Tim thought I’d appreciate this picture of what used to be a small grocery store about a 15-minute walk from our home on the Diplomatic Quarter. It was the only such store on the DQ and came in handy, although we had to do our major shopping in the city. Now he says there’s a big supermarket/clothing/everything else store as well as shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and such, none of which used to be there. Although the DQ started out as an enclave for embassies and their diplomatic staff, during our time there a lot of new housing was built, and Saudis started moving in, too. It used to be a quiet, charming place to live, but now it sounds like just another Riyadh suburb. Saudi Arabia is changing, and I think that’s a good thing, but somehow I’m glad when we lived there when we did, during a quieter, more traditional time.

Last shot of the palace in Old Diriyah, posted earlier: