Posted by Joe Sulik on September 9, 2010 at 8:38 AM
Hi everyone, I just found out that my dad is going to Saudi Arabia to speak at a conference this January, and the plan is for me to come along and we'll stay extra for photography. I have always been intrigued by this area of the world, and I really want to spend as much as time as I can photographing the amazing culture, landscapes, and wildlife. However, neither of us have any knowledge about how exactly this would work. I read that there are companies that do desert expeditions, but I haven't found one yet. Does anybody have any advice on what are some key places to visit, best areas for wildlife, or just advice on traveling in this area of the world. Thanks! Joe
You have a real challenge on your hands. You might want to contact the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, DC and ask them what recommendations they might have as far as travel advisory books and photographic rules and regulations. If you want, you may take a run over to a local large library and see what books (travel mostly) that they might have.
Posted by John Mumaw on September 9, 2010 at 2:40 PM
Spend some time searching and posting your query to the 'Saudi Arabia' forum over at Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree travel forum. The TT forums are my 'go-to' place before I travel anywhere.
I know we have some NPN members here from Saudi Arabia - hope they see this and have some ideas for you!
You might get some ideas of whom to write to for their thoughts from this link:
http://jeddah.usconsulate.gov/photo-galleries.html
and some of the (very important) cautions here:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Taboo-About-Taking-Pictures-and-Photographs-in-Saudi-Arabia&id=406157
What a great adventure this will be! Sure looking forward to your photos! Don't forget to start the process of getting a passport soon!
Sandy r
Posted by Joe Sulik on September 10, 2010 at 8:26 AM
Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm going to check out a couple books about traveling to Saudi Arabia from the local library today. I checked out Lonely Planet and it looks extremely helpful, so I've been doing some reading from there as well. Thanks for the links as well Sandy, I haven't been able to read them yet but they too look very helpful.
Discussion
4 repliesYou have a real challenge on your hands. You might want to contact the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, DC and ask them what recommendations they might have as far as travel advisory books and photographic rules and regulations. If you want, you may take a run over to a local large library and see what books (travel mostly) that they might have.
You might get some ideas of whom to write to for their thoughts from this link:
http://jeddah.usconsulate.gov/photo-galleries.html
and some of the (very important) cautions here:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Taboo-About-Taking-Pictures-and-Photographs-in-Saudi-Arabia&id=406157
http://nidalm.com/blog/being-a-photographer/photography-in-saudi-arabia/
What a great adventure this will be! Sure looking forward to your photos! Don't forget to start the process of getting a passport soon!
Sandy r