Sun, Sand and Single: An American Woman in Saudi Arabia 1960-62 by Nancy Gray-image
Sun, Sand and Single: An American Woman in Saudi Arabia 1960-62 by Nancy Gray-image

Sun, Sand and Single: An American Woman in Saudi Arabia 1960-62 by Nancy Gray

$ 4.22

ISBN-10: 0998627909 brand: Gray, Nancy Number of Pages: 330 Pages Intended Audience: Trade Item Width: 6 in Format: Trade Paperback gtin13: 9780998627908 Publication Year: 2017 Topic: General Book Title: Sun, Sand and Single : an American Woman in Saudi Arabia, 1960-62 ISBN-13: 9780998627908 Item Length: 9 in Publisher: Gray, Nancy Genre: Travel Author: Nancy Gray Synopsis: A memoir of life in a Saudi Arabian oil camp and the adjacent Middle East more than half a century ago, The Aramco flight from New York bounced to a halt on the Dhahran airstrip. Nancy Gray joined the press of bleary-eyed passengers struggling down the ramp toward the arrivals hall. Gasping for breath in the 122-degree heat and blinded by the glare of the sun on the desert sands, she wondered why she'd accepted employment in Saudi Arabia in the first place. The chance to explore the "storied" Middle East and the promise of a fat paychecck to finance her ambitious travel agenda had won her over. Her contract guaranteed her salary, but her rosy vision of a Middle East decorated with well-mannered camels, Moorish palaces, and swaying palm trees required a reset even before she cleared Immigration and Customs. Meanwhile, beneath a paper-thin layer of surface calm, Saudi Arabia and it neighbors were navigating through turning points in their own history. Traditional versus modern lifestyles, religious/ethnic tensions, unresolved refugee problems, the role of foreign business interests in the Middle East, and post-colonial issues in the region were becoming as divisive then as they are now. Intent on absorbing as much as she could about current issues in the region and their historical roots, and armed only with a smattering of mostly self-taught Arabic, Nancy Gray took advantage of every spare moment for travel, while keeping up with her Aramco job, teaching piano, and operating a catering business. Follow her as she visits sites of historical interest, learns the unique features of oil-camp-expat life, teaches Arab women to operate treadle sewing machines, makes Arab friends, interviews and learns from refugees, bargains in the suqs , and even figures out how to make flambe dishes in bone-dry Saudi Arabia. Item Height: 0.8 in Language: English

Description

  1. Just finished this incredible memoir! Nancy's vivid storytelling transported me right into 1960s Saudi Arabia - felt like I was experiencing the culture, landscapes and adventures alongside her. Authentic, eye-opening and beautifully written. Couldn't put it down!

    Bill Smithfe

Related products