Today we left Riyadh and flew back to Jeddah. I actually got a little teary because it means that our vacation is almost over. We got to see Moe's grandfather one more time when he came over to the house to tell us goodbye. We also had time to talk to Reema a little while and said goodbye to Othman and Jude. I am going to miss them all so much. They have been so kind to us. We were made to feel at home and like we are family.
This was taken out my airplane window. We flew on Saudia Airlines from Washington D.C. to Jeddah and also for our trip to Riyadh and back. That is a very good airline. They feed you well. Once again, even though our flight was only a little over an hour, we were served Arabian coffee, dates, juice, a full lunch, and more coffee or tea. They have a prayer over the speaker before you take off. If you look closely at the front of the airplane above, you will see in English, "God Bless You." Above that, I assume it says "God Bless You" in Arabic. That was on every Saudia Airlines plane that I saw.
Nothing but desert!
The airport in Riyadh is nicer than in Jeddah. Security went much smoother today. I was ready if there were any problems. I had my passport and ticket in my hand. We had to go through two lady's security checks today. The people working security were nice. In Riyadh they have skywalks to get to your plane. In Jeddah they don't have those. You have to use those rollaway stairs in Jeddah. Also in Jeddah they have busses waiting for you to take you to and from the terminal and plane.
More artwork from the streets of Jeddah! This is in the median.
After arriving in Jeddah, Katie and Moe dropped us off to check into our hotel again. I did my blog from yesterday and then they picked us up to go to Uncle Marv's house. We picked up Pizza Hut pizza on the way to his house and then we ate it while we watched the finale of Survivor. We started watching the after show reunion but we lost the internet signal and couldn't finish it. They brought us back to the hotel when we finally gave up on getting the internet connected again.
A little bit about the Muslim religion: Muslims worship the same God that Christians do. They call him Allah which is Arabic for God. They have some of the same stories that we have from the Old Testament. Moe and I have had some Old Testament discussions and he knows it better than I do. The Quran also has some additional stories not in the Bible. They believe in Jesus and hold him in high regard. They believe that he was a profit and teacher and performed miracles but was not the son of God. They also hold Mary in high regard. She is one of only 2 women mentioned in the Quran and the only one mentioned by name. There is a chapter in the Quran named after Mary. They believe that she was the mother of Jesus and was a virgin.
There are a lot of mosques in Saudi Arabia. We pass them frequently. On each mosque are speakers that call the Muslims to pray 5 times a day. At the designated prayer time, music and chanting are broadcast from these speakers. You can hear it all over no matter whether you are outside or inside a building. The five times for prayer are:
1. "Fajr" which is an hour before sunrise.
2. "Dohur" which is at high noon
3. "Asr" which occurs in the afternoon but the times vary
4. "Maghrib" which occurs at sunset
5. "Isha" which occurs 1 and 1/2 hours after sunset.
Each prayer time lasts for about a half hour. All the businesses and stores close for prayer time so that the employees can pray. They have prayer rugs that they lay down on the floor or ground. They take off their shoes and face in the direction of Mecca for their prayers. They have blinds in the windows that they pull down to show that they are closed. Everyone closes--gas stations, restaurants, stores, businesses. You have to plan your activities around prayer time. And yes, we have frequently been woken up by the Fajr call to worship an hour before sunrise!
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