Chop Chop Square

Eons ago, in 1982, I was doing a stint in Saudi Arabia for my law firm.  Riyadh was dreary.  When it rained, which was very seldom, it rained mud.  The law practice was like a war campaign; long periods of boredom interspersed with brief episodes of frantic activity.

One way to relieve the boredom was to go to the gold souk, but on an associate's salary the trip couldn't last long.  Or, near the souk, on Fridays after prayers, there was Chop Chop Square, where they beheaded people.

Curiosity took me there only once.  There was a big, shouty crowd, all men, mostly Arabs.  Agitated and looking for entertainment.  Lore had that I would be pushed to the front  - they'd show the Westerner how they do it in the Kingdom.  Not me, but they did part as I approached.  I thought it was simply because I was viewed as an alien, which I most certainly was.

They brought out only one proposed victim, a terrified-looking young man.  The handlers struggled to keep him upright, as if he'd lost his ability to stand.  (He was probably drugged, I was told later.)  The crowd's noise swelled in anticipation.  After what looked like final rites, a flurry of consultation among the handlers.  Then they marched him back out of the Square and it was over.  The crowd was not happy; I figured it was a good time to move on.

Someone later told me it had been a kind of shock-punishment - take him to brink, then let him live.  Maybe it was.  Or maybe his crime (I have no idea what it was) had a victim, whose family may have settled for a last-minute cash payment.

A medieval atmosphere, and one which modern Saudi Arabia must have outgrown over the last 25 years, right?

Nope.  Chop Chop Square, at least as of 2009, is still in operation.