He Said No To Saudi Three Times. Then He Stayed 5 Years | Cedric Dahmoun

Description

Cedric Dahmoun (@cedricsaudi2 on insta and @cedricdahmoun on tiktok) is a Belgian-Algerian content creator who came to Saudi Arabia during COVID and never left. Five years and 600,000 followers later, he's talking about doing something almost nobody does anymore: pilgrimage from Riyadh to Mecca by camel. In this episode, Carly and Vesna talk with Cedric about: - Why he said no to Saudi three times before he came - The phone he's continued to leave on the coffee table for five years - The night a stranger followed him through the dark in the south of Saudi - What he calls "the imam of TikTok" - The difference between Dubai and Riyadh that no one talks about - Why expats who never leave their compound are missing the country - Why he wants to do a pilgrimage by camel and why he wants to feel it Cedric also talks about converting to Islam during his time here, and what it means to him to keep building from Riyadh. LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP Apple, Spotify, YouTube, anywhere you listen. Search "Inside Saudi." FOLLOW THE SHOW Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @insidesaudiarabia Hosts: @caroverman and @vesnapetrovicx 00:00 Cold open 00:58 Welcome from Carly and Vesna 03:43 Meeting Cedric 05:30 The road to Riyadh 06:25 No three times 07:15 Dubai vs Riyadh 09:42 Going full-time on social 12:14 Converting to Islam 13:42 First viral video 15:07 Taif and the baboons 18:23 By camel to Mecca 22:31 Giving back to Saudi 23:11 His father, and stopping alcohol 25:14 Why he feels safe 27:01 The compound trap 28:38 3am stranger in Fayfa 33:12 Real Islam 34:06 The imam of TikTok 35:21 The phone on the table 38:24 Building 600K 42:50 Handling negativity 45:13 The spy comments 46:16 Media authority call 48:24 Authenticity and respect 53:58 Advice for new creators 01:01:55 Best platforms 01:03:14 Why he deletes his camera roll 01:04:40 Goodbye and Jeddah invite 01:07:21 The Vesna and Alex story 01:08:27 Conflict in Saudi vs Belgium 01:13:20 Serbian content question 01:16:36 Closing