Precis

The 'hidden kingdom' of Saudi Arabia has been mostly closed to journalists and travellers ... until now. In a glitzy PR push, the country wants to promote itself as a tourist destination.

Foreign Correspondent rides the magic carpet to extraordinary sites, thousands of years old, holding mysteries archaeologists are just beginning to uncover.

It's part of a multi-billion-dollar campaign by leader Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to modernise the economy, diversify it away from oil dependency, and liberalise the austere, puritanical form of Islam that's locked up the country for decades.

But will the notoriously repressive regime deliver on its promise to reform?

Reporter Sam Hawley witnesses the social revolution underway, speaking with a woman Uber driver, a woman scuba instructor and one of the nation's first stand-up comedians.

The comedian explains he must operate within unwritten laws.

"We can't go to the red lines... even if one day the government says it's okay to talk about this and that. Okay, go talk about sex, religion, whatever," he says.

"If you speak about it, people won't feel comfortable."

But the dark side of the regime remains.

Foreign Correspondent gains a rare interview with Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi. His brutal dismemberment by a Saudi hit squad shocked the world and still stains the country's international reputation.

Over a year on, Hatice Cengiz says the world has failed to hold the Saudi government to account for the brutal killing.

Sam Hawley charts the broad clampdown on dissent and speaks with some of the country's critics, including a Saudi prince who lives outside the country under police protection and claims he is the victim of a state-sponsored kidnap attempt.

"There are no political reforms", says the prince, now living overseas.

"There is no separation of powers and there is a dominance by the religious authorities over other branches of power in the state."

Moon/Plane landing/Men pray

Music

00:00

Hawley at Saudi airport arrivals

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: As a foreign correspondent my job takes me to many countries, but stepping into this one, I’m feeling mildly unsettled. After all, this is Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest cities, and governed by shariah law. Women have few rights here.

00:19

Music

00:42

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: We’ve arrived at a pivotal moment in the country’s history, as it’s finally opening up to tourism. I’m one of the first people in the world to get an E-visa, and a government offer to show us this vast and unfamiliar place.

00:45

Music

01:09

Hawley being greeted by official, is shown to car and drives off

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: I knew this was an absolute monarchy, and the world’s biggest supplier of oil, but I wasn’t at all prepared for what I was about to experience.

01:12

Vision 2030 event. Super:
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Music

01:27

TITLE: Tourist Mecca

01:34

Hawley at event. Super:
Reporter
Samantha Hawley

01:40

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: A glittering – decidedly non-alcoholic – evening, headlined the importance of tourism to the country’s future.

01:52

Tourism official addresses crowd

AHMAD BIN AQIL AL-KHATIB, Chairman, Commission for Tourism: “It is a privilege to be with you here tonight. For the first time we open our country to tourists from all over the world.”

02:03

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: A multi-million dollar publicity drive is boosting tourism – a key plank in diversifying the country’s economy – a plan called Vision 2030. Earlier, I’d been briefed by our minder on what I couldn’t ask the tourism minister when I interviewed him.

02:14

Hawley on phone in car

[on phone]:  "Okay, but Kashoggi, you could argue, is, or could be, related to tourism…” I was NOT to ask about the journalist Jamal Kashoggi, whose brutal murder at the hands of Saudi security caused international furore.

02:38

[on phone]:  "…use him by name. So you don’t want me to mention Kashoggi’s name?”

I had to stick to tourism and its opportunities.

02:56

Al-Khatib interview. Super:
Ahmad bin Aqil al-Khatib
Chairman, Commission for Tourism

AHMAD BIN AQIL AL-KHATIB, Chairman, Commission for Tourism:  It will be very significant.  This will take Saudi Arabia to become one of the top five most visited countries globally from 22 today. We want to add 60 million visits in the next 12 years.

03:06

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter:  But this is a very conservative country, isn't it and tourists, we know, can behave badly.

03:26

AHMAD BIN AQIL AL-KHATIB, Chairman, Commission for Tourism: We will make the rules very clear. We will make the Abaya optional for women when they come to Saudi Arabia and if they dress, they need to dress modest, just to respect the culture in the street.

03:33

Foreign Correspondent footage from earlier story. Super:
March 2003

Music

03:49

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: When Foreign Correspondent last reported from Saudi Arabia we were greeted with an entirely different song.

03:59

Man outside mosque: “Woman bring these Godless people near the mosque?”

04:08

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: We found a country in the grip of religious fundamentalism. Five of the September 11 terrorists had been recruited from this mosque alone. Saudi society was governed by a puritanical interpretation of Islamic law…

04:11

Man in shopping mall:  “Don’t follow Jews and Christians!"

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: …enforced by the Matawah – the feared ‘morality’ police.

Man in shopping mall: "They’re planning to destroy our traditions, our girls and our wives.”

04:33

Drone shot over Riyadh

Music

04:44

Hawley out of hotel and into Uber with Mawta

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: So I wanted to find out how much has changed.  What better way to explore than order an Uber?

04:52

"Hi Mawta."

Mawta: "Hello."

Sam: "Thank you so much for giving me a lift around Riyadh."

Mawta: "Sure."

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: In Australia, where Mawta Buyati studied as a nurse, there was nothing remarkable in her getting a licence, but back here, it’s revolutionary.

05:00

Sam: "What was that moment like when they announced that women would be able to drive?"

Mawta: "It was like alive again."

Sam: "It was like being alive again?"

Mawta: "Yeah, being alive again, yes.

05:19

I feel like happy. Having more freedom, I feel like everything was easy. So I can go out to work by myself, any time, like – yeah.

05:28

Driving shots

Music

05:41

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter:  As Riyadh shimmers in the hot desert air, it’s being transformed.

05:53

Music

05:57

Riyadh skyline, high rise

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: The country that grew plump and powerful on oil is diversifying.

06:10

Music

06:15

Oil plant

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: It‘s sold a slice of the state-owned oil company Aramco to fund other ventures and it’s touting for much more foreign investment.

06:18

Shopping mall interior

The main shopping mall is still busy, but the moral police are missing, and have been stripped of their powers of arrest.  

06:27

Driving with Mawta

Boosting women into the workforce work is part of the new economic vision. They can also now mix with men.

06:44

Sam: "Do you have male customers?"

Mawta: "Yes I do."

Sam: "So you can take women or men, it doesn’t matter?"

Mawta: "Yeah it doesn’t matter I can do that.

06:55

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: And she’s very grateful to the Crown Prince.

07:04

Mawta: "The changes you can see. He allowed us to drive. I think it was like freedom. So we appreciate him, and we love him. Yes, of course. (laughs)

07:10

GFX. Crown Prince with world leaders

Music

07:22

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman – known as MBS – initially won other hearts, too. His father Salman is still King, but it’s MBS who effectively took over power in 2017. The world embraced this fresh faced leader and his reform agenda.

07:30

Crown Prince grab

CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMAD BIN SALMAN: There have been many achievements, as  expected, many achievements.

07:55

Prince Faisl Al-Saud interview. Super:
Prince Turki bin Faisl al-Saud, Former Ambassador to US and UK

PRINCE TURKI BIN FAISL AL-SAUD, Former Ambassador to the US and UK: The enthusiasm about the vision is not confined only to the young people. Even older generations like myself are excited by what Saudi Arabia hopes to become in the future, because we come from a very ancient land and ancient history with lots of tradition and practices, and almost, if I can say, a staid outlook on life.

08:05

Washington. Hatice Cengiz in car, with phone

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: In Washington, Hatice Cengiz, the Turkish fiancée of murdered journalist Jamal Kashoggi is not buying Saudi’s new face of reform. She’s pushing for justice for Kashoggi, and raises serious doubts about MBS and his agenda.

08:47

HATICE CENGIZ: There is progress but it comes with many questions.

09:17

Hatice Cengiz interview

He was presented to the world as the young leader, the person who would change things in the Middle East, but after the murder, this image has suffered greatly. It’s seen as a bad stain, not just on him but on Saudi history.

09:20

Desert shots

Music

09:47

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: The endless sands of Arabia have held a stark fascination for centuries.

09:54

Driving through desert

We headed north in a caravan – including our official minders – into areas now being opened to the world for the first time in living memory.

10:10

Desert landscapes

Music

10:20

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Mysterious and majestic, this unforgiving land was known to T. E. Lawrence during the First World War. In Biblical times, camel trains travelled through here carrying priceless frankincense, myrrh and gold destined for the Mediterranean.

10:27

Drone shots. Tombs of Hegra

And here, in this vast emptiness, are the awesome traces of what was once one of the wealthiest cities in the world. They built the tombs of Hegra. 

10:54

Tomb entrance

Music

11:07

Hawley walks with guide Mashail

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Two thousand years ago this was a vibrant commercial hub, the southern capital of the Nabatean Kingdom, which stretched north up to Petra in Jordan. Now riches are expected to flow here once more from tourism.

11:16

Mashail:  “These excavations, these studies showed us how the Nabateans used these tombs…”

11:40

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Mashail Makki is one of hundreds of locals being job-trained for the expected flood of visitors.

11:45

With steps to heaven, and many guarded by stone eagles and lions, there are 131 burial tombs here.

11:57

Hawley peers into tomb/With Mashail

Mashail: "So the difference between them and the Egyptians, the Nabataeans and the Egyptians, the Nabateans keep the organs inside, so that's they how…"

Sam: "They keep the organs inside."

Mashail:  "Yeah. They keep the organs inside, yeah. That's different, yeah."

Sam: "Okay, well let's go and have a look at it."

12:06

Inside tomb

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter:  Inside, the embalmed dead from one family carefully laid here over many generations.

Mashail: “This one is different. It’s like rooms here."

Sam:  "And the bodies are wrapped?"

Mashail:  "Yes it’s wrapped in the middle… Yes, I will show you the picture of it."

Sam: "I’d love to see."

12:20

Mashail shows picture of wrapped bodies

Mashail: "So they keep the bodies naked, and they only wear a necklace."

Sam: "Oh, wow, that's amazing. And what does this area mean to you?"

12:40

Mashail: "Yes, this is what we have as history, we have to show the world, we have to tell them the stories that comes behind this civilisation. That's why we are here, to send these stories to others. That's why I love this, my country.

12:47

Tombs

Music

13:03

Hawley walks near tombs

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: In the Quran, this is the ‘rocky place’ –  Al-Hijr – its people cursed for disobeying Allah, but this topic is apparently off limits.

13:19

Hawley and Mashail in tomb

Sam:  "It's mentioned in the Quran, isn't it?"

Mashail:  "Yes, yes."

Sam: "What's the connotation in the Quran? What does it mean?"

Mashail:  "Actually, I can't answer this question. The media (PR) told me not to answer that question."

Sam: "Oh not to answer that question, okay, that's fine."

13:35

Hawley in plane over tomb

Music

13:49

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Evidence of civilisations going back to the dawn of mankind are hidden in the landscape. This tomb of a princess has rested on this mountain top for at least four thousand years.  Her full story is still a mystery.

14:00

Hawley at princess tomb

Many sites around the country were off limits to research for over a century – and much was destroyed by zealots, for being a heresy against Islam.  

14:19

Hawley walks with Tahani at tomb

The work of archaeologists has really just begun.

Tahani: "The site includes a lot of very important inscriptions…"

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Tahani Almahmoud is taking us to the site they call “The Library”. Many civilisations etched their marks here —the Dadans were especially prolific.

TAHANI ALMAHMOUD, Archaeologist: Most of the inscriptions here,

14:32

Super:
Tahani Almahmoud
Archaeologist

talking about loyalty and some rules in Dadanic community. Also, it has some of names for important kings of the Dadanian kingdom.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: You also think there's some music up there, which means that they had music.

14:57

TAHANI ALMAHMOUD, Archaeologist: Yes. Actually, one of the interesting rock arts here, it's for some of music instruments. That mean, they have time to do some music.

15:17

Arial. Al-Ulah at oasis

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: The oasis that attracted life is still here, and it supports the modern city of Al-Ulah, which is expecting a sudden influx of tourists.

15:27

Al-Ulah GVs

We were told that Saudi people are intensely private and wary of cameras, but that wasn’t our experience.

15:41

Man on street

Man on street: "Hello, hello, hello, welcome, welcome,. Welcome, habi, habi. Welcome. Where are you from? Good morning."

15:51

General Abdullah approaches

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: In fact we were quite a sensation in Al-Ulah.

15:57

Hawley with General Abdullah

GENERAL ABDULLAH: I am General Abdullah Altaihi Alanazi. I am from Al-Ulah, and you know this village it's a good history in the Quran. Do you read the Quran?

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter:  Yes.

16:02

GENERAL ABDULLAH: This area, it’s history for the Muslim, it’s history for the Jewish, and the history for the… Jesus… followers of Jesus- the Christian people. And here in this country we see all the people – friends.

16:18

"OK go with me…”

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: General Abdullah then extended a warm invitation for us to visit his farm.

16:35

Hawley to off screen camera man

General Abdullah: "You like, yes?"

Sam: "We could go and film maybe at the farm."

Dave: "Sure."

16:44

Minder on phone

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Going off-plan suddenly like this upset our minder, who monitored our every move.

16:51

Travelling to farm

Traditionally, the Bedu are extremely hospitable.

16:59

At farm

General Abdullah: "Take a look."

Sam: "Oh, I'd love to have a look!"

General Abdullah: "You relax. You take your time."

Sam: "Thank you very much."

General Abdullah: "Here you’re family, you know. No difference, okay?"

Sam: "Oh, that's so kind of you."

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Watered by the ancient oasis,

17:06

Hawley with General Abdullah among date palms. Tastes date

his family have 3,000 date palms here; much of the crop is destined for Europe.

General Abdullah:" Take, take, take."

Sam: "I can take one? Are you sure? Can I eat it?"

General Abdullah: "Yes!"

17:18

Sam: "Oh, I can taste it? Okay."

General Abdullah: "Yeah, you eat it, very nice."

Sam: "Oh, delicious."

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: It turns out General Abdullah studied for a time in America, but these are the historic lands for the Al-Anazi tribe.

17:28

GENERAL ABDULLAH: 200 years ago, the people come here from British, from France, from Europe and no different. Some people understand the Quran, you know, another way. We understand the Quran in the real way. No difference between all of us, all of us brothers.

17:42

General Abdullah dresses Hawley in shemagh

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: I was so welcome, I was sort of adopted. With a shemagh and igal, I became an Al-Anazi for a day.

General Abdullah; "You say: I am Al-Anazi.”

Sam: "I am an Aussie."

18:06

Red Sea coastline

Music

18:21

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars are slated for hotels and tourism along the Red Sea coastline, promising tens of thousands of new jobs.

18:29

Yasmin diving

The Red Sea is already famous for brilliant sea life, and at a resort at the edge of Jeddah, Yasmin Basha can’t get enough. She’s been diving for ten years, and every day finds something new.

18:45

Yasmin interview

YASMIN BASHA, Diving instructor:  I’m flying underwater. Really, this is my life. It’s relaxing, and all the fishes are my friends. I can’t live without them.  I'm very happy because I love diving. My life, it's underwater, so I want everyone, woman or man, underwater. 

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Being a diving instructor is hardly a job you’d expect for a Saudi woman.

19:04

What did your family think when you started to dive?

YASMIN BASHA, Diving instructor: Oh, at the beginning my family hates me. My mother, she is very scared from the water. So she told me, "Why you choose this job? It's very dangerous." But now she's okay with it. Now I think it's more than 300 women are diving.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: And how many have you taught to dive?

19:30

YASMIN BASHA, Diving instructor: Maybe more than 100, 150.

19:58

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Wow. How is it for women here now that things are starting to change?

YASMIN BASHA, Diving instructor: Yeah, it's changing a lot now. Now, it's very easy for every woman to do it.

20:02

So it’s very fast. I don't know what will happen in 2030 also, we are just two years, so it's a lot, completely different now for us. So in 2030, it will be amazing, I think.

20:10

Hawley in car

Music

20:23

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter:  There is a broad optimism here which is infectious, but it doesn’t sit comfortably with widespread reports of a harsh crackdown on dissent.

20:29

Projection of Loujain al-Hathloul/Woman dancing

Like in the weeks before women could drive, campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul and others were rounded up and jailed. And while cinemas and concerts are now allowed, the woman dancing in this phone video was reportedly arrested in October on a public disorder charge. So what gives?

20:42

Hatice Cengiz interview

HATICE CENGIZ: Even normal, sensible criticism in Saudi Arabia has become something that people wouldn’t attempt, something they’d be scared to do. The government doesn’t accept criticism at all. This was made clear again with this very violent murder. They just can’t accept criticism in any ordinary way, they can’t tolerate it.

21:06

Shakir performing at comedy club

Shakir Al-Sharif:  “Hey, hey, the lads have finally arrived. And they are wearing their traditional Saudi clothes. You guys must have a slow car."

21:34

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: At the kingdom’s first comedy venue, Shakir Al-Sharif knows he treads a fine line.

21:50

Shakir interview

But you don't have full freedom yet. You can't say whatever you want to say on stage. Or can you?

SHAKIR AL-SHARIF:  We can't.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: You can't?

SHAKIR AL-SHARIF: Yeah, we can't. We can't go to the red lines. Look, even if you go to it, people won't be comfortable. You get me?

21:57

Even if one day the government says it's okay to talk about this and that. Okay, go talk about sex, religion, whatever, if you speak about it, people won't feel comfortable. So I'd rather, me as a comedian, career-wise, I'll stay away from that.

22:13

Shakir stands on stage with Hawley

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: This theatre is another Vision 2030 idea –bringing some ‘fun’ to the kingdom, but when Shakir started he faced a massive conservative backlash.

Shakir Al-Sharif:  “The most fearful thing, after death, is being on stage."

22:29

Shakir interview. Super:
Shakir al-Sharif
Comedian

SHAKIR AL-SHARIF:  They started correcting me, like, "You shouldn't talk about your mother. You shouldn't talk about your father. You should stop doing this. You look ugly." You know the bullying."

22:47

Shakir performing

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Two thirds of Saudi’s population is under the age of 30. Many are unsure what the new rules are.

22:57

Mosque

[call to prayer]

23:13

Jeddah GVs

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Calls to prayer have echoed through the streets of Jeddah for 1400, since the time of Mohammad. It’s the gateway to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam.

23:25

Abir Abusulayman works as a guide in the Old City, and has a direct connection between the old Arabia and the new. What was marked for demolition here is now being preserved. And after all these centuries, frankincense is still for sale.

23:48

Hawley and Abir at restored house

Abir took me to one of the exotic restored houses.

24:18

ABIR ABUSULAYMAN, Old Jeddah guide: I love it. I feel that it's the most beautiful part on earth, not only in my country and I am never bored coming here explaining to the tourists the history of the area. I like to call myself a story teller more than a tourist guide.

24:30

Jeddah streets

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: While the country’s on a moderate religious path under MBS, there are dangers for those who step out of line.

24:47

Abir interview

There was a number of women in this country who fought for women's rights and for freedom for women, that paid a quite heavy price for that, were jailed, and what do you feel about those women that tried very hard to make—

ABIR ABUSULAYMAN, Old Jeddah guide: Well, I wasn't among these ladies.

25:00

Super:
Abir Abusulayman
Old Jeddah guide

I think these ladies took a step in advance without waiting what the government is going to do. They did not ask for what is happening now. They asked for less. And as you said, the price was not easy. We are a young country.

25:20

We are just 89 years old. So we had the burden of these last 20 years that are changing now within two years. So, and I promise you in your next visit you will see more changes. It's coming, and when you are slow in these changes, they will be genuine instead of being lost in what to do and not what to do. So things are excellent for now.

25:39

Masmak Fort exterior

Music

26:07

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: The House of Saud has ruled by the sword for several centuries. And while the young Crown Prince modernises and liberates, he’s also silenced critics. Social reformers and dissident clerics alike have been jailed, and this square holds a special fear for critics and criminals.

26:14

Deera Square, Riyadh. Hawley to camera

Well, it’s quite amazing to be here. The square is used for all sorts of things, events on weekends, but it’s also of course dubbed 'Chop Chop Square', and they still execute people here, in public.

26:35

Deera Square

Music

26:49

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Reportedly, 184 people lost their heads last year. Human Rights watchers say numbers are up since MBS became de facto ruler.

26:57

Hawley on plane

Inside the country, people are afraid to speak about repression. Outside, the country’s reputation has dived. The murder of Jamal Kashoggi and failure to convict the top hitmen, and the costly and disastrous war in Yemen, are both seen to be the Crown Prince’s responsibility.

27:12

Brandenburg gate

I arranged to meet someone who has felt this very personally.

27:36

Prince Khaled at window

Prince Khaled bin Farhan Al-Saud lives in exile, in Germany.

PRINCE KHALED BIN FARHAN AL SAUD, Exile: In Saudi Arabia is not any

27:44

Prince Khaled interview. Super:
Prince Khaled bin Farhan al Saud
Exile

people free there. The free are only the King and the Crown Prince and the government that work with this regime.

27:51

Prince Khaled walks with Hawley

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Khaled is a distant relative of MBS, and a long-term critic of the regime. He has police protection, and claims he’s been spied on; his flat‘s been ransacked and he thinks he may have been poisoned. And he believes Saudi intelligence tried to kidnap him, by offering five and a half million dollars US, but only if he came to the Saudi Embassy in Egypt to claim it.

28:05

Prince Khaled interview

PRINCE KHALED BIN FARHAN AL SAUD, Exile: When I first heard the news of Jamal Kashoggi I thought about myself, honestly, because a week before his death they tried to lure me to Egypt through one of my relatives who they met in Egypt. It was someone from the embassy and one from the Royal Court. They were trying to lure me to Cairo and I refused.

28:35

Exiles protest with posters on Berlin street

Exile: "No, no to execution."

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Some exiles speak out, like this small  group in Berlin protesting against the executions.

28:56

Men in car watching protest

They know they are under surveillance, and most exiles hide, fearing the government’s reach. They’ve seen others go missing, including three other princes who’d sought refuge in Europe.  Prince Khaled believes Saudi Arabia can’t modernise until there’s fundamental reform.

29:09

PRINCE KHALED BIN FARHAN AL SAUD, Exile: There are no political reforms. There is no separation of powers and there is

29:31

dominance by the religious authorities over other branches of power in the state. This has created a swamp of dictatorship and injustice.

29:35

Prince Faisl Al-Saud interview. Super:
Prince Turki bin Faisl al-Saud, Former Ambassador to US and UK

PRINCE TURKI BIN FAISL AL-SAUD, Former Ambassador to the US and UK: Well, there is a lot of criticism. What is important for a Saudi like myself is that if we see a criticism that is justified and we look upon ourselves and figure that yes, that criticism is true, then we will take it and we will try to improve ourselves to meet that criticism.

29:45

Woman driving buggy in desert dunes

Woman driver [on two-way radio]: “Hey guys, do I need to change the gears or something?!”

30:06

Music

30:12

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter: Bedouin culture was forged in the desert. It’s warm and welcoming, but can also be fiercely tribal. 

30:23

Music

30:31

SAMANTHA HAWLEY, Reporter:  For Saudi Arabia to career headlong into the modern world, it can charm outsiders with its marvels, but it’s struggling to escape  the shadows cast by its ruler’s iron fist.

30:37

Credits [see below]

30:55

Outpoint

31:22