100 DAYS WRITING CHALLENGE
Riyad — Desert Or Metropolis?
Changing faces of the city over the last 40 years — Episode 6
Back in the days of the mid-70s, as a child, I remember Riyad (capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) as a dusty old town when I lived there for two years. These are the few glimpses that I can recall…
The era of the 1970s
It was the time around the oil boom of the petrodollar. Things were in a pretty rustic form. All we could see were a few international shopping brands and heavy-duty American cars. The rest was all in its infancy.
Business, education, real estate, and so on were all very basic. But as the big chunks of money were coming into the country and things were progressing rapidly.
The era of the 1980s and beyond
A decade later, I again went to the Saudi capital. This time, only for a few days. But the difference was that of a day and night. I saw lights everywhere. There were bridges, shopping centers, fast-food chains, and more than anything else, foreigners everywhere! So, things were transforming pretty fast, and that too for the good. I left Riyadh with a smiling face. The country was on a path of development that made me thrilled and I was…
