2018 Year in Review
And just like that, it's 2019! Take a look back at 2018's highlights and the community's favorite photos, articles and celebrations. Thanks to all our readers, contributors, and sponsors for another great year.
AramcoExPats Salutes Barbara Wilder, a Caring Health Professional
A person’s health is the starting point to enjoying life to the fullest and achieving one’s goals, both personal and professional. Aramco has long been aware of this basic tenet, as witnessed to by the extensive health care programs it has established for its employees.
Christmas in Khobar - Part 2
In Part One, eight-year-old Tim has set out on Christmas Eve morning to buy Christmas presents for his family at Aramco's canteen which is situated in a green portable next to the mail center.
Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools Request Submissions for 75th Anniversary
If you are a student, staff or parent of Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools (formerly known as Saudi Aramco School), we invite you to share a few specific memories, photos or videos, and a brief description. The themes for the anniversary are Community, Diversity, Service, and Excellence.
The Seven Wonders of Arabia, Part II: Historic Jeddah, “The Bride of the Red Sea”
Recently, AramcoExPats launched a series on the Seven Wonders of Arabia with a visit to the monumental Nabataean rock edifices of Madâin Sâlih—also known as Al Hijr—20 or so miles northeast of the municipality of Al Ula in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah Province. Here we continue our journey...
Christmas in Khobar - Part 1
I’m about eight and have ten riyals to buy Christmas presents for my family. No problem. The morning of Christmas Eve, I go to the canteen next to the mail center in the holiday spirit.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
In February of last year, AramcoExPats featured one of the most enthusiastic annuitants we’ve had the honor of writing about in our 16 years of publishing, Greek-born Iro Smith. Iro’s great Arabian adventure began in 1982 when she and her husband Ron, a civil engineer...
R.I.P. to a Great American Hero
Aramcons the world over were greatly saddened this past week by the news of the passing of the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, at the age of 94. Those of us who were living and working in Saudi Arabia at the time remember with deep appreciation the dramatic and decisive steps President Bush took in 1990–91 during the First Gulf War as leader of the coalition that drove the forces of Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and ended a dire existential threat to the Kingdom itself.
Martin MacIntyre: A Story with Teeth
Through the years, Aramco has valued and supported the people in its service less like employees and more like cherished members of an extended family. Witness the extraordinary health care services they long have offered ExPats and their families, delivered by world-class...
The Seven Wonders of Arabia, Part I: Madâin Sâlih
Not long ago, when we mentioned to an annuitant who’d lived in the Kingdom for close to 30 years that AramcoExPats was planning a series of articles on “The Seven Wonders of Arabia,” she asked the inevitable question most Americans seem pre-programmed to ask in such situations...
Close Call at Jabal Shamaal - Part 2
In Part One we made camp at the top of Jebel Shamaal and then descended to the mountain’s base to plink bottles and rusty cans in the desert. On the way back up the hill to camp, a classic pellet gun war erupted with the usual disastrous results that your mother always warned you about.
Rick Snedeker Shares His Memories of Arabia
With his recently-published set of colorful recollections, “3,001 Arabian Days: Growing up in an American oil camp in Saudi Arabia (1953-1962), A Memoir,” Aramco Brat and annuitant Rick Snedeker (Badge Number 199932) joins a distinguished list of Aramcons who have captured...
Driving Riyadh - King of the Wadi
Hamud finished his pitch, and I was about to take the jeep for a spin when the call to evening prayer sounded and the din of the arena began to settle. I pulled out a thousand riyals deposit and said I’d return tomorrow with a friend to check out the mechanicals and close the deal
UNESCO Recognizes Wonders of Arabia
Two weeks ago, an Aramco ExPats feature on Petra noted that the ancient capital of the Nabataean Empire has been named one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. Other countries in the Middle East, not just Jordan with Petra, are awash with stunning historical attractions...
The Camel: A Mighty Force in History
“Do they not look at the camels, how they are made?” [Al-Qur’an 88:17] The horse, the cow, and the camel are the three most important animals in the history of the world. Without any one of them, the story of humankind would have to be rewritten. Without the camel, the story of Islam...
SAES - 75th Anniversary
Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools received more than six-hundred responses to a survey sent to alumni earlier this year. Inspired by the feedback and nostalgic stories we have decided to reach out to you again!
Driving Riyadh - The Beast
There were a lot of pick-up trucks available, though the Japanese models were too compact for me, and I wanted a back seat. The vehicles most closely to what we now call a SUV were the Chevy Blazer and the Toyota Land Cruiser, but they were new and pricey.
Petra: A Wonder to Behold
Over the years, legions of ExPats living in the Kingdom and working for Aramco have taken advantage of their close proximity to the famous historical sites of the Middle East to explore their wonders in person. AramcoExPats publisher Vicci Turner was one of them. During her 25 years in Saudi...
Driving Riyadh
In the mid-1970s if there had been an institution of higher learning such as Harvard, Oxford or the Sorbonne that hosted an advanced degree in Automotive Survival there is little doubt that doctorates would have required not only a learned thesis, but also a 90-day residency in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – a hands-on tutorial in a turbulent driving environment that was part pinball machine, part bumper cars, and always a game of cat and mouse.
7th UKaramcons Reunion: They Came From Far and Near
They came from far--Portugal, France, Cyprus, Manchester, Orkney, Ireland--and near--Wales, Bristol, Chippenham--to the 7th Ukaramcons reunion in Bristol, September 21-23, 2018. ‘They’ are retirees of many years ready to catch up with old friends, make new friends, reminisce...