Now that Saudi Arabia has opened to tourism, I (of course) wanted to “take a look”. So, yesterday, I flew from Amman to Jeddah on Flynas (Saudi airline), and it was one of those ‘only in this part of the world’ experiences. When I first spotted a man in the boarding lounge wearing nothing but two white towels, I was genuinely baffled. I honestly thought he’d just stepped out of a shower or spa and lost his way. How ignorant 
, I know better now.
Half the males on board, from grown men to young boys, were dressed in these identical white wraps, signifying (I have later guessed) their pilgrimage to Mecca. While the men were in their ritual Ihram (as it is called) to “enter a state of spiritual purity, humility, and equality before Allah”, their female companions wore traditional regional attire, and the seating remained largely separated by gender. With Ramadan just two weeks away, I can only imagine all flights to Jeddah will soon be overflowing with pilgrims.
The flight itself felt like a blend of tradition and modernity. It kicked off with a recorded prayer and a greeting from the King in Arabic only. Otherwise, all other announcements were in Arabic and English. Passengers are called ‘guests’, and the legroom was surprisingly generous. Other than that? High tech. In short: same-same, but fascinatingly different.
everyone is carrying 10 litre drums of holy water on board as well. Which blew my mind first time as everyone else had the 100ML liquid rule 
If you get a chance head to Madain Saleh & Elephant Rock. Built by the same people as Petra but with a fraction of the tourists. If you’re into camping or wild swimming, buy a desert coat in Saudi too - they’re called Fawas and are the warmest thing ever & about 10% the cost of a dryrobe 
- am a wandering gypsy at heart. Mus keeps saying write a book 
