Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Harlem Shake - in Jeddah


A few days ago, an epic event occurred on the streets of Jeddah in broad daylight - the Harlem Shake. It was an organized underground event with hundreds of young people participating. The logistics of pulling off such an event here in Saudi Arabia, where public gatherings such as this are outlawed, are challenging. Had word gotten out to the police ahead of time, I'm sure measures would have been taken to quell such an incident from happening in the first place. As it was, apparently the crowd was dispersed by police, but not until several videos like this one were filmed by attendees.

14 comments:

  1. That is amazing and so funny. its everywhere. So many people in Saudi have been doing the Harlem Shake. What really gets me is that all over the world the smae banana outfit and horse heads can be seen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just saw a segment on ET (Entertainment Tonight) about what a craze the Harlem Shake has become - it's worldwide!

      Delete
  2. Hearing all of that laughter is quite refreshing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love it!

    Do find it maddening though that there are all those presumably young men in very modern clothing while the women still draped and covered up! But as you mentioned in a previous post you are seeing changes in your years there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amy - I would have to agree about the clothing. I find it unfair that males can wear whatever they are comfortable in, while we females cannot.

      Delete
    2. As a muslim, I'll have to partially disagree.. both men and women have "3awra" (parts which should be covered). But it's true that the man's is less than the woman's.

      Delete
  4. Who would expect to see this in SA? Not me. Of course while all these young men are dressed like others all around the world, the women are dressed in black with their faces covered like they come from another planet. Maybe in the long run, the youth will be able to change the way women are kept so separated from parts of society. They are very brave.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well to b honest wearing abaya is not that bad. n trust me im not saudi but covering my face is preventing from getting sunburn . n trust me the heat in saudi can be too much!! :(

      Delete
    2. Hi Lori - I've lived in hot climates all my life and until I moved here, I was able to dress accordingly for the weather. I have literally almost passed out from the heat here. It is very dangerous for women to be dressed in black in a climate like this, but my feeling is that it is this way so women will want to stay home all the time and not go out in the intense heat. We do suffer from other problems related to never being in the sun, like depression, Vitamin D deficiency, and brittle bones, to name a few.

      Delete
  5. Hi Susie,

    Thank you for this post.... may be there is a littel light at the end of the tunnel????


    I never thought of the consequenses of not beeing in the sun....

    For the women its like living above the polar circle then...thanks for informing....

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think that Saudi Arabia has to Change a bit because our youngsters want to feel free of doing those kind of dances to show there potential and what they could do, if they have given a chance. The Problem is I would agree on the law with one point. That is they shouldn't block the roads for the people who are trying to move. It suppose to be professionally made in a good manner. like making a show on the right side. But I really Enjoyed the show. The New Jeddah Street in Palestine Street (Falestine Street) was actually my Idea to make it look better. but the problem is Saudi Arabia doesn't have right's for Idea's. To Some Idea's are worthless. To be Honest I am really tired and really Mad because Saudi Arabia Don't look over people's rights. It's extremely not fair that someone comes up with the idea and get nothing in return.
    I Totally Support what the youngsters did on that video. I think The World Should think about the Youngsters more than them thinking about Money & Spending Money from them self's. There Should Be Rights for "Idea's" because that person came up with that Idea.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unfortunately there were many arrests- and some segments of society are calling for severe punishment. Sheesh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Really, Sandy? I haven't seen anything in the news about it. Why can't they let people have a little fun around here?

      Delete