Today we went to the desert in Abqaiq, which is one hour driving south from my house, to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia Capital). We live in the city of Al Khubar near the causeway to Bahrain.

As you know, most of Saudi Arabia is desert but with many infrastructures, and it is getting very modern. Outside the city it is possible to find camels and Bedouins. Today we did not find camels in the desert, only in the way, so the picture looks a little empty.

When we were coming back, we stopped in the Corniche Area in Al Khubar. It is the place where Saudi families like to relax in the Fridays afternoon. There are many restaurants, but Saudis prefer sitting in the grass and drinking green tea.

Here, Friday is the rest day as in all Islamic countries. All women must wear a black abaya (all the black dots in the pictures are woman), and most of the men wear Thoba, the white regional dress.

I do not need to cover my hair and face as Saudi woman do, but I carry a scarf in case the religious police ask me to cover. The abayas are all black and almost the same design, but no one is the same as another — each abaya has different decoration and embroidery. Some can get very fancy.

We bring the Baby Greek book to Dubai. Octavio my son loves it. He already knows the Greek alphabet, so he likes to check the book over and over.