Around The World Via BLVD World
When it came to Saudi Arabia, visitors might think of holy mosques, expansive deserts, or mud-brick buildings. So it was a surprise to me that one of my most memorable nights was spent at an amusement park on the outskirts of Riyadh. Brian and I have never been fans of amusement parks, and it must have been a decade since we last visited one. So why did we go to one in Saudi Arabia of all places? If you had been in the Middle East, you would probably have known that social life typically starts only in the late afternoon because of the oppressive daytime heat. In a country with no legal alcohol, shopping malls, 24-hour coffee bars, and amusement parks seem to be the pillars of Saudi nightlife. Since we had no interest in shopping malls and there was only so much we could drink, we decided to check out Riyadh’s most popular night spot: BLVD World, or Boulevard World.
BLVD World is part of an annual entertainment initiative called Riyadh Season. Financed and organized by the national government, it is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. Following the lead of its Gulf neighbors, Saudi Arabia is eager to transform the kingdom into a global magnet for sports, entertainment, and conventions. Aside from BLVD World, there are other concurrent “zones”, such as BLVD City, BLVD Runway, and BLVD Flower. In fact, the “controversial” Riyadh Comedy Festival took place in BLVD City, which had a miniature replica of New York’s Times Square. For those of you aware of that whole controversy, check out my previous post on the ethics of visiting Saudi Arabia.
Because of Riyadh’s harsh summers, BLVD World is a seasonal venue that operates only from mid-October to the beginning of May. Visitors must book their tickets in advance on webook.com. General admission without any rides or special experiences costs just SAR 29, which is rather affordable for an average Saudi. We arrived at the complex about an hour after sunset on a weekday, and it was already very busy. There was definitely a mad dash for a spot in the enormous parking lot. My excitement was through the roof as I saw the grand entrance from a distance, but it quickly waned when security told me that no DSLR cameras were allowed inside. Just like Diriyah, BLVD World somehow considers such a camera to be commercial in nature. I was very annoyed, to say the least.
As expected, the first “zone” next to the grand entrance is dedicated to Saudi Arabia. Any first-time visitor to the kingdom could use this section for travel inspiration. There are miniature replicas of Diriyah, Hegra, and Jeddah’s Al-Balad. There didn’t appear to be any monument to modern Riyadh itself here, but it did remind us of places we had to miss out on this trip, such as the ancient village in the Al-Baha Region at the southern corner of the kingdom. For anyone who has just spent a few days in Saudi Arabia, this would not be a bad place to spend an evening to get a taste of what the country has to offer. Obviously, I also understand that no foreign travelers could be this flexible with their travel planning.
Seeing how the organizers decide which countries to represent is fascinating. Obviously, the Muslim world is well-represented. The most unlikely appearance to me was Saudi’s Gulf neighbor, Kuwait. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are the only two GCC countries represented here. Given Saudi’s rocky relationship with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, I was not at all surprised by the absence of Burj Khalifa or Doha’s Museum of Islamic Arts. But I was not certain why Kuwait made the cut. From what I was told, Kuwait seems to be the partying capital of the region, as the Sharia laws are relatively lax there. I honestly did not know much about the country except for the supposedly iconic Kuwait Towers. It was not until later that I learned that Kuwait is known to have the best food in the region. Perhaps that was the biggest draw for visitors?
Just like in the real world. The heavyweight of the Middle East at BLVD World is Egypt. The most eye-catching landmarks in the whole complex are the miniatures of the Giza pyramids and the Great Sphinx of Giza. They also have replicas of the Temple of Karnak and the Abu Simbel Temple. From afar, they all look rather convincing, especially with beautiful architectural lighting at night. Much like the original pyramids, the replicas are also hollow inside. As much as I would like to think they have interesting exhibits on ancient Egyptian civilization, that is certainly too much to hope for. Instead, inside these architectural follies are your typical fairground attractions, such as escape rooms or haunted houses. Some of them may have some tangential relevance to their respective zone, but most are just generic attractions.
What BLVD lacked in “high culture” was made up for by its culinary offerings. Visitors got to indulge in Egyptian koshary and ful medame in the Egyptian zone and simit in the Turkish zone. Because of their cultural proximity to Turkey and Egypt, the food offerings in those areas seemed pretty spot-on. That was definitely not the case in other zones. My favorite example is the marquee restaurant in the Italian zone: Domino’s. It was certainly one of the most amusing things we saw during the visit; I was just glad that we did not see many Westerners or Italian tourists. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to see a hot pot restaurant in the Chinese zone, but I did see sushi on the same menu.
As in the United States, BLVD World is not particularly good with cultural authenticity. It was evident that the organizer and the public cared little about an accurate representation of a specific culture. Cultural purists could either be amused or annoyed by it, but that is certainly beyond the point. Predictably, most African countries are lumped together into an “African” zone with a generic “tribal” theme with thatched roofs and iconography of African wild animals. There is, of course, a special extra-charge exhibit for the white lion. Needless to say, don’t expect to learn much about the culture of a specific African country. At least, the “African marketplace” were filled with numerous colorful garments and traditional basketware, which seems at least appropriate.
Now, I acknowledge that I was perhaps overly critical of BLVD World, which is not entirely fair. Aside from the shock and awe of architectural replicas, the highlight of BLVD World should be the various cultural shows that seem to appear out of nowhere. They may be the most culturally enriching experiences that the place has to offer. From the Chinese dragon dances to Moroccan tagarrabt, these performers knew how to put on great shows. Some of the most memorable performances were the Mexican Mariachi band and the flamenco dancers from Andalucía. For a moment, I forgot we were in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; this was certainly not the closed-off country it was just a decade ago.
All the different zones are organized around an enormous central lagoon. This is supposedly the world’s biggest man-made lagoon, according to the Guinness World Records as of 2022.
Naturally, the zone we were most interested in was the American section.
