Bin Laden meeting (From Stroud News and Journal)

Bin Laden meeting

A STROUD man has this week been recalling his memories of the father of the man suspected of being at the centre of the terrorist attack on America.

Joe Salt, of Bowbridge Lane, was a teacher of English in Taif, Saudi Arabia, when he first met Mohammed bin Laden, in a hotel in 1966.

"He had just more or less started his road-building empire then," recalls Joe, now 85.

"He had been a labourer during the construction of site for an American oil company on the east coast.

"When the construction was finished the equipment was sold off cheaply and Mohammed bin Laden bought some of it and started to build roads.

"The most spectacular was the road between Jeddah and Taif, which was the summer capital of Saudi and several feet above sea level. The road went up and up and round and round."

The man who went on build almost every road in Saudi Arabia and became a multi-millionnaire was illiterate all his life, according to Joe.

"He used to sign his cheques with a thumb print," he remembers.

Subsequently Joe and Mohammed bin Laden bumped into each other all over Saudi Arabia, wherever roads were being built.

"I had a motorbike, a Honda 250 Sport, and used to travel all over the country on it. Initially it was on tracks but as the roads were built I rode on them and kept meeting Mohammed bin Laden.

"As his empire grew he bought a light aeroplane and he used to travel in it to make spot checks, unannounced, on the building of his roads.

* For full story see this week's News & Journal.