Middle East Tour - SAUDI ARABIA - Feb. 2007

At the top of the immigration card it says in big bold letters "DRUG TRAFFICKING IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH". Saudi Arabia is by far the most strict and militant Muslim country we were visiting on this tour. Just the week before we heard that 30 "westerners" had been jailed for dancing with the opposite sex at a party (that's actually 2 offenses in one). So, it was a little bit of a tense atmosphere trying to get through customs and immigration, especially with 40+ pieces of musical equipment and luggage (some of which look like explosives). Playing music is illegal here! A few of the rules in Saudi...no alcohol, no music, no freedom of religion, no freedom of speech, no holding hands with your girlfriend in public, no sitting at a restaurant with a woman who is not your wife, mother or sister, no "offensive" attire, no showing skin besides your ankles, hands and face (women)...Thankfully, we'd only be here for 36hrs.

On a side note, I (Brian Gorman) accidentally committed a hangable offense within my first 15min of being in the Kingdom. Long story short, I think I used a women's restroom in the customs/immigration area. At the end of a long hallway, which appeared to be the way to the bathroom, the women were going to the right...so I went left. In hindsight it was a little strange that the lights were off...and there were no urinals. I started to put it all together when I was in there but it was too late...so I high-tailed it out of there as fast and inconspicuously as possible. Luckily, I blend in well in Muslim countries. Later I found out the men's bathroom was about 2 football fields away on the complete opposite side of the customs area.

When we got into the vehicle at the airport there were bullet-proof vests on our seats. They were optional, but still? From there we headed to Eskon Village which isn't a "base", even though it has 4 armed checkpoints to get in. We settled in to our villa but our POC never showed up to tell us what was next, so we headed out to find dinner. It was a strange scene, the dark, foggy "base" was like a ghost town except for soldiers walking around with M-4's and blocking streets with their humvees in some type of "find the bad guys" exercise. We met a soldier, Sgt. Williams from Chicago who escorted us to the Officers Club for dinner.

The next day we were taken into the capitol Riyadh for a short guided tour and shopping. Our guides showed us an area affectionally called "chop-chop square" where every Friday they still perform public beheadings. During our stay in Saudi, we talked to several Americans who had witnessed such an event. Apparently, they push westerners to the front to get the best view. It's all done rather crudely with a machete. Thiefs have a hand chopped off, rapists are beheaded and unfaithful wives are stoned to death (the husband gets to throw the 1st stone). We did some shopping and got the hell out of there.

Our last show was at the Officers Club after which we were scheduled for a 1:10am flight to Germany. The reception was warm and hospitable but the crowd was small and shy. Unfortunately, it wasn't an exclamation point on a remarkable tour, but they were very appreciative. The base commander awarded us each with the base coin and certificates of appreciation.

From there we had a 9 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany...a 6 hour layover...and another 10 hr flight to Dulles. All in all, the best AFE tour the band has been on and a true feather in our cap.

~B. Gorman~~~~~~~~~~~~~