Here is a list of ten blogs that I think one should read in order to get a sense of the Saudi blogosphere and feel the real pulse of streets in the country. This is strictly my opinion; if you think there are other blogs that should have been included in the list please do leave a comment or, even better, you can make up your own list and post it on your blog. Note: blogs from 1-5 are in Arabic, while those from 6-10 are in English, however, the list is absolutely in no particular order.
1. Heaven’s Steps: Hadeel al-Hodhaif is one of the few (the only?) Saudi female bloggers to use her real name online. Her blog was mentioned on several big websites such as BBC Arabic, and she was interviewed on Al Jazeera. Earlier this year, Hadeel was invited to speak at a media conference in Oman, where she talked about her experience in the Saudi blogosphere.
2. Mashi97: Khaled al-Nassir’s frankness and courage have gained him popularity in a short time, but also cost him a temporary brief absence after writing some fierce posts a few weeks ago. Fortunately, he is back now, with a much cooler head :-)
3. A Tribe Called Sarah: This blog, written by a student studying in Bahrain, is a homogeneous mixture of love, poetry, and humor. Many readers feels that Sarah’s memoir-style blog is some kind of a novel in the making.
4. MagicKingdom: Mohammed’s blog does not only ask good questions and start interesting conversations, but also offers a much needed view on the scene of culture and arts in the country.
5. Entropy.MAX: Entropy has been blogging for only few months, but over that short time she has proved what an outspoken, articulate blogger she is. It is not only about the issues she touches on, but also in the way she explores the different sides of these issues.
6. SaudiSphere: Aya is a young Saudi woman blogging from New York City, and her critical, angry blog is one of most interesting blogs written by Saudis who live abroad. One thing you would find on this blog that you can’t find anywhere else in the local blogosphere is Aya’s occasional selections of cartoons from newspapers all around the world.
7. Annals of a Space Cowboy: The name says it all? Nah! In this blog, Fahad al-Butairi, aka Fedo, a student at the University of Texas, comments on news and posts some interesting YouTube videos. He is also a contributer to Global Voices, covering the Saudi blogosphere on semi-weekly basis.
8. An Englishman in Saudi Arabia: I wrote about this blog for the first time in last December, and now he is back after some hiatus. This British blogger moved to Riyadh a while ago, and started this blog to record his adventures with tailgaters on our streets and ninjas in our shopping malls. Quite amusing.
9. Crossroads Arabia: It is not the only Saudi blog written by non-Saudi, but definitely the best one in this category. Blogger John Burgess is a former US foreign service officer who has had two tours in Saudi Arabia. He describes his work as an effort to put the country into context, and his experience makes this blog one of the invaluable sources about Saudi Arabia on the web.
10. Rasheed’s World: Rasheed Abul-Samh is a Saudi-American journalist. He is a senior editor at Arab News, and also reports for Christian Science Monitor and the New York Times. His ability to bring us the-story-behind-the-story is what makes his blog stands out.
Honorable mentions: There is also a few many Saudi blogs that I consider worth reading. Here’s some of them. In English: American_Bedu, S as in Saudi, and Kingdom of Lunacy. In Arabic: Bandar, OS X Arabia, Arab Tech Channel vlog!, and Prometheus.
21 responses so far ↓
Lalla Mona // Friday, April 13, 2007 at 0:32
HEEEEEEY wot about my blog
Hadeel // Friday, April 13, 2007 at 11:43
thanks Ahmed for this..
you made my day.. really
Anonymous // Friday, April 13, 2007 at 18:45
Thanks Ahmed for including my blog in the list.
Your blog is also very special and very important. I regularly come here and read your brilliant articles and comments.
Thanks again for the nice gesture.
prometheus
magickingdom // Friday, April 13, 2007 at 20:14
Dear Ahmed
I’m so proud that I made your list, and so happy that I got leads to new and interesting blogs to read
You are one of the pioneers of Saudi blogging, and an amazing writer with a simple but effective style
My best to you always
Muneeb Saeed // Friday, April 13, 2007 at 21:33
slm is there any site where I can get really good arabic-to-eng translation?
anywayz I usually blog abt tech stuff from Dhahran
and keep up the goodwork
Muneeb Saeed // Friday, April 13, 2007 at 21:37
and also how2read those numbers mixed with words. usually see 7 and 3
Ahmed // Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 6:23
Lalla Mona, it’s the first time I read your blog, and it seems interesting. Who knows? Maybe there will be a sequel to this post and your blog would be there.
Hadeel, Prom, MK, you’re welcome guys, but really you don’t need to thank me. You’re there because you are doing a good job.
Muneeb, I don’t have much experience with such services, but maybe you should try Google Translation and Ajeeb. BTW, 7 stands for ح and 3 for ع.
Carol // Sunday, April 15, 2007 at 8:27
Ahmed,
Shukran jazelin for the honorable mention! I do try to share my experiences and opinions on life in Saudi as I see them and as one who crosses daily between the cultures of East and West.
Best Regards,
American_Bedu
Muneeb Saeed // Sunday, April 15, 2007 at 14:29
Thanx Ahmad I checked GoogleTranslation It was blocked. Will work arnd later…
and Ajeeb is a gr8 site
Mansur // Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 7:50
thanks for mentioning these blogs. It’s always nice to see Saudi blogs doing so well. While I am not in Jeddah anymore, I still try to keep myself connected to Jeddah through Saudi blogs.
Mansur
Sulaiman // Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 9:25
Nice list Ahmed..
reading blogs has been my way of connecting back to saudi and hearing about whats happening.
It’s way better than reading the local news papers that write “what is good to read” rather than ” what is there to read about”
keep on working on it you and the rest of the Saudi Bloggers.
Salam
Aya // Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 15:11
Ahmed, thanks for the inclusion. You know I consider your blog to be the gate to the Saudi blogosphere. Oh, and while we are on the subject, define “young” ;)?
أبو سنان // Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at 15:44
My wife, Manal, is a Saudi here in the US who uses her real name online.
Given she has two little boys under the age of two, she doesnt post that much:
http://www.majlismanal.blogspot.com
John // Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 4:23
Ahmed, Thanks for the honor.
Ahmed // Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 6:35
Aya, I define the word young as “anyone who is like Aya”
Ahmed // Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 6:38
John, you deserve it.
Fedo // Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 19:32
I made it to the list! Niiiiicccccceeeeeeee!
Culture Shiok! // Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 2:58
Looking around for Saudi blogs…
Will be checking them out!
Thanks!
Wadeea // Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 1:15
Ahmed,
Thanks very much for the list. I live in the US and most of the information I get about home are either through short phone conversations or reading the online magazines. The blogs you listed provide me with a divers view from home. I have added them to my list of weekend readings and I am getting a lot of enjoyment out of them.
All of the blogs were excellent. By the way your blog was the first Saudi blog I found and I think it is fantastic.
Cheers,
wadeeaq@yahoo.com
gurugirl // Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 10:45
hello everyone, i would appreciate it if you guys help me out in my study on fast food in your country and specifically McDonald’s. Please if you can share with me what is your perception on Mcdonalds and wat are the bad or good things about it…anythin would help …
thanks in advance
gurugirl // Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 11:07
by the way, i am totally new in blogging so i need your help guys…
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