Inside the Saudi King’s 1,500-Person Entourage in Moscow
Saudi officials booked two entire luxury hotels and brought their own carpets and hotel staff with King Salman bin Abdulaziz on his historic visit.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrives at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on Oct. 4, 2017.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
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Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz brought 1,500 people, a golden escalator and his own carpets on his historic, four-day state visit to Russia, a person familiar with the matter said.
The 81-year-old leader of the Gulf kingdom exited his plane late Wednesday and stepped out onto the special escalator he travels with. But something went wrong: It malfunctioned halfway down, and he had to walk the rest of the way. A cavalcade of cars sped the monarch to the center of the city, flanked by Russian police escorts.