Another Riyadh Compound, etc. (April 7, 1999)

I moved about 6 months ago to the Al-Hamra Compound. I like it a lot more than the main Lucent compound, if for no other reason than I don't live where I work. Plus, as you can see, it's a very nice place in it's own right.

My apartment

I live in a one bedroom apartment, here, too - here's what my quarters look like. Sorry the bedroom is a mess, but that's pretty much the normal state of affairs.

First, the living room:

Living Room 1

Living Room 2

Then, the kitchen:

Kitchen 1

Kitchen 2

The bathroom and the bedroom...

Bathroom

Bedroom

It's not a big place, but it's more than adequate. Plus, the cable has CNBC, CNN, ESPN, and a couple of movie channels, so there's a way to see what the outside world is doing, too.

Finally, here's an outside shot of the apartment building - the red Neon with the door open is the one I drive.

Apt. Bldg.

The rest of the compound

Al-Hamra consciously tries to look like an oasis with tents,

Tents

pools,

Little Pool

Big Pool

Big Pool Falls

and fountains...

Fountain in front of the big pool

The restaurant and a small shopping area are under the tents - they even sell rugs on occasion... Rugs

It's a quite nice place - one of the more photogenic compounds in Riyadh. It's so good, I've even stopped complaining about the place I live.

The Stadium at Night

I am entranced by the football stadium at night when there's a football game on. It has a mildly surreal and quite pleasing appearance to me.

Stadium at Night 1

Stadium at Night 3

Plus, it seems like it's a landmark for the nomads (not sure if they're Bedu) passing through.

Stadium/Camels 2

The day after I took these pictures, the tents, camels, fences, and the ubiquitous little white pickups that carry them all were gone. Guess that's life in the desert.

Tom