Lukas Synek: Three years in Saudi Arabia

THIS LECTURE IS IN ENGLISH

(Admission voluntary - e-mail reservation required: balicafeprague@gmail.com)

Who has been to Saudi Arabia? Tourist visa do not exist. It is not easy to get in to this interesting country.

We will step beyond the media-made image of the controversial desert kingdom and uncover the reality of living in Saudi Arabia, where I worked in plant sciences.
Of course, in the high summer, birds sometimes fell dead from trees, but winter time was great for traveling. As a passionate traveler I explored most of the country: dune deserts, mountains with cypress forests and monkeys, colorful volcanoes, rock cities, canyons with palm groves, ancient fortresses, monumental Nabataean tombs or coral reefs.
You will be amazed by myriads of petroglyphs made by prehistorical artists. You can hardly believe how green the Asir Mountains can be.
Hundreds of kilometers on highways and hours of off-road driving were always rewarded by pleasant nights at fire under the Orion, then doves and camel snorting woke us up in the morning.
We will discuss the renowned Arab hospitality, their relationship to foreign workers and the current social and economical changes.
How Czech people deal with the strict ban on alcohol and other pitfalls? And how did my wife and two small sons survived the exotic Saudi Arabia?