Walkin' 'round Riyadh: Can you hear me now? Photos by Mark Silva

by Mark Silva

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- While most of our readers were sleeping this morning, Al Swamp took a five-mile hike around downtown Riyadh -- actually at the noon-hour here, with the sidewalks fairly clear after the noon call to prayer on loudspeakers blaring from the mosques and rising above the din of the city traffic barreling through the city.

While President Bush went through a formal welcoming ceremony at Al Marabba Palace -- with the president swaying to the music of drums and chanting performers with his host, Prince Salman, the governor of Riyadh -- we headed out into the rhythm of the city traffic.

As best we could tell, the green light here is the symbol for dropping the clutch with second gear engaged at 4,500 rpm, and the red light the symbol for honking the horn. And say what you want about the breakneck Saudi drivers -- they're all men. Women are not allowed to drive here. But we only witnessed one rear-ending, and the victim was none the worse for the wear.

Much of the city is low-rise, and old. The back city roads of low homes, built in cubical shapes and shades of brown and pastels and walled from the outside world, yield no view of the interiors. Yet gleaming and dramatic new towers rise from the low cityscape, calling out for attention. Al Faisaliah Tower, a pyramid-shaped center for banking and business -- with a McDonald's at the ground level -- may be the signature of this city's skyline.

But the Kingdom Tower, with its bell curve cut-out and a bridge offering sweeping views of the city -- is the most eye-catching. It houses a Four Seasons Hotel.

Drawing comparisons between old and new here is tempting -- though there appears to be nothing new in the way people go about daily life: Women follow men along the sidewalks, some marbled, some sandy -- it seems each business has its own, with the biggest banks rolling out marble sidewalks, the House of Donuts blue and yellow tile, Dunkin' Donuts cement.

Nevertheless, the old and new stand in stark contrast here.

With oil prices reaching $100 per barrel, the influence of Western investment is just as evident in Saudi Arabia as is the impact of Saudi oil prices on the world's economy.

The Saudi oil minister said today that Exxon Mobil is the largest outside investor in Saudi Arabia. Yet, one wonders what the cost of coffee by the barrel might be, if one computed it on the per-cup prces charged by this familiar face with a cafe on Riyadh's Al Oruba Street -- several blocks down the road from the towering pyramid.

The debate over health care in the United States tends toward questions of government control versus the forces of the market. Here, they seem to have answered the question.

Downtown Riyadh traffic is hair-raising. The Ford Crown Victoria has not gone out of style here, but traffic laws have. Yet, the drivers here seem to have largely mastered the art of driving at daring rates of speed, hanging on bumpers and changing lanes without care without interrupting the flow of things. This rear-ender resulted in relatively little impact.

Five times a day, the faithful Muslims of Riyadh remove their shoes, bow on prayer carpets and face Mecca. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the news and entertainment of the region and indeed the Western world arrive at the satellite dishes of Riyadh facing West.

The king's presence is felt throughout this city, in its structures as well as its laws. His image appears at nearly every turn. Wallet-size photos are available.

But the presence of this kingdom's natural resource, its oil, is becoming increasingly clearer on the streets of Riyadh. Little U.S. flags -- and we mean little -- flew from the mid-point light poles lining the highway that runs through the city today. So did the French flag -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy had passed through here yesterday, signing pacts to cooperate on a number of fronts with the Saudis. He was making his own Middle East tour, cutting deals to electrify Qatar and assist the United Arab Emirates with nuclear power.

Here in Riyadh, the banks are building a bright new avenue, lined with palms. It is reminiscent of Brickell Avenue in Miami for its rows of gleaming glass highrises.

It is known as King Fahd Road.