Within a few minutes we packed the bags on the bike and left the hotel in Abha. After several one-way streets and U-turns in the opposite direction, we thought we had lost the escort😊.
After a relaxing “vacation week” at KAUST, we found it difficult to get back into everyday life in Saudi Arabia. We had hardly started our journey to Jeddah when we were stopped by the police. According to them, it was much too dangerous and not allowed to ride a bicycle on the highway.
Already for three weeks we are doing what would have been unthinkable ten years ago: We are traveling by bike through Saudi Arabia. It was only in 2013 that women were allowed (at that time only in recreational areas, accompanied by a male and in compliance with the dress code, i.e. with abaya and veil) to ride a bike. Since 2018, women have been allowed to drive cars, dress codes have been lifted, and tourists can enter Saudi Arabia eVisa. All these measures are part of Vision 2030, with which the crown prince wants to reduce the country’s dependence on oil.
