(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-02 05:36

JEDDAH- America's top diplomat and defence chief had some unusual onlookers at a dinner hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in a palace in Jeddah -- sharks in a giant aquarium.

When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates dined with the king on Tuesday, guests walked around a spectacular swimming pool "to a wall that was floor-to-ceiling aquarium, full of fish including sharks," a U.S. delegation member said on Wednesday.

Diners from the two countries tucked into a sumptuous buffet, while the sharks swam to and fro in front of them.

Another U.S. visitor to the palace said the setting was more reminiscent of James Bond than traditional diplomacy.

"It was like something from Dr. No," the visitor said.