- 22 hours ago
Charismatic travelling chef Anthony Bourdain visits Saudi Arabia, exploring its cuisine, culture and heritage.
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TravelTranscript
00:07Okay, you're wondering why I, a middle-aged Jewish woman, would love to travel with you.
00:13Ahoy!
00:13Hello!
00:14Say hi, Anthony.
00:15Hi, Anthony.
00:16Hi, Anthony.
00:17Hey, Tony.
00:18Ciao, Mr. Bourdain.
00:19Hello, I'm Gary Gabales.
00:21I'm Suzanne Maddox.
00:22Alex Gardoche.
00:23Michelle Larnier.
00:24Tony, let me take you to Naples.
00:27I have always wanted to go to Hungary.
00:29I want to go to France.
00:31Venezuela.
00:31Deep and plump pierogi country.
00:34We'll roast a lamb.
00:36Delicious arepas.
00:37A wonderful home-cooked panini.
00:39Pimentos.
00:40Pimentos.
00:41All this is within five minutes of my house.
00:44Are you up for the adventure?
00:47Anthony, this is the Tokyo you're not seeing.
00:56I'm Anthony Bourdain.
00:57That's right.
00:58I write, I travel, I eat, and I'm hungry for more.
01:04Ooh!
01:05You got to!
01:08Get a lot of fun!
01:12No reservation, sir.
01:20Have a great idea for a no reservation show?
01:23Want to go on a trip with Tony and be on TV?
01:27Why the Travel Channel should pick you.
01:31I was pretty sure that this was not a good idea.
01:34I was pretty sure that this was not a good idea.
01:36Some lame-brained network-generated promotional stunt where the people who actually watch this show, God only knows who that
01:42is, were invited to send in their tapes and audition for the job of taking me to a place of
01:47their choosing.
01:50It was win a date with Tad Hamilton, travel channel style, and I cursed the day I fell asleep at
01:55the switch and let this malignant idea metastasize into a full-blown reality.
02:02Bedwetter.
02:07Psycho.
02:07To my growing horror, we received nearly 1,300 submissions.
02:12I took it upon myself and a few otherwise underemployed staff members to sift through the submissions, separating out the
02:19obvious serial killers, masturbators, and vegetarians.
02:23Does that look normal?
02:25Normal?
02:26Oh!
02:31It could be, Tony.
02:33To the top, the will of Norway.
02:35That could be the only one.
02:40What more could you want?
02:42We've got blue crabs and lots of...
02:44That is f***ed up.
02:47I'm Jay Nicholson.
02:49I shoot, I write jingles, and I look like Anthony Bourdain.
02:53I love food and I love beer.
02:57Is Slovakia the land of hot Ukrainian hookers and Nazi pay-to-play slaughterhouses?
03:03Okay.
03:04Next.
03:07From the outside looks like an ordinary closet, but on the inside, it's full of plastic bags.
03:13Crowds have been known together to see what magic develops when my sauté pan encounters a lowly campfire.
03:19I'm mostly here to sell myself and my personality and my energy.
03:23Sounds like a living hell to me.
03:25Tony, as far as I can remember, you've never done a show on the Denver area.
03:30I know some back here...
03:32And I never will.
03:33...fighting in the Wild West.
03:34Never.
03:39Sausage, master?
03:39I like sausage.
03:40In the end, we actually found four relatively non-frightening contestants.
03:45This is really good.
03:46Which only sucked worse, as it now appeared I couldn't get out of this thing on personal security grounds.
03:53Four well-thought-out, interesting presentations.
03:56Describing four very different locations by four seemingly sane individuals.
04:01Hi, Tony.
04:02My name is Augusto, and I think your next show should be No Reservation.
04:06Philippines!
04:07First, there was Augusto, an enthusiastic promoter of all things Filipino.
04:12Just imagine it, Tony.
04:14Crispy skin.
04:15He's so gnom-y.
04:17Eric, a Muay Thai and mixed martial arts fighter and instructor.
04:20Now, the reason I want to go to Thailand is because of the fact that I'm a Muay Thai fighter.
04:24I like Thailand.
04:26Dania, who made the case that Saudi Arabia was someplace I'd want to go.
04:30Being a port city, our food is as diverse as our people.
04:33Ooh, stuff on a stick.
04:36And Nelson, a professional musician, singing the praises of his glorious hometown, Buffalo.
04:42One question.
04:43Can you get your ass here pronto? I'm freezing.
04:46I don't know. I like Mr. Potty Mouth from Buffalo.
04:49I'd say that's a strong favorite so far.
04:56The four finalists were invited to New York for a thorough interrogation
04:59and an intrusive search of their personal and criminal histories.
05:03There are things I'd like to know before setting off for some faraway land like Buffalo with a total stranger.
05:09Is there a freezer full of relatives in their cellar?
05:11Are they currently evading justice in some other jurisdiction?
05:15Or worse, are they fans of the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber?
05:18I need to know these things sooner rather than later.
05:29Eric Rivera, you want to go to Thailand?
05:31Yes.
05:32And you make your living as a fighter and teaching martial arts?
05:35Currently, yes.
05:36I mean, did he get bullied in school?
05:38No.
05:39Angry about anything?
05:40No, not really.
05:41Any traumatic experiences?
05:43I was expecting a short guy, frankly.
05:46You were born and raised in Buffalo.
05:48Yes.
05:49I see a lot of alcohol involved in it.
05:50Do you think I'm an alcoholic, by the way?
05:52Or just watching me on TV, would your guess be that I'm a big drinker?
05:56I would say you're kind of an alcoholic, yes.
05:59You say that winning would be your chance to show the world that not all Arabs ride camels
06:02and make bombs.
06:04But why should I go to Saudi Arabia?
06:07Doesn't look like a rollicking good time.
06:11Well, that's why.
06:13That's exactly why.
06:14So you're telling me that I will have a good time.
06:16We can say not rollicking, but...
06:18Yeah, yeah.
06:18I think maybe that's a little bit extreme.
06:21How many times have you been to the Philippines?
06:24Two years ago was the first time.
06:26How long were you there for?
06:27I was only there a week.
06:30Dude.
06:31Well, I see this very disturbing notion here.
06:33Tony steps in the ring.
06:35Well, I can tell you right now that there's no way.
06:38I'm getting into the ring.
06:39I'm getting my ass kicked.
06:40Alcohol is illegal.
06:43Wow.
06:47Okay.
06:48Beatles or Stones?
06:51I know I'm going to get this question wrong, because I'm sure you prefer the Stones.
06:54But being the geeky musician that I am, I respect the Beatles.
06:57So what were the answer, dude?
06:58I respect the Beatles.
06:59All right.
07:00There was a location for Apocalypse Now.
07:02Yep.
07:02Have you seen Apocalypse Now?
07:04No, I haven't.
07:05No.
07:09A tough decision had to be made.
07:13God knows I do want to go to the Philippines at some point.
07:18Is there a country in the world about which Americans are more ignorant or less sympathetic
07:24than Saudi Arabia?
07:27I like this kid.
07:28I like him a lot.
07:30I like Thailand.
07:31I like Thai food.
07:34What appeals to me about you is that just that they're trying to make a living as a musician.
07:38He's 40 years old and living in Buffalo.
07:42Buffalo's close, too, you know?
07:44It's an easy show to make.
07:45It would be a nice thing to do.
07:48And I can't drink at all.
07:50Like, no kidding.
07:53And he never saw Apocalypse Now.
07:58That's really a problem.
08:01Nearly 1,300 submissions, four seemingly well-adjusted finalists, and one tough decision later,
08:07I end up in, of all places, Saudi Arabia.
08:16I think I picked Saudi because I figured that of all the choices, Saudi would be the hard thing,
08:21the most challenging thing.
08:23There were a lot of preconceptions to overcome.
08:26After all, this is where 15 of the 19 hijackers came from.
08:31Maybe it's my sheer contrariness, but I ended up going just about the last place I wanted to go.
08:37Dania challenged me to see how ordinary Saudis live their lives, feed themselves, and entertain guests.
08:42And it would have been I knew, utterly hypocritical of me, and a betrayal of everything I've ever said,
08:47had I not, at least, given it a shot.
08:55What happens in a country when you can't drink for a week?
08:58So what do you say we tore them in some reptiles, kill them and eat them?
09:01Yep.
09:02Sound good, guys?
09:02Yep.
09:11No reservations.
09:23Daniel Amrani's hometown of Jeddah is a sprawling modern city,
09:26the undisputed commercial capital of Saudi Arabia.
09:29It looks today a bit like Vegas, a desert city that can't quite grow fast enough.
09:36But there are some stark differences.
09:39There is no drinking of alcohol permitted.
09:41Gambling, forget about.
09:43Women are covered pretty much head to toe.
09:46First stop, Dania's place.
09:48And I'm a little worried that this is going to be a long, weird, awkward scene filled with uncomfortable silences.
09:55Hello.
09:56Good to see you.
09:56Assalamualaikum.
09:58This is Anas.
09:59Hi, how are you?
10:00Nice to meet you.
10:01Nice to meet you.
10:01Welcome to our home.
10:03Make yourself comfortable.
10:06Okay.
10:07Well.
10:07I made it.
10:08I can't believe it.
10:10I got to tell you, it was this close to Buffalo.
10:15Once inside, however, I feel like I could be anywhere.
10:18The Midwest, where Dania grew up, for instance.
10:20I just want to say, first of all, welcome to my home.
10:23It's very simple.
10:24And I wanted people to see that as basic as my house is, we have couches here.
10:28Not every single place that we go to are we going to be seated on the ground.
10:31I wanted to show you our big screen TV, the fact that we watch Boston Legal and Scrubs and whatever
10:38other TV shows, Heroes.
10:40So what are we doing over here?
10:41Because I stayed blissfully ignorant of the briefing material.
10:45Great.
10:45And it will remain so until it happens.
10:48That'll make it much more interesting, I think, and much more fun.
10:51This is Dania's show.
10:53She won the damn contest.
10:55Let her do the work.
10:56You said you could show me a good time?
10:57You said you could pretty much produce an hour of informative and reasonably entertaining television without bringing shame on my
11:03house?
11:03Then let's do it.
11:06So who is Dania?
11:09Born in Bismarck, North Dakota and raised between Nair and Jeddah, Dania is a filmmaker.
11:14The first woman in Saudi Arabia to be granted permission to run a production company without a male present.
11:19And I am wondering what kind of tour guide she's going to make.
11:23We start off in the Balad, or Old Town, the historic center of Jeddah.
11:28First stop, breakfast in the souk.
11:30A large marketplace extending over many blocks with hundreds of vendors selling everything you need from meat, fabric, tea, clothing,
11:38fresh juices, and Muslim versions of the Barbie doll.
11:42The place we're going to is right down here.
11:44Oh, to here?
11:45And that's the place with the nasty bits.
11:48All right.
11:49Clearly familiar with my predilection for the squiggly parts of recently killed things, Dania takes me to Abu Abdullah's place
11:56for breakfast.
11:57This is it?
11:57This is it, my friend.
11:59Just the kind of dubious-looking hole in the wall I love.
12:02Hearts?
12:03I like, yeah.
12:04Okay, liver?
12:06Yes.
12:06Kidneys?
12:07Yes.
12:10Let's get a mixture.
12:12Okay.
12:12Great.
12:13The kitchen gets to work on a festive potpourri of awful cooked with ghee, tomatoes, red onions, parsley, and chili
12:20sauce.
12:21The she-poof dish is clearly for the more advanced students.
12:24Gelatinous and wiggly, hooves lurking just under the surface of a bright orange broth.
12:29Yum-o!
12:31Though these are, of course, everyday breakfast dishes of the working class, Dania, it turns out, has never had this
12:36stuff before.
12:37And not exactly in her happy zone.
12:39So you seem, like, freaked out about it.
12:41You weren't looking forward to this meal.
12:43No.
12:44So this is not a typical meal for you at all?
12:47Stuff like this so early in the morning is just kind of scary, but-
12:50So not part of your regular routine?
12:52Not really.
12:53I've eaten it before, but I'm not a big lover.
12:55This is really traditional stuff, though, right?
12:56It is.
12:57It is very traditional.
12:58Chipner.
13:00See, things that are fried up like this, I don't mind.
13:02So this is okay?
13:03That's fine.
13:06Oh, I could snack on that all day long.
13:10But, see, that scares me.
13:12It's the Jaxford, right?
13:13It's too luga-luga, yeah.
13:14Right.
13:14You're turning your back on your cultural heritage.
13:17You can't have that.
13:18I know.
13:19Let's try.
13:20Hey, you first.
13:24See, it's really tasty.
13:26Really?
13:26Yeah, see, just going like that, oh, my God, it's like a horror movie.
13:30Yeah?
13:32Mmm.
13:33It's too strong of a flavor for me.
13:36Funny that on our first stop on the Best of Jeddah tour,
13:38we're trying stuff that Dania herself finds, frankly, terrifying.
13:41Come on, Dania.
13:42Zimmern would be all over this stuff like Catherine Zeta-Jones on a curly fry.
13:46You'd hear the lips smacking four blocks away.
13:48I know you haven't seen much so far, but so far, what are you thinking about Jeddah?
13:53Listen, if it's all like this, I'm a happy man.
14:17The most obvious difference in what it's like to walk around this market,
14:20as opposed to so many others I've been to, is the dark, black, fully cloaked figures
14:25moving always through the frame of vision.
14:33Some show only eyes.
14:35Others, their entire faces are covered.
14:37And then there's the more laid-back version, like Dania's,
14:39where only the hair and body are covered.
14:42In public, all women wear an abaya, floor-length, black and shapeless,
14:47covering them from head to toe.
14:49I won't presume to explain the thinking behind all this,
14:53as I understand it from what women here tell me,
14:56it's about protecting female beauty.
14:58Being a blue-state guy from a liberal arts background,
15:01this is a hard thing to accept.
15:03Just the same, I shall try.
15:06The men's standard garb, on the other hand, I'm totally okay with.
15:10These thobe things, I think they look pretty comfortable and cool.
15:14Are you ready to get outfitted?
15:16Yes.
15:18I need good desert wear.
15:20Let's go get your thobe.
15:22Now, normally, I resist the inevitable producer idea
15:25to get into quote-unquote native dress,
15:27but it's hot here, like over 100 degrees hot.
15:31And how shall I put this?
15:32It looks like the thobe allows a kind of air circulation in the cellar
15:35that my boys would really appreciate.
15:39Here we are.
15:41Here's our guy?
15:42Here's our guy.
15:43Excellent.
15:45Your average Saudi man about town would have about one
15:48or even two thobes for every day of the week.
15:51I want it to look sharp.
15:52There are casual versions and more formal ones.
15:55Though Western-style dress is acceptable for men,
15:58this is pretty much the norm.
16:00I'm going to see what I like.
16:05He's just wondering how to get up to your shoulders.
16:08See, the nice thing about the thobe is that
16:12because it's white and because it's really light fabric...
16:15It reflects the sun.
16:17So even though you're wearing something long,
16:19it's actually cool.
16:21But what about you?
16:22You're like a magnet for the raising of the sun.
16:24You must be broiling.
16:24Oh, I know.
16:25Black is not exactly the best option.
16:26This is a basic inequity.
16:28Yeah, exactly.
16:29You know, this is pretty fundamental.
16:32Exactly.
16:32The men get the nice white light thing.
16:35Well, the reason is because it's very see-through.
16:37You can see everything.
16:39Right.
16:39Okay.
16:39I've got to account for that.
16:41All right.
16:41Well, thank you very much.
16:42I'm looking forward to my swinging new outfit.
16:45South Beach.
16:46Look out.
16:47The tailor sets to work on my thobe.
16:49And in 24 hours, I'll be ready for the sweets of Jeddah
16:52and P. Diddy's white party.
16:57Next up, what do you do to beat the heat in Saudi Arabia?
17:11No reservations.
17:17Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
17:19This ain't buffalo.
17:22It's a place where religious law is strictly observed in everyday life,
17:26in the shadows of ultra-modern skyscrapers.
17:30Less than 100 years ago, this was a land of warring tribes.
17:35It wasn't until 1932 when Abdulaziz bin Saud declared himself king
17:40and annexed the place in his name that the country of Saudi Arabia was born.
17:45Oil was discovered by accident.
17:48They were looking for water, and everything changed.
17:54Proximity to the Red Sea is what's made Jeddah so strikingly different
17:58and relatively hipper than the interior of Saudi Arabia.
18:05It's also what's going to provide me with a cooling interlude on a coral reef.
18:13The guy with the harpoon is Dania's friend, Abdullah.
18:17It's a good guy.
18:18So even if a big tuna takes my spear gun, we're going to go too far.
18:24If I see anything interesting down there, I'll just hook it in the gills with my finger.
18:27Quick, quick, buddy.
18:31Are we ready to rumble?
18:33Yeah, what do you need?
18:34I'm ready to brave the deep.
18:45Standards of dress extend even underwater.
18:50Dania has creatively rigged herself a custom-made aqua abaya.
18:57This is not what I pictured when I signed on for a trip to a desert nation.
19:04Here, fishy fishy, is your friend SpongeBob.
19:06Here to kill you.
19:16Wow.
19:19No doubt the most successful fishing scene in the history of no reservations.
19:24Yellowfin, jackfish, parrotfish, grouper, and tuna, and not a stunt fish among them.
19:29So a respectable day on the water.
19:31Yeah.
19:33Excellent.
19:33Well done.
19:35Cooked by the sun to medium rare, I'm headed back to civilization and to the heart of the city, Old
19:41Town.
19:45Nassif House is one of the oldest homes in the city.
19:47Known until the 1920s as the house with the tree, because, like, there's a tree out front, and it was
19:53the only tree in town.
19:55I would like to introduce you to engineer, Sammy Nawar.
19:59Welcome.
20:00Mr. Nawar is a walking library.
20:02Wow, excellent.
20:05The hallways were built wide enough and the steps gradual enough so that camels could haul goods all the way
20:10up to the roof.
20:11And up there, one of the most spectacular views in Jeddah.
20:16This is really cool.
20:18This is the direction of Makkah.
20:20The pilgrims come by ship, and then they rest, relax, in the houses, and then they take a camel caravan,
20:26and then they go towards Makkah.
20:27We are acquainted with foreigners and people coming in as a gate.
20:32As a port city.
20:33Yes, yes.
20:34Like New York, in a way.
20:36Uh-huh.
20:36Yes.
20:37This structure on top.
20:38Yes.
20:39For entertaining, for...
20:40This is the best room in the house.
20:43This is where Dania's arranged for a group of family and friends to join us for dinner.
20:48Dinner itself is getting whipped up elsewhere in the neighborhood, as something other than your usual stove is required.
20:56A whole lamb.
20:58Roasted in a traditional coal-fired oven dug into the floor.
21:03And plenty of rice.
21:04Something you see here more than elsewhere in the Arab world.
21:10Our delivery arrives in short order, but dinner waits for the call at the prayer.
21:30For a while, everything stops.
21:49Five times a day, the call from the mosque is a haunting and quite beautiful reminder that here, faith governs
21:55life.
22:05For a Westerner, it's a reminder of where you are.
22:08Remove from what you see on TV, what you might already think or assume.
22:12If you can put all of that out of your head in a vacuum, it's lovely and impressive.
22:29Oh, look at that.
22:31That's fantastic.
22:33Nicely done.
22:34You like it?
22:35Yeah.
22:36The near ubiquitous condiments and sides.
22:38Hot sauce, salad, yogurt, and honey.
22:42Let's just start.
22:43Everyone dig in.
22:45In traditional style, meat is pulled from the bone and eaten with the hand or pinched between folded bread.
22:51The lamb, tender, juicy, and really flavorful.
22:56Oh, this is good.
22:57Wish I could eat like this all the time.
23:00With the food being tossed at you?
23:02Mm-hmm.
23:04I think people should relax when they eat.
23:06It should be fun.
23:07Right.
23:09As a Westerner, you can have the tongue and the brain.
23:13Oh, lovely.
23:16Love the brain?
23:17That's pretty small.
23:17All right.
23:18This is that.
23:18Oh.
23:19See?
23:20Because you were asking earlier, so we're not going to be eating sheep pies, remember?
23:23And I said maybe.
23:24No, I said, so you're not going to be eating sheep pies.
23:31What I'm beginning to notice, by the way, is that it's not just Daniel with a sense of
23:35humor around here.
23:37People actually laugh at themselves.
23:39Irony is not an unknown quantity.
23:41Home with me and my...
23:43There's a cheerful, grinsical, good-humored, and sophisticated atmosphere very much at odds
23:49with the kind of humorless fanaticism I was led to expect.
23:57Next up, enjoy the fresh taste of hump.
23:59I know I do.
24:01Then hang on for humpaliciousness, because it's camel time.
24:04Ooh.
24:17No reservations.
24:28Suspicious thing.
24:30It's lonely out there in the desert, my friends.
24:33Many moons without companionship.
24:36I don't know.
24:37I hope that's corn chowder.
24:40Welcome to Camelpalooza.
24:43The Camel Bazaar.
24:44For all your camel needs.
24:48Camels have been traditionally, forever, like something very, very important to Arabs in
24:55general.
24:56They drink its milk.
24:57They use it to carry stuff.
25:00In fact, here at King Adelaziz University, they're doing research using camel urine to cure cancer.
25:07They even have beauty contests.
25:10Camel beauty contests.
25:11Yes.
25:12Ah, yes, my beauty.
25:13Your eyes, your legs, the gentle, sloping lines of your hump.
25:16I ain't getting up on that thing.
25:19I didn't bring you here for a camel ride.
25:21Well, good.
25:22We're here to pick out a camel for our dinner.
25:25Yes, dinner.
25:26Sadly, the camel caravan is pretty much a thing of the past.
25:30These days, old Bessie here is useful for dragging tourists around in figure eights, and for, you
25:34guessed it, food.
25:38Naturally, Dania eats camel all the time, right?
25:41Now, let me ask you, have you eaten camel before?
25:44No.
25:45See, I knew you were going to say that.
25:49Shockingly, new to the delights of camel eating, she consults the experts.
25:54What they say is the best way to choose one is to get a very young one.
25:59Right.
26:00Preferably one that hasn't even started eating hay or grass or any of that kind of stuff.
26:04It's still, still all eaten.
26:05It's still suckling.
26:06Baby camel.
26:07Baby.
26:08Big-eyed baby.
26:09Yeah.
26:12No way you're ever going to see me offing Mr. Humpy over here.
26:15We are definitely hitting the freezer cabinet over in the camel district for a stunt camel.
26:20Go in peace, my little friend.
26:22Run free.
26:23Frolic at will.
26:29Next, a traditional commercial marketplace and hub of Arabian commerce, as well as a
26:33center for social interaction and recreation.
26:37It is, Dania tells me, referred to as a mall.
26:40I don't want everybody to keep thinking that Saudi Arabia is only about camels and desert.
26:44I don't think they think about us doing shopping.
26:47No, I thought about all the fantastically wealthy, materialistic people who are buying up
26:50all of our real estate.
26:51Oh, yeah.
26:52Well, there's a lot of that, too.
26:56Imagine, if you will, a huge, covered structure shielded from the rays of the sun where not
27:02just one, but many businesses of every variety are housed under one roof.
27:05Even though I'm not a big mall rat, Saudi culture is really mall culture.
27:12The two things that people do here is eat and shop.
27:17Rides for the kids, a water show, all the Western brands, and clothes not likely to be worn ever
27:24in public.
27:25See, look, I told you, high heels, stilettos.
27:30Even though we're walking around in our thighs, and this is what people see usually on the outside,
27:35underneath, we're dressed like that.
27:38At home, among just family, that you can go around like that.
27:41Right.
27:41Or if we're in an all-female gathering.
27:45Oh, man, that wasn't, the competition must be brutal.
27:48You don't want to.
27:49If it's all girls, if you're just dressing for other women, and it's all about in-your-face,
27:53bitch.
27:54Yeah, exactly.
27:57Oh, my God.
27:58I know.
27:59You've got the Terror Dome up here.
28:01And they have air hockey, my favorite thing ever.
28:04You want to play a game?
28:08Don't cheat.
28:10Ah!
28:11I was, by the way, the champion air hockey player on my tier at Attica.
28:15Should I mention that to Dania?
28:17Nah.
28:19Yes!
28:20Yes!
28:21Fear not.
28:25Yes!
28:26Ah!
28:28Yes!
28:31Yeah!
28:32That was so cool.
28:33That was really, really cool.
28:34Without the fear of imminent sodomy, I guess I lose focus.
28:37Good game, good game.
28:39That's okay.
28:40Dania's buying you.
28:44Al-Bake, Saudi Arabia's far superior alternative to the deep-fried coprophiles over at the Colonel.
28:51Chicken time.
28:53The legendary and much-loved Saudi staple, the very name of which will cause the most unsmiling
28:58of locals to grin with anticipation.
29:00Well, here we are at Anbeck.
29:02Chicken with top hat and formal wear.
29:05Yeah!
29:06So, you know, it's got to be good.
29:08Okay, but quandary already.
29:10Okay, but quandary already.
29:10Mm-hmm.
29:11Single section or family section?
29:14What does this mean, really?
29:15Single section means it's the men's section.
29:18Right.
29:19Family section's for everyone else.
29:21Okay, so basically I'm allowed in there.
29:23Yes.
29:23Okay, so it's not like they're segregating men and women.
29:25They're segregating families, men and women together.
29:28Right.
29:29Kids.
29:29Kids, yes.
29:30Down here, guys only.
29:31Right.
29:32Let's get some chicken.
29:33Let's do it.
29:35At Al-Bake, the chicken is marinated in spicy sauce and then roasted like you know who used
29:40to do.
29:41Of course, there are nubbity things, I believe they call them nuggets here, and strangely
29:46cut potatoes, which have been curiously enough, fried in oil.
29:50Quite good to tell the truth.
29:52Oh, it smells good.
29:54Come on.
29:54Oh, yeah.
29:57In keeping with community standards, a little privacy with your chicken.
30:02The whole door thing and everything, right?
30:04You can see privacy.
30:05Uh-huh.
30:06An excellent idea, by the way, because what I do with my fried chicken, it ain't pretty.
30:11All right, this is the garlic sauce?
30:12That's the garlic sauce.
30:13Creamy garlic sauce, no less.
30:16You know what's great about this place is that usually all these big fast food chains,
30:21they suck.
30:23Right.
30:24This is our own local fast food chain, and honestly, I think it's great.
30:30Mm.
30:30All right.
30:30Try it again.
30:31You have to.
30:32Just try it.
30:32They look truly appalling.
30:34The shape, chicken does not come in an oblong shape.
30:37I'm kind of against it.
30:39You're allowed to eat it.
30:41Would you like this?
30:42That looks like real chicken in there.
30:44Mm-hmm.
30:45It is.
30:45It is good.
30:47Shape is unfortunate.
30:49Well, I'm loving this.
30:52But, I mean, I use this as an abortion.
30:54I'm going to ask, just about any restaurant you go into, you are going to have that single
30:57section and family section.
31:00The fact is, they segregate.
31:01The sex is here.
31:02Mm-hmm.
31:02What do you say to a Western woman who automatically and instinctively would be very pissed off at
31:11this notion?
31:12When somebody mentioned that to me just recently, I was thinking, oh, I never thought of it that
31:18way.
31:18I always thought of it as the way that, well, they're segregating the men.
31:22It's not like they're pushing the women off into the corner.
31:24They're taking the single men and pushing them off into a corner.
31:27It seems to assume the worst of men's predilections, behavior, et cetera, that men will behave badly.
31:35They do.
31:36And that, that, that might be common ground, actually, with the people I'm talking about.
31:43What about the rest of the world?
31:44Would the rest of the world be better off this way?
31:47What do you think?
31:48I don't think that there's anything wrong with the way things are in Italy, in France,
31:54in the United States, in Malaysia, in China.
31:58There's an intermingling of the sexes everywhere in the world, you know?
32:01But I think that culturally things have been the way they are here for so long that it's
32:06going to take time for things to change, if they do.
32:09I feel it's a very family-oriented society, and so the family gets the upper hand kind
32:15of thing, you know?
32:16Or preferential treatment.
32:18Exactly.
32:19On a lighter note, this chick is really good.
32:23You like it?
32:24Mm-hmm.
32:25Yeah, I'm liking this a lot.
32:26Good, I'm happy.
32:27I imagine.
32:28Not bad for a day's work, and I feel, I have to say, very comfortable here.
32:38But into each life, a little rain must fall.
32:43Daniel got the impression that I needed more lizard in my diet.
32:47But you know, it's not going to be a disappointment, because I...
32:49It's not a problem.
32:50I have an alternate cruller scene all mapped out.
33:02No time in the kingdom would be complete, or even representative, without spending some
33:14serious time in the desert.
33:19Dany's friend, Amr, is taking us out for a classic Bedouin delicacy, dub.
33:24The bad news is that means lizard.
33:27For breakfast.
33:28And you haven't had lizard before?
33:31Never.
33:31And he said he has?
33:33Yes, Amr has had it.
33:34He said he hated it.
33:35Really?
33:38Interesting.
33:43I am not encouraged by the fact that Dania hasn't tried this before, either.
33:48So you go around basically looking for the hole, right?
33:51Yeah, we're looking for the hole, and scorpions live in the same hole with the lizard.
33:56Wait a minute, who lives in it?
33:57Scorpions.
33:58Scorpions, together.
33:58Scorpions, together.
33:59Yeah, together.
34:00Oh, that's a party.
34:00So if you put your hand, you watch up, maybe you will get a sting from the scorpion.
34:06They defend each other.
34:08Oh, really?
34:08Yeah.
34:09Yeah.
34:11There will be a half-assed attempt at demonstrating how they are hunted, basically by jamming this
34:16half-stunned, tormented creature into a hole, and then dragging him out again.
34:21I think we're on very dubious ethical ground here.
34:25Oh, yeah.
34:27All right.
34:28Time for brunch.
34:31Start the holidays, boys.
34:34The unfortunate reptiles charred on open flame, then chopped into chunks,
34:38and tossed into a pot, where he simmers for hours with a lovely stew of tomato and onion.
34:43Are you excited?
34:45I will not even touch it.
34:47You're not having any?
34:49No.
34:51Not even a little bite?
34:53Oh, okay.
34:55I'll close my eye.
35:02I can tell you, it doesn't smell good.
35:04You're not encouraging me.
35:09You want some sauce?
35:10A little sauce, yes.
35:12Can I change the flame?
35:15No, no, no.
35:15I'm kind of liking mine.
35:16Please.
35:17No?
35:19Please.
35:24Okay, ready?
35:28That's not that bad.
35:31It's a lot whiter.
35:33It tastes like chicken.
35:34It really does, I think.
35:36You know what it tastes like?
35:38What?
35:39What?
35:40A lizard.
35:45Once you get the skin off, it's kind of got a smoky flavor that's not bad.
35:49Much, much, much, much better than I thought it was going to be.
35:52Yeah, I think so, too.
36:01Cuisine, culture, and daily dress are all in some way reflective of the harsh landscape
36:06and great distances just outside the city limits.
36:09The country is 95% desert.
36:17No wonder the garment of choice is the Thobe.
36:20I totally dig it.
36:23There's that ventilation factor.
36:24I feel so free, if you know what I mean.
36:28And I've got to tell you, looking like everyone else, feeling truly invisible and anonymous,
36:32it feels kind of good.
36:35I can get a stunt double for this now.
36:38Anybody can play me.
36:41What do those kooky, crazy Saudis do when they want to cut loose?
36:47Drive around the desert like maniacs.
36:55A hobby possible in a country where gas is less than a dollar a gallon.
37:05Saudis of all ages pursue this activity with unbridled enthusiasm.
37:09Whole families loaded into every kind of four-wheel drive vehicle, attempting to climb steeper and steeper dunes.
37:17It's the Saudi version of a picnic.
37:19It's fun, especially if you like feeling your head bounce off the dashboard.
37:26While Amr and I are carving up the desert sands, our stunt camel was being prepped for its time in
37:31a giant airsatz pressure cooker.
37:37Meanwhile, our own air-conditioned desert dining tent is being made ready.
37:43After a few hours of high-pressure simmering, Mr. Humpy's stunt twin is sufficiently cooked.
37:52A proportionate amount of Taif-style salik, a white rice cooked in milk, is literally shoveled onto the platter.
38:05It looks like a huge, prehistoric animal.
38:09It's a party-sized gross.
38:11Yeah, exactly.
38:16An imposing heap of food, but camel's not a dish that is eaten in small groups.
38:21If you want to make a dent, I suggest inviting a crowd of at least 20.
38:26Ours is shared with Dania's friends and family, a few passers-by, fellow desert motorists, and of course, my new
38:33bestest pal, Amr.
38:34This is a camel that you killed, and he suffered so much.
38:41Yes, but I draw his spirit into my body.
38:45Again, serve in the middle and have at it with the hands.
38:57Surprisingly, the camel is tender, relatively lean for the most part, and delicious.
39:03He said that's some of the best.
39:04Oh, yeah.
39:06This is like a leg of lamb.
39:08This is very unintelligent.
39:10I honestly thought it would have a much stronger, gamey kind of taste.
39:14I don't know why, but that's just kind of what I thought of.
39:16I thought so, too.
39:17It's not like that at all.
39:18No, it's not.
39:20Our tradition is full of stuff that encourages people to go out and share.
39:25It's rude for us not to take care of our guests.
39:29Well, now you've had camel.
39:31Yeah, I've had some more, too.
39:33This definitely beats the lizard breakfast by a mile.
39:37In fact, it's damn good.
39:39Camel, the other white meat?
39:41Maybe so.
39:47Next up, what really happens behind closed doors in a Saudi home?
39:51No, no, I know it.
39:53Turn off the camera.
40:02No reservation.
40:12For my last stop, a home-cooked meal where it all started.
40:16Danya's place.
40:19Come make yourself comfortable.
40:23I'm poor tea and introduced to Danya's sisters, friends, and in-laws, most of whom have spent all day putting
40:30together a kind of cooperative, traditional potluck.
40:33Dishes very familiar to Danya, the kind of greatest hits of her family's home cooking.
40:39It's a pretty extravagant spread, I've got to say, but that's the Saudi way of hospitality.
40:44You pull out all stops for guests.
40:47This is a mind-blowing spread of food coming out here.
40:50It's basically like, where can you eat real Saudi food at home, you know?
40:56This is all typical Mekkawi food.
40:58A lot of the people in Mecca make these kinds of food.
41:01This is Egyptian.
41:02Let's start with the soup.
41:04That's the camel toast soup, right?
41:10There's always one in the family.
41:13In addition to a delightfully rowdy, funny, silly, and casual level of discourse, there's barley soup with yogurt, chicken with
41:21rice, two kinds of delicious dumplings.
41:25That's called Aisha Bula Ham, which means bread with meat, which is Saudi pizza, yeah.
41:31Who would have thought that Saudi Arabia could be fun?
41:34That people from a place so different, so far and from where I come from, and what I believe, could
41:39also be so similar?
41:41Hilarious, too.
41:42A joy to be around.
41:44I'm just behind you, tearing up.
41:49He's sad to see you go.
41:52It's not like what they say on the news about Saudi Arabia isn't true or partly true.
41:57It's that that's not the whole picture.
41:59It's always a bigger, more nuanced, more complicated story.
42:04Who are the Saudis?
42:06I won't insult them by trying to sum them up in a few sentences.
42:10Suffice to say that I met a lot of very proud, very warm, very funny, easy to be around people
42:16during my time here.
42:18I don't, I've come to believe, have to agree with you to like you or respect you.
42:23The food with its mix of influences was also so much better than expected.
42:29This was an extraordinary spread.
42:31I'm blown away.
42:32Overwhelming, huh?
42:33It's fantastic.
42:36Well, it's great to have you in our home.
42:38Thank you so much for being here.
42:40I really wanted you to meet my family, and it's our honor having you at our table.
42:47Well, it's an honor to be here, and really, really a good time.
42:50We're going to keep in touch?
42:52Absolutely.
42:57And, of course, there's the extraordinary woman who put the whole thing together, Dania.
43:03In a country where women aren't even allowed to drive, she stands out as a force of nature.
43:08Undaunted.
43:09An advocate for her homeland who convinced me to go to Saudi Arabia when all I'd been looking for was
43:15an easy way out.
43:16And did a damn good job of it, too.
43:18So thank you, Dania, for showing me what I was missing, what I had wrong, and for opening a window
43:24into a world that is, in the most important ways, not so very different than our own.
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