We made it!!!!!

The flight was just under 12 hours. It is about 11:15 right now, or about 4:15AM EST in the States.

The hospitality on the plane was quite nice. We each had an entire row to ourselves, making it easy to stretch out. Aside from the meals, endless Pepsi products, and amazing coffee, they had these screens on the back of the seat in front of us that are ever-so popular on flights these days. This one had something different, however. Along with the assortment of movies, games, and TV shows, there was a "camera" option. In the camera option, one has the choice of watching out of the nose (e.g. what the pilot would see) or the eagle view (e.g. underneath the body of the aircraft). It was in real time, so we could watch the landing as if we were flying the jumbo jet.

Our host, Saad, is with the Ministry of Higher Education. When we got out, they put us through some VIP screening, which amounted to walking outside of the gate and simply grabbing our bags.

We are checked into the hotel, which is gorgeous. Check it out here.

We have dinner and a tour tonight....oh yeah, probably some sleep as well!