Who would have known
A beauty this immense
Who would have known
A saintly trance

Click on the image, then click on the image at flickr to appreciate some of the details

I've been meaning to take a shot like this for a while. The Riyadh camel souk is probably one of the largest, if not the largest of its kind in the world and covers an area of many square kilometers. Here you are looking across it at one of its narrower parts, on the side towards the city.

At one time it was way outside the perimeter of the city housing and the only things to pass this way were those looking after the well being of the animals and the Dammam highway. Slowly though, this is changing. The poles you see on the horizon are the first stages of housing going into the area. First come the roads, then the lighting poles and electricity, following soon behind will comes the houses.

Already, there are signs that the souk is being pushed further from where it currently sits and it is extending out towards the compound I live on which is around 7-8Km distant from this point. That sounds a reasonable distance, but with the wind in the right direction, its presence becomes all too apparent.

Wandering round and into the place is an experience that's worth the while of any visitor. There are so many things to learn about how other people live, their way of life wholly alien to any Westerner. Despite the lowly status of the people working their and their relative poverty, they are an endlessly hospitable bunch, curious to know where you're from, proud as punch to show off their best animals and be photographed with them, and all this done across a rather awkward language barrier in pidgeon English and Arabic.

The only real downside is that you come home smelling like you've been rolling around in camel poo. Small price...

Addendum: There are definitely echoes here of what's happening with the fishermen in Bahrain that I commented on the other day (see here at flickr). Here though it seems to be happening rather more slowly and the next bit of desert along the road is pretty much like the bit they're on now. They are also endlessly adaptable - you only have to look at what they construct a life out of to see that. Whilst most of the people working here are not native Saudi's, most are Yemeni I believe, the owners of the animals most definitely are. Most city dwelling Saudis will take the first available opportunity to get back to their roots and the ownership of camel stock is very much prized - they're just not going to have the time to look after it themselves. So this way of life isn't being lost I don't think, it's just moving a bit.

Where time stands still...
Or moves at your will
Will you let the morning come soon
Or will you leave me lying here
In your favourite darkness
Your favourite half-light
Your favourite consciousness
Your favourite slave