TWENTY-ONE
AT THE ENTRANCE OF the Al Faisaliah hotel, our destination, a plaque informs visitors that this building had been designed and built by the Bin Laden family and inaugurated in May 2000.
Debbie and I arrived promptly at 16h00. The hotel was set right in the middle of the financial district of the city, the grounds guarded by more National Guardsmen. At the on-ramp leading into the courtyard, a brown Humvee with a machine gun perched on top greeted visitors. This was not a once off thing either. The space looked occupied by this vehicle permanently, a gazebo providing extra shade to the two young men sitting inside, the doors to the brown vehicle wide open. They gazed lazily at us as we passed them—just another set of visitors making their way to the expensive hotel and business
