LAST week Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah sponsored and initiated a historic world dialogue between major religions in the world. Before that he initiated the national dialogue in Saudi Arabia between different sects. I, personally, had the honor to participate in three of these historical events, and was one of the few lucky Saudi women to meet the king in person. I strongly believe, especially after the catastrophe of 9/11, that we as a whole world need to talk more about our differences, and that good will and intentions are not enough. To me, as a reader wanting to know what is going on around the world, it was a learning curve to exchange views internally and to understand better my own kind since I always preach understanding and forgiving. To me, education and open space are vital to bringing Saudi youth onboard the third millennium train and in order to do that, I had to meet and listen to the other face of Saudi citizens and learn why they think fundamentalism in Islam is the right way. To do that, and only through listening, I can understand and evaluate what is wrong and right in their theories. The war in Iraq proved that there is no quick fix, movie style, to hate and ignorance. Understanding the whole picture of a disease is no more an old flat X-ray slide; we have to bring a new CAT scan and state-of-the-art machines to go deep into the malignant tumor of terrorism. We have to embrace more those few brave men such as King Abdullah and accept the difficult, but surely, effective way of dialogue.

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Is it true that people in Saudi Arabia only wear black?

— Joan Sills, California.

It is not like we are in the Dark Ages, Joan. Saudi Arabia is a huge country, almost a continent and each part of it has a history and culture of its own. For example, the Southwest (Abha, Najran and Taif) is agricultural, and the colors are green and red according to the background. These colors are entwined in the folklore and are there in the national dress of the people even if it’s basically black. The Western part (Hijaz) where the two Holy Cities are is a fusion of colors because of the fusion of multicultural backgrounds of people who came originally for the pilgrimage (the Haj) from all over the Islamic world and stayed. The Eastern Province is also different since its historical background was linked with the British colonialism of the past era along with the Farsi influence that is still evident.

The national dress for men in Saudi Arabia is as long white dress (thobe) with a white head cover (gotrah) and a black head band (eqal) that holds the head cover in place. The colors of the body wear change according to seasons — completely white in the summer or any dark color in winter. It also can be accompanied by Western jackets for cold or Bedouin farwa that is basically animal fur sewn in a traditional pattern. The head cover is also white in the summer but can change in winter. Young men these days can be seen wearing a baseball cap with a Saudi thobe. And you can see wealthy men wearing designer thobes that are made of the most expensive materials brought from Europe (The prices range from $30 to $300 or more) and of course they wear designer watches available in the international market. Saudi women are not far away from their men in fashion... typically the traditional dress is a full black (abaya) body dress, and black head cover. The variations between different regions in Saudi Arabia are huge. In the Central area you see women dressed all in black and nothing shows... and in the Eastern and Western area she could be wearing the body dress and covering only her hair, or not according to each family tradition... but all in all... Saudi women love fashion and Saudi designers are tipping the scale of haute couture. The black silk dress can be designed in a most expensive and beautiful way, and so too the head scarf. In many areas these abayas give Saudi women a glamorous and mysterious look that even visiting foreigners and expatriates are eager to adopt. Glamorous, trendy fashion shows are very popular in the Arab world for Saudi traditional costumes, and Lebanon, Dubai and Cairo host many such events year round.