Saudi expressions and other Jiddah, Saudi Arabia Off The Beaten Path Tips

when marimar_72 and I get together, we just become so soaked in our hijazi and saudi gossips. That means to use Arabic expressions into our English conversations. Trust me, that's FUN:D
here we go, learn some:
- Like the Indian movies (zay al aflam al hindiyya): it is often said for over-emotional reactions or exaggerated drama, anything includes tears and cries.
- I was running in the car (kon ajree bi al sayyara): i was in hurry driving the car
- Do you drink cigarettes/shisha? (teshrab sajaayir/shisha?): do you smoke?
- Light on you (alaik nour): yes, you are right
- They are in a valley and I am in another valley: (homma fi wadi wana fi wadi): we are two different people
- close the light /open (gafil al nour/aftah): switch off the light/ switch on
- put out the electricity (taffi al kahraba): switch off the light
- stand up, enough, stand up (gim bas gim): oh please change the subject
- turn your face: (aglib waj'hak): oh please leave me alone
- I am not empty (mani fadhi): sorry, i'm busy not free
- what is the butter? (aysh al zibdah?): what is the bottom line?
- you are digestive (enta mah'dhoum): you are cute
- O father of the guys (ya abu al shabab): hey dude
- collect yourself before i collect people on you (lom nafsak gabil ma alom al nas alaik): show some respect please
- what's the inivtation? (aysh al da'wa?): what do you mean?
- show us your shoulder width (wareena ardh aktafak): please leave

and many more that i cannot recall, we just laugh when we speak like this.
i remember i had a french friend who used to translate every french expression into english and i just laughed my head off, 'my feet drink me'...she meant she was tired of walking,lol.

bas yalla salam...;^)

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I know this is quite digusting but an essential part of daily jeddawi life,lol. I see people spit on everything everywhere anytime! if they get mad at something, they spit on it. if they want to protect themselves against the evil eye, they spit into their chest. if they walk down the street, they spit if they feel like to;^)
oh goodness! yeah i have seen this scene many many times and the spitter seems not to bother.
however, the islamic tradition states that one should not spit in public randomly. and if someone does, they should clean it up or cover it with 'sand', symbolising purity!
wonder if i took a random picture of a spitter, what will he do to me?:D *ugh* don't wanna even imagine;^)

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yes, i've seen men walking hand in hand many times! i have never noticed it until sachara and co told me that it's ok for men to walk like this in turkey. but in london it would be gay! so when i just arrived in saudi, i started to notice all these things and i did see loads of men walking like this, from religious conservative to ordinary men, around mosques or in malls! i even saw two religious men with long beards leaving the Holy Mosque, hand in hand!

i thought it was not manly to have such a walk, but i asked my brother and he said, it's quite normal and usual!

huh, guess jeddah is all gay by londoner's standards,lol.

interesting! i should travel around jeddah with open eyes this time;^)

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well, i have lived most of life in jeddah and so taken many things for granted, which often go unnoticed. until a south african friend grabbed my attention, i find out how many people have a picnic is very odd and unsual.
it's very common to see a whole family having a picnic, spreading their carpets, preparing their meals in the middle of a road or next to a pepsi machine. i've never done it myself nor my family but i find it very surprsing really...well after taking a notice of it,lol. when roads are free of cars, you can find families out there as if they own the whole road.
you'd see one family having two separate carpets (sections); one for female family members and the other one for men, so to keep the tradition of gender segregation even in open areas like the street;^)
when i was a kid, i remember my uncles and their wives would also have separate carpets at the beach or corniche. funny enough i just realise this at this age!
next time you may like to try spreading your own sheets next to an ATM machine or at the gate of a shopping mall,lol....don't do this as you may be seen a beggar. don't try copy saudis, you'll definitely be spotted out,lol

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Every single house, blocks of flats, and villa have bars on their windows up to the second floor! these bars are unmovable so in case of emergency, there's no way out! i honestly dont know why they are there. but when i lived in london, i noticed the difference, from bars everywhere to absolutely none even in the ground floor!
the only reason i'm aware of why houses in jeddah have window bars are 'thieves'! residents are afraid of being robbed or something, but no one seems to have considered fire emergency or something! but to put bars in the second floor, would the thief fly up there? hehe let's think it through again!

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well, jeddah might not have green scenery or natural beauty to relax in. but definitely the sea continues to lock me in its dark mysterious secret, when i look twice! i honestly dislike the rocky beaches of jeddah, black and blocking the horizon. but some areas like Durat al Aroos or Obhor beaches as you go further north, the reflection of the sunshine on the water and sand leaves me absolutely speechless. usually i take those abstract photos of such 'real' living beings called waterdrops and sands of jeddah's seaside.

i remain firm, i remain a beachy woman;^)

take a look!

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today is my first time ever i notice the rubbish bins of jeddah. surprisingly they come in all shapes, sizes, and colours. i thought that there was only one company responsible for cleaning up the streets, which was the orange relatively large bins. But i find out today they can come blue, green, orange and even beige and brown!
The size depends on the purpose of usage. the small ones are of a man's height for the street sweeper's use. the middle ones are for districts and houses. the big ones for buildings rubbish.
funny noticing that! as in london, i used to see only black bins or plastic clear bags in tube stations. guess jeddah is ghair and unique even in how they collect rubbish;^)

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Jeddah is very metropolitan city. However if you look closely along the streets, you'd see very beautiful flowers. Believe me, you'd get wondering how such flowers ever exist in here.
For more pictures, see the travelogue.

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you have probably heard of the city scene, gay scene, or film scene. but have you ever watch a car accident scene? then welcome to jeddah.

if there is a terrible car accident across the street, people would pull off, park aside, and then watch! i mean it.

it's very common and people love it unfortunately instead of helping out. i once saw this a very horrible car accident, with such a huge crowd, probably over 100 people, blocking the main road. since i couldn't look, my driver slowed down so he could watch. there was a burnt empty car, as he saw. people were parking aside on the service road, standing on main road's pavement. horrible!

i dont like doing that myself but it's such a scene to be in, very jeddawi!

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