"LA DOLCE VITA:" JEDDAWI ELITE NOSTALGIC FOR LOST

C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000198 SIPDIS SIPDIS RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2016 TAGS: PGOV SA SCUL SOCI SUBJECT: "LA DOLCE VITA:" JEDDAWI ELITE NOSTALGIC FOR LOST LIBERTIES Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY In conversations with the Consul General over the last eight months, Saudi Consulate contacts of the "baby-boomer" generation frequently reminisce about a lost heyday of openness and frivolity in Jeddah during the 1970s. These elites attribute the change to a conservative backlash following the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979, the fall of the Shah of Iran the same year, and the consequences of attempts to conceal the dissolute lifestyle of former King Fahd. Many contacts simultaneously acknowledge a recent, though muted, return of some of the previous social freedoms, which they hope will engender a more liberal attitude among the younger generation. END SUMMARY FOND MEMORIES OF "LA DOLCE VITA" ¶2. (C) Numerous elites of the "baby-boomer" generation have reminisced in conversations with the Consul General about their experiences in a more tolerant, and often decadent, Jeddah during the 1970s. One contact, a prominent and wealthy businessman, fondly recalled strolls down Tahlia Street (the city's most cosmopolitan area) with an Irish stewardess clad in a miniskirt on each arm--one holding his cigarette and the other carrying a bottle of whiskey. According to the contact, such open displays of intimacy and alcohol, both of which would be strongly discouraged if not criminal in today's social climate, elicited no attention from passers-bye at the time. Similarly, a second contact remembered weekend yacht trips on the Red Sea with topless Western women and champagne complimenting a day of fishing. While yacht trips are still to be had for wealthy Jeddawis, bikinis are the most risqu one can find these days, and alcohol is in short supply (see reftel). ¶3. (C) Less extreme examples of a bygone openness in Jeddah are also heard from long-time residents (both Saudi and third-country nationals),many of whom come from more modest backgrounds. A lost tolerance for liberal dress is a particular focus; many note the previously-common practice of men wearing shorts and the now-unheard of idea of women appearing in public without an abbaya (the traditional black robe worn by Saudi women). NEJDI INFLUENCE AND THE CULTURE OF CONCEALMENT ¶4. (C) Contacts, ranging from the ostentatiously wealthy to the modest middle-class, consider the 1979 seizure of Mecca's Grand Mosque by Islamic extremists and the fall of the Shah of Iran the same year as the turning point. Following these events, Jeddah residents indicate that the SAG was forced to outflank conservative opponents by allowing the ulema (the clerical establishment) to curb many social freedoms and that the Hejaz region was particularly affected, as it had previously enjoyed more latitude than the tradition-bound Nejd (the heartland of the Al Saud family). These tensions were exacerbated by the ascension of King Fahd to the throne in 1982, who was widely-known for leading a dissolute lifestyle of lavish European vacations, womanizing, and alcohol use. Contacts have related to POLOFF that the SAG's decision to attempt to hide the King's habits from the public, with the tacit consent of the ulema, led to the creation of a culture of concealment within the society, given the royal family's central role in the country. MUTED RETURN TO OPENNESS ¶5. (C) Many Jeddawis claim that this culture of concealment percolated through all segments of the population during the 1980s and 1990s and has limited the exposure of today's youth to the ideas of liberalism. Nonetheless, upper-class Jeddawis have told the CG that the recent proliferation of private universities in the Kingdom, which serve as "enclaves of tolerance," indicate a subtle return to openness. In the words of one man, "Things may be emerging after a terrible drought." Despite this, the social balance has clearly shifted to the right. Salhia Beach, owned by a member of the Bin Laden family and popular among wealthy Saudis and other Westernized Arabs (Saad Al Hariri often visits),is a far cry from the decadence of the 1970s. Though frequented largely by families, with mothers in modest bathing suits caring for children happily building castles in the sand, it is still considered somewhat risqu in today's environment. END Gfoeller