Women in Riyadh wear long black abeyas and cover their heads. Some women–fewer than half–also cover their faces. Mia brought glamorous abeyas for both of us from Cairo. I’m sorry this photo doesn’t show the opulent gold-patterned sleeve and scarf-ends on mine, but generalize from her fuchsia band and you get the idea.
Many indoor spaces, including our hotel, were abaya-optional zones–full of dynamic, well-educated Saudi women, some of them wearing head-scarves and some of them not.
Outdoors, their black color makes them hot when the sun comes pouring down. I predict that the inventive Saudis will soon invent a new, improved tradition of wearing white abeyas in summer.
Now it’s Frank’s turn with our ethernet cable!