, and women usually have to ask their
guardian's permission to travel, study, or work.
(Remember,
I'm talking about adult women! Yuck!)
Still,
even in places that have huge problems with human rights, there are
beauties to enjoy. Here I will share with you few sculptures I like,
found in the city of Jeddah, and some gorgeous desert photos.
Islam
doesn't allow paintings or sculptures of people (or any living
creatures), so artists have to turn to other subjects. Like this
giant geometry set.
The
city of Jeddah is one of the world's largest “open air galleries,”
because it has so many large-scale sculptures.
Maybe the rule against depictions of living creatures doesn't include fish? Because I'm pretty sure I see a fish in this sculpture!
Most
of Saudi Arabia is desert, and I saw lots of cool photos of sand
dunes. This is one of the weirdest.
I
am always amazed when nature is this colorful!
Also
on this date:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on September
holidays, September
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in September.
And
here are my Pinterest pages on October
holidays, October
birthdays,
and historical
anniversaries in October.
