Going from Democracy to Absolute Monarchy... All in the Name of Education

Dear Friends, Family, and other Internet strangers,

after popular request, I want to welcome all of you to my very first internet journal (Fachsprache: Blog). This blog is appropriately named "TeiloInSaudiArabia" as it will try to convey the impressions and thoughts of my very first visit into the Middle East region, i.e. Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is one of 20 recognized and unrecognized countries which make up the area named Middle East. Out of these 20 countries, Saudi Arabia is the largest, yet least densely populated. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 and has remained an absolute monarchy since then. The country is ruled according to Islamic law, meaning that there is no distinction between "matters of state" and "matters of church". The official language is Arabic and the currency is the Saudi Riyal (1 Euro is 4.7 Saudi Riyal). After Venezuela, Saudi Arabia has the world's largest known oil reserves, which accounts for 95% of its exports and 70% of the government revenue (Source: Wikipedia).

Saudi Arabia makes up the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and is bordered by both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The country is almost completely covered by desert and shrubland, and there are virtually no rivers or lakes in the country. The capital Riyadh, is located centrally and is the ancestral home of the royal family, which still governs from there today. 

View Larger Map

In 2009, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia founded the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). KAUST focuses exclusively on graduate education and research, using English as its official language of instruction. It is located on the coast of the Red Sea in the city Thuwalt, which is 1 hour away from Jeddah (see map above).

In 2012, I sent Assistant Professor Ulrich Stingl, principle investigator at the Red Sea Research Center at KAUST an application for an internship position. You may already know this, but I got it! By the way, Ulrich Stingl is German and graduated from the University of Koblenz.

On June 7th, I will start an internship in marine microbiology under supervision from Ulrich Stingl. Main focus of the project will be the characterization and cultivation of the world's largest bacterium, called Epulopiscium fishelsoni. This bacteria can grow up to 700 μm in size, larger than any cell in the human body (disregarding the axoms of neurons). Actually, it is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye! However, more details to my research project later.

I invite all you to read this journal of mine so that you may learn about two things: the giant bacterium Epulopiscium fishelsoni and the country, culture, and people that make up the holiest of all Islamic countries, Saudia Arabia. I hope I will be able to share this information, while still adhering to all of the Islamic rules.

Feel free to share this journal among your friends.

Enjoy,

Teilo