I read a story once about a secret island where humans did not exist and animal evolution was so fast that they became very civilized. The story goes that a ship was wrecked on the shores of the mysterious island and one human survived the ordeal; he was nursed by the civilized animals for many months till he regained his strength. While he was among the animals, he learned with astonishment and amazement about the island and its civilized inhabitants. First, he did not believe that those creatures were the descendants of normal animals and thought they might have been aliens from another planet. Then, and after many months living on the island and learning their ways, he was convinced of the strange truth.
He was so excited and wanted to go home and tell everybody about what he had seen but the islanders forbade him and said that they would not allow him to return home unless he agreed under oath to keep secret what he had seen and learned. He did not like the idea but he needed the islanders to build some kind of vessel to take him home — and so he swore an oath of secrecy to keep his mouth shut. The islanders believed him and let him go after having built him a vessel to take him on his way.
I am not going to tell you what happened next. I want you to give me the obvious end to the story which, I am sure, we will all agree upon since we all know human nature and behavior. So send me your version of the end of the story.
*****
Dear Nadia,
My wife and I live in Oman and have been here in this beautiful country for almost a year. My work as a civil engineer takes me all over the world. We are both in our 60s with no children and we love to travel. My wife writes about every place we visit. We are going to follow a plan to visit all the countries around us here beginning with the UAE. We are very interested in seeing Saudi Arabia. What are our chances off seeing it as tourists?
— Burk, Finland
Dear Mr. Burk,
To be honest, I have no idea about how you and your wife could enter Saudi Arabia as tourists. I suggest you contact the Ministry of Tourism in Saudi Arabia. The easiest and most effective way would be to contact the Saudi Embassy in Oman. I am sure they will be very direct with the required information.
I know for sure that tourists are permitted to enter Saudi Arabia in groups and since you and your wife are working and living in Oman, I think it will be easy to obtain visas, but I still feel that the best source of information will be the Saudi Embassy.
Best of luck, and do not forget to plan your trip carefully. Saudi Arabia is a big country with many different and interesting places to see. Also I would recommend you not visit during the summer since the heat in many parts of the country can be very uncomfortable if you are not used to it. Best of luck.