Celebrating Valentine’s, Saudi Style

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to spend the Valentine’s Day alone. In Jeddah. A beautiful city by the Red Sea.

Worked till almost midnight, picked up a value meal from McDonald’s on the way back to my apartment.

People do the most romantic things on the Valentine’s Day.

One of my Saudi friends went home early – to cook a romantic meal for his wife. He painstakingly created a lovely little card during the day, and was so-o-o looking forward to the evening.

Then there is this other Saudi friend. Affluent and Western educated. He went home last evening and his wife was nagging him because it was ‘that day’ of the year. Since there was nothing romantic visible in the horizon, she at least wanted a present.

She wanted something really nice.

So he though for a while and promised her that he would go out and get her something that she would like very much.

When he was narrating this, I was imagining the Cartier’s and Prada’s. Jeddah’s high street is a discount warfare these days. Discounts up to 50% at Armani and up to 70% at some other boutiques... any man could easily go bankrupt with such attractions, easily.

And he went out and bought her a Vacuum Cleaner.

He says she was talking about buying one, last week.