SAUDI ARABIA, ISTANBUL AND ENGLAND - JUNE 2025

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MONDAY May 12th 

In May we had a major trip that saw us visiting David and Sam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a stopover in Istanbul, Turkey and visits with Hilary at London Heathrow, to Wendy, Peter, Elizabeth, Megan and Kathryn in Harpenden, Val, Paul, Ella, Toby and Jean in Balsall Common, Barbara, Derry, Simon and Shelagh Webb in Sheffield and Anthony in Derby.
 

It was a morning start from Comox with Air Canada Express to Vancouver for a connection with Air Canada to London, Heathrow.  

Air Canada Express Q400

Comox to Vancouver

Air Canada Boeing 777 300er

Vancouver to London Heathrow

Knowing that there were going to be some longish walks in all the airports we were passing through we used  "wheelchair assistance".  This means that you can use a wheel chair or sometimes take a buggy, if necessary.  Sometime the walk is short and it is not necessary but assistance is always available.  At every airport we passed through it was very well organized.  The airline staff were always waiting and that  meant we were taken on short cuts thorough check in, customs and security.  

TUESDAY May 13th 

We stayed the night at the Ibis Styles Heathrow hotel which is very conveniently located on the Great West Road just outside the airport.  We have often stayed with Hilary in Isleworth but because we were going to have an early start the next day we gave her our apologies and invited her to have dinner with us at the hotel.  

We had a pleasant visit.

The Ibis Styles Hotel at Heathrow Airport.

WEDNESDAY May 14th 

As mentioned we had an early start needing to check in around 6.30 a.m. as we were going to Frankfurt en-route Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where David and Sam live.

Lufthansa Airbus A320 Neo

London Heathrow to Frankfurt

After a short layover in Frankfurt we continued on to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Airbus A340-600 from Frankfurt to Riyadh, the longest plane in the world with a set of bathrooms on a lower deck in the cargo hold 

The route took us down the Adriatic coast, across the Mediterranean to make a land fall North of Cairo.  It then flew around the bottom of and deliberately not over Israel and finally across Saudi Arabia to Riyadh.

It was obvious looking out to the window that Saudi Arabia has a lot of rock and sand with little vegetation.

The King Khalid International Airport is about 35 km from the centre of Riyadh but connected by a fine highway.  We could see the size of Riyadh from the air - it is large. This is a very large and impressive airport.  There seemed to be lots of marble.  We were assisted though customs where the formalities included a photo and the collection of fingerprints and finally collected our bags. We were met by David and Sam.

We were soon in the City and our hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott close by the so called Diplomatic Quarter where David and Sam live in an apartment.  The Diplomatic Quarter is where you find the majorly of the foreign embassies.  The security is tight and as you enter the quarter you pass men in battle fatigues carrying rifles.

   

 Inside the Diplomatic Quarter

                                                   

The main entrance of the Courtyard by Marriott

The view from our room

The breakfast room where we were treated to a very impressive buffet breakfast with a variety of options.  You name it, they had it.

There was a lovely bower like structure where we were able to wait for a ride between the heat of the outside world and the cool of the hotel.

At this point I should write a little about just why David and Sam are living in Riyadh.  It all relates to a new initiative in Saudi Arabia - Vision 2030 and his particular part - the King Salman Park.

Vision 2030 is a comprehensive set of initiatives showing that Saudi Arabia is moving from an oil based economy to an emphasis on tourism. 

Under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Saudi Arabia  embarked on a journey toward a brighter future with the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016. This ambitious roadmap leverages the Kingdom's unique strengths—its pivotal role in the Arab and Islamic worlds, its strong investment capabilities, and its strategic geographical position. 

Vision 2030 is a blueprint that is diversifying the economy, empowering citizens, creating a vibrant environment for both local and international investors and establishing Saudi Arabia as a global leader. 

The Vision is designed to unfold in stages, each lasting five years and building on the last. The first phase set the foundation, implementing structural and comprehensive reforms in the public sector, the economy, and society. The second phase of Vision 2030 has accelerated efforts, providing an enhanced focus on strategies, as well as further investments in key sectors and ambitious projects. This has yielded tangible results across the country. The third phase will focus on sustaining the transformation's impact and leveraging new growth opportunities. 

Saudi Arabia is forging a future where tradition, innovation, and sustainability go hand-in-hand, providing endless opportunities for citizens to realize their potential and ushering in a new era of development and prosperity for the Kingdom.

One of a number of major projects is the King Salman Park. David became involved when he was basically recruited by George Tanasijevich, the  Chief Executive Officer of the King Salman Park Foundation as a Senior Advisor.  David had worked under him when they were both working at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.  This is what networking is all about.

King Salman Park is one of Riyadh’s four major projects launched by King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in March 2019. Spanning more than 16 square kilometers, King Salman Park will become the largest urban park in the world and aims to provide a variety option to improve quality of life in the city. The park also aims to boost the global ranking of Riyadh amongst the “world’s top livable cities”.   Construction is under way but far from finished.  

It is being built on the grounds of former Riyadh Air Base with an area totalling more than 16km² (6 square miles). It is slated to be one of the largest urban parks in the world upon its opening.

The project includes the construction of a central park comprising of more than 11 km of green space surrounded by an area designated to a collection of cultural, sports, residential, hotel, and commercial facilities.

The park contains a part of the Riyadh Sports Boulevard a project aimed to make Riyadh one of the most livable cities in the world, encouraging people to follow a healthy lifestyle through exercising and participating in different sports.

The park is also part of Green Riyadh which is a large landscape-improving project (planting 7.5 million trees in Riyadh and 1 million in the Park).  

Riyadh Art (1,000 public art projects)

Two of the major buildings in the park will be the

Royal Arts Complex containing

• The Museum of World Cultures - a building 110 meters high.
• The National Theatre - with a 2,300 seats capacity.
• The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts - including three academies: the Academy of Traditional Visual Arts, the Academy of Cultural Heritage and Restoration, and the Academy of Performing Arts.
• Sculpture hall.
• Medium capacity theater with 650 seats.
• 3 cinema halls.
• The Dome - a large exhibition hall containing works of art.
• A specialized arts and culture library containing more than 250,000 books.

The Visitor Pavilion is an introductory/environmental/cultural center built on an area of 90,000 square meters. Undertaken by the architect, David Adjaye who relied on Salmani architecture principles for the unique engineering design of this project. The Pavilion facilities include:

• Interactive displays introduce the Park's natural, cultural and recreational elements.
• A plants nursery.
• A spacious balcony with a 360-degree view of the park.
• A main hall suitable for events and entertainment shows, with multiple runways that can accommodate 230 guests.
• A multi-use hall.
• Meeting rooms.
• Exhibition halls.
• Several restaurants and cafes.

THURSDAY MAY 15TH 

After check-in at the hotel we had a lazy morning after all the travelling. A problem had developed with the camera we had with us.  We did a bit of shopping around for a replacement but we couldn't find a suitable replacement so decided to buy a replacement on Amazon who said we could receive it the next day. Amazing.  In the evening we went to the apartment where David and Sam live where we enjoyed a tasty salmon dinner.  

FRIDAY MAY 16th 

Friday and Saturday are not work days as is tradition.  

David collected us and took us around to see more of Riyadh.  We left the city and travelled along part of Wadi Hanifah.  This is a seasonal river stretching for miles.  The valley runs for a length of 120 km from northwest to southeast, cutting through the city of Riyadh.  There are many places to stop to enjoy the view.    

We drove a bit further out along the Wadi and stopped at Al-Ha-ir Park and Lakes.  It was afternoon and there was almost nobody there but David explained that it would be different in the evening when the temperature would have fallen a little.  It was 42C when we were there.

We then drove into the centre of Riyadh for "High Tea" at the the Globe Restaurant in the Al Faisaliah Tower.  The Restaurant is spectacular, located in a golden sphere towards the top of the famous Al Faisaliah Tower

The restaurant is on the 57th floor.

.

   

If you look carefully you can see the ball towards the top of the tower. 

Quite the view over Riyadh from 276 metres up

The food was in the form of an extensive buffet too large to list here but the photos will tell you all.  Quite the gastronomic experience.

The day wasn't over as there was one special event to come that evening.  We went back to the apartment and were joined by a neighbour Ben from the apartment next door.   He was another person who worked for the Park.  He had wide ranging work experience and had worked on the Olympic Park in the Lea Valley in East London.  He was a West Ham supporter and it was a soccer match on the agenda.  There had been a large influx of foreign players into the Saudi Arabia soccer league.  Many players had found lucrative employment.   The most notable being Ronaldo, the Portuguese player.  He had played previously for Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Italy, back to Manchester United and finally Al-Nassr in Riyadh.  He had a guaranteed salary of €90 with commercial and sponsorship deals bringing his total annual salary to €200 million.

We went to the game at Al-Awwal Park between Al-Nassr and Al-Taawou.   Al-Nassr had recruited two other ex-Premier League players - Sadio Mane from Liverpool and Jhon Duran (£64m plus add-ons) from Aston Villa, who both played.

To our disappointment (and disgust) Ronaldo wasn't even on the bench.       

Awwal Park, Riyadh

SATURDAY MAY 17th 

Another drive out of the City to one of the principal attractions near Riyadh - the Red Dunes Desert.

A fun thing to do - rent a sand buggy

The nearby area is gong to be developed as part of Vision 30.

Qiddiya is a planned entertainment and tourism megaproject. Construction started at the beginning of 2019. It was planned to open in 2023, though as of 2025, major projects including Six Flags Qiddiya City, the Aquarabia waterpark and the Formula 1 racetrack are under construction and incomplete (with the racetrack now being scheduled to open in 2027).  

One our way back to Riyadh we made a stop at the Edge of the World to see the sunset.

Edge of the World in failing light

Back in the City we went to Aseeb, a well respected restaurant in Riyadh.  It has a wide ranging menu - hard to remember exactly what we had but the photos will give you a good idea of some of the possibilities.

Red Jareesh

Crushed what kernels cooked in milk, mashed chicken mixed with tomatoes and coriander, served with fried onion and musamana spices

Qursan

Thinly sliced bread cooked with meat and fresh vegetables, garnished with onions and Aseeb's special spices

Chicken Saleeq

Rice cooked with milk served with grilled chicken and special sauce

Mashkhoul

Fresh lamb cooked  with amber mashkoul rice and crispy qararah

Mubahar Rice

Brown Rice flavoured with Aseeb's special spices, served with meat

 

Grilled Hashi

The most delicious piece of young camel selected with meat close to the vertebrae (waist) below the hump, served with honey and tahini

Passion Fruit Bavarian

It was a remarkable meal experience.

SUNDAY MAY 18th 

Our last full day in Riyadh.  Sad to say after all that lovely food had left David feeling under the weather.  We all had the same food basically so we weren't sure of the reason.  We had another late start and went back to the apartment where we spent some time watching the Formula 1 race from Imola (Emilia Romagna).  Sam prepared a lovely meal to send us on our way. 

Inside the apartment

MONDAY MAY 19th 

Time to leave Riyadh after a wonderful stay.  Fortunately whatever had struck David was in the past and he was able to drive us to the airport to start the journey back home.

This time we chose Turkish Airlines which has an excellent reputation.  We chose to make a two day stopover in Istanbul which gave us the rest of the first day, one full day and most of the next day as our next flight left in the late evening.

Airbus A 321 Riyadh to Istanbul.

The flight took off to the the West and crossed the Red Sea before passing close to Cairo and onward across the Mediterranean to Istanbul, again avoiding Israel.  Not the best photo I know.

We stayed at the Union Port Hotel close to the Bosphorous. This is small hotel, well recommended, close by one of the ferry terminals which we were planning to use the next day.   This was an excellent choice because it was convenient to the both the ferries and the trams. 

We had assistance at both Riyadh and Istanbul airports and this was a wise move as both airports are huge and would have involved much walking that you avoid with the buggies provided.  It pays to carry a walking stick. 

To get from the airport to the hotel we used Union Port Shuttle about which we had read very good and well deserved reviews.  They provided very clear instructions which was a good thing because the arrival areas at the airport were quite the mad house.

 

They use large six passenger Mercedes vans, door to door

We were very pleased with our choice of hotel.  The staff were extra helpful.

TUESDAY MAY 20th

Up early and ready for a visit to the Princes' Islands "Islands of the Princes".  We were staying close by the ferry terminal at Kabatas on the Bosphorus. There are many many ferries and ferry lines in Istanbul.  The one we wanted was Sehir Hatiara.  They are a very large operator which their website says they has 30 ferries.

Istanbul has a stored credit travel card, the Istanbulkart, that provides travel on buses, trams and ferries.  It has one feature that is very useful.  More than one person can use the same card so you only need to buy one.

We found the ferry we wanted at the terminal and were on our way.

A Sehir Hatlari Ferry - two hours to Buyukada

The waterfront at Buyukada

There are 4 main islands -  Buyukada, Kinaliada, Burgazada  and Heybeliada and some other smaller islands and the ferry links them all.  We chose to go to Buyukada.

Off the ferry

Lots of hustle and bustle

It was a very pretty island

We were struck by the large number of ice cream shops on the main street.

We took an electric shuttle around the island which isn't very large. 

We took the ferry back to Istanbul from the pier we started from earlier in the day.

Don't bother with the view

After reaching Kabatas port we had a rather expensive meal at Galaport, a large shopping complex just down the road from the hotel.

WEDNESDAY MAY 21st 

On our second day we took to the tram to go to the Blue Mosque.. There are many mosques in Istanbul.  Many charge quite a lot for entry, the Blue Mosque, for some reason, is free.

 An Istanbul tram that runs a very frequent service

The  Blue Mosque

Shoes back on!

After we left the mosque we went to a carpet shop and purchased what we will use as a table decoration or magic carpet.  It is interesting in that it changes its look depending on the angle you view it from. Those who visit us will be able to appreciate that.

Magic or Flying?

Near the mosque was a stop on the Hop on Hop off bus route and we decided this would be a good way to see a lot of Istanbul without much effort.

Hop on Hop off bus at the Blue Mosque

The full route - the Blue Mosque starting point is at the bottom left

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As you can see the bus covers a lot ground as it works its way around Istanbul.  We chose to stop off at the turning point at the top right hand corner of the route just over the bridge over the Bosphorus. We found a pleasant cafe for lunch.

The bridge over the Bosphorus

We re-boarded the bus and finished the full route back to the Blue Mosque.

Then it was a short tram ride back to a stop near the hotel and we had time for a quick supper before leaving for the airport.  The Caesar salad was a big mistake, quite the worst meal we had.

 

Waiting for the Shuttle to the airport

We took a remarkable route from the hotel.   It was through a series of streets, mainly narrow and hilly but clearly our driver knew all about potential traffic jams in Istanbul and how to avoid them. Again we took assistance, well worth it as this was another very large airport with lots of potential walking.

Airbus 330-300 Istanbul to London Heathrow.

We arrived quite late in the evening and stayed a second night at the Ibis Styles.

THURSDAY MAY 22nd 

Our basic sight-seeing was over and we began the family and friends part.

We took the train from Terminal 2 at Heathrow to Harpenden via Farringdon where we were met by Peter Godfrey Evans who took us to his home to meet up with Wendy, Megan and Katherine (and Isla).

Peter took this photo so I have included him in another

After lunch we went for a ride to Wheathampstead to see the house that Peter used to live in and which is now for sale or maybe not.

We also made a short tea time call on Elizabeth.

FRIDAY MAY 23rd 

We stayed for the night and the next morning they took us to St. Alban's Abbey Station to catch the train to Watford Junction and on to Berkswell.

Val picked us up at the station and we had lunch with Paul, Ella and Toby.  

SATURDAY MAY 24th

Paul had an appointment in Kenilworth so went to see a little of the town.

SUNDAY MAY 25th

We had a nice visit with Jean at the Katherine Levenson Care Home in Temple Balsall.

As you can see she was looking well and we had a good visit and a cup of tea

We took Paul, Val, Ella and Toby to dinner at Fleur du Lys pub at Lowsenford.

MONDAY MAY 26th

On the train from  Berkswell to Derby via Birmingham, New Street.  The train was late and we missed the connection to Derby but it didn't matter as there is always another.  There were large crowds at New Street trying to get to Liverpool as there was a major celebration there because the Liverpool Soccer Team had won the Premiership.

We were running late but we met up wth Anthony successfully at Derby Station.  It was lunch by now and we went to the Tea Rooms at the Meynell Garden Centre and were surprised and happy to meet up with Peter and Pik Yee.  They had flown in a few days earlier from New York to attend a celebration of life for Carol's sister, Ginny and husband, Bob.

TUESDAY MAY 27th

We took the train to Sheffield and met up with Barbara and Derry Webb who had come in by train in from Marple.  Simon, their son and Robin's godson, met us at the station and took us all to his home in Fulwood on the outskirts of Sheffield where Shelagh, his wife, kindly provided lunch.  

We had a good visit and Shelegh took us back to Sheffield Town Centre and we spent a short while in the Winter Garden.

We had supper at a cafe attached to a small cinema, the Showroom, near the station.

Showroom Cafe

It was time to sadly take our leave as steps were retraced to Marple and Derby.  This all worked out well as Anthony had a regular lunch appointment in Derby.

WEDNESDAY MAY 28th

We visited Calke Abbey.  We had tried to do this on a previous visit but it was so busy that we drove in and drove out!   Better luck this time and we had a good walk round the grounds ending up at the Tea Rooms. 

Two old folk ready for tea

Outside the Tea Rooms at Calke Abbey

THURSDAY MAY 29th

It was time to get back to Heathrow start the journey home.  From Derby Station we took the train to St. Pancras and continued on to the airport.  We stayed to a third night at the Ibis Styles, three nights at three different prices.

FRIDAY MAY 30th

We flew again with Air Canada and it was the exact same plane and same seats we were in when we flew to Heathrow nearly three weeks earlier. We had quite a short lay over in Vancouver before the final the last leg to Comox where Bill Thomas was kindly waiting for us.

It had all gone well.