September 18th, 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was established and officially proclaimed five days later. For Americans - it is a nation younger than Walter Cronkite, Paul Newman or even Lauren Bacall. yet its roots stretch back to the  days of Abraham. The kingdom is now one of the most prosperous nations in the world, but it wasn’t always so.

Like the Americans of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, the Saudis were impoverished by the worldwide Depression and as Americans revisit those days to understand themselves, so they might also consider the common circumstances of the Saudis, if they would like to better understand these people too. For all of us, it was the days of our grandparents and thanks to their strength of character despite circumstances we flourish to this day.

Selwa Press is about the accounts and images from that moment when those traditions and way of life still existed - Arabia before there was oil.