What Do You Want to Know?

Hi Everyone! Let me know what you wonder about our experience here in Saudi Arabia and I will write about it. It would be great if everyone who saw this post writes a comment below telling me what you want to know. We miss all our friends back “home” and would love to share and interact with you this way. We also are new enough to this experience that we still remember vividly what it was like to consider, decide, wait for visas, pack, and take off for this foriegn land.

Sailing Trip To Turkey

FETHİYE – FLOTILLA NOTES/SUGGESTED ITINERARY

 

East Route – Fethiye Gulf

Day 1:    Arrival in Fethiye. Get to know the boat and the flotilla leaders, then go shopping, and in the evening eat in one of the nice local restaurants.

 

Day 2:     At 09.30 hrs a chart briefing is held in the Marina Restaurant. Information will be given on the route for the week and general “dos and don’ts”.

 

Destination today: Tomb Bay (15 nm) – a pleasant sail of about 15 nautical miles, with the possibility of a lunch stop on anchor. As you sail into Tomb Bay you will see Lycian rock tombs in the steep cliffs. It is worth a walk up to the tombs for the dramatic scenery – don’t forget your walking shoes! One of the many lovely bays in the Fethiye Gulf which can only be reached by boat. Enjoy the hospitality and food in the restaurant and after dinner have a chat and a drink around the camp fire.

 

Day 3:     Sarsala (15 nm) – the Gulf of Fethiye has too many beautiful bays to visit in one week but this is one of our favourites with a good jetty with moorings and a restaurant that also serves very good food.

 

Day 4:    Karacaören (20 nm) – we sail in an easterly direction around a cape and past the famous Ölü Deniz beach (please note yachts are not allowed inside the lagoon) to a pleasant anchorage protected by the reef to the south! Here we take mooring lines ashore by dinghy before dinner, or the friendly host will pick you up from the boat.

 

Day 5:    Göcek (20 nm) – a lively little town, important in the area for water sports and with several marinas. The flotilla goes to the 2^nd jetty of the municipality marina. Lots of small shops and restaurants on the main boulevard.

 

Day 6:    Boynuz Bükü (15 nm) – Following a pleasant sail out of Göcek we anchor behind one of the islands at lunch time to have lunch and a cooling swim. In the afternoon we sail into the fjord like bay which has pine covered slopes. You can also walk to a nearby waterfall.

 

Day 7:    Fethiye (15 nm). Back to the base in Ece Marina with a lunch break at one of the many anchorages. In the evening we have dinner in a nice restaurant in the bazaar.

 

West Route – Towards Marmaris

Day 1:    Arrival in Fethiye. Get to know the boat and the flotilla leaders, then go shopping, and in the evening eat in one of the nice local restaurants.

 

Day 2:     At 09.30 hrs a chart briefing is held in the Marina Restaurant. Information will be given on the route for the week and general “dos and don’ts”.

 

Destination today: Kapı Creek (15 nm) – a lovely well, sheltered bay, but first you can visit the ruins on Gemiler
Island. Dinner ashore in the simple but good restaurant. Locals in a dinghy will direct you to your spot and give you a mooring line.

 

Day 3:    Aşı Koyu (25 nm) – a trip west out of the Fethiye Bay past Peksimet Island where you can often see dolphins. Aşı Koyu is hidden behind high cliffs and hard to see from a distance but is a lovely bay.

 

Day 4:    Ekincik. (10 nm). From here you can make a very interesting excursion to the turtle beach, the ruins of Caunos, the rock tombs in the little town of Dalyan and mud baths.

 

Day 5:     Ruin Bay (25 nm). Returning to the Fethiye Gulf after 15 nm we sail through a narrow channel and under steep mountains come to the famous Ruin Bay where a friendly family restaurant serves some of the best food in the area. If you enjoy hiking this is the place. Alternatively you can snorkel in the clear waters of the bay.

 

Day 6:    Cold Water Bay (15nm). As its name suggests a cold water spring flows into the sea here. From the village is a 45 minute walk to the abandoned Greek village of Kayakoyu. The restaurant in Cold Water Bay has a wonderful view and good food. (AKA Bestas Liman and Ali’s Cove)

 

Day 7:    Fethiye (15 nm). Back to the base in Ece Marina with a lunch break at one of the many anchorages. In the evening we have dinner in a nice restaurant in the bazaar.

 

Kapi Creek (Day 2)

 

 

 

 

Asi Koyu (Day 3)

 

 

 

Ekincik Bay (Day 4)

 

 

 

Ruin Bay (Day 5)

 

 

 

Cold Water Bay, AKA Ali’s Bay, AKA Bestas Liman (Day 6)

 

 

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Abaya or Not in al Khobar

When we first got here we went to Hyper Panda without abayas and felt pretty conspicuous. I have a post on here about that expereince. Of course with three pretty girls we would have gotten attention anyway. We got abayas and wear them to the malls and downtown Khobar. In the summer an advantage was we could wear next to nothing under them and have some relief from the heat. (For that purpose get an abaya that closes in the front or have it sewn closed like we did) Some ladies never wear abayas in Khobar. They wear a long dress with long sleaves or a long top that covers the hips and long sleaves. Yesterday I went to town with two ladies who did not wear abayas and as I had on long jeans and a big sweat shirt and was traveling by taxi and just running in here and there (and it was cool yesterday morning) I felt OK without the abaya. Many ladies around here said they never wore abayas before 9/11. The abayas let them blend in a bit more and if you had a scarf (which the westerners rarely wear) you can almost dissapear if you need to. My neighbor who never wears an abaya but dresses very conservativley has been here almost 30 years and in that time has been approached by matawa only in Dammam and only 5 times. I’ll post a photo of my girls and I in our “go to town clothes”.

Photos of Dhahran and Ras Tanura

There are two photo albums on Webshots by cindyandrob showing the Aramco compounds of Dhahran and Ras Tanura. The photo collections are available to view freely at webshots so I am asumming they won’t mind me posting a link from here.

Dhahran Saudi Arabia

Ras Tanura Saudi Arabia

A few things have changed since the photos as the compound was spruced up for the king’s visit in early 2008, but for the most part these photos show what it looks like here. As you can see Dhahran has become an artificial oasis since the days 75 years ago when it was started on the Dammam dome where oil was struck.

Glossary

The glossary I compiled about Saudi Arabia and Islam has gotten buried in this blog so here is the link to it. http://colorabian.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/glossary   These were terms I came across in news articles and blogs and other resources on Saudi Arabia and Islam. They were taken from varius sources. If you have suggestions for other tems for the glossary, please let me know.  Thanks.

Calendar

Look to the left of this post. You will see a calendar. The week here starts on Saturday. That is the first school/work day of the week. the “week end” is at the end of the week. The weekend days are Thursday and Friday. It hasn’t been too hard to get used to.

Crazy Stuff – Drifting

On the way to the beach two young men in a car were showing off for us. We noticed a shirt or something flapping out the passenger side window. It was green and then we saw that it was the Saudi Arabian flag. Soon one long bare leg was sticking straight up out the passenger window. Then the leg had the flag tied on the ankle flapping in the wind. Next two legs straight up with the flag flying. Can you imagine? Rachel has a photo on her cell phone. When we figure out how to get it from her phone we will post it.

See the Youtube videos entitled “Only in Saudi” on the links on the side of this blog to see more about this behavior.

Half Moon Bay Aramco Beach on the Persian Gulf

On Friday we went to the sailing regattta at Half Moon beach. The beach has palm trees, shaded picnic tables with lights and electrical plugins and barbecue grills. The water has cooled off to a comfortable temperature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

Picassa Online Photo Albums

Family and Friends: If you know my first initial and my last name you can see our online photo albums. Go to  http://picasaweb.google.com/  Add my first initial and last name to the address and you will see the albums. You can comment on albums or idividual photos.

Al Hasa Oasis – City of Hofuf

Here are a few photos from our first in-kingdom trip which was to the oasis city of Hofuf.

 

 Here is Claire buying cinnomon sticks at a suq aka souk.

 

 

 Here is Danielle in her abaya at the Pottary Market. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bedoin tribal style jewelry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like taking photos through windows and doors.

Ibrihim’s Castle – an Ottoman Turkish fort from about 500 AD.

 

Claire and Rachel’s Mosaic Inspired by Cyprus

 

Rachel and Claire made this mosaic inspired by our trip to Cyprus. They made it square by square on the computer. At the archealogy site we visited in Pafos there were many, many floors that had been excavated from the time when the Roman Empire ruled Cyprus. Most of these mosaic floors had characters and scenes from Greek Mythology, interestingly – not the Roman Mythology characters. The largest excavated villa was identified as once belonging to the Roman governor who Paul and Barnabus converted on during their visit to Cyprus.

Cyprus – First OOK Trip

  We’ve had our first OOK (out of kingdom) trip. There were 12 days off from school (and almost that many from work) for national and religious holidays and we went to Cyprus. This is one of the great  advantages of living in Saudi Arabia. Our flight to Cyprus was less than three hours and we didn’t even leave our timezone. Our friends on camp are all on the same work/school schedule so there are many opportunities to travel with friends as we did this time. We stayed in the Greek part of Cyprus, specifically the area around Pafos. There are five major catagories of activities to do on Cyprus: see archeology sites, visit wineries, visit Aphrodite related sites, and see Byzantine related sites such as churches and monesteries and water sports  – Oh  – and enjoy food and drink not available in Saudi Arabia. We did some of all of the above but there is more to do in each catagory that we can enjoy on our next trip to Cyprus.  Though we were in an area where the native people speak Greek, many people there speak English (and drive on the left side of the road) due to British influence. The British were the last in the long line of countires that ruled Cyprus before their independence. Many British people use Cyprus as their beach escape for a holiday or retirement.

I have posted some Picassa albums of photos from the trip. One album shows the sea caves and rocky coastline near where we stayed. One shows archealogy sites we saw and one shows our visit to a winery. I have more albums to process and put up in the next few days.  To see the albums go to http://picasaweb.google.com/kternes   .  I’d love to have your comments on the blog and albums. And we would love to hear from all of you anytime.

October brings breeze and random news

We are doing well in Saudi Arabia. The girls and I have been here for two months now and are enjoying school and friends.

The hot and sometimes humid weather has given way to really nice breezes.  Now all of a sudden the air feels like the warm strong breeze on the dock when the tide is coming in. Some of  you will know just what I mean. We see quite a few birds here including a few green parrots  and hoopoes.  The “camp” has become over the years an artificial oasis and bird sanctuary. 

This month we will do a group day trip to visit a real oasis called Hofuf.

We still do not have our shipment of household stuff which was sent on its way at the end of June. Ramadan may have slowed it down once it reached the country because the Saudis have shorter work days when they are fasting.

We are having the walls painted. The girls have chosen two or three colors for thier rooms and Dave and I have chosen some pretty strong colors (such as chili) along with some more subdued colors to balance them.

Gotta tell you about Cyprus.

How to Contact Us

Email is the best way to contact us. Mine is my firstname @ lastname family.com. You can find the older girls on facebook just about any day and I am on it occasionally. You can also do a video call with us on your computer. To do a video call you download Skype for free. You’ll need audio and video capabilities on your computer. Our skype accounts are ternesskype1 and ternesskype2. Our computer will ring and we will answer and we can both see and hear each other. Johnny and I tested it and it worked great.

We also have an Internet phone with a Colorado number that you can call 303-719-1058. Any time our computer is on it works. It is a good emergency number for you to have. We take it with us traveling and try to check at least once a day.

Photos of Compound

Here are some photos I found online of various places throughout the compound.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/216228591INUbJR?start=0

Idaho July 08 Slide show

Our household shipment is on the way to Saudi Arabia and we are visiting in Idaho before Dave heads back to work in Dhahran. Here are some photos from Idaho. Check back to see our photos from our upcoming Savannah visit before we head over to Saudi Arabia in early August.

 

Resources on Moving to Saudi Arabia

 Our family will be relocated in Saudi Arabia this summer. That is a big move for anyone from the United States. I like to do my research on any big decision.  We will be moving to Dhahran with Aramco. My husband is actually already there.  On the sidebars to this blog are many of the resources I used to gather information. 

News and Current Events

You can set up Yahoo news to send you a digest of articles that have a certain keyword. We set it up with the key word “Saudi Arabia” and every few days, I receive in my in-box links to pertinent articles.

 The Arab News

Everyday I read this English language Saudi Arabian newspaper. I read the main articles.  I also look at the letters to the editors, the Islam section, where people are answering questions about Islam kinda “Dear Abby” style. I read the “Law and You” section which often has expats asking for advice on their employment situations. Also in the “World” section is “Opinions” and “Arab View”.

www.SUSRIS.org

You can also sign up for emails from the Saudi U.S. Relations Information Service. This particularly addresses business and political happenings in a very positive way.

Personal Information

Forums

To get practical information about moving to Saudi Arabia from those who have done it I read the two expat forums that I have linked in sidebar.

 Blogs

 The blog I read everyday is American Bedu which is linked in the sidebar. This prolific blogger understands the expats perspective being one herself and is immersed in Saudi life and culture as she is married to a Saudi man. She updates her blog almost everyday and has a loyal following who add value through their comments and she attracts others who find her blog as they search for info and insights on cultural aspects of Saudi Arabia. I also frequently read Crossroads Arabia which comments upon news articles on Saudi Arabia. I drop in on the other blogs in the sidebar from time to time. “Sands Gets in My Eyes” has an archive of many entries of interest to anyone considering coming to the kingdom.

I had made so many shortcuts to resources on my computer desktop that it was a mess. Then I set up this blog and organized my resources in a way that I can go here and find what I want to read on a daily basis and have my other sources handy for reference. You are welcome to come to my blog and use it as a jumping off point as you do your “due diligence”.  Please let me know of other resources you are finding particularly helpful and I may add them here.

Eye to Eye

Dave and Camel, originally uploaded by colorabian.

Dave is experiencing the culture up close while I manage things on the home front, teach my students (www.karenternes.com) and prepare for our move to Saudi Arabia. I hope someone also preparing for a move to Saudi Arabia or curious about the move we are making will enjoy this blog. There are links to web logs I read on a frequent basis, a link to Arab News, links to YouTube videos, culture and religion links, links to time and weather info., etc. There is a post with a glossary of terms that are frequently used in blogs about Saudi Arabia and links for Americans who are already there such as consulate info, links to US newspapers online etc. Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. I plan to continue to post the resources I am gathering as I prepare for the upcoming adventure and then post of our experiences once we all get there.