Fishing vessels or dhows parked along Qatif Fish Port
Bored and Tired of transferring to our new flat, we decided
to head in the Eastern Part of Saudi Arabia..to a place known as Al Qatif.....
After packing all what is required for our short visit to
the Arabian Gulf, at 12:00 MN of August 20, we found ourselves driving in
Khurais Road and then to Dammam Road. As expected, the main hi-way leading to
the Eastern province is full of vacationers. Cars from small models to the
expensive SUV's are seen everywhere..ooops..before I forget we are still on the
peak of Ramadan holiday. Looking on the signs just as we entered the beginning
of Riyadh - Dammam hi-way, we need to drive 360 km. to Dammam and 20 Km. more
to our destination. So as not to be sleepy on our journey, we lined up for a
cup of coffee in one of the gas stations along the hi-way. This is the advantage of the highway leading to Eastern province, compared to the road going to
Jeddah..where only few coffee shops can be seen throughout the entire journey.
We arrived in Qatif at around 5 am, exactly at same time when the sun is just about to
rise in the horizon.
Since this is also my first time to visit this place (although I have attempted to find this location last year but was not
successful) we seek the help of a gasoline attendant. Getting the directions
using my small knowledge of arabic language and with the help of hand signs, we
were able to find the corniche exactly when the sun just went up from the sea.
There is festive mood in the park since it is already Eid, we found some gentleman
enjoying shisha along the coast and group of men's dancing to the local arabic tunes.
Families are everywhere and so are teenagers enjoying roller skates along the
concreted part of the corniche.
The scene of a local
fisherman checking out for his catch on his fish nets attracted my attention. I immediately grab my
camera bag and ran to his location with my coffee mug. Sitting beside his pale
of catches, It was a very nice to see live Banaks (small fish which they are
known in my town in the Philippines) wiggling inside the plastic container. I have been shooting street
photography for sometime here in Saudi Arabia, and it is a rule not to aim your camera to any
person without asking permission. So I did my usual strategy, seating
beside his pale of banak fish, I pretend to shoot the seascapes and then start
taking pictures of the fish. The fisherman approached me and asked what I am doing,
explaining my hobby, I finally gained
his trust. We shook hand and intoduced our selves. Ali explained that fishing
is just a hobby, specially during week ends. Finally, after sometime of discussions between our interests, he finally
agreed to pose raising the fish nets. I was so excited and
after some poses, he offered to guide us to the main fish port where I took pictures
of dhow's and some local fishermen and their catches.
