Here are a few black and white snapshots of the fascinating Kingdom we discovered during our time there.
Being born and raised a Muslim, the first thing that comes to mind when somebody mentions Saudi Arabia is usually Makkah and Hajj. But a few days into the expedition, I started to realise there is more to Saudi than what I initially thought. For example, places like Mada’in Saleh, I would never have thought existed in Saudi. The rock formations and tombs were just breathtaking.
Another stereotype I had about Saudi was that women have very limited freedom. Spending time there however, I observed that women do have freedom in terms of going about their daily lives. They go to malls and hang out in restaurants just like the rest of us. It definitely is not as bad as is often portrayed in the media.
This shows how much power the media has. They have the ability to create and portray whatever image they want the world to see.
Some of the Arabia Offscreen team were lucky enough to have the opportunity to perform Umrah in Makkah. For a few of us it was the first time we had set foot on the Holy Land; it was indeed both a spiritual and emotional journey for all of us. These are a few photos I managed to capture during the Makkah visit.
