Inside a Saudi Arabian Oil Giant’s American Oasis

3 minute read

Photographer Ayesha Malik grew up in a typical American suburb with cookie-cutter houses, softball fields, and Christmas trees in December. However, her hometown, Dhahran, is located on the east coast of Saudi Arabia, some 8,000 miles away from the California neighborhood it was modeled after.

Dhahran is a 22.5 square-mile gated compound built for the American expatriate workers of Aramco, the biggest oil company in the world. Now owned by the Saudi state, Aramco was originally founded in 1933 as a U.S.-Saudi joint venture. Palm trees and lush lawns were imported after striking black gold.

“Growing up, I didn’t differentiate between ‘American’ and ‘Saudi’,” says Malik. “In my world, abayas and softball fields were very compatible. As I got older, I realized what a rare privilege it was to have the chance to experience Saudi Arabia.”

Ayesha Malik Dhahran Saudi Arabia
Street signs in Dhahran are written in both Arabic and English.Ayesha Malik

The opportunity for Westerners to travel, let alone photograph, in Saudi Arabia has always been severely restricted. “Sure, [Dhahran] is in Saudi Arabia, but it’s not really Saudi Arabia,” Malik tells TIME. Outside the Aramco compound, women can’t drive, shops close multiple times a day for prayer, and restaurants are segregated between families and single males, she says.

In Dhahran, Malik can drive, ride a bike, and photograph her hometown. But, if she steps out of the compound, she cannot enjoy the same range of freedoms without being accompanied by a male relative, and must conform to the country’s stringent rules. “I still get told to put my camera away by guards at the mall,” she says. “Legally, I can take photos in public — but that wasn’t always the case. For years, camera phones were banned at the mall, but there is no way that could be controlled in this day and age.”

Ayesha Malik Dhahran Saudi Arabia Mall
Dhahran Mall, a 10 minute drive outside of the compound. Women usually wear abayas outside of Aramco's compound.Ayesha Malik

With her Pakistani origins, her American passport and Saudi background, Malik is perfectly positioned to document Saudi identity, which now forms an integral part of her work as a photographer. “I try not to let the restrictions on women get in my way,” Malik tells TIME. “I focus on the positive. As a woman, I have the chance to meet and speak with many other young women in Saudi Arabia, which would not be doable as a man. I get my fair share of rejections [from men and women], but I also find that people are more curious and open to [being photographed].”

Saudi Arabia is a complex country, and the pace of change is slow, Malik says. However, she sees signs of a shifting status quo. “I just don’t think you can look at Saudi Arabia and implement changes based on a Western perspective,” she says. “Saudi Arabia takes great pride in its history and tradition, but it also values the importance of a future in the modern world.”

Ayesha Malik is a photographer based in New York City and Riyadh.

Marisa Schwartz is an Associate Photo Editor at TIME.com. Follow her on Instagram and twitter.

 

Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Families relax by “The Pond” at sunset. “The Pond” is on the North East corner of the Dhahran Golf Course in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A mother waves goodbye to her daughter on Lemon Circle as she leaves for Dhahran School on the school bus at 7am. Aramco schools are all located within the compound.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Dhahran Commissary is located near the main office area. Generally, it gets busy around 4pm when people leave work. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A female employee of Saudi Aramco.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A major oil facility under construction in Jubail Industrial City. This is a Joint Venture between Saudi Aramco and a foreign oil company. Jubail is located on the East coast and is the largest petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Workers at an oil facility construction site in Jubail. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Workers brave the extreme temperature of the desert, sometimes above 120 degrees farenheit, to keep Dhahran’s landscape green and pristine.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Nurses from Dhahran Health Center wait for a bus after work in front of the Commissary. Saudi Aramco’s health center was first operated by the company itself, but since 2014, it became Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, the first-of-its-kind health care joint venture between Saudi Aramco, a world leader in energy, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Saudi Aramco Beach, “Half Moon Bay,” Azizyah. This is a private beach for Saudi Aramco employees and their guests.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Sahrr sits on her car after driving out to the jebels on the Western side of Dhahran. In Arabic, jebel means mountain or hill. Many Aramcons use the term to refer to large rocky areas. While women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, they are allowed to drive within Aramco compounds, including Dhahran, the largest of them all.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A city of oil tanks, one of many tank farms in the Eastern Province.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A translplanted American “Bluebird” school bus is used to transport workers. These buses are a common site in Saudi Arabia. Some of them still have the name of the original American school district.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Two boys wait for their turn at a skate competition at the local skate park in Dhahran Hills.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Mr. Embleton is a Canadian expatriate working for Saudi Aramco Public Relations. Sometimes, he chooses to wear a traditional Saudi thobe and guthra to work.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
Saudi Aramco CEO’s displayed at the local Heritage Gallery. Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
US Maps colored and labeled by Dhahran Middle School students in a geography assignment. Education has always been part of Saudi Aramco’s legacy. Ayesha Malik; Saudi Aramco World Digital Image Archive, SAWDIA
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A woman poses in a contemporary, yet traditionally inspired, Middle Eastern dress.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
An onlooker wears his Texans Santa hat at the annual Returning Student Co-ed Softball game during Christmas time in Dhahran. Aramco schooling runs from kindergarten to ninth grade. After this time, schooling is generally continued overseas or in one of the nearby international schools.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
A gardner works in the backyard at a home in Dhahran.Ayesha Malik
Saudi Arabia ARAMCO Dhahran Ayesha Malik
The Dhahran skyline. When Aramco first began, palm trees were flown in from the United States.Ayesha Malik

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com