Nejd      nejd, neyd]Pronunciation Key-noun

Najd or Nejd (literally “highland”, Arabic: نجد) is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula. It is also one of the main regions that comprise the modern state of Saudi Arabia and the location of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Nejd also provided the setting for many of the great romances of classical Arabic poetry and later became the birthplace of the religious and political movement that gave rise to modern Saudi Arabia. 

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9:00 AM- I am very amused by the aesthetics of Saudi Arabia, which are very different from those of Jordan. I have never consciously thought of this- although of course, it makes a lot of sense. It is a relatively new society in the heart of Najd, untouched and undisturbed by other cultures and civilizations until a few decades back, and the Riyadhites have certainly developed a very different taste and style than their neighboring Levantines. The art nouveau-ness of their style, with extreme ornamentation against relatively simple backgrounds, has increased dramatically since we left Riyadh in 2003.
Interestingly enough, different aesthetics aside, I do believe that Saudi’s have a much more refined sense of aesthetics.

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4:00 PM- Simplicity still lies at the core, and political correctness is not much of a value, most definitely not for the feminists and the sacreligious. Not that I expected that to change in 4 years.

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8:00 PM- The localization of everything is quite prevalent in the streets, alleys, and malls of Riyadh. I am especially fascinated with the Zein campaign, which has been flocking the streets of Amman for months, and which has taken very different dynamics in our neighboring country. I didn’t see a single woman in the ads, and in place of the suit-clad men I grew accustomed to seeing, the ads are filled with men in the traditional white tobe and red shmagh (hetta) of Saudi Arabia. In Jordan, the campaign doesn’t contain a single image of any sort of traditional dress, not even the shmagh, although arguably (very arguably), it is a prevalent part of visual traditional culture.
In more universal aspects, even the Apple brand has been localized with the use of an ornamental typeface in Arabic, and Kleenex produces local versions with Arabic ornaments and the “diwan” element.

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11:00 PM- Brands. What is it about them that transcends beyond their marketing purposes and leaves a permanent imprint on your life? They become, when you leave them behind only to rediscover them later, a part of the memories that dwell silently within the depths of your soul. I discover that I miss the brands I grew up with more than I miss the lands and skies of Saudi Arabia. I miss the taste of Al-Safi’s yoghurt, and the softness of Saudi Kleenex.

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2:00 PM- I spent a lot of time reading “A Brave New World”, a classic that I never got to read. Moose gave it to me a year ago and told me that it is the other side of Orwell’s dystopian “1984″. I think he gave it to me on the hopes that I will take a turn against my hedonistic ways, but while reading it, I couldn’t help but think that their Utopian system of life is actually very appealing. It’s a good thing I’m not a world dictator because I would have probably enforced a similar system :)

3:00 PM- I’m more aware than ever of a personal home-identity crisis. Riyadh is not home, it never really was, and it never really will be. Recent occurences have made me come to realize that Amman is not home either.