Work as a Spiritual Practice - Or Musings on a Water Bottle

This evening I checked into the InterContinental City hotel in Doha. Let's just say that it's everything a 5 star hotel should be and it is so in large part because the staff knows exactly what they need to do and they do it with consummate skill.

In the restaurant this evening the waiter demonstrated the perfect balance between being there the moment I wanted something and not hovering. He would just sort of materialize in front of me the moment the thought entered my mind that I wanted something. Then he would disappear again a moment later.

Since every blog post is supposed to include photos I've added one of my very comfortable room at the hotel

At one point I asked for some water. He vanished, then materialized again with a small bottle of water which he set on my place mat. It was a simple, natural gesture on his part, seemingly and perhaps actually, unconscious. As he placed the bottle on the table, he turned it so that the decorative part of the label faced me and the bit with all the random details was facing away. The water was bottled especially for the InterContinental and had their custom label on it. That is what I saw when I looked up and reached for it... NOT the random fine print on the back.

This little gesture on his part, and his service overall, was an example of someone who was immersed in doing his job with absolute skill. The only way to perform consistently like that is to be completely "in the moment", to be completely present "in the now". He was so attuned to his environment that he was able to pick up on the signals and changes instantly. And his own responses had the practiced skill that rendered them unconsciously correct. He just did the right thing without thinking about it.

and here's a view out my window

I've experienced this myself a few times in my life, most intensely when playing chamber music. It is impossible to play Mozart well without being completely present in the moment. The seemingly simple perfection of his music demands the balance of a tightrope walker. Let the attention wander for an instant and a great abyss opens up below.

This intensity of being present, existing "in the NOW", is described by mystics of all spiritual traditions as a prerequisite or basic practice. Self-transformation seems to depend on it.

It can reveal itself in the simple act of placing a bottle of water on a table.

Isn't life marvelous?

Historical Riyadh

A few weeks back, while the Spring midday temperatures were still reasonably comfortable, I made a sojourn with a few colleagues to the historical Riyadh. Abandoned in 1818 and left to crumble back into the desert, "Diriyah" is now re-emerging. The government has taken on a 10 year project to rebuild and restore it, using original materials and techniques.

The desert architecture, of course, bears strong resemblance to the traditions that developed in other deserts of the world. There are many similarities to the adobe and stone architecture of the American Southwest. But then, of course, there are also the delightful little details that make it unique to this area.

I'll let pictures tell the rest of the story.

If you're interested in seeing the area on Google Earth go to Lat. 24.734, Long. 46.574. Sorry but I don't know how to post a link directly to that location.

The perilous streets of Riyadh!

Riyadh is "modernizing" (the reason I'm here making money) and a big part of that is extensive infrastructure projects throughout the city. Most of the major streets are torn up as part of the construction of the new Metro. This, of course, is causing traffic paralysis throughout the city, which I expect will last the next 5 years.
The smaller streets not torn up for the Metro project have their own perils. A network of fiberoptic cables is being installed throughout the city. On the smaller streets they cut a trench in the asphalt about 3 feet away from the curb. This trench is about 6-8 inches wide and 2 feet deep. Once they've cut it and before they lay the cables they let it sit for about a week. Of course, the trench is uncovered, with no protection. (Contractors are rather lax about things like fall protection on scaffolding, hardhats, etc.) It's also fairly easy to overlook if you're not staring at the ground in front of you while crossing the street (not a good idea since cars are liable to come at any moment from any direction, even on one way streets and you should be looking in all directions at once). The trench is just the right width to allow a foot to slip well into it. I try not to think too much about the resulting effect on the knee... Little things like safety precautions on construction sites don't seem to be a part of the "modernization" concept.
Since every blog post should have a few photos here are a couple that show how a scaffold was secured to the building I work in when we had some repairs done to the exterior a few months back.

The Weather Is Changing

Today at 1am King Abdullah died.
I am told by some in the know that his successor, King Salman, is in sympathy with and will likely continue with the gradual reforms King Abdullah launched over his 10 year reign.

King Abdullah and Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. Crown Prince Salman has succeeded to the throne following King Abdullah’s death. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images

In 2002, when extremist-religious terrorism reared its ugly head here in Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah did more than just launch a major crackdown on terrorist networks inside the country. He created a new type of prison that was also a madrassa, a Quranic school. Terrorists were not imprisoned and forgotten. They were re-educated in a peaceful understanding and interpretation of Islam, by highly respected scholars, people whose qualifications they could not ignore.
When women's rights advocates pointed out the absurdity of not allowing women to work, "for their own protection", which then put them in the embarrassing situation of having to deal with male shop clerks when buying such things as underwear, King Abdullah used this as a foot in the door to get women the right to work in all settings. 
In the last 3 years female employment in Saudi Arabia has risen from 50,000 to 250,000.
Revenues from the state controlled oil industry pay to support virtually free healthcare for all Saudi citizens. Schools are free. Universities are free. The scale of infrastructure projects and improvements in this country is surprising. New towns are being built. New telecom networks are being put in. New hospitals are being built. New rail and road networks are being laid out.
One of King Abdullah's early actions upon becoming crowned was to create a program for university students that pays for all their expenses to go to universities in foreign countries. This program exposes these intelligent, impressionable young adults who will later run this country, to Western influences, both social and intellectual. They come back to Saudi Arabia with the benefits of Western education in the sciences, and having experienced first hand the values of inclusiveness, democracy, tolerance, and personal freedom the we enjoy in the West.
The weather is changing.
The cold nights and cool days of the high desert Winter are giving way to warm Spring days.
Cats laze in the shade of acacia trees, oblivious.

A Morphology of Arches

My architecture department needs to be shaken up and challenged. I'm going to launch a training program and also get everybody to demonstrate their creativity by posting examples of their favorite work (that they've done themselves) on the walls of our office (which desperately needs to stop being an office and start being a "studio").
To kick this off I've created "A Morphology of Arches", which I'll print out nice and large, and mount in a prominent spot. I'm going to ask a few of my top staff to develop similar morphologies for vaults, domes, minarets and whatever else I can think of that's relevant to the work we do.
Any of you have suggestions?
Here it is... "A Morphology of Arches".

Someday this will all be lost under the sand

The view out my window on a normal day.


Today the wind picked up in a big way. We're having a real sandstorm. It's blowing so hard you almost can't walk against it. The weather reporters are predicting rain too. There have only been 2 days of rain since I arrived here last May.

When I was outside, walking back to my apartment and the wind was howling, I could smell water in the air. But so far there's been no rain. If it does start to rain I wonder if it's going to rain mud. That would be the kind of miserably suitable weather I'd expect in this God forsaken sand pit in the middle of the barren desert.

Here's the same view as above, but taken just a few minutes ago.



Another view down the street. The worst of the sandstorm is already past.



And another view.



Here's a 1 minute video of the rain. It finally arrived.


Welcome to Riyadh!

Dust storm in Riyadh

The wind blew in last night and really kicked up a lot of dust. The sea of sand that surrounds Riyadh is really more like a sea of talcum powder. The desert here is this amazingly fine sand that gets absolutely everywhere. Because its so fine, once it gets kicked up it just suspends in the air and stays there.

Notice that there are no shadows in the photo. Today is not a cloudy day. It's the dust in the air that's stopping the sun from getting through.

Here's a car across the street.

By the way, my TV set and the table it's sitting on (top photo) were clean yesterday.

Don't you wish you were here with me in this exotic place?

What time is dinner? - Impressions #18

This is the month called Ramadan, when Muslims engage in a variety of practices intended to remind them of their own good fortune and the misfortune of others. It is supposed to encourage in them feelings of sympathy for the less fortunate. All the good practices, such as charity to the poor, are considered even more beneficial during this month.

One of the most important practices is that they do not eat or drink, from dawn to dusk. From the moment of the first glimmer of daylight until the sun just drops below the horizon is the time to fast.

This, of course, immediately gives rise to the issue of the precise timing of these events, thence the title of this post.

WHAT TIME IS DINNER?

This is a major subject of discussion.

Last Saturday I happened to be on the airplane flying from Jeddah to Riyadh, right before sunset. The cabin crew very thoughtfully brought around little boxes for everybody with snacks in them, to break the fast. Each box contained a couple of cupcakes, some dates, water and juice. Everybody sat for about 10 minutes, not touching their boxes. To me it seemed like they were trying to figure out what to do. Nobody wanted to go first for fear of breaking the fast too early.

But we were in a real fix because nobody knew what time it should end.

Here are just a few of the problems. Saudi Arabia is entirely in 1 time zone. So the eastern cities see sunset before the central cities, which see it before the western cities. That means the fast ends at different times in each city.

Jeddah is at the far west and Riyadh is central. A couple of guys sitting in front of me got out their iGadgets and looked on their Ramadan Apps. One found the time for Riyadh and the other for Jeddah. Now we knew the 2 times. But we were still stuck because we didn't know exactly where we were between these 2 cities. So we couldn't interpolate accurately.

And then there's another hitch. I'll make a bit of a side track here.

Just before Ramadan started this year one of the big clerics in United Arab Emirates proclaimed that those people residing above the 100th floor in the soaring new skyscrapers of Dubai should break their fast 3 minutes later than people living on lower floors. The reason is that, as you go up in elevation you can see farther to the horizon and consequently you see the sun a little longer than the people lower down.

So the rich in their new penthouses in Dubai have to break their fasts later than the average folks living down near street level.

Well, there we were in our airplane, at 35,000 feet altitude, at an unspecified point between Jeddah and Riyadh, not knowing what to do.

Finally, the flight attendant, who had all the while been keeping his eye on the horizon, made an announcement over the loudspeaker that the sun had set and we were now free to eat!

Boy, those cupcakes tasted good!

Things could be worse! - Impressions #17

Things could be worse!

It's the weekend. I've got my cup of tea and some shortbread. I'm thinking about the next painting I'm going to do. I'll start sketching tonight. The sketch in the photo is from one of my recent paintings, just there to illustrate my thoughts for today. I think I'll do a painting of Kenwood House in Hampstead, overlooking the heath. I'm going to work a pond into the picture, and some venerable old trees.

Meanwhile...



Outside my closed windows the rest of the city immerses itself in the "holy month" of Ramadan, which started a few days ago. This is the month when everybody tries especially hard to be good. The muezzin sing especially loudly, and for longer periods. Nobody eats during the day time, then they gorge at night.

I stuck my camera out the window to catch the sounds floating over the city, a couple of dueling muezzin mixed with the buzz of a hundred air conditioners and the ubiquitous honking car.

Battle of the Muezzin - Impressions #14

Since the dawn of time (or at least, the ready availability of sound amplification technology) the Muezzin of the great desert kingdom have engaged in daily aural battles, challenging each other, competing to sing the praises of the Almighty, battling to stir in the hearts of the people feelings of awe and humility.



Walking through the streets of Riyadh, you are never more than a few blocks from a "Friday Mosque". Planning guidelines for new developments recommend that no house should be more than 500 meters, 1/4 mile, from a mosque. You should always be walking distance from one. There will be several in the project I am working on.

Anyhow, though they all sing the same words, each Muezzin has his own unique style of singing. Some are more florid, others somber. Nowadays, with every mosque having amazing sound amplification technology, you can easily hear 3 or 4 muezzin, in 3 or 4 different mosques, all singing at the same time. I'm sure all their amplifiers go up to 11. They certainly max them out.

I took this little video this evening as I was walking home from the supermarket. I happened to pass this intersection just as they got going. I could see the minaret of one of the mosques, but the other, the opposite direction down the street, was hidden by some trees.

The Question of Toilet Paper - Impression #4

Gentle Reader,
If you, like so many travelers of the western world, including your humble Author, have considered traveling to the Middle East, but were uncertain about the question of whether it is necessary to pack toilet paper, and if it is, then how much should be packed, the Author hopes to answer your questions on that subject once and for all.

The short answer is, no.




To expostulate a little further:
In the Author's limited travels, so far confined to the airport in Dubai, a 5-star hotel in downtown Riyadh, and a modern, recently built office building, the Author has found that toilet paper is in generous supply. Whether this condition also applies to less urban parts of Saudi Arabia or other countries in the Middle East, the Author is humbly unable to answer.

To go into the question much further, one comes up against the larger issue of whether there are any of "life's necessities" that the western traveler should consider packing when traveling to this distant and exotic location.

There is in fact one vital necessity that the Author highly recommends packing, something that is indisputably necessary to those of us accustomed to western mores and traditions, though, unexpectedly, something that it seems the natives of these parts and many of the inhabitants who hail from other Muslim lands do not seem to need at all.

That necessity is air ... oxygen ... something to breath.

Upon descending from the airplane at King Khalid International Airport and attempting to inhale for the first time in Riyadh, one is immediately struck, rather forcefully, by the lack of oxygen in the air. There seem to be many varieties of particulate ranging from sand to cigarette smoke to diesel exhaust available for inhalation. But these various particles displace the oxygen and associated gases that one becomes accustomed to, living in the West. Surprisingly, the natives and other residents seem to be perfectly adapted to inhaling this atmosphere, to the extent that they often add to it by smoking large numbers of cigarettes while gathered in groups.


Therefore, the Author suggests, Gentle Reader, that you consider packing several oxygen tanks and a portable fan powered air filter with a washable/reusable filter element. This will assuredly make your visit to Riyadh far more pleasant and may even enable you to return to your home, when that happy day comes after long travels, where your feet feel the familiar earth beneath them and your eyes feast on the happy sights of pleasant memory, alive.

a cool driving trick - Impressions #3

Howdy Folks!

Here's a trick you might (or might not!) want to try next time you're out driving ... but first a bit of background information.

My hotel's right off one of the main drags through central Riyadh. Down the street is one of the fancy new shopping malls. On the third level, overlooking the street, there's a food court where I've been eating most evenings. From the tables by the windows there's an excellent view down to the street, a large intersection with a signal light. The view provides endless entertainment.

So, here's the trick.

You know how when you're driving up to a red light the far right hand lane is often empty because the people wanting to make right turns have already made their turns? Well, why waste an empty lane, especially if there's a big back-up in the other lanes and you want to make a U-turn to park or shop on the other side of the street. So, this is what you do. While the light is red against you, drive over into that far right lane, then make a sharp left turn so you're driving along the pedestrian crosswalk. Then when you pass the median strip, make another sharp left and .... presto! ... you've just made a left hand U-turn from the far right lane on a red light.

By the way, if you're worried about hitting pedestrians you needn't be. First of all, there aren't very many. Second, they're very good at getting out of the way.

I've made a crude little sketch of the trick. The red line indicates the path of travel of the adventurous driver doing the U turn. The little rectangles are cars. You'll find it attached to this email.

I'm probably going to start doing these impressions as a blog instead of an email. But I'll continue to send you all a note when I've put up a new entry.

love to all my family and friends,
Mister Tony, as I'm known around the office

Impressions #1

First impressions, in no particular order...

insane traffic! (extremely selfish driving behavior is the cause)
Anyone born here would not know that the sky is blue. Here it is yellow.
When not in their cars people are polite and quiet.
There is fine, sandy dust everywhere.
Where I am used to seeing women I now see black spots.
There are very few black spots on the streets.
The air-conditioned shopping malls are full of black spots.
All the sidewalks in the city are torn up and construction is booming. It looks to me like an unsustainable bubble.
It's hot.
It's very hot.
It's even hot at night but the low 90s is a relief and I enjoy talking a walk.
My office is air-conditioned and I must remember to bring a sweater to work tomorrow.
The people I work with seem like good folks and I have a positive impression of their work and the work environment.
I am happy to discover that the company is a very important player in the engineering industry all across the Middle East and is designing many high profile projects.
The project I am working on is massive and it's going to be a majorly big feather in my cap to be able to say I played an important role in it.

A little more about my impressions on the situation of women...
It's actually not as bad as I expected. I guess that goes to show the value of holding very low expectations.
Burqa, the complete ensemble of enveloping robe, head covering and face veil seems to be worn only by Saudi women, but is worn universally by them when in public. I have seen other women wearing only the robe. A few wore scarves that only partially covered their hair, leaving their faces fully revealed. A few wore not even a head scarf, letting their lascivious hair drape seductively over their shoulders (except the 2 black women who had hair cut to about 1/2 inch long). All these women appeared to be foreigners and it seems to be completely tolerated here in Riyadh. Incidentally, I was told that Riyadh is the most conservative of the large cities. So that suggests that the other large cities such as Jeddah are less restrictive still. I haven't seen this first hand but I understand that in Jeddah women are starting to work alongside men. Apparently wild orgies are not breaking out in the offices.
I have seen no evidence here in Riyadh that women must be accompanied by men when in public. The vast majority I have seen in groups, not singly. I often see 2 women in burqa walking down the street together. I've only seen a very few individual women in burqa on the street. But I saw no sign that they were being bothered about it by anyone.
There was an article in yesterday's paper about a woman who tried to register to vote in a local election. Women have the right to vote, but only in certain specific elections. This election was not one of them. The woman attempted to register and was turned down. She did this many times, as a kind of non-violent protest. It seems to have garnered some attention and there does not seem to be a great deal of support for the election officials. You may have heard about a woman a few weeks back who was protesting by driving a car. I think the country is gradually moving in favor of giving more freedom to women. It's like a very slow moving river. It is indeed progressing, flowing inevitably towards the ocean of modern standards. Everybody knows it and nobody wants to call attention to it. The idea seems to be that it's best not to call attention to it, so as not to alarm the religious conservatives. I think what will happen is that certain rights will become established legally. Even the wearing of the burqa, I believe, is NOT a legal requirement but simply a social norm. With these rights established by law, it will become harder and harder for conservative men to dominate the women. I have an optimistic view, though I expect it will be another 10 years before the changes become obvious.

Well, that gives you a little sense of my first impressions. I haven't gotten around to taking any photos yet but when I do I'll make sure to send some.

Love to all my family and friends,
Antonio