A few years ago, Dr. William Gallagher was looking for a change after 13 years in private practice.

So, after being recruited, the dermatologist went where 60,000 U.S. military personnel are now stationed — Saudi Arabia.

From 1982 to 1985, Gallagher served as chief of dermatology at Al Hada, the country’s second biggest hospital located in the western city of Taif. Taif is Saudi Arabia’s summer capital, where the government goes when temperatures soar to 120 degrees in the capital of Riyadh. The city is located at 6,000 feet and is temperate year-round.

Gallagher, now in private practice in Bangor, explained that Americans have long been at the forefront of medicine in Saudi Arabia, which had its origins in facilities built by the Arab-American Oil Co.

“I had a very nice experience over there,” said Gallagher. “The people themselves were friendly, generous and very helpful to me. Professionally, I learned a lot and got to meet people from all over the world.”

Gallagher said he went in with a flexible attitude.

“I decided to take what comes and try to adapt,” he said. “If you were rigid, with no sense of humor, you didn’t last long.”

There is no difference between church and state in Saudi Arabia, Gallagher said, with King Fahd leader of both. Laws are drawn from the Koran, the holy book of the Islam religion.

“It’s a very law-and-order society,” he said. “There’s capital punishment for murder and rape. There wasn’t much stealing before the Westerners got there.”

Money is what separates the classes in Saudi Arabia, Gallagher said. The royalty is wealthiest, followed by those in construction. But even the common folk are well off thanks to oil money, as they receive housing subsidies and free medical care.

Religion brings the people together. Five times a day, the Saudis stop whatever they are doing and turn toward Mecca to pray.

“I’d see a bedouin’s old truck parked next to a Rolls Royce, and their owners would be kneeling together, praying,” Gallagher recalled. “It was very moving to see that.”

Although the holy city of Mecca was only 50 miles away from Taif, Gallagher was never allowed to go there because he is a Christian. Instead, 10 miles from Mecca, a detour is marked “Obligatory Road for Non-Muslims,” or, as foreigners jokingly call it, “The Christian Bypass.”

Gallagher said he didn’t feel any anti-American sentiment during his stay there. He was there during the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, and Saudis came up to him and expressed their condolences. The only anti-American statements he remembered were made in the English-language press and directed toward President Reagan whenever more aid was given to Israel.

He doesn’t think American military personnel will have much contact with the Saudis. Although the exact position of American troops hasn’t been revealed, Gallagher expects they would be stationed in the desert near the eastern oil fields.

As such, the troops will face such menaces as sunburn, heatstroke, snakes and scorpions, he said. Thanks to desalinization plants, water is now plentiful in Saudi Arabia, although transport to the desert could pose a problem.

With gas only 25 cents a gallon, everyone drives big cars. Desert roads are good, as far as they go.

“But if you get off the roads, and don’t have enough water, you die,” he warned.

Boredom will be another obstacle for American troops, and many traditional recreations will be denied them, Gallagher explained. There are no bars in Saudi Arabia; instead some foreigners make wine at home. Movie houses also are prohibited, although most everyone has a VCR. Public dating also isn’t allowed, although officials look the other way in some parts of the country.

Activities Gallagher enjoyed were browsing at rug and gold stores, going to car auctions, playing cards at friends’ homes and going scuba diving in the Red Sea. Also, sports complexes abound in the soccer-mad country.

Saudi supermarkets are as good, if not better, than those in America, Gallagher said, although imported goods can be very expensive. Some American products, like Pepsi, are available there, but others, like Coca Cola and Ford, aren’t allowed because they have plants in Israel.

“We were the privileged class there,” he said. “There was a lot more structure for common workers. We could travel pretty much where we wanted, but others couldn’t.”

Women are still second-class citizens there. Saudi women can buy the lastest French fashions, but then they must wear them under black cloaks when they go outdoors, Gallagher said. American servicewomen will have to wear pants and long sleeves. No women are allowed to drive.

“If there are any women tank commanders, will they let her drive a tank?” Gallagher mused.