Be my secret Valentine

Celebrating Valentine's Day in Saudi Arabia is just another challenge an expat has to face in this conservative country. Considered as too commercial, too western, too effusive, it is banned to celebrate it and the muttawas (religious police, or officially: Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, what a program!) make sure no one can celebrate it by inspecting the shops a few days ahead and getting rid of anything red or heart-shaped.

So when we entered the local Tex-Mex restaurant (the food is actually not worth a proper mention in this blog), there was absolutely no hint of love celebration: very few couples, no red, no hearts, no candles, no dimmed light, nothing. But once we sat at our table we actually received a very special treatment!

Notice this menu for two for a Special Day

The lovely bouquet the waiter brought us once we'd sat at the table

Clinking glasses with Saudi champagne
(which, as the name doesn't suggest, is nothing but a mix of apple juice and sparkling water)

And a sweet treat to finish with!

And for those who are still looking for their Valentine, here's a method you can try:

I bet the muttawas don't know what Blackberries are, otherwise those would be banned, too...