We had seen this building as it was being restored a year and a half ago, and had even been invited in for tea with the owner. Nobody was around this time, but I saw that the side of the building had been fixed up, including this small door.

I will have to try to catch up with comments during my workday, but I have to say, with thumbnails (and pictures) broken and the format of pages out of whack, it won’t be easy. I sure hope Pbase resolves its problems soon, whatever they in fact are. Thanks to all who have sent me their private email for purposes of keeping in touch and regrouping if necessary. I’m most happy to return the favor, but I hope it doesn’t come to having to find another site to share our pictures and our friendship!

Old Diriyah is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the original home of the Saudi royal family, a fascinating place to visit and only about a 10-minute drive from our house. We wanted to see if the UNESCO site was open yet as it had been undergoing restoration for several years. It was supposed to be finished in 2014, then April 2015, and now I think we’ll be lucky to see it before we leave Saudi Arabia in a year. But much work has been done, and the town seems to be reinventing itself in anticipation of a heavy flow of domestic tourists once the site is finished. I took this next series of pictures while walking around parts of the town (at the height of the afternoon heat, I must add!).

Part of a gallery of the building under restoration, from a year and a half ago: