When I first came to Saudi Arabia, there were very few asphalt roads, houses were still made of mud and straw – as we had seen in such films as “The Robe” or “The Ten Commandments”. Many houses did not have running water, and electricity was supplied every other day. Yes, life was poor and simple. People were uneducated, very few had attended school. They did not know what the outside world was like. They were not refined or sophisticated, but they were genuine, sincere, honest and straightforward.
These were mainly the Bedouin, proud and simple, noble and naïve at the same time. There were no shopping malls then, only a few, small bazaars. You had to dig out for yourself the item you wanted from under a pile of boxes, rugs and cans.
Nowadays, everything is available. I would even say there is a surplus of goods for the needs of the population. Glittering shop windows are filled with all kinds of luxuries from the four corners of the Earth. Young, perfumed dandies only wear Versace accessories with their “thobes.” Many girls would not go out if they could not have a designer schoolbag or Gucci shoes! The fathers of these young people were showered with riches in the 1970s, at the time of the oil boom.
There was building land to spare and thousands of foreign companies were flocking in with their bids to secure lucrative government contracts. Roads, highways, bridges, hospitals, government ministries and foreign embassies, all these had to be built within a few short years. A whole modern state was being created out of the desert sands. Billions of riyals were spent. Many people became millionaires almost overnight. Well-known Saudi families started buying apartments in Switzerland and mansions in Beverly Hills!
Many children who were born in the 1970s, who are the present young adult generation, have been raised in architect designed fabulous homes. Such homes were decorated and furnished throughout by Italian and French designers and were completed with indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools. Such children have been brought up by English or Philippine nannies. They have spent holidays in Hawaii, Paris and London every summer. They know Disneyland, Euro Disney, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods and Dior like the back of their hands.
I still remember a little episode that made me realize how much things had really changed in this country. I was talking to the youngest son of one of my friends. He asked me if I had seen a particular show in Disneyland. I told him that I had never been to Disneyland. He stared at me, his eyes wide with amazement and said, “Really? Have you been to Universal Studios, then?” I answered, “No, I haven’t been there either.”
He was simply astounded. He was used to going there every year, this little Saudi boy! I am sure he did not believe me, he thought I was joking. Many families had gone directly from the little mud houses with the internal courtyard and palm tree to the Hollywood style mansions (and to holidays leisurely spent in Europe and overseas) in a very short time. These were the ‘70s, indeed!
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