To celebrate its second anniversary, Estación Bici – the welcome center for cyclists in the Primavera Forest – invited author Susana Pint to speak on her experiences as a Mexican woman living in Saudi Arabia for some 12 years.
Addressing a standing-room-only crowd, Pint admitted she had originally gone to Arabia simply to follow her husband John, who was offered a job teaching English at a Saudi University.
“We were living in Paris at the time and I was teaching Spanish at several important companies. But it had been raining continuously in that part of France for over a year and John saw Saudi Arabia as a golden opportunity to escape the drizzle. To me, the prospect represented more of a dark cloud than anything else. However, once we were living in Arabia, I soon discovered fascinating new universes for me to explore and I have to admit, my life has been greatly enriched as a result of my experiences in that desert country.”
Through slides, Susana Pint introduced her audience to the city of Jeddah, which is located on the eastern coast of the Red Sea. Jeddah, we learned, is one of the oldest cities on earth, so old in fact, that its very name – which means “Grandmother” – refers to none other than Eve herself. In fact, added Pint, there is an ancient tomb in Jeddah long held to be the resting place of the mother of humanity. “Explorer Richard Burton,” she said, “visited it in 1853, noting that the distance between the headstone and footstone was 203 paces. Mother Eve must have been one tall woman!”Pint took her audience on a virtual tour of Balad, the oldest sector of Jeddah featuring tall buildings many stories high, constructed of coral-reef blocks and designed to catch the evening breeze. “Kudos to the people of Jeddah,” she said, “for supporting the preservation of one of the oldest neighborhoods in the world.”
Pint continued: “One of my favorite places in Jeddah could be called The Permanent Outdoor Art Show.” She explained that in 1868 the oil boom was at its height and Jeddah’s city planner (and later mayor), Mohammed Said Farsi decided to create an open-air art museum along the city´s famed Corniche, an art arena free of charge, to provide inspiration and enjoyment for all.
“What immediately took me aback was the wealth of magnificent art I found,” said Pint. “I was surprised to discover that many of the pieces were by internationally famous artists such as Henry Moore, Julio LaFuente, Joan Miró, Victor Vasarely, César, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Mustafa Senbel, Eila Hiltunen and Ottmar Hollmann.”
Many of these artistic creations turned out to be gigantic versions of everyday things, for example, César’s huge “Fist” and Julio LaFuente’s “Bicycle,” both of which adorn roundabouts (glorietas) in Jeddah and serve as important landmarks for getting around in a big city.
Another interesting theme touched upon in this presentation was the attar of roses which has been distilled for centuries in the highlands of Taif, a city which could be called Guadalajara’s twin, simply because of its similar latitude and altitude and the fact that both are known as the City of Roses.
In the rugged mountains around Taif, there are hundreds of small rose farms. Sunrise is the best moment for picking the new buds of Rosa damascena trigintipetala, a rather small rose, but one possessing an exquisite and long-lasting scent. The rosebuds are picked at dawn and by 9 a.m. they are being dumped into giant copper pots in the distillery.
Said Pint: “Ten thousand roses are added to 50 liters of water and after two distillations, one tolah of attar is produced (about 11.7 ounces) which, understandably, sells for a great deal of money.”
Pint said the attar is mainly used to produce rose water which Arabs use for ceremonies like weddings or as an ingredient in desserts, sweets and some drinks.
“The aroma of these roses is amazingly long-lasting. I can vouch for that. I once tossed some withered rosebuds into a clay bowl. Some days later I happened to need that same bowl, so I put those dismal-looking remains into another container and I washed the bowl. Days later, that humble clay pot still retained the unmistakeable, unforgettable scent of the lovely roses of Taif.”
If any group would like to see Una Mexicana Explorando Arabia (in Spanish or in English), they can contact Pint at (33) 3151-1612.