Although they did not discuss human rights, President Obama met with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia today during his visit to absolute monarchy. The visit gave Saudis a glimpse into the King's desert retreat after an American journalist tweeted photographs from Rawdat Khuraim.
POTUS did not discuss human rights issues, but he will meet w/ a leading advocate against domestic violence at hotel tmrw
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) March 28, 2014
On Twitter, reactions poured in throughout brief meeting.
Satirist Karl Sharro quips:
Obama and I are alike in that we both have to travel to Saudi Arabia for work.
— Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) March 28, 2014
Saudi activist Tamador Alyami asks [ar]:
السؤال: لماذا يسمح بتواجد صحافيات أمريكيات في روضة خريم ولا يسمح بوجود صحافيات سعوديات؟ #زيارة_أوباما_للسعودية
— تماضر اليامي Tamador (@TamadorAlyami) March 28, 2014
Question: Why are American women journalists allowed at Rawdat Khuraim (the king's desert retreat) while Saudi women journalists are banned?
And there was a challenge for Obama:
Hi @BarackObama, will you appoint a women as your official driver in #SaudiArabia tomorrow? http://t.co/ydeNDyqQKV pic.twitter.com/PaR0Pli4b2
— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) March 28, 2014
Journalist Kim Ghattas picks up the thread and asks:
What are chances a woman will drive 1 of cars in Obama motorcade in Saudi? @amnesty says pdt shud make it a point http://t.co/60AIHo9gUo
— Kim Ghattas (@BBCKimGhattas) March 28, 2014
In other news, Bayan notes:
White House reporter @cbudoffbrown gets almost 10,000 followers in a day, just for covering Obama trip to #Saudi. #SaudisLoveTwitter
— Bayan (@BintBattuta87) March 28, 2014
And Carrie Budoff Brown tweeted away scenes Saudis were shielded from such as these:
Scene from a bilat pic.twitter.com/FszCg7e4s5
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) March 28, 2014
Time is a big thing here pic.twitter.com/BkYl62okoD
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) March 28, 2014
Chocolate centerpieces and lush flowers — just about everywhere at King Abdullah's desert ranch pic.twitter.com/1uUcd6QyYZ
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) March 28, 2014
Nice view pic.twitter.com/8dnZeGtXr5
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) March 28, 2014
A surprised Brown comments:
Power of Twitter in Middle East: I got 7,000 new followers since landing in Riyadh 5 hours ago, all cause of photos from Abdullah's retreat
— Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown) March 28, 2014
And Otaibi explains why:
on behalf of Saudis, thanks for letting us see what inside King Abdullah's retreat. It has been a such a big secret.. @cbudoffbrown
— Otaibi (@A_A_2001) March 28, 2014