tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45673689253792411562024-03-12T19:00:11.619-07:00The OdysseiaPenelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-47209788599689443152016-12-19T22:02:00.004-08:002016-12-19T22:29:14.032-08:00 A Farewell to Saudi Arabia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I came for a year and now, six years later, I’m leaving. So this morning,
as I breakfast outside our villa in the quiet green of the compound, I wonder how
best to capture the essence of my life here in just a few words. It’s much more
than having to wear an abaya and headscarf whenever out of the compound,
something I hated with a passion when I first arrived. </span></span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It's a feudal society run by an absolute monarchy. It's wealth from oil
and thousands of royal family members who enjoy a life of luxury and privilege
vastly different from those outside its lineage. It's women begging at
intersections, sometimes in 50 degree heat and often holding small babies. It’s
tall, state of the art skyscrapers, Faisaliah and Kingdom Tower, beside the
adobe mud buildings of old Diera. It's a souk which sells very little that is
made in Arabia. There’s hardly any indigenous craft. The small enamel bowl I
picked up last week had </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Made in Slovakia</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
stamped on the bottom.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s a traditional nomadic culture, where Bedouin women once rode camels
in the desert, but nowadays in the city, cannot drive cars. It's repressive and
ugly. Buildings, sky and road, all the colour of sand. Sand, which swirls into
storms come April and May. It creeps under doors and squeezes beneath window
frames so that every surface is covered in a thin layer of gritty dust. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It's the beginning of time. In the desert west of Riyadh,<a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.sg/2011/04/slow-for-camels-driving-desert.html"> sea fossils</a>
litter the ground, because all this was once the bed of a prehistoric ocean.<a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.sg/2015/10/picnics-and-petroglyphs.html"> Ancient petroglyphs</a> all over Arabia show in pictures the peninsula’s earliest desert
dwellers. History made real, palpable and right in front of you. It's <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4567368925379241156#editor/target=post;postID=8262740754333898620;onPublishedMenu=template;onClosedMenu=template;postNum=70;src=postname">Madain Saleh,</a> the Nabataeans’ second city, deserted, silent and stunningly well
preserved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It’s muttawa, religious police, the protectors of virtue and preventers
of vice. They’re the ones who enforce gender segregation and patrol malls,
shouting at women to cover up when a headscarf has slipped or an errant ankle
is showing under an abaya. It’s Chop Chop Square because sharia (Islamic) law is
implemented for criminal acts, and public executions still take place here.
It’s prayer five times a day, the mandatory closing of shops and restaurants during
prayer times and rushing to get out of the supermarket with your groceries,
before the shutters go down. It’s double and triple motorway parking outside our
nearby Al Rajhi mosque during Friday prayers. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoexNzuY_WXb_PhD8_J_-QRFrYK9o7CUAn6SUD9LY-76Hx2-U71jkcWTqFgDW7YHualmu5yHPlO_yP4IPQZnP9dR8VVVYBGaw4uoYvin18kdMlKzhyphenhyphenVV3-8iptGrhB4CghPFY6ruZSqQ/s1600/IMG_2936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoexNzuY_WXb_PhD8_J_-QRFrYK9o7CUAn6SUD9LY-76Hx2-U71jkcWTqFgDW7YHualmu5yHPlO_yP4IPQZnP9dR8VVVYBGaw4uoYvin18kdMlKzhyphenhyphenVV3-8iptGrhB4CghPFY6ruZSqQ/s640/IMG_2936.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diera Souq; shutters going down for Asr (afternoon) prayer</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's deprivation. No movies, no theatre, no music, no art. Music, because
it’s believed to arouse inappropriate
emotions, and art because the Koran forbids the representation of the human
figure. It’s the dangerous pastime of desert drifting because there is nothing
else for young Saudi men to do. It's traffic carnage. Drivers who have no
regard for rules or safety. Unbelted, young children fly through window screens
like small projectile missiles upon impact. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It's a city without natural beauty. Riyadh means garden, and once it was
a lush oasis, but the green has long gone. The date palms along the central
median strip of the street approaching our compound were chopped down to make
way for new street lights. There’ll be no replanting. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">It's pockets of green in areas outside Saudi jurisdiction. The beautifully landscaped </span><a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.sg/2015/02/friends-fitbits-and-dq-walking-track.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">Diplomatic Quarter </a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">walking track, for instance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It’s a country focused on a vision for 2030, investing billions in
nationwide metro transit systems, highways and high speed long distance
railways, while planning sexist and racist passenger segregation that will
guarantee failure. All against a backdrop of a multi-billion financial city
comprising never-finished clusters of empty skyscrapers, a salutary
mirror-glass reflection of an earlier vision, planning and greed.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, of course it’s desert. On the one hand, stunning <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.sg/2014/04/edge-of-world-another-riyadh-desert.html">Edge of the World</a>
vistas and on the other, yellow sandy roadside expanses, dotted with discarded
car tyres. Saudis have turned the desert into their own personal rubbish dump.
Conservation and environmental awareness are as unknown as the phrase, ‘pick up
your rubbish’. All because in this country there is always someone else - low
cost imported labour from third world countries- to do the cleaning, the
tidying and the picking up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
stopping at traffic lights beside a car driven by a Saudi driver and seeing the
door open just wide enough to let a cascade of rubbish fall to the ground. And
it’s the absurdly comic. Saudi families sharing picnics in the most unlikely
places. An empty city space beside piles of building debris or another
favourite, the Ikea car park. Carpets on the asphalt, and frisbees in the air.
It’s driving home from Bahrain at sunset, seeing the endless roadside dotted
with parked cars and men with prayer mats out, leading family members, all performing
sunset Salah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s contradictions and experiences like none other. It's what you make
of it. Friends on the compound. Travelling to remote parts of Saudi: Farasan
Island, Taif, Qassim. And then one day it's a trip to King Khaled International
Airport, knowing that this visa is the Final Exit Visa. And on the plane,
before you leave, it’s deleting the prayer time app on your cell phone, because
it's not something you’ll ever need again. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-76851104558081092362016-09-29T03:51:00.000-07:002016-09-29T10:34:55.737-07:00Living Simply in Cyprus <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Red dragonflies hover above the water. In
the distance, beyond the pool, the land undulates. There are plantings of olive
trees and I can hear early morning roosters. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After last week’s hectic schedule, up at 6.30am and back to our hotel each evening about 6.00pm, our plan now is
to relax. And this place is perfect. We are in a small <a href="http://littlelodgeguesthouse.com/">guesthouse in the little village of Maroni</a>, just a short drive from Larnaca airport. Some days we
venture out, but on others, we’re happy to simply enjoy the cool and calm of
this beautiful spot. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One day we visit Nicosia, the world’s only
divided capital and walk across the border, from Greece to Turkey, and back. There’s
tourist trivia on one side, minarets on the other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another day, we drive to Limassol to stroll the streets and visit Limassol
Castle, a fourteenth century structure, built over the remains of an earlier
Byzantine castle. It's well laid out and we enjoy the explore. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hillside villages
such as Tochni are close to Maroni, and so one morning we amble quietly up and
down its small streets, past old stone houses clinging tenaciously to rocky
hills. There’s a church here in a central square, which claims to be on the
original site of one built by Queen Helena in 245 AD. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">A painting by the
entrance to the church shows Constantine and Helena, as if to provide evidence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Near the small village of Kiti, we discover the church of Panagia Angeloktisti.
Even before we reach the church, I’m intrigued by its name, which means ‘built
by angels’. Inside there’s a very old and beautiful mosaic of Mary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the evenings we eat at local taverns. Nearby
Zygi has a plethora of beachfront fish restaurants. We choose one where the
fish is so fresh it practically swims to the table. Another day, we pull
ourselves away from the poolside loungers to visit Pafos. Its archeological
site houses mosaics reputed to be the most intact in the world. The blue
Mediterranean background is beautiful and the mosaics are a highlight of our
trip.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our guidebook says the Troodos Mountain</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s
are worth seeing and so we take another day out of our poolside schedule.
There’s an early stop by a tavern that advertises a waterfall, but at 5 Euros each
to walk to the spot, we decide against it. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We pass through villages and stop later for
lunch in a green-leafed tavern, but when we return home, we wonder if all the
driving was worth it, faced with the option of complete idleness. It's a
difficult choice.</span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-89489167904632573742016-09-16T12:38:00.000-07:002016-11-07T23:26:36.641-08:00Starting with Petra: Two Days in Jordan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Farouk meets us after breakfast. He’s going
to be our guide for the next two days. As we walk towards the Siq, the path through
the gorge into Petra, he tells us about himself. “I’m one of sixteen children,”
he says. “My father is a Bedouin, he still lives in the desert.” We listen as
he carries on. One thing we learn very quickly about Farouk is that he does a
good monologue. “I was the only one in my family to leave the desert and move
into the city. I went to Jordan University.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some time later, after stories of childhood hospital visits, a random
meeting with King Hussein, and the eucalyptus trees he’s planted in his garden
so everyone can see where his house is, we reach the end of the Siq. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Along the
way we’ve seen ancient Nabatean water channels; those on the left for irrigation,
and the ceramic pipes on the right for drinking water. We pass a larger than life
relief of a camel caravan, designed to let traders know they were going in the
right direction. We’ve also seen votive niches carved into the walls, small
shrines for Nabatean gods. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then as we turn the corner, a narrow shard
of light catches The Treasury or al-Khazneh. The impact of this on early
travellers must have been extreme. The façade’s monumental proportions and mix of
styles would have sent an immediate message that Petra was no small desert
outpost but a thriving international metropolis. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The façade combines Greco
Roman columns, Assyrian crow steps, and a representation of the Egyptian god
Isis, just below the Greek goddess Tyche at the building’s apex. It also
contains unique Nabatean features, the broken pediment and the link between the
central goddess Tyche and the Nabatean deity, Al-‘Uzzah. Most of the decorative
elements are funerary, for instance Castor and Pollux either side of the
portal, guiding the souls of the dead to the Elysian fields. So despite the
popular myth that al-Khazneh contained hidden treasure, and despite the highly
visible pot shots at the façade’s uppermost urn in search of it, it’s far more
likely that al-Khazneh was part of the Nabatean funerary cult and just one of
the many tombs carved into Petra’s sandstone hills. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The secret of the Nabateans' increasing
wealth and power was two fold. Firstly, their ability to source and store water
in an arid desert environment. Secondly, their monopoly of desert routes from
south-western Arabia, as far as <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com.cy/2012/01/tombs-sunset-dates-and-madain-saleh-or.html">Madain Saleh</a>, up to the Mediterranean port of
Gaza. From about 100 BC<span style="color: red;"> </span>they controlled trade in
frankincense, myrrh and spices, sometimes as traders but mostly as middle-men,
extracting taxes from camel caravans who stopped at their garrisoned outposts
for water and rest. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Later we walk down the Roman colonnaded
road and climb the steps to the Great Temple. Here we see Indian elephant heads
decorating the capitals of columns, another unexpected and distinctively Nabatean
feature. We pass the 5,000 seat theatre. I’ve read that it conforms precisely
to rules specified by Vitruvius for shape, proportion, orientation and stage
design for perfect acoustics. I’d like to go in and see for myself if
this is true, but it's cordoned off and so we carry on. Despite the Greco-Roman
design, it too is uniquely Nabataean. Ancient theatres were traditionally
freestanding, but this one is carved into the sandstone hills. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A little later, we leave our guide behind.
We want to climb the 900 steps to The Monastery, ad-Deir and he’s not keen
unless we give him more money. In any case, we’ve grown a little tired of the
monologue so the prospect of our own company is appealing. It's a long hot
climb, but worth it when we reach the top. We sit opposite ad-Deir in a small
café and drink Arabic coffee. The view and the small breeze rustling the
bougainvillea beside us are both perfect. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the way down we pass a sign saying Lion
Triclinium and I’m curious. Triclinium means literally three couches and it’s
believed that memorial feasts were held in these places to honour the dead. We
stop and almost instantly a small bright-eyed face appears beside me on the
path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She points at the arrow and
motions me to follow. I step off the track and walk a short distance. More
climbing and then in the distance I see it up on the hill. I take a photo and
then another of my little guide. “See,” she says, tapping the viewfinder of my
camera with an impatient finger, “Lions.” There are two of them, one either
side of the portal. As we walk back she tells me her name is Yasmine, she’s
nine and learning English at school. I tell her how well she speaks, thank her,
and then carry on down. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We continue our walk back to the Siq repeatedly
saying no to all those offering us rides. There’s a choice of donkeys, camels,
horses or covered wagons, but we are happier walking. It's so much easier to take in everything we pass, even the small, rapidly emptying shops. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We climb to the Royal
Tombs with their distinctive broken pediments, central Greek tholos and crow
steps, signifying a staircase to heaven. The insides are cool and dark, the
only carving, burial cavities around the walls. On the way down, we pass
souvenir sellers and I stop by one who holds up a trowel and motions in the air
telling me that he dug all these up himself. I look at his small oil lamps and
spot one decorated with a rectangular, almond-eyed face. It’s distinctively
Nabatean and I’m drawn to it, but it’s too hot to stop and I am too tired to
bargain. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We pass a signpost to a Byzantine chapel, built
in the 5<sup>th</sup> century after Petra had been abandoned. It makes me think.
The Nabateans began as nomadic Bedouin. By 100 BC they had built Petra, become
city dwellers and accumulated vast wealth. By 100 AD, when the Romans began
shipping incense up the Red Sea to ports closer to Egypt and the Mediterranean,
they lost their monopoly as traders, and so began the inevitable decline back
to desert obscurity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember a
particular series of lessons I loved teaching when I was in New Zealand. I
called it “Lost, Forgotten and Buried”. It was about ancient civilisations that
had disappeared over time: Tenochtitlan, Pompeii, Fatehpur Sikri, Machu Picchu,
Angkor Watt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had I known then what I
know now, I would have added one more to the list: Petra. </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-74393895988774703162016-08-02T08:04:00.000-07:002016-08-02T08:36:47.331-07:00A Dress from the Souk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is a story of Riyadh as it was many years ago. It's set in </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Souk Hiraj, </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">an open air market running either side of Thumairi Street in the centre of old Diera.</span></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPrFfDyTw_DJopOGP86GIidDPo-yUJkhZjMkszP95jtqWRjXcyO7r6d21eX2Rr08urKHcvcX6f6pJ8EReOIiiFN_QobRx748DM6IKXtTUHUu1YWcHKlQzzVWlUmM6_uvaG9FzskchagI/s1600/L36+Ladies+Suk+V.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPrFfDyTw_DJopOGP86GIidDPo-yUJkhZjMkszP95jtqWRjXcyO7r6d21eX2Rr08urKHcvcX6f6pJ8EReOIiiFN_QobRx748DM6IKXtTUHUu1YWcHKlQzzVWlUmM6_uvaG9FzskchagI/s640/L36+Ladies+Suk+V.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spencer W Tart, Watercolour Print, Ladies' Market, Middle East Art</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At Souk Hiraj, Bedouin women sit cross-legged
on the ground under large umbrellas. Second hand dresses are piled beside them
and fall untidily out of old tin trunks. Scattered among the jumbled clothing are traditional jewellery and face masks decorated with beadwork, fringes, woven bands and coins. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The air is filled with the distinctive fragrance of small bunches of basil, rosemary and
jasmine, tucked into women’s dresses and held in place under headdresses. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Behind the ladies’ market, goats and sheep wait
noisily in pens to be sold. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Still
further along Thumairi Street is the men’s market where almost everything imaginable is for sale: thobes,
bishts, old swords, guns, miswak. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cries
of “<i>Taille, taille," </i> fill the air, each vendor trying to out-shout his neighbour and convince all and sundry that his wares are the best and the cheapest. There are children everywhere. Boys and girls play soccer
with an old tin can. The roads are pot-holed and muddy and the dust covers everything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The year is 1978 and this story belongs to
a friend who arrived in Riyadh over thirty years ago to work as a sonographer
at King Faisal Specialist Hospital. Her first visit to Souk Haraj was the start
of a collection of dresses, which now numbers between four and five hundred,
and spans much of the history and geography of this country. It’s a unique and
astonishing testament to Pamela’s passion for the people and culture of Saudi
Arabia. Last week we met together with the idea that Pamela would talk and I
would write. Inside her villa I peek around the corner of the room where her
collection is housed. It takes up the entire breadth and depth of the room.
There are even dresses hanging from hooks in the ceiling. Despite the
protective plastic covers there’s still a hint of sparkle and glitter. This is an
Aladdin’s cave all of its own.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“It was very different when I first arrived,”
Pamela says, describing the souk. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“All
the vendors were Saudi and there were both men and women. The women wore bright
dresses - Bedouin floral prints – reds, purples, greens and pinks. Abayas were
really just shawls to cover heads and shoulders. Many had ink tattoos on their
faces and hands and they had bare hands and feet: none of the black socks and
gloves you see nowadays.” Pamela pauses, “ I remember one, her name was Um
Salman. That means the mother of Salman,” she tells me, “ She’d be feeding a
baby on one breast with a toddler on the other. She was as dark as ebony and wide
as she was tall. We became friends.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pamela continues, “I loved going there. After
my first visit I was hooked. The dealers came to know me. They’d often put
stuff aside that they knew I’d like. I wasn’t meant to go on my own. The
hospital didn’t like it. But I did anyway. I’ve always been a free spirit. I'd
catch a taxi and then come back with the trunk and car filled with clothing.”
We laughed. I could imagine it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the lounge the headless mannequins line up, looking like something out of a Doctor Who story. On the wall alongside them is a framed dress. “That’s the first one I ever bought,” Pamela says. We move closer and I notice the beadwork, the simple geometric symmetry and predominance of yellow embroidery.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“It’s from the south west: the Bani Malik tribe,” Pamela adds, “and all of it; piecing, beading and decoration, would have been done by hand.” </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We turn back to the mannequins and I look
at a bright yellow gown with a large geometric motif on the bodice that’s repeated
over the skirt.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“See,” Pamela says,
showing me the underside of the skirt, “it’s just as beautiful on the inside.”
She’s right: pomegranate red under sunshine yellow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The dress has other traditional
Bedouin elements: a metal belt, a shawl draped over the shoulders and a head
covering. The details are what interest me most, and I’m drawn to the beads, tassels,
fringing, as well as the colourful chain and back stitching covering almost
every inch of the black fabric. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's such a wonderful cacophony of colour. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next mannequin in the Doctor Who line
up is also bold and beautiful, but in a more kaleidoscopic kind of way. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Small beads are set into intricate repeating patterns
on the bodice. I notice the traditional Bedouin necklace that Pamela has added
and like the way it sits on the bodice. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs29phviV2Y-tCtos8qQOiyBbdbnc3FdPqsBDj06BgiOgsW6dfFfd5hoWd3Ugkf8JDARTciToGp4R26bNomsWB3LdrtRsrG0WWiq55ALkI8kKo9ZwYAa4IbFA4QueSoRGlRZvwfQF-Tus/s1600/2_+MG_6259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs29phviV2Y-tCtos8qQOiyBbdbnc3FdPqsBDj06BgiOgsW6dfFfd5hoWd3Ugkf8JDARTciToGp4R26bNomsWB3LdrtRsrG0WWiq55ALkI8kKo9ZwYAa4IbFA4QueSoRGlRZvwfQF-Tus/s640/2_+MG_6259.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Bedouin jewellery</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There’s a rich interplay of texture and
colour, from the sheerness of the shawl draped over the shoulders, to the
opacity of the skirt with its broad bands of hem embroidery. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Look at the silver metal beads,” Pamela says
as I struggle to get a photographic angle that does the dress justice, “they’re
all hand sewn.” This, like the previous dress, is from the Asir region, perhaps
a village near Abha or Najan.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pamela
turns the mannequin round and shows me the back, proving that this view is just
as stunning.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On a small shelf near her front door just
above a shoe rack, Pamela has placed a traditional burqu (face mask). </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I look at
the small slits for eyes and the coins sewn on as decoration, and can't help thinking
how heavy and uncomfortable it must have been. Along the bottom there are metal
pendants with small bells, and two tassels fall either side of the face. There’s
embellishment everywhere. Later we take it off the stand and look at the
inside to see row upon row of small neat stitches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bedouin women wore many different kinds of headdress
and would often place one over the other. Layering was a characteristic of Arabic
dress. Bani Sa'ad women sometimes wore up to seven layered items on their head. As Pamela tells me this this, she places a flat-topped head dress over
the burqu. This is called a ridayah and its square flatness makes me think of
a mortarboard, but there the similarity ends. There’s nothing plain or simple
about this. Two fabric pendants in shades of red, with metal beads and tassels
hang down from each corner, framing the face. The other end trails over the back
of the head, and is finished off with yet more fringed brightness.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I spread it out flat I see that it’s
just a simple rectangle, covered in metal beaded embroidery. Bedouin girls and
women must have spent hours fashioning all these trimmings. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKU_w3772kftu0V_B0bcbgcO6WvdjU8R7rCL7p3i1kssTsrNYiWqLp1DSaUf2eL1fPeYVOAJqTvi6RmSe_DxkrywhMXXpn7rbPFaBqytm628CJ0MkdKAOKn3qMFeRlsHNjWymLNFI31M/s1600/12_IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKU_w3772kftu0V_B0bcbgcO6WvdjU8R7rCL7p3i1kssTsrNYiWqLp1DSaUf2eL1fPeYVOAJqTvi6RmSe_DxkrywhMXXpn7rbPFaBqytm628CJ0MkdKAOKn3qMFeRlsHNjWymLNFI31M/s640/12_IMG_5765.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rectangular tasselled ridayah in the background, blue and white beaded hat, qaraoosh, in the foreground</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoHn577kUiIrkvA_3MfoZ5KKhNsSyftVoTMSC1kGY_U3RDXuXZGo06UmxWxVEGT3m0erYckmrpSONNNRISQJoEBQB2HNNcetMWxaEnVscEWXqT90NvnXo1quf74vYsSXKcv9aXkrxzfI/s1600/IMG_5943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoHn577kUiIrkvA_3MfoZ5KKhNsSyftVoTMSC1kGY_U3RDXuXZGo06UmxWxVEGT3m0erYckmrpSONNNRISQJoEBQB2HNNcetMWxaEnVscEWXqT90NvnXo1quf74vYsSXKcv9aXkrxzfI/s640/IMG_5943.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beaded head cover called a buknuq, another step in the layering process. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next dress is different. It would have
been made for a woman living in a city, probably Riyadh, because it has features
that are typical of Saudi Arabia’s central Nadj region.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this area the basic kaftan shape grew into
something more fluid and sophisticated, while still retaining the traditional
thobe square cut. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The tailoring is Indian and Pamela explains that Indian tailors
were part of the souk. “You'd see them in their shops along Deira Street, sitting
cross-legged on the floor, with fabric stretched out in front of them on narrow
looms. They’d draw the design on first and then do the stitching." Made of pure
silk chiffon fabric, the workmanship and delicate metal thread embroidery all suggest
the emerging wealth and status of Nadj families like the Al Sauds.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A black woolen coat is next in the mannequin
line up, this one hand embroidered in a style that’s known as Zardozi. Zardozi
is traditional metallic embroidery technique. In Persian zar means gold and
dozi, embroidery. Intricate patterns were traditionally embroidered with gold thread and then further embellished with precious stones. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However here, the thread is not gold and the beads just coloured glass, but the
design and workmanship are still outstanding. Beside it is another dress from
the same Nadj area, made from black velvet. The embroidery is a similar paisley
design, but this is machine sewn. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last gown I look at has a style of
embellishment that is derivative of Syria or Turkey. It has gold, metal thread buttons
and a narrow, flat decorative braid either side of the front opening, known as
soutache. The stand up Nehru collar and turquoise coloured beads add to the overall
air of sophistication and wealth. It is completely hand embroidered, with loops
and flowers made from braided metal thread, and couching: a technique where one
thread is fixed to a fabric by stitching it down flat with another thread. Looking
at it, I can imagine the grace and beauty of the wearer. Like other well-to-do
Nadj women she would have wanted gowns that were opulent and extravagant with
as much shine and shimmer per square centimetre as possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And now it's time to leave. The cat that’s been
viewing me suspiciously from the next room leaps down and strolls past, brushing
my leg. I’ve been in her space for too long. One day though, I’ll be back.
There's mannequins and still more dresses waiting. </span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-1951715004362238262016-04-09T21:44:00.001-07:002016-05-13T03:40:03.660-07:00Egypt's Aswan Sharia as-Souk - Everything you Ever Wanted and More Besides<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>After our cruise we stopped in Aswan. Aswan’s
in an area of upper Egypt bordering Sudan, known as Nubia. We stayed in the Old
Cataract Hotel, the very place where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile. The
hotel had a wonderful colonial feel to it and was a great base for further
exploring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First we went to the old souk,
which felt similarly steeped in the past. Here’s our afternoon visit. </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Friday, April 8<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our taxi drops us off at Aswan’s Sharia
as-Souk. It’s 2.30 and we tell the
driver we’ll be back in an hour. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We enter the souk through a brick archway into
a throng of people. My husband goes into a nearby shop to buy some water to help
combat the 38 degree heat and searing sun. I wait and look around, camera in
hand.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Opposite, a shop displays dried
herbs in colourful Nubian baskets.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“These are lotus flowers,” says the shop owner pointing, “and these are
hibiscus flowers. They’re good for your heart.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Boil them in cold water and the drink will bring your blood pressure down,
boil them in hot water, it will help if your blood pressure is low.” I nod.
He’s a herbalist he tells me, and then shows me cinnamon bark, cumin, dried
mint, cardamon pods, saffron, okra. I’m fascinated by it all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We turn left into a narrow alley where
merchandise spills out of shops onto the street, making it as colourful as it
is chaotic. I spot rabbits in a cage. I bend down to take a photo but the woman
seated on the ground beside them says, “Baksheesh, baksheesh,” so I quickly
lower my camera and move on. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are pigeons for sale about three steps further on and I line up my camera again.
This time no one asks for money or takes any notice of me. It’s a much more comfortable
feeling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A man calls us over into his shop, but
today we are less interested in buying than looking. “Where are you from?” he
asks. “You guess,” I say. He goes through the usual gamut of European countries
before running out of steam when he gets to Australia. Close but not close
enough. “We’re from New Zealand,” I say.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Ah,” he says smiling broadly as if a light has just turned on. “Kiwi,”
he says and then, “Kiora,” flashing us a huge grin revealing just one lone
tooth in his upper gum. We all laugh and carry on.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">We pass a papyrus shop, a butcher and stalls loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables. I stop beside another herbalist selling a slightly different array of merchandise. He points out dried tamarind and then I ask about some rather fragile looking round objects. They make me think of ostrich eggs, but he says that boiling them and then applying the poultice to sore joints cures arthritis. It’s called Hanzal he says, and both the flower and fruit are poisonous. We remember seeing the same plant growing on the banks of the Nile a few days ago, and our guide telling us that animals knew instinctively not to eat it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we continue walking I suggest to my
husband that we play a game. “Let’s see who can be the first to spot another
tourist.”</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He nods and we
scan the crowd before crossing the road to the other side of the souk. It’s
more open here with more shops selling tourist tack. “I don't know what you
want, but I have it all,” one man shouts. And another, “Come into my shop.
Everything here is almost free.” </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We laugh
together. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I see a bread shop, the brightly coloured icing running in the sun. Women rifle through a huge pile of fabric by the side of the road, and a little further on a group of men enjoy a late afternoon sheesha session. Boldly coloured traditional Nubian hats make an attractive display and everywhere we look, something or someone catches our attention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We look at our watches and suddenly see that
it’s almost two hours. As we drive back to our hotel we remember the game we
were playing and realize that we saw no other tourists. Like so much of our
visit here, it was just us.</span></span></div>
Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-40164540276022214712016-03-27T05:16:00.000-07:002016-08-06T03:04:19.747-07:00Easter, Here and There<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today is Easter Sunday. However we live in
Saudi Arabia where Easter is not recognized, and so this weekend has been exactly
like every other weekend. But before my husband left for work this morning, we sent
each of our three children a traditional Easter greeting, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The L is risen</i>, and then received back
the expected response, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He is risen
indeed. The L’s name be praised.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> You see, </span>Easter's always been a very special part of our family life. Even in Saudi Arabia.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But that was a couple of hours ago and now
I look out the window at the dust and wind. I’m glad I got my early morning
walk in, because I won't be going out again today. It's just not nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day will be long and quiet. I think again of our children, each celebrating Easter in a different
way and place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My older daughter,
husband and small son are staying with family in a small village in England. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right
now they're attending their village church and later they'll share Easter
eggs over lunch. Yesterday I received a photo of their little boy making a bread
man with hands clasping an egg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such fun. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My other daughter is in Rome with her
husband. They sent us what looks like<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a very exciting itinerary full of walks, galleries and exploring. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Sistine chapel in Rome, Ponte Vecchio in Florence and ruins in Pompeii. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My husband and I looked at it and agreed, it’d be nice to be there too. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I noticed that their planning includes a<a href="http://www.visitflorence.com/florence-events/explosion-of-the-cart-easter.html"> traditional festivity involving fireworks</a>, as well as a church service. It sounds good, and reminds me just a little of the Easter we spent in <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2012/04/whole-new-world-minus-carpets.html">Vienna</a>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My son meanwhile, is in New Zealand, celebrating Easter with family in Palmerston North. He sent us a Joy Cowley poem
from his Good Friday service so I know there’ll be some traditional services
and celebrating going on there too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And as for us, well a few weeks ago I did
manage to find chocolate eggs, but the sight of them in the cupboard was too
much, and I must confess they did not last the distance.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there’s been no special celebrating. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhyphenhyphenVyzu3eI3vnLbhhVGcb8zMwM85TAADcO7PRloq0X-H38RbCIIxBszppkGmaSIOZ3s4nRDIdxvrHthmT02xcxx8WJalzZ2RdZiYGJuwhZ1MFJ1AFsJlBJiNcigrQr1WlwX0IkADy1tg/s1600/IMG_9669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhyphenhyphenVyzu3eI3vnLbhhVGcb8zMwM85TAADcO7PRloq0X-H38RbCIIxBszppkGmaSIOZ3s4nRDIdxvrHthmT02xcxx8WJalzZ2RdZiYGJuwhZ1MFJ1AFsJlBJiNcigrQr1WlwX0IkADy1tg/s640/IMG_9669.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n
fact our high point was a visit yesterday to Al Hazaz. Friends of ours call
these shops ‘everything shops’ because they really do stock everything. And so while family were spending time together in traditional
Easter ways, we were prowling shelves and aisles.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's some of what we saw...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And here’s a clip I sent to the family when we got home. It's something my husband bought.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxfNXlR-VxYfm0huzdsMDFX8kgn9CY_NckF6Cxpx24bfKAYoyfx0imr8dgDkK6dgkc1NIkeUayEP3kuujZYIA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My daughter’s response was that it looked
like a flying Easter egg. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now there’s a novel Saudi concept.</span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-89018140159474461932016-03-16T03:31:00.000-07:002016-12-22T19:42:43.482-08:00Jeddah and a Walk around Al Balad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUmMzesJxpVDDjNz4Roomnm3ajiUTvodD6m0qdISROM7ebodzj1Pq3P5yK9m7Vq_pWqQYfwamQ5qYSL9YeUuS8ACttWSJ_t0V2qA1XqJsw1RaQS46EuYC5_WgdDWOAEIIeLqbZP1xFRM/s1600/IMG_3567.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUmMzesJxpVDDjNz4Roomnm3ajiUTvodD6m0qdISROM7ebodzj1Pq3P5yK9m7Vq_pWqQYfwamQ5qYSL9YeUuS8ACttWSJ_t0V2qA1XqJsw1RaQS46EuYC5_WgdDWOAEIIeLqbZP1xFRM/s640/IMG_3567.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From Riyadh to Jeddah is an hour and a half
by plane. By car it’s a full day’s journey. Travelling by camel as the ancient
Nabateans did would take a couple of weeks. We flew, and a</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s soon as we stepped off the plane we noticed the humidity, so very, very different from Riyadh. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jeddah's a port on the Red Sea and is </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> believed to have been founded as a fishing village in 522 BC by
the Quda’a tribe. This nomadic people travelled from Yemen, choosing eventually
to settle in the Makkah region of Arabia.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the first century AD it became a post on the Nabatean
trade route. Camel caravans from Yemen would stop at Madain Salah and
then Jeddah, laden with spices, frankincense and myrrh. The derivation of Jeddah
is Jaddah, which is </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Arabic for
grandmother. The tomb of the Biblical Eve, the grandmother of everyone, is
meant to lie in an </span><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/in-unmarked-saudi-tomb-lies-grandmother-of-everyone" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">unmarked grave</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in a cemetery in Al Balad, Jeddah’s old city.
So many stories and so much colour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nowadays Jeddah’s the largest city in Makkah province and the entry point for overseas pilgrims travelling to Mecca and
Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities. Waiting for our flight at Riyadh airport, we
couldn't help but notice the distinctively clad pilgrims on their way to Mecca
to perform Umrah. Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca that, unlike Haj, can be
undertaken at any time of the year. Just as a word of explanation, every Muslim
is expected to perform Haj at least once in his lifetime. The Haj pilgrimage to
Mecca takes place after Ramadan and before second Eid. At such times Jeddah
airport is literally swamped by multitudes of visiting pilgrims.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">History aside, it was our early morning
visit to the UNESCO Heritage site of Al Balad, Jeddah’s old city, that was the
highlight of our Jeddah visit. We began at the Eastern Gate, standing in the still
sleepy street against a backdrop of teetering high storied houses and listened as
our guide set the scene. The distinctive house frontages, mashrabaiat and
rawashaan, he said, dated back to pre-Islamic times. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly many of these are dilapidated and
badly in need of repair.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_1n8MHuEKMQf4UrrglExOGrews0myK8wWXsTgN5IgnBoJqb9KqZk60K2iFjZMHEOi0M434_GXIQnWbbqKXaXUL5l3_Opb-93pAPsz_NTfnAMTA13KctK2IJK9T_gNKLWi0jBkbl6L_s/s1600/IMG_3545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_1n8MHuEKMQf4UrrglExOGrews0myK8wWXsTgN5IgnBoJqb9KqZk60K2iFjZMHEOi0M434_GXIQnWbbqKXaXUL5l3_Opb-93pAPsz_NTfnAMTA13KctK2IJK9T_gNKLWi0jBkbl6L_s/s640/IMG_3545.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the heart of Al Balad is Souk Al- Alawi.
Here we explored shops selling frankincense, saffron and a multitude of other interesting dried spices.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I must admit I love the colour and smell of places like these, and the array of </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">merchandise that is so rich in tradition and history. There’s always something new to be seen that sets me wondering.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Al Shafei mosque is central to Al
Balad</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and one of Jeddah’s oldest
mosques. We saw the minaret before we saw the newly renovated mosque.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We would have liked to explore Al Naseef
House, a former house of one of Jeddah’s main trading families, and now a museum.
When we arrived it was open, but unfortunately not for us. Something else was
on our guide explained. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think though, that we were just as happy prowling the streets, catching glimpses of every
day life and generally savouring the atmosphere. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One scrawny cat reclining
among building debris, bread being baked for early streetside breakfasts, shops
opening and everywhere Jeddah’s distinctive architecture and colours, bright
green, turquoise and ochre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At 10.30 we reached Café Magad. We were happy to sit for a while, soak up the eclectic
atmosphere and enjoy traditional Arabic hospitality. Dates, Arabic coffee and
something new, a honeyed yoghurt drink, thareeb. All of it just delicious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then back outside and a final walk through the Bedouin souk towards the Western Gate. Here brightly coloured fabrics and clothing stopped us in our tracks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Porters waited hopefully for us to pile merchandise onto their empty trolleys,
but time was short and against a background of our guide’s “Yalla. Yalla,’’ we said our goodbyes to Al Balad and clutching shopping bags, clambered
aboard our van.</span><br />
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-3114417477522172542016-02-05T05:10:00.000-08:002016-02-06T00:35:05.051-08:00When the Whanau Visits… the Familiar, the Exciting and the Unexpected<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-to-do-when-whanau-visit-riyadh.html">Al Musmak </a>was the familiar and the
<a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2016/01/when-whanau-visits-arabic-falcons.html">falconry display </a>was the exciting, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">our
weekend trip to Ar Raghbah and Ushayqr was the unexpected. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We’d done this road trip three years ago, and
had really happy memories of the day, so decided we’d go again with our son and
a group of friends. There were some certainties to the day: a picnic, a small museum
to explore, desert vistas and an old watch tower to climb. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well, that was the plan. Our first stop was
<a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2013/03/small-towns-and-tall-towers-all-in-day.html">Ar Raghbah,</a> 120 km northwest of Riaydh. This mud brick village was
established in 1669 and although small and unprepossessing, it’s very
significant historically. It was one of the targets in 1817 during the invasion
of the Najd by Turks under Ibraheem Pasha. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remembered the cylindrical Al Marqab
Tower, with its small slit windows, and the spiral staircase that led to an outlook point so small, two people could barely stand side by side. Sadly I'd not made
it to the top. Only a few steps away, I’d turned back, claustrophia getting the
better of me. But</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> here’s what we remembered. Something
that looked like this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But this was what we found. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One toppled
tower. We were first stunned and then saddened. We looked for reasons but could think of none. Around the tower, the
old town’s mud homes were also crumbling and disappearing.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Talking to a Saudi friend later, she offered
an explanation. She said that climate change has brought more rain, and with
that the old structures at Ar Raghbah are slowly vanishing. Perhaps one day,
she added, they will restore the tower. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The town's only inhabitants giving us the once over. </td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not far from Ar Raghbah was another
surprise, though just for our son this time. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our well programmed GPS led us through the
desert to a very different destination. We saw piles of sand beside large
rectangular ponds. This was a salt farm, quite honestly the last thing we’d
ever expected to find in the middle of a desert.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">As we let the coarse-grained salt fall through our fingers, a truck opposite was loaded with bagged salt.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">We watched, slightly amused while it struggled to gain momentum and move forward. As we left it was still stuck, but not for the want of enthusiastic pushing from the back.</span></span></div>
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our last stop was Usahyqr. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was a heritage village with a small museum attached.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We walked down streets and through small marketplaces, and noticed that it seemed more in need of renovation and repair now than three years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We sat beside the museum and took photos. On
the ground in front of us someone had drawn a game of hopscotch and a little
further away two small children stood outside a shop, enticed by its display of
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">brightly coloured plastic toys. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remembered the same shop from last time we'd visited. The merchandise outside had been very different. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we walked back to our cars my</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> son paused beside the Arabic hopscotch numbers. T</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ime for just one last throw of a stone and then two hops forward. </span><br />
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-32790585143878703032016-01-30T05:36:00.000-08:002016-02-29T11:02:13.174-08:00When the Whanau visits.... Arabic Falcons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shortly after we’d arrived in
Saudi, I made a list of the three things I wanted to do most before we returned
to New Zealand. The first was visiting the <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2012/01/tombs-sunset-dates-and-madain-saleh-or.html">ancient Nabatean trading post of Madain Saleh.</a> Done. The second was seeing a traditional Arabic falconry
display. The third, and probably most simple, was spending an evening in the
desert enjoying a traditional Arabic meal around an open fire under a starry night sky. I decided that the second of these would be an
ideal activity to organise while my son was visiting. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a Friday afternoon when we
met up with friends and climbed into our Haya Tours van. We travelled an hour into the
desert, north towards Qassim. Shortly after we arrived, so did the falcons,
spread out comfortably along the back seat of a SUV. <o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Initially hooded to keep them calm, the falcons were placed on small wooden perches which sat upright in the sand, rather like oversized golf tees.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once a bird took to the air and the
falconer enticed it with prey, we could see the utter ruthlessness with which
it circled, swooped, caught and then devoured the prey. There were moments when
I had to turn my back, handing the camera to my son who displayed none of my squeamishness.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1c1c1c;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was one unexpected moment
of light relief when a small hen escaped and staged a bid for freedom with
three falconers in hot pursuit. </span></span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sadly the end of the story was not so amusing,
but the laughter beforehand was definitely a good thing. </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Holding a white Siberian Falcon
on his gloved hand, our Bedouin falconer told us that he’d trained over a hundred
birds. In H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald, training just one goshawk took total commitment and eons of her energy. It's definitely
not something for the faint-hearted. I can't imagine what it would be like to
train around 150 birds.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The desert light, especially as
the evening drew in was stunning. Sunlight on wing tips, the distant sunset, Bedouin falconers and the remote desert setting all conspired to
create a sense of history and myth conjoined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We
travelled back in the dark. My son said he remembered a falconry display we’d
taken him to see in England at Beaulieu Castle. He must have been only seven or
eight. I was impressed at his memory. Today though he said, had been very different.
More real somehow. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I
nodded, then thought of my list. One more remarkable memory to tick off, and still one more to plan and look forward to.</span><br />
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-14815891095420841932016-01-28T23:04:00.000-08:002016-02-09T03:17:21.903-08:00What to do When the Whanau visits Riyadh: the Familiar, the Exciting and the Unexpected<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">First up was the familiar, well for me at
least, not so much for my son who’s been the visiting <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">whanau. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Our destination was Al Musmak, the old fort
beside Diera Souk that overlooks Riyadh’s infamous Chop Chop Square. Historically the fort's important because it represents the creation of Saudi Arabia. In 1902 the young Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud returned from exile in Kuwait and in a fierce and heroic battle reclaimed the fort from the occupying rival Al Rashid family. It's just outside the fort's entry gate that the battle took place. This gate is a very imposing 3.6 by 2.7 metres and as we walked through I pointed out to my son the spear tip embedded in the door, thrown by one of Al Saud's men. The fort's a traditional Najd mud brick construction with four conical towers and very thick walls. The walls are a deliberate design feature, they keep the fort cool in summer and warm in winter. The tall ceilings allow the hot air to rise to where small windows pull the air out. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">nside we stopped by the Diwan, the King’s sitting room. This is a large rectangular room with traditional seating. It was here that we were greeted by two impeccably dressed Saudi gentlemen in traditional white thobes and red guthra.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Are you part of the visiting Finnish delegation?” they asked. I looked at my son’s black hair and tanned olive complexion and smiled. “No,” I said and then explained that we were not Finnish but rather New Zealanders: I was living here and my son visiting.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">It was quiet and pleasantly cool as we
wandered through the labyrinth of rooms and passage ways. Al Musmak’s as much museum as
fort, and we constantly stopped to take in both the displays and the architecture.
I liked the sparse geometric designs along walls, the pattern of shadows across
stone floors, and the old wooden doors, each one different. </span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">We stopped
for a photo beside the Be Careful Well. “How could you not with a name like
that,” my son said to me, smiling. I discovered a photo of Gertrude Bell taken in
1916 with King Abdul Aziz and Sir Percy Cox. We saw photos of Riyadh in the
late nineteen forties when it was little more than a large village<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, all</span> mud streets
and ramshackle dwellings. So many changes and so much progress in such a short
time. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Engrossed in conversation, we stopped by
the Diwan on our way out for one last glance. One of the men who’d greeted us
earlier came over. It seemed the Finnish delegation had still not arrived. “You
can go in,” he said pushing the cordon preventing tourist access, to one
side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We smiled and entered cautiously,
wishing to make the most of the experience but not wanting to overstep his
generosity. However the hospitality continued, with Arabic tea arriving and being
served as we reclined comfortably. “Just wait, “ I said to my son, “<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">t</span>here’ll be
dates coming next.” We accepted the first cup and a second. However when the
third arrived we politely declined, knowing, as we walked back to our bus, that
we had an hour long trip ahead of us back to our compound<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span>and in this country, comfort stops were
not an option. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-24662006493889228022015-11-03T04:18:00.000-08:002015-12-29T11:54:42.557-08:00Finding New Zealand in Ethiopia: Hudad Lodge meets Ponui Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wordsworth spoke about “emotions recollected in tranquility” as the
basis of writing. I’ve been doing quite a bit of this lately, seated on my
patio enjoying the early morning shade of oleander, date palm and
bougainvillea. Here’s what today’s tranquility threw back at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little bit of New Zealand in Ethiopia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hudad Lodge meets Ponui Island. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“You have to be
careful,” a friend had said before we’d left Riyadh, “ Don’t walk around at
night. You’ll fall off the edge.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
didn’t fully appreciate the truth of her words until we arrived. Hudad Lodge is
perched on a small plateau at the very top of Abuna Yosef Mountain in the
Northern Ethiopian Highlands.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a two
hour uphill rocky scramble to get there. The sheer drops on all sides mean spectacular
views, but also potentially spectacular falls. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s the Ethiopian take on Riyadh’s <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2014/04/edge-of-world-another-riyadh-desert.html">Edge of the World</a>,” I said later to my husband, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“just a different colour palette.” Riyadh is situated
on a plateau and we too have breath-taking edge of world escarpment views. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s funny how
memories crystallise, building new associations between past and present. There
were things about this place that reminded me of a small island I’d visited off
the coast of Auckland called Ponui.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Firstly, it was
the donkeys. As you approach Ponui, they’re the first things you see, grazing
along the foreshore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those who put up
tents in the same area might lift a tent flap first thing in the morning to
find a donkey or two staring them in the eye. Here we had mules not donkeys,
but they also grazed freely and also greeted us first thing each morning when
we opened the small door of our thatched mud tukul.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hudad Lodge is eco-friendly. Beside our hut was our ensuite long
drop, not too dissimilar to Moonshine or Starshine, the names given to two of
the long drop toilets on Ponui. We had no power or running water, even more primitive than Ponui, but our tukul nevertheless had its own particular brand of rustic charm and comfort.</span></span></div>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The nights were very cold. Extra layers of clothing were placed on our bed and large sized plastic water bottles were filled with hot water to place under the blankets. In the morning this same water, now cold, was intended for our washing,
and gravity showers. I'd read about gravity showers as a feature of Hudad and
wondered what the term might mean, thinking along traditional lines of shower
and overhead faucet. When I saw the basin and bottle of water beside our bed, I
understood the euphemism.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then of course there
was the food. I remember the meals at Ponui with affection. The kitchen team
coaxed and cajoled the oldest and most temperamental of ranges into
producing mouthwatering meals. Most supplies were brought over by barge from
the mainland, but some was locally sourced. I remember a delicious cheesecake
made with mulberries, freshly picked from a gnarled old tree further along the
shore. At Hudad, all supplies had to be carried up the narrow goat track on the
backs of mules. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The kitchen was small, dark and primitive. The head cook, oddly resplendent in white chef’s hat and apron worked inside the cookhouse.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Outside the sous chef
chopped vegetables. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But like Ponui, Hudad’s
food was memorable.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fresh coffee or buna was the best of our entire trip. Nor
will I forget the breakfast omelet, eaten overlooking the escarpment, wrapped
in a gabi and watching the morning unfold in front of me. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ponui is a sanctuary
for kiwis. There’s a research and conservation programme in place and numbers have soared. Hudad Lodge too
is a sanctuary, but for a different kind of wild life. We saw Ghelada baboons
and many, many birds including kites, eagles and lammergeyers.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWR38w9XSI5y3teiHa_D81IzXgNbFsk97wZyt2pxLEO1isPE3n3U2-mPAxLzO4wl94wTWkbEYPvjO5VsLr_wFrEB9MTknUR24ea1FpQx6Pm1dd7zZQB8t0b0ji9XMyNLHcUbCcF00GYGY/s1600/11_IMG_7844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWR38w9XSI5y3teiHa_D81IzXgNbFsk97wZyt2pxLEO1isPE3n3U2-mPAxLzO4wl94wTWkbEYPvjO5VsLr_wFrEB9MTknUR24ea1FpQx6Pm1dd7zZQB8t0b0ji9XMyNLHcUbCcF00GYGY/s640/11_IMG_7844.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last week, back in
Riyadh I was tutoring a young student. We were talking about literary devices
and I was using Tennyson’s poem <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eagle </i>as
illustration. As I read, “He clasps the crag with crooked hands,” I could see a look of total
mystification cross her face. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Here," I
said opening my computer to a photo, “ Look at this.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a Golden Eagle, the one I’d snapped at
Hudad Lodge, as I sat looking over the
escarpment with my early morning buna. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She studied it closely, and then turned to me, smiling. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Oh,” she said,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Now I see.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJtRWRSdEPTjYZxD4YVMmwDxObr1csvXkr8LJj-Q07mC907bmzfT8tLv_-GIJ3hbHU1bynxmccnuKUfl34W-grVr4s3zBs_n_TcU9LmUizveYZPVku9lju1t0YLuqMUZD12-DbFjJmak/s1600/IMG_8143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJtRWRSdEPTjYZxD4YVMmwDxObr1csvXkr8LJj-Q07mC907bmzfT8tLv_-GIJ3hbHU1bynxmccnuKUfl34W-grVr4s3zBs_n_TcU9LmUizveYZPVku9lju1t0YLuqMUZD12-DbFjJmak/s640/IMG_8143.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He clasps the crag with crooked hands;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Close to the sun in lonely lands,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He watches from his mountain walls,<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And like a thunderbolt he falls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tennyson</span></span></i></div>
</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-7293280207666277642015-10-30T08:14:00.001-07:002016-08-06T03:06:34.280-07:00Graffiti Rock - Picnics and Petroglyphs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cPUI1pIVdhnwAUxCyx2lG7_yzbRO7Vl8bKp4O4WBzWkAdMTjO_RgTx3yh3GAZeosnrN3jgIMzwmsyXbM5Msyoq6REcrPGqjn5A9Fei64R1anbiILMh-Kp179j2iPVaN14QuubzIGzbU/s1600/IMG_9866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6cPUI1pIVdhnwAUxCyx2lG7_yzbRO7Vl8bKp4O4WBzWkAdMTjO_RgTx3yh3GAZeosnrN3jgIMzwmsyXbM5Msyoq6REcrPGqjn5A9Fei64R1anbiILMh-Kp179j2iPVaN14QuubzIGzbU/s640/IMG_9866.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last time we saw ancient graffiti was
at <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2012/01/tombs-sunset-dates-and-madain-saleh-or.html">Madain Saleh</a>. There it was traders<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and camel caravans telling the story of first century BC Nabatean
traders bringing incense and myrrh from
Southern Arabia to the Mediterranean. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today we saw rock art that was even more
ancient, dating possibly as far back as 3000 BC. Although graffiti perfectly
describes the random jumble of scribbled figures, the correct term is petroglyphs.
Today’s story was quite different from that of Madain Saleh. We saw hunters, pastoralists
and the animals that would have lived alongside them: the backward horned ibex,
ostriches, camels, hyenas, antelopes and strange long bodied creatures with
tails waving in the air.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAs8PzHZDul0rouJdOe72kg47ooqxusrYUfCpSBShYDfSk6v_3OP2yfzQ3i20S0mfCQiIolN2RyBPDlAwQTFpPx786zfehDIIup4rEmU78ddeVMrc2Gz-gQEY0q-9-cGmJ87SBLRcYuGo/s1600/IMG_9853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAs8PzHZDul0rouJdOe72kg47ooqxusrYUfCpSBShYDfSk6v_3OP2yfzQ3i20S0mfCQiIolN2RyBPDlAwQTFpPx786zfehDIIup4rEmU78ddeVMrc2Gz-gQEY0q-9-cGmJ87SBLRcYuGo/s640/IMG_9853.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We’d left our compound early and travelled for
about an hour and a half before we turned off the Makkah highway near the exit
for Musayqirah. Graffiti Rock was easy to spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In geological terms it's called an inselberg, meaning one isolated rock
surrounded by virtually level ground.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9NtBtRDuS-7RNZhQYy_bETsi9OucJS-gYF5Sopp9evzDAenX2BrpYxRPFK1PBeUtb7IC21qhgXPz7QeewmcNm9o3NVGAf0SWXn00YzfIEeIEdEV0VZFCGD9qDNaNijDjnUTgVHIEo7Y/s1600/IMG_9881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9NtBtRDuS-7RNZhQYy_bETsi9OucJS-gYF5Sopp9evzDAenX2BrpYxRPFK1PBeUtb7IC21qhgXPz7QeewmcNm9o3NVGAf0SWXn00YzfIEeIEdEV0VZFCGD9qDNaNijDjnUTgVHIEo7Y/s640/IMG_9881.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJmlFjB1zrZOm0rdejOHqYMCfk155gBLIxjf8wJMACWx_-hRhJrXNRiws85gQJbl438Vw8S0V4AjOoojVloXa23HGZH6zTJyFoV5dVYijxeKINNAmWDkGPaVRVJvL9X5TRz9R_Z_5Sg0/s1600/IMG_9843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJmlFjB1zrZOm0rdejOHqYMCfk155gBLIxjf8wJMACWx_-hRhJrXNRiws85gQJbl438Vw8S0V4AjOoojVloXa23HGZH6zTJyFoV5dVYijxeKINNAmWDkGPaVRVJvL9X5TRz9R_Z_5Sg0/s640/IMG_9843.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The site had been fenced off, but others
had been there before us with wire cutters so getting in was not a problem. We
walked around to the northwest face and scrambled up towards the summit where we
reached a shiny black rock covered in figures: skeletons, animals, palm trees,
bows and arrows. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PI3ur_xbGkJJUkCnUINVTWN8mjSBhBiFni8rHiO5FXLBHfov37VzS5qmagb74wMdbSxpK9rtgZ2IyZ_MNYFWtbi3dGLYe2U7WhHxug8kQSgz7fy90ouPe9xh5QUenazOi74uQKXC6eY/s1600/IMG_9863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PI3ur_xbGkJJUkCnUINVTWN8mjSBhBiFni8rHiO5FXLBHfov37VzS5qmagb74wMdbSxpK9rtgZ2IyZ_MNYFWtbi3dGLYe2U7WhHxug8kQSgz7fy90ouPe9xh5QUenazOi74uQKXC6eY/s640/IMG_9863.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLqTKnLQKOzxWWtcQAeo7sTZZHbBNutjKYRlypH8htPzcRk9tq6M4jNEUKZHCGxvqatjCbqFOvoMqYOwmYXiLsrJewMHPw4CtmPaJ3XYy71yPpZULujmrhspJ3LTFUvyBw2RpCViUQNc/s1600/IMG_9871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLqTKnLQKOzxWWtcQAeo7sTZZHbBNutjKYRlypH8htPzcRk9tq6M4jNEUKZHCGxvqatjCbqFOvoMqYOwmYXiLsrJewMHPw4CtmPaJ3XYy71yPpZULujmrhspJ3LTFUvyBw2RpCViUQNc/s640/IMG_9871.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I couldn’t help thinking that anywhere else in the world
there’d be hoards of tourists and proper protective fencing, but here, just
like Madain Saleh, there was just us. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Behind Graffiti Rock there’s an escarpment
with three ancient tumuli just visible. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These mark burial sites and can be
found all over central Arabia on rocky outcrops. We thought of climbing to see
them close up, but the sandy desert wind and the coughing of one of us who is
prone to asthma made us retreat to the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We shared our picnic food and in between mouthfuls agreed that next time we'd bring family
and do it again, including the tumulus. </span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-33902597442276004422015-10-21T11:57:00.000-07:002015-11-25T00:37:14.314-08:00Just A Coffee - From Riyadh to Ethiopia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9QNbfZFrSfzw9MPwai2mW2SIcpl_zDLbIS-227XMfwIKqPVaa4WtlZiYA7vOgiwCOxdA_TkHD38hf4hHjhxNeIKdfNm0c50lKamCdI7XsKTbJceNGgXcU-iWTDBlM6rcocfveckYM8s/s1600/IMG_8307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9QNbfZFrSfzw9MPwai2mW2SIcpl_zDLbIS-227XMfwIKqPVaa4WtlZiYA7vOgiwCOxdA_TkHD38hf4hHjhxNeIKdfNm0c50lKamCdI7XsKTbJceNGgXcU-iWTDBlM6rcocfveckYM8s/s640/IMG_8307.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before sitting I wipe something white and
viscous off the seat. I’ve chosen the best of the available family section eating
booths. This one doesn't have vinyl ripped off the arms of the chairs, the
table is wobble-free and the screens have fewer chips and peeling laminate than
others. I’m out shopping with a friend in one of Riyadh’s malls and we thought
we’d stop for a coffee. Somewhere different today we decided, not Starbucks.
However the reality is that any cafe here is the same. Drab, tatty and dirty. The
windows are sealed with an opaque sheen that’s peeling at the corners - there’s
neither view out nor in. The poster above the counter says in bold red
lettering, “Coffee roasted fresh every day.” It's the only splash of colour
anywhere and I just don’t believe it.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8rmjHc0Cp4cu2eaCw_Cvxjd9tO4ImK0IaxetTNwA7cGY_paf-vQV7AkpjE4NQ7PVp-qFTxVffxRj9K_lmaON_MDMEzx0C-i312zRGWXnW_GkRjd8PfMMVS9lWpaHs5CdnI8OCmQCDtM/s1600/IMG_8674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8rmjHc0Cp4cu2eaCw_Cvxjd9tO4ImK0IaxetTNwA7cGY_paf-vQV7AkpjE4NQ7PVp-qFTxVffxRj9K_lmaON_MDMEzx0C-i312zRGWXnW_GkRjd8PfMMVS9lWpaHs5CdnI8OCmQCDtM/s640/IMG_8674.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last week coffee out was an entirely different experience. In Axum we sat under an old leafy tree in the middle of the Saturday basket market. Markets in Ethiopia are social meeting points and this was no exception. Women sat together around the edge of the market place, their baskets in front of them. T</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">here was talk, laughter and just a little chaos. One
minute the ground we were looking at was covered with baskets and the next, several
goats had broken loose and were stampeding their way over and through everything.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-wnBD2C2Luo8wRzszb1NGfu4ExT0CZKOnNNozOMr5EA5EXucBq0u6OTZHYBnruuoIc-OhUZN4iDsBtijHM8hnQ_8ecovsz-YCN_V5-LBVqtIdW0uvZ_QGTosj6BcvfDt_sHD9C2Gyfs/s1600/IMG_8638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-wnBD2C2Luo8wRzszb1NGfu4ExT0CZKOnNNozOMr5EA5EXucBq0u6OTZHYBnruuoIc-OhUZN4iDsBtijHM8hnQ_8ecovsz-YCN_V5-LBVqtIdW0uvZ_QGTosj6BcvfDt_sHD9C2Gyfs/s640/IMG_8638.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We sat in front of Samara who prepared our coffee
or buna in the traditional Ethiopian style. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A little distance away sat her son. Just minutes before we'd watched her drag him away from fighting with a friend, cuffing him around the ears as she did so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he sat still, close enough to his mother so she could keep an eye on him, but not so close that he’d receive any more unwanted attention.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYOYpyyWLs7CZPqBDWZi826UsrhiP6xRKu0mHcYxZhIY6LhUSBAg8ozHW6EbZYLKvgZED5P-e4Bsza-0OK3O_Rfm2ydtR5HH8ZjjlZSpnmHFiicBuZrGDomHE3rV_ejm-2NYhnmlR7Wg/s1600/IMG_8660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeYOYpyyWLs7CZPqBDWZi826UsrhiP6xRKu0mHcYxZhIY6LhUSBAg8ozHW6EbZYLKvgZED5P-e4Bsza-0OK3O_Rfm2ydtR5HH8ZjjlZSpnmHFiicBuZrGDomHE3rV_ejm-2NYhnmlR7Wg/s640/IMG_8660.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YItjURzg_8FTfhUkhvBvt06RsCvSrXpNeQuKP4BO_xf1JPYJuMG9A0Hu_yGSJ8M4NFeFmrm4x2EmRyZvhA411gP8RwVRG21HrzwHqBnxMO9v2ADa8ql5YMKoN2UcYDVktYMrvekUquo/s1600/IMG_8654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YItjURzg_8FTfhUkhvBvt06RsCvSrXpNeQuKP4BO_xf1JPYJuMG9A0Hu_yGSJ8M4NFeFmrm4x2EmRyZvhA411gP8RwVRG21HrzwHqBnxMO9v2ADa8ql5YMKoN2UcYDVktYMrvekUquo/s640/IMG_8654.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, Samara took the white coffee beans
and roasted them to a deep golden brown over a small charcoal burner. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She
brought them over to us so we could catch their aroma. Then, using a mortar and
pestle she crushed the beans and placed them into a traditional earthenware
coffee pot with boiling water. Frankincense was lit on a small burner and then the
coffee was poured into small handleless cups. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We drank, and looked around at
the hubbub of activity. The chatting, the exchanging of news, the babies on backs,
teenage boys beside us playing foosball and of course the buying and selling of
baskets.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So much more than just a coffee. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-75987419718366992222015-05-30T10:42:00.000-07:002015-06-11T04:32:00.747-07:00Living Life on the Edge: Visiting the Dentist in Riyadh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The King’s Dentist lives down the road from
us. His other title, so my early morning walking friends tell me, is the Royal
Flosser. His job is to accompany the King on all his trips so that he’s on hand
should there be a sudden royal dental crisis. On one hand, it sounds exotic, but
I’m guessing it’s also pretty boring. A pack-a-good-book sort of job. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And talking of crises and dentists, I’ve my
own story to tell, but there’s no royal dentist in my
narrative. Actually, it’s really a story in three parts, or if you like three
separate dental crises spread over several years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crisis One<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To sort my first crisis out, I visited a
dentist recommended by a medical clinic near where I worked. I’ll call him Mr
Grumpy Scottish Dentist. I had misgivings from the moment I walked into his
clinic. Firstly, the place was undeniably grubby. There was a thin sheen of
dust over every surface. I could have written my name along the window sill. Minutes later, when I was prostrate in the chair, his nurse dropped an instrument on
the floor, then picked it up and handed it across to him. (He was left-handed
and this seemed to complicate matters enormously.) At this point, Mr Grumpy
Scottish Dentist tore strips off her. It was unpleasant and unprofessional. I
left soon afterwards with absolutely no intention of returning. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crisis Two<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enter <a href="http://www.noblesmile.com.sa/AboutUs.aspx">Mr Noble Smile Dentist</a>. He came
highly recommended by a friend. “Ah, ” I thought as I walked through the door.
“ Clean and pristine.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>State of the art
equipment, all gleaming and glistening in its bold white newness: I was
impressed. So was my husband who’d come with me. After looking at the problem
tooth, Mr Noble Smile explained what he thought the problem was and his proposed
treatment. To my husband. I asked some questions which he answered. Also to my
husband. As we left, he opened the door. For my husband, of course. And so we
left. My husband, and me, wearing my abaya of anonymity, fully intending to
never darken his doorstep again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crisis Three<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time around, I knew the treatment
would be relatively straightforward. One filling out. One crown in. Looking for
a place to go this time that was neither grubby nor noble, I decided to use
Google. Read some reviews, I thought. See what Mr. Joe Public is saying. The
first forum I looked at had an anguished plea from a young expatriate male.
He’d visited an Egyptian dentist and had had his jaw broken in the process of
having a wisdom tooth out. Like me, he was looking for a reputable and
professional dentist. The words needle and haystack came to mind. Discouraged
but not defeated, I eventually chose an American dentist. My friends on the
compound assured me that I'd made a sound choice and he came through my Google
review search with flying colours. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Saturday I had my first appointment. I
was immediately reassured by his pleasant conviviality and brisk efficiency.
“Yes,” he said. “A crown,” and then after a brief explanation of the process, he
showed me a printed breakdown of the costings for approval. After some initial
work and an anesthetic he disappeared. Just like that. There one minute and
gone the next. Meet Mr Invisible Dentist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent the next hour and half with his
assistant. She poked and prodded, took impressions and fitted a temporary
crown. She called me ‘Mam’ which is a Philippine form of address. I couldn’t
call her anything since I didn't know her name. I left, not seeing Mr Invisible
Dentist again, but being promised that next Saturday he would fit my crown.
Promises. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is Saturday and I’ve just been to get
my new crown. Or not, as it transpired. After the dental assistant had removed
my temporary crown, Mr Invisible Dentist appeared. He attempted to place the new
crown but sadly it just didn't fit. Something must have been wrong with the
impressions that had been taken last week, Mr Invisible Dentist told me. I'd
have to have new impressions taken, the temporary crown refitted and then
return again for the final crown next week. With these words Mr Invisible
Dentist once again vanished, leaving me with Mary. (I asked her name this
week, since it appears we are going to have a longer than anticipated
acquaintance.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m going back on Tuesday for my permanent
crown. It's all beginning to feel like one of those awful circular stories that
just go on and on and on…. I’ve my fingers crossed for a successful outcome,
but I’ve also decided one thing. Next time I have a dental crisis I’m climbing
on a plane and flying straight to London. </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-47626721579139190982015-05-23T22:58:00.000-07:002015-06-11T04:31:28.356-07:00Just a Poem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just a poem. Spotted on the wall of my son's classroom.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Lauris Edmond and I've long loved her poems, so how could I not be drawn to it and stopping in front of it, read to the very end? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm as far from this Wellington harbour outlook as you could imagine, but in essence this is me. Traveller and observer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discovery<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lauris Edmond<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Midnight
in the breathing dark,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I walk
through the house,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lit from
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of the
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">moonlight,
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of
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<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with trifles
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-NZ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it is
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the days when I wonder where home, is I'll read this and feel quietly reassured. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TG6CVzusuu1DKgD3uTZrD7n7VVcV4gpnrtuPDJhwqAZbiOwQL7xOlZry4Qnap-vZjDNGOPJing7aDaEQ8_vItdDOU65IG23HC8uGtOL88-_99yR59FvhnAq8k8Z3Z97_sMWbSfj8Fto/s1600/IMG_5702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TG6CVzusuu1DKgD3uTZrD7n7VVcV4gpnrtuPDJhwqAZbiOwQL7xOlZry4Qnap-vZjDNGOPJing7aDaEQ8_vItdDOU65IG23HC8uGtOL88-_99yR59FvhnAq8k8Z3Z97_sMWbSfj8Fto/s640/IMG_5702.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks Thomas. </span></div>
Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-22475830909095937532015-05-14T11:03:00.002-07:002015-06-11T07:57:16.830-07:00Riyadh, Roller Coasters and One Small London Backyard <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">There’s a roller coaster thundering above
our heads and children shrieking as it dips and dives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">No, we’re not in Disneyland, but you’d be
forgiven for thinking so. This is Panorama Mall, or more precisely the food
court on a Thursday night where we sit to eat before doing our weekly grocery
shop. And in fact it’s not just one roller coaster that confronts us as we eat,
it’s a whole line up of fun park rides. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There’s a reason for this strange
juxtaposition. In other countries, malls commonly have an area reserved for cinemas.
In Saudi however, public movie viewing is banned, and so malls often find
themselves with an area of potentially empty space. It's a problem, but there is a solution. Firstly Saudis typically have very large families. They always visit
malls and shop together. This is because Saudi women are unable to drive and so have to
do pretty much everything in tandem with both husband and children. Secondly
these same children cannot play outside for most of the year. It’s simply too
hot and often too sandy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Hence the building of huge Disney like
theme parks indoors. Exit movies, and
enter noisy rides and screaming children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's just what you want to accompany your Aladdin’s Falafel and Tabouli.
Or perhaps not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And did I mention that
in any real Disneyland, noise is naturally dulled because of the outside
setting, but here, indoors and surrounded by hard surfaces, the noise is
deafening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I thought about all this yesterday as I
observed an entirely different kind of entertainment. Forget roller coasters
and forget noise. Take two small boys, one sunny morning and a small inner
London backyard. Add some water, a couple of rather wobbly wooden ramps, some potted
lavender and mint, one blue ball and some chalk. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Here's what I observed. </span>Firstly there was the water, the way it
fell downwards and could be poured into containers and onto plants.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GKlh9NzJ_P4979eGTGc6jVOjIy7VNDXdBAVgvIDxoY-rV1BQA5fCKsJCnMdHzfWe97SKXrx0fvg8EEMaz7wul97g9SkMJHNt2r_meNIJtNopRn2iPtDxTBqcS1MfyZSKL8Z0ikWmqyA/s1600/IMG_5471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GKlh9NzJ_P4979eGTGc6jVOjIy7VNDXdBAVgvIDxoY-rV1BQA5fCKsJCnMdHzfWe97SKXrx0fvg8EEMaz7wul97g9SkMJHNt2r_meNIJtNopRn2iPtDxTBqcS1MfyZSKL8Z0ikWmqyA/s640/IMG_5471.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQA-l2st2NPimBWXzvi-TgPVxnUS-hC-KQpLI91SIBhfDl6DMKk-o4XlMTNSYe8yW5lIVU1V8Y6VsuceAfpcjaHon6bZYvKMfNWiKNhh9wWHQEargjkYJqcf1CGr-XdzBYkl8vESrckFI/s1600/IMG_5400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQA-l2st2NPimBWXzvi-TgPVxnUS-hC-KQpLI91SIBhfDl6DMKk-o4XlMTNSYe8yW5lIVU1V8Y6VsuceAfpcjaHon6bZYvKMfNWiKNhh9wWHQEargjkYJqcf1CGr-XdzBYkl8vESrckFI/s640/IMG_5400.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then there was the way the water turned to
mud when poured onto the ground and the fun this provided for little feet and hands. </span>And chalk. Drawing, mostly on the ground
and walls, with just a little experimentation on the glass door before gentle redirection.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7fQ6SkJQnozlBrlPY1MwsICPiWPjZWZXTjLnCNNZB6MY0YdbaH7PJk7GRIiv_qJntv96hfGDiDPfTfFa6s3KOCxI3SxeeV9oxarzReu3Gm3bzBaZYa0h01_DGBWhb2gSV39y3Q_Y8oc/s1600/IMG_5477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7fQ6SkJQnozlBrlPY1MwsICPiWPjZWZXTjLnCNNZB6MY0YdbaH7PJk7GRIiv_qJntv96hfGDiDPfTfFa6s3KOCxI3SxeeV9oxarzReu3Gm3bzBaZYa0h01_DGBWhb2gSV39y3Q_Y8oc/s640/IMG_5477.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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A ramp made from timber left
over from a building project became the perfect place for <span lang="EN-US">a </span>little Thomas train to travel downhill.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6u_UAvaiPxPhSczVtyIKVLT8mMMrsFVYxEkOcU5qr48qLZD5SdtriNfMtIqTEb2-K5caA02-ISx8v8uiTYwPQT7pR8Gp3eQzqUkWN3ijDKtjfoAJyRw29BMDpMGs1XEvHZfPMKeTlJI/s1600/IMG_5492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6u_UAvaiPxPhSczVtyIKVLT8mMMrsFVYxEkOcU5qr48qLZD5SdtriNfMtIqTEb2-K5caA02-ISx8v8uiTYwPQT7pR8Gp3eQzqUkWN3ijDKtjfoAJyRw29BMDpMGs1XEvHZfPMKeTlJI/s640/IMG_5492.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And minutes later, on another ramp one little boy carefully made his way upwards. At the top he jumped off, getting better each time at landing with both feet on the ground.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And along the way, all the playing together also meant learning about sharing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFdkQYbdL-zCjIF0JAGZpluJ_b3Q53CSmgcpG6GyGPIstXcXIKVxAC9ISE2n2W2w4vfcBQNHzxLxcb9LQGaljaWROWHLoNfLqnUz35hoUrjU3_VeD-L4LCTe2zWP-urcrRZWXW39mig0/s1600/IMG_5473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFdkQYbdL-zCjIF0JAGZpluJ_b3Q53CSmgcpG6GyGPIstXcXIKVxAC9ISE2n2W2w4vfcBQNHzxLxcb9LQGaljaWROWHLoNfLqnUz35hoUrjU3_VeD-L4LCTe2zWP-urcrRZWXW39mig0/s640/IMG_5473.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm sure that one day in the future there'll be roller coasters and squeals of excitement for these two, though maybe not of the indoor Riyadh variety. But just for now however, this kind of morning and this kind of play is just perfect.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--EndFragment--></div>
Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-18819200898399978882015-04-18T05:47:00.000-07:002015-06-11T07:58:31.758-07:00Coffee Tables, the Cuteness of Being Pink and Cultural Sensitivity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #603556; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a pig on our
coffee table. It’s no ordinary pig because it has wings, but then any pig in
Saudi Arabia is extraordinary.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KK143unmaTyhB449hJYMn6zCVQ_SQgHjUBsrFfxQdzJ_ATynic_RdLJgsGG98Qomvtn11hh2qglRYpD-Px4X4in3gSrxAIxCQJuZqRmcjUrVRblPD0ipXG10IKJOVcwqOFMxVwJApFo/s1600/IMG_7095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KK143unmaTyhB449hJYMn6zCVQ_SQgHjUBsrFfxQdzJ_ATynic_RdLJgsGG98Qomvtn11hh2qglRYpD-Px4X4in3gSrxAIxCQJuZqRmcjUrVRblPD0ipXG10IKJOVcwqOFMxVwJApFo/s1600/IMG_7095.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see in this country pigs are haram or forbidden. Their meat is considered impure and so no one eats pork or any pork derivative. Not surprisingly, images and references
to pigs are also absent in wider social settings. For instance we walked through
Hamley’s toy shop not so long ago, and saw children’s kitty banks, froggy
banks, and cow banks. Piggy banks were notable by their absence.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSgdqjVyFZgYWjd0TQRougCyJ2K3r_xO-PNq6X_TmcmpYTRAafhtgFtlFvfSH2X0SXAIG0xyJlv-1f9M1wmMHC8Ct_XTQKtfThB6MbAtbqjqJmXMaQOv_6xgtr9JV2Rg9rsYGqRbAz0U/s1600/CIMG4796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSgdqjVyFZgYWjd0TQRougCyJ2K3r_xO-PNq6X_TmcmpYTRAafhtgFtlFvfSH2X0SXAIG0xyJlv-1f9M1wmMHC8Ct_XTQKtfThB6MbAtbqjqJmXMaQOv_6xgtr9JV2Rg9rsYGqRbAz0U/s1600/CIMG4796.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a result there’s a whole mine field of political correctness
that needs to be very carefully navigated. Here’s an example of the sort of
thing I mean. When teaching, I had to choose books to read to my class of nine year olds. I knew they’d be a mixture of
nationalities with the majority of Arabic descent. As a teacher I’ve always
loved reading to children, so choosing a book to read aloud is something I do
with care. More care here I realised
pretty quickly, than I'd anticipated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first thought was Charlotte’s Web, the children’s classic by
E.B. White. But among the raft of animal characters is Wilbur, a pig. And any
book which ends with a spider’s web spelling out the words “some pig”, thus
turning Wilbur into the hero of the story, was not going be a comfortable
choice. I thought again: this time Lady Lollipop, by Dick King-Smith, an easy
read with the sort of scatological humour bound to appeal to nine years olds.
It’s all about a spoilt young princess who desperately wants a pet pig for her
birthday. Her parents, the King and Queen, demand that she toilet train it
before it can come and live with her in the palace. At about this point I
realized I'd hit another non-starter. And I won't mention either how quickly
The Sheep-Pig, another Dick King -Smith, entered and exited my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another book I’ve loved reading to children in different schools
and countries is The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong, set in China
during World War II. The protagonist is a small boy, Tien Pao, who becomes
separated from his parents when the invading Japanese descend upon </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">his village. In the face of great danger, he arduously makes his
way back to his parents and is ultimately reunited. It's part adventure and
part human interest and beautifully written. All of which would be great, if it
wasn’t for the fact that Tien Pao makes his long foot journey with the family
pig, Glory of the Republic, making him as important to the story as Tien Pao.
Another non-starter.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After also discarding my favourite poems, Roald Dahl’s Revolting
Rhymes and his version of The Three Little Pigs, I did eventually make a safe
choice: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. It’s the first of The Chronicle of
Narnia series and prequel to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The only
animal in it is an elderly cab horse named Strawberry, so I felt confident that
here at last, I was on safe ground.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a funny thing, though. Despite one’s best intention to be culturally
sensitive, the tables sometimes turn. I remember one day setting a small poetic
task. The children had to write a simple acrostic poem describing an animal. It
would be a little like a riddle, but with only one word per line, which in
totality made a simple sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here’s the poem that I liked the best:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pink <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fatima smiled as she handed me her
writing and I smiled too as I read it. I’m pretty sure that the only pigs she’d ever
seen were the sort found in picture books, rather like the one on my coffee
table. And nothing at all like a real New Zealand Kunekune pig.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-21623682060066498292015-03-28T08:01:00.000-07:002015-03-29T02:50:07.730-07:00A Story in Two Parts or the World of Difference Between Daffodils and Marigolds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a teacher in New Zealand, I'd sometimes
ask my children to retell a familiar story as a fortunately/unfortunately
story. Here's an example of what I mean. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately the first little pig built
himself a lovely house of straw.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately the big bad wolf came along.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fortunately the little pig just had time to
rush in and lock the door.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You get the idea? Well I’ve a story to tell
about the four weeks I’ve just spent in New Zealand overseeing the start of
earthquake repairs on our Christchurch home, and I’m going to tell it in a
similar way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I was sitting with my son in an Auckland
café enjoying a hot cross bun and a cappuccino. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I’m sitting outside on our very pleasant patio with the branches of the pink oleander beside me swaying every so often in the breeze. It’s pretty, but sadly no hot cross buns.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I ate fish and chips in Akaroa
against a perfect view of harbour and hills. Akaroa’s a little township that
was origina</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lly a French settlement. It’s quiet, picturesque and about an hour’s
drive from Christchurch. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I stood with my husband in the family queue in Panorama Mall Food Court and bought a lamb shawarma. And the only view as we sat to eat, was a constantly moving mass of black abayas and white thobes.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I was shopping in the small town
of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon,_New_Zealand">Shannon</a> at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Box-of-Birds-Design-Store/514942931849155">Box of Birds Design</a></i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upstairs I discovered picnic mats with a Made
in Arabia tag, and knew that I’d bought one just the same in Riyadh’s Kuwaiti
Souq. I’d lugged it all the way back to New Zealand in my baggage as an
engagement gift for my daughter and her fiancée.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finding a little bit of Saudi in the back blocks
of New Zealand was almost too hard to believe. This week I caught our compound
bus to the <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2012/03/the-princess-souk-or-are-you-sure-you.html">Princess Souq</a>, knowing that this little bit of Riyadh was unlikely
to make it to any New Zealand retail outlet.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I watched my niece perform in her
school production of West Side Story with family seated all around me. This
week I’m missing whanau and sharing <a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-arts-in-saudi-and-inappropriate.html">music</a> and moments like this. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week I helped lead the repair process
on our house, talking to building contractors, plumbers and engineers, then making
decisions and seeing things through. This week I’m a second class citizen,
unable to drive or do anything without the authority of my husband. This has nothing to do with him I must add, but everything to do with the way this society runs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week, I stopped at Zara in the Hong
Kong airport terminal where I was in transit and tried on an armful of
clothing, just because I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
week I walked straight past Zara in Grenada Mall, because it’s all too
difficult here when shops don’t have fitting rooms and women are forbidden to
try anything on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week just before I left I dug up the
daffodil bulbs in our Christchurch garden. I gave them to a friend to look after because they’re a very special reminder of a much-loved parent.This week as I look at the yellow marigolds lining the path to our front door, I know that
one day I’ll leave these behind and return to my daffodils, planting them anew.
Perhaps in a new garden and a new place, but surrounded by memories like
these, it’ll nevertheless be home. </span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-89794116733446320862015-02-18T05:27:00.000-08:002015-02-28T21:14:37.880-08:00Friends, Fitbits and the DQ Walking Track – One Morning in Riyadh <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ul7_mhdoNYZA-gtH77MEsQFzhV5hWiU9hoPRmh78O02hJEVtBoMETtI3Fd1LFFD4ROXxMyKeE2kB8W1T40LzjdTmjEH8Wpvxv9SDOoxrlS44w4ffhDujduHL0sGe2NJnF5_RH6UaXXI/s1600/IMG_4704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ul7_mhdoNYZA-gtH77MEsQFzhV5hWiU9hoPRmh78O02hJEVtBoMETtI3Fd1LFFD4ROXxMyKeE2kB8W1T40LzjdTmjEH8Wpvxv9SDOoxrlS44w4ffhDujduHL0sGe2NJnF5_RH6UaXXI/s1600/IMG_4704.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It’s easy to let the obstacles get in your
way when you want to get out in Riyadh. For instance, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
Obstacle One: I'm not allowed to drive</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"> Obstacle Two: It's too hot anyway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"> Obstacle Three: Apart from malls there’s
nowhere to go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"> Obstacle Four: And I have to wear an abaya <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This morning we managed to circumvent all
the obstacles, include some exercise, and have a great time into the bargain. Major
success. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Obstacle One: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We used a compound bus. We’re very lucky because if there’s a group of five or more who want to go somewhere, our compound will provide us with a bus. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So at 8.30 this morning nine of us plus Tony,
our driver, were ready to leave. Perfect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Obstacle Two: Dealing with this was also relatively
easy. At this time of the year the daytime temperatures are just perfect. I love
Riyadh’s winter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Obstacle Three: It's true that in summer
there’s little one can do, simply because it’s just too hot to be outdoors.
Hence malls, shopping and coffee shops, all three of which become very tedious
very quickly. But now it’s winter, and one can really enjoy being outdoors. Moreover
I’ve just recently acquired a fitbit, and while I wouldn’t want to admit to
becoming slightly obsessive compulsive about my daily step count, it is true
that I am pretty determined to get to 20,000 steps by the end of each day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it seemed that a trip to the Diplomatic Quarter
where there is a walking track, would be an excellent idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Obstacle Four: following on from Obstacle
Three, this was easily dealt with. The Diplomatic Quarter is an autonomous
entity, and so when visiting it there is no need to wear an abaya. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Best fact ever!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And so, all obstacles removed, we drove to the DQ and found our starting point. I loved the lush gardens and beautiful landscaped Assabaa Garden where we began. </span></div>
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<br />
<span lang="EN-US">Our walk led around the edge of the Diplomatic Quarter. As well as the view over the escarpment, which at times had us stopping, peering and snapping with cameras, we also saw a wealth of small flowers and plants nestled into rocky crevices and hiding under stones. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We </span>heard frogs, saw goats grazing in the distance, and egrets in flight. </div>
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We agreed that we'd all enjoyed the morning. Good walking, good friendships and something all too often remote from life here, a wonderfully liberating sense of personal freedom. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-46658868536744003762015-01-31T23:07:00.000-08:002015-01-31T23:07:15.598-08:00Life in Riyadh - More Than just a Desert and Camels Kind of Adventure<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are certain things you expect to come
across when you're living in the Middle East. Desert, for instance and camels. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However we’ve just found something very unexpected
and definitely out of the ordinary. Think of a little bit of Scotland in the
middle of Riyadh. Then think of being invited to a Robbie Burns Supper. And
then, haggis.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I must confess that despite Scottish
ancestry, I’d never experienced a Robbie Burns Supper. So the invitation was
right up there with <i>really exciting</i>, partly because it was new and different,
but partly also because it carried a small note of familiarity. I remember my
father reading me Burns’ <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/to_a_mouse/"><i>T</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">o a Mouse</i></a>
as a child. The dialect made it hard to understand, but there was no missing my father’s love for poetry in general, and Burns specifically.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But a Robbie Burns Supper? I assumed we’d
have haggis. It was not something I’d ever eaten, but I did know enough about
it to feel slightly unsure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My curiosity
was piqued, but asking our hosts questions like, “Will you be serving haggis
for supper?” sounded terribly wrong in light of the fact that they own a small
Scottish terrier, whose name is also Haggis. Try thinking of a way to ask that question,
without it sounding like something from an Edgar Allen Poe short story. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end, I <a href="http://www.robertburns.org.uk/burns_supper.htm">googled </a> Robbie Burns Supper and realised that there was a very precise and set order of proceedings and that the serving and eating of haggis should be central to the evening. Which was exactly as it happened. The haggis was ceremonially
brought in and our host, resplendent in kilt and appropriate Scottish attire, recited Burns’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/toahaggis.htm">Address to a Haggis</a></i> with
great drama and more than a couple of knife wielding moments. Later, after
Burns’ <a href="http://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selkirk_Grace"><i>Selkirk Grace</i></a>, the star of the evening arrived on our plates, looking
like something out of a Nouveau Cuisine magazine. Served with parsnip and
potatoes, or neeps and tatties to those who speak Scottish, the combination of
flavours and textures was just delicious. (Some of us, dare I confess, might even have had
seconds.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the evening went on, the food continued
coming. Our host shared anecdotes about Burns, glasses were raised for toasts
and some of us read our favourite Burns’ poems. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After an enthusiastic rendition
of Auld Lang Syne, it was time to push back chairs and walk home. As I walked, I thought that
tomorrow I'd look up Burns. I’d find out some more about him and read some poems,
particularly one mentioned in passing, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To
a Louse</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There had to be an
interesting story behind a poem with a title like that. </span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-75058674900213220392015-01-25T03:38:00.000-08:002015-01-25T05:07:12.836-08:00Frosty Mornings, Family and Festivals: A Long Way from Riyadh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m just back in Riyadh after Christmas and New Year in London. I’ve returned with the happiest of memories, the sort that
come from spending time with those you love most. We all met up in London from our
different corners of the globe, and because we’re family, it was as if we’d never
been apart.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We played noisy card games in the evenings around an old elm kitchen table in a small cottage just a stone’s throw from
Salisbury Cathedral. In the early morning we walked down icy lanes to a small
village church where headstones overlooked white paddocks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went together as family to a midnight
service with candles and familiar verse and song. On Christmas morning we sat around
a decorated tree, reliving old traditions and creating new ones. Opening presents.
Laughing at the predictability of the chocolate marshmallow Father Christmas and
orange at the bottom of each Christmas stocking. Christmas dinner. Grace sung
in multiple parts. Crackers with the usual bad jokes and brightly coloured
paper hats. So much food, so much laughter and so much love. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later in the day, some of us dozed in
comfortable armchairs, while the littlest one among us played with his newly
acquired train set, loving the small moving wheels, the station, and the
engines and carriage that linked together, but also every so often derailed, falling
from table to floor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now I am back in Riyadh and everything
is different. Inconceivably different in a way that you can only really
understand if you’ve lived here. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On my
flight back I browsed the Arab News and three articles leapt out at me. Another
world and another place.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here they are. Spot the differences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. The first was entitled, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/691766">Haia: No religious or personal celebrations allowed</a></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It reported a new directive from The
Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, or Haia (more
often referred to as the religious police or muttawa). They have banned ‘religious
or personal’ birthday celebrations inside certain residential compounds. Muslims are forbidden from celebrating <span id="goog_1774432884"></span><a href="http://theodysseia.blogspot.com/2014/02/not-valentines-day.html">festivals</a> or birthdays, which includes of
course the giving of presents and cards. Now, in some Saudi compounds this ruling will also apply to expatriates. I thought of the collection of
homemade and handwritten cards my children have given me over the years. There's so
much joy and delight both in the giving and the receiving. I can't imagine
family life without moments like these. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Secondly an article one page over: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/691711">Haia objects to dance</a></b> At the Buraidah Spring Festival in the Qasim region of Saudi
Arabia, young girls performed a traditional dance. A furore of criticism
erupted. These <a href="http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150120231020">eight year olds</a> were variously described as ‘naked women’ and
then denounced for performing to men. The festival organisers have apologized
and stated that nothing like this will ever happen again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Seemingly less contentious than the other two articles, a third
headline caught my attention; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/692621">Saudi film festival opens on Feb. 20</a></b> It's the implicit contradiction in these words
that made me read on. Saudi Arabia is a country without public theatres. Movies are rarely made and shown. As an example, take the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pcCCbLzhcY">Wadjda</a>, </i>produced in 2013<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Wadjda</i> was the first full-length movie
to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, and the first to be directed by a woman,
Haifaa al Mansour. This presented just one of its many production challenges. All
contact between non-related male and females is banned in the Kingdom, so
Haifaa al Mansour had to direct much of her movie from inside a van using a
phone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so when I read, “We want this
festival to become a driving force for the Kingdom’s film industry and cultural
movement’, the word oxymoron screamed out loudly in my head. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On a cold afternoon a couple of weeks ago, my
daughter and I sat on a couch and watched her Christmas DVD, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Death Comes to Pemberley</i>. Beside us, the
little one played first with his books and then his trains, occasionally coming over for a cuddle and all
the time making rather loud choo choo noises, which meant we sometimes missed
bits of dialogue and had to rewind. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was all quite perfect, and all a very
long way from Riyadh. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-19838446485998001232014-11-25T07:17:00.000-08:002014-11-29T02:23:17.944-08:00Dangerous Driving, Saudi Diet-watchers and Anyone Misplaced an Apostrophe?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Christmas a year or so ago, I was given a
book called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Lynne-Truss/dp/0007329067">Eats,
Shoots and Leaves</a>, </i>an amusing commentary on grammatical correctness. It dealt with the confusion that can result when
punctuation is either left out or added incorrectly. In an entirely readable
manner, it explained such things as the Oxford Comma, making it seem as plain as
the nose on your face to those who had either never heard of it, or just never
grasped it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I often think of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eats, Shoots and Leaves as</i> I’m driving round and about Riyadh. In
particular, it’s the errant possessive apostrophe which makes me smile.
Take this for instance. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_PfsuFZ7m9qytxW1FiTltpbwraaTI1T1GDmBBQoQCGTEXTYY7I3VPXja1AwM6SS7a3y9XrWq8n712R0GomWdNFk8yOpCcomRZYrKKI1u-zMt4TxdV87NzdieKE-3yB2El-JS4IyTckc/s1600/photo-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_PfsuFZ7m9qytxW1FiTltpbwraaTI1T1GDmBBQoQCGTEXTYY7I3VPXja1AwM6SS7a3y9XrWq8n712R0GomWdNFk8yOpCcomRZYrKKI1u-zMt4TxdV87NzdieKE-3yB2El-JS4IyTckc/s1600/photo-11.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A college for just one teacher? Surely not.
Moreover if there’s a grammatical mistake made on the front of a building which
purports to be a model educational infrastructure - training teachers for
goodness sake – what does it say about the standard of literacy within? Best
not to think about it, I tell myself as the lights in front of us turn green and we
drive on past this grim façaded building.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there’s my growing collection of
oxymorons. An oxymoron is a small saying which places two opposites together.
Shakespeare coined the well known oxymoron, “Parting is such sweet sorrow,” in Romeo and Juliet. As in many other
areas of language, his was the masterful touch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, back to Riyadh and a far less
masterful touch with language. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TqHsXRGOmhnNGfii_3tgNMEXyoOGH-76FIOEiJccIjfUrOVRklqoD0tBcME_4HbGb1Ocq0XSE6JhUurcXJQuFpoQ2CDBAORJaVdedO35ll8qjq4Fe7dr1aW4TdLmoJ22aT7KGSXzGBw/s1600/IMG_5816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TqHsXRGOmhnNGfii_3tgNMEXyoOGH-76FIOEiJccIjfUrOVRklqoD0tBcME_4HbGb1Ocq0XSE6JhUurcXJQuFpoQ2CDBAORJaVdedO35ll8qjq4Fe7dr1aW4TdLmoJ22aT7KGSXzGBw/s1600/IMG_5816.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You don’t have to be in Riyadh long before
you realize the traffic here is endemically atrocious and there is no model of excellence emanating from any driving school. When my husband first arrived
and had to sit his driving test it was pretty straightforward. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Drive down that road for about 10 metres and then reverse back,” he was instructed. That was it. Well with a test like this, one may
as well be given one’s licence in a cornflakes package. (But I should add, just
for interest, that while he passed, the person before him, sitting the same
test, had just failed. Impressive.) And so with no rigorously taught road code
and no correspondingly stringent testing, the driving here just continues to get worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve had to tell my driver not to go
through the red lights. We’re becoming used to seeing cars driving towards us
on single-laned carriageway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
there’s the triple parking along the motorway on Fridays by any mosque that
happens to be nearby. Or cars veering all over the highway because
the driver has given his seat and steering wheel to his small son. (Never mind that he’s too little to actually see over the wheel.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaK6pN1nKyo"> drifting</a>
in the middle of busy traffic. Such dangerous practices are common and acceptable here. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So model driving school? No, just another oxymoron. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDNtq3moHT872iOnvrULhVLRni1H2An5Hyv4V18GI5a19QYFFctes5Ia5LoK-F-v_OaSA9HnQtO4MNjsw4RJvDjDFSoa-225QZnxLWWpi3efbo4f9yfVL92wUCvbBztCj_4tAck2Bl1M/s1600/IMG_5810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxDNtq3moHT872iOnvrULhVLRni1H2An5Hyv4V18GI5a19QYFFctes5Ia5LoK-F-v_OaSA9HnQtO4MNjsw4RJvDjDFSoa-225QZnxLWWpi3efbo4f9yfVL92wUCvbBztCj_4tAck2Bl1M/s1600/IMG_5810.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is no doubt a noble sentiment but most
decidedly not something that has anything to do with Saudi. With Cinnabons, and
Krispy Kremes being pretty much the national food here, and 25% of the
population being diabetic, Saudis are most decidedly not diet watchers. Just sit in any food court
and count the number of clinically obese adults and children who walk, or rather
waddle past. It’s terrifically sad but what’s sadder is that the problem is not being addressed. So Dietwatching? No, not happening.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpe2fE5OkxIFKGAcEJkmkznIQM747tg1M67q2qBtBDcl9HKcDWr-PvVJ-D909dA4lsC3pUL78hHsJX5iXp3Oo3HAN8-WQFugc-nBwqVgzOtEsS8PsEzRFjrafb_hDHaAedvwx6lnR7Xg/s1600/IMG_5813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpe2fE5OkxIFKGAcEJkmkznIQM747tg1M67q2qBtBDcl9HKcDWr-PvVJ-D909dA4lsC3pUL78hHsJX5iXp3Oo3HAN8-WQFugc-nBwqVgzOtEsS8PsEzRFjrafb_hDHaAedvwx6lnR7Xg/s1600/IMG_5813.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where do I start with this oxymoron? I guess it
depends on how you define vision. I ‘d like to explain it as a hope for the
future, one that’s progressive and innovative.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well yes, you can certainly see evidence of
that kind of thinking. The new Metro is an example. No matter that it really
should have happened many years ago, or that Riyadh’s never had any form of
public transport, or that traffic is more of a cataclysmic disaster than ever
now, because of all the excavating. I no longer live in Riyadh, I live in a
construction site, and every day brings new dangers and diversions. This is
life on a cliff edge: absolutely literally a cliff edge, when we drive down Saledin Road beside its increasingly yawning chasms. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then I think of women in this country
and the word vision becomes an anathema. Women here have no rights, no voice
and no personal freedom. They are not allowed to drive, vote, pursue a real
career or be valued alongside men as equals. Yesterday’s Arab News ran a front
page article about certain restaurants which have now decided to forbid entry
to women on their own. They must be with their mahram. (A mahram is defined as
a responsible male relative. Thus you have the utterly absurd situation of an
elderly family member, perhaps a grandmother, needing signed permission by
a young boy, perhaps her grandson, to travel down the road to a restaurant.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if there’s any vision for women here
it’s backward looking. Backward vision? Surely that’s another oxymoron. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband however, has just informed me that backward vision's a good thing. This is because it allows him to use an on ramp to exit the motorway just like all the other Saudi drivers alongside him. I suppose, like everything else, it's all a matter of perspective. </span></span><br />
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-58220442753669179582014-09-26T04:36:00.001-07:002014-09-26T23:47:19.771-07:00National Day in Riyadh - Two Perspectives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tuesday was Saudi National Day. National
Day’s a public holiday celebrating the 23rd September 83 years ago, when King Abdulaziz
created the independent state of Saudi Arabia. Green flags wave cheerfully along
the sides of motorways and people converge on streets and in parks for promised
festivities and fireworks. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Generally speaking, it’s something <a href="http://www.blueabaya.com/2014/09/happy-84th-birthday-saudi-arabia-time-to-celebrate.html">families enjoy and celebrate together</a>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there’s an<a href="http://susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com/2014/09/powerful-words-about-saudi-national-day.html"> alternate perspective</a> that seems to match up very well with opinions expressed by some Saudi women I
talked to earlier in the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
antipathy was palpable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for us, we stayed indoors on Tuesday like
many of our neighbours and friends. We really weren’t too tempted by the
promised festivities or picnics with fireworks by the National Museum. You see
we’d experienced a similar festive occasion shortly after we’d arrived. Driving
through the city on the way home after a meal out, we encountered crowds
returning from a soccer match. The mood was celebratory so the favoured team
must have won. Patriotic fervor and excitement manifested itself on the roads through
crazy driving. Young men hung out of open car doors and windows. They sat aloft
car tops, all waving flags from every possible vantage point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Small thobe clad boys, screaming with excitement and waving flags, were pinioned against
front window screens as cars careered and drifted dangerously out of control.
It was mayhem on a scale we’d not seen before and not an experience we’re keen
to repeat.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then again there was little tempting about
a picnic or fireworks in the gardens by the National Museum. Granted the
evening temperatures now make sitting outdoors very pleasant and the National
Museum is a very attractive setting. However the last time we were there on a
similar occasion, small children playing in the fountains and paddling in the
streams were also using the water as toilets. The smell was something else. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's also the fact - unfortunate but necessary to acknowledge - that expatriates going out on National Day can attract unwanted attention. Friends of ours who ventured into the city last National Day left in a hurry when they had stones thrown at them.</span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, all things considered and like others around us, we stuck with our choice to stay put. Safer, easier and a
whole lot less stressful. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaUpzSnvN6P8zEP498NONalelVw2OVxa71ThC9tKHCixmSpcRvuGU2TzT6VW-ZnnBJ5xL_fHiDSc_s8KQMUwS7Ji_OnlKBEJKeot-Bw3w37jr1lX86QGlDXI9OrndhFt5kuMB9mA87QA/s1600/ki22-big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaUpzSnvN6P8zEP498NONalelVw2OVxa71ThC9tKHCixmSpcRvuGU2TzT6VW-ZnnBJ5xL_fHiDSc_s8KQMUwS7Ji_OnlKBEJKeot-Bw3w37jr1lX86QGlDXI9OrndhFt5kuMB9mA87QA/s1600/ki22-big.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Photo from Saudi Gazette</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-73628503332673776692014-08-17T20:41:00.000-07:002014-08-19T10:09:44.917-07:00Five Things You Can Do On Holiday That You’ll Never Do in Riyadh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is really only part of what I wanted for
my title but my original idea was so long, it would ever have fitted in the
space. It was, ‘five things you can do on holiday that you’ll never do in
Riyadh, but five things that come a pretty close second.' Confusing? Best
then, that I just get started and let things make sense as I tell the story.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
Spain we climbed the winding stone staircase of the <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cathedral</span> of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Santiago</span>
de Compostela. We were on a 'Walk the Rooftop' tour. At the top the door opened out onto
ancient granite roof tiles, which led us like steps up to the ridgeway and then
down the other side. We stood perched on top of the world<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>and took in the sweeping views of Santiago and the countryside
beyond. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, it goes without saying that there are
no cathedral roofs to climb here. But what comes a pretty close second is the old
Najd village of Ar Raghbah, northwest of Riyadh, and its ancient watchtower. When we visited we climbed the narrow,
uneven steps to the top and looked down on a completely different village and
landscape vista.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
a small village in Portugal we came across a procession of religious icons.
These were carried through the main street on a carpet of flowers by men, women and even children. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s certainly not something you’ll ever
see in Riyadh, and the nearest I can think of in terms of colour and festivity
is the annual Janadriya festival. It’s a very different celebration but has the
same cultural components. We’ve seen processing musicians, sword dancers and
even classroom reenactments of young schoolboys learning from the Qu’aran.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
day we drove through the Picos Europa in Northern Spain, a beautiful national
park with stunning mountains and lush greenery. The scenery reminded me of New
Zealand, first the Remarkables in Queenstown and then the Southern Alps of my
hometown, Christchurch. That was until a roadside sign flashed past and I
realised that really this was nothing like New Zealand and we actually were a
very long way from home.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I smiled and thought of our weekend
excursions in Riyadh. We’d travel out to the Red Sands, climb the dunes, look
for fossils and then drive home past very different roadside signage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. There’s something special about the colour
and energy of early morning markets. I love the just washed, still wet
flagstones, the soft light, the lilt of an unfamiliar language and the array of
fresh produce. I watch as shoppers discuss what they want, make a choice and
then sometimes wait as its cleaned and prepared. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably the nearest I’ve come to this in
Riyadh is walking through the old part of Deira Souk, Al Zell. Instead of
fruit, cheeses or fish, I’ve seen frankincense weighed and sold, and then passed
shop owners sitting out in the open air reading and chatting.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Souvenirs. Around the Cathedral in
Santiago there were hawkers with the usual collection of tourist trivia. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bought nothing but remembered the bazaars
I’ve attended here. They’re usually held in compounds and sell a different but
often equally trivial range of merchandise. As in Spain, I’m not usually
tempted. However to every rule there’s always an exception. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There just may be one of these on the front
of my fridge in our Riyadh kitchen. That would be because it made me smile at
the time, and on a quiet day when I’m back home and the holiday’s over, it
still does. </span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4567368925379241156.post-15479620869538005502014-08-05T10:40:00.000-07:002014-08-14T11:43:45.599-07:00Religious Festivals, Rocketry and Anyone Fancy Sardines for Lunch?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first skyrocket sounded at 7.30 this morning. Yesterday it was
8.00 and tomorrow’s schedule says it’ll be 7.30am again.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yo</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">u see we're in the Portuguese countryside, not far from the border with Spain, and very close to a little village called Vila de Punhe. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vila de Punhe is currently
three days into a six day religious festival. From what we’ve seen and heard, rockets, which are generally followed by church bells, are a very important
feature. Today’s festival schedule was brought to us with breakfast. It doesn’t
just say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rocketry</i> at 7.30. It also says
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fireworks</i> at 16.30, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fireworks with dancing waters</i> again at
24.00. This latter sounds more romantic than accurate and I’m guessing it’s the
translation from Portuguese to English that renders everything quaint and
enigmatic. For instance, at 10.00am this morning, my schedule reads <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mass of the emigrants with a pilgrimage to
the cemeteries to the sounds of clarins and a fanfare</i>. And in fact as I
write this, I hear the church bells pealing and looking at my watch, it is
10.00 am.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday we wandered down the valley to the village to see the <i>Marching Bands</i> and what was translated as a <i>Gathering of Academies and Confraternities</i>. In the afternoon we revisited for an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ethnographic procession.</i>
I looked up ethnographic in the dictionary beforehand to try and grasp just
what it was we might be seeing.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>It
did help<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> Lots of floats to do with
local customs and culture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But first there was the waiting before hand. The procession, which was meant to start at 16.00, didn't actually get moving until 17.00. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yHfuS0VLuUobEHI2oK0fGQPDW-Tbjn_co5giTnQw3PNtFfx25K1daBPvrgWTFolLW57D_8QUOhBVVbaPmEL-q8BZmpC47r4XIBEwzCsvTY1M2zhngs_mJK5aGRTnt0zrB7LqX6SgZbY/s1600/DSC01986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yHfuS0VLuUobEHI2oK0fGQPDW-Tbjn_co5giTnQw3PNtFfx25K1daBPvrgWTFolLW57D_8QUOhBVVbaPmEL-q8BZmpC47r4XIBEwzCsvTY1M2zhngs_mJK5aGRTnt0zrB7LqX6SgZbY/s1600/DSC01986.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">This woman had two live hens: spot their red combs in her basket. Once the procession started she carried them on her head.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually things got underway. The humdrum and the ordinary were transformed into colourful and interactive floats. I think the 'doing the washing display' was my favourite. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8IQsOK4SSR200hiCp69DBVBWVtI9RaGE9yafZJsn77EuL8EwABBoUkaRKlq9YFZn4CSKHKt-YVa4cDsPmaXtF6z2rcLTTmE7dxWODWM885bCXmSDllUTHwb3Oh6Q70p-IPGp0R-rpbU/s1600/DSC02034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8IQsOK4SSR200hiCp69DBVBWVtI9RaGE9yafZJsn77EuL8EwABBoUkaRKlq9YFZn4CSKHKt-YVa4cDsPmaXtF6z2rcLTTmE7dxWODWM885bCXmSDllUTHwb3Oh6Q70p-IPGp0R-rpbU/s1600/DSC02034.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyYuKjIYti-wlOjpM9ycJ3jibyvOY3yHI_mK3eIsfGDr1oVnYHJoLigfJtzGk5ZgivtP_LuELMi3Kpdq_FXb07LXO1pzUBSkz2kW8e1fET0I6dbJNQa5CxPhW151jW3UNyewUl6Nr7_o/s1600/DSC02017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyYuKjIYti-wlOjpM9ycJ3jibyvOY3yHI_mK3eIsfGDr1oVnYHJoLigfJtzGk5ZgivtP_LuELMi3Kpdq_FXb07LXO1pzUBSkz2kW8e1fET0I6dbJNQa5CxPhW151jW3UNyewUl6Nr7_o/s1600/DSC02017.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was very obviously an agrarian community.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And last but not least, at the very tail end of the procession...the men with rockets!</span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We came to this particular remote part of Portugal expecting we'd
have a week of total peace and quiet before heading back to Riyadh. Well, it's
certainly not shaping up to be that. There’s far more excitement in the air
than we could ever have anticipated. There’s a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Solemn Procession </i>and something theatrical<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>we think we might go to this afternoon, and then tomorrow a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight Procession</i>. All accompanied by yet
more fireworks and church bells, of course. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But standing on the grass yesterday watching the floats go by was
an experience quite out of the ordinary. It was the very best kind of fun. The
kind of fun you remember and smile about together, long after the holiday’s
over.</span></div>
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Penelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13922374050813559738noreply@blogger.com0