At the last minute I got an invitation to attend an Arabic wedding with a friend from church. I thought it might be strange since I didn't know any of them but my friend said she only knew the grandmother of the bride. It was quite the experience! It was held at an elaborate hall, The Doha Cllub and started at 7:30. We arrived after
8:30. Relatives were there in a greeting line. Some were in the black veil, others weren't. It's customary to kiss cheeks several times. If you greet an older woman you will also kiss her forehead. I just kissed one lady, I wasn't prepared for this beforehand! I figure smiling a lot covers a multitude of sins. Women were dressed in very elaborate colorful gowns - taffeta, sequins, ruffles, some plunging necklines. Also for special occasions women have elaborate designs of henna painted on their arms and hands. Almost all young women have very long hair and they are beautiful. I"m afraid some of the middle-aged and older women have been to too many of these weddings and have grown somewhat portly. Kind of like I'm gonna be if I live here too long. Round tables were decorated with lovely centerpieces. The front had an elaborate stage with white columns and floral motif. Down the middle of the room was a runway that went clear to the end of the room. There were probably over 300 ladies and young children there.
The family maids brought around baskets of sweet treats and chocolates. One maid brought flasks of perfumed oil for each guest to sample. The band was behind a partition near us playing very loud typical arabic music. Men would not be allowed at a women's party. Sometimes I'm told the groom comes at the end of the party but we didn't see him while we were there.
It's interesting to see the different social strata at such a gala event. Waitresses were dressed in black and white attire as we'd expect in the States. The housemaids who served were in very simple attire, many with head coverings. The nanny maids were there looking after the children. Sometimes the veiled women would have their servants collect money that had been dropped on the runway.
Then there was the dancing! Some of the girls can really dance. They would get on the runway and dance to the music, some have great hip and shoulder movements. Others would throw money above their heads. I don't know if the money goes to the band or to the new couple. Little girls go up to dance and some ladies who are covered wtih their abayas. The bride made her appearance about this time. All eyes were on her as she staggered down the runway. She really did seem to have a hard time and didn't look as happy as I had expected. My friend said they're not suppose to look too happy for some reason. There were camera closeups with a large screen near the stage so everyone could get a good look at her - kind of like a fly under a glass. She was in an elaborate gown with a long veil that trailed behind her. She was beautiful except for her make up. It reminded me of Cleopatra with lots of heavy eye makeup. I learned most marriages are arranged so the couple may have only met once or twice and seen pictures of one another. Who knows better than your family whom you should marry? Or so they say.
Once the bride reached the bench at the front of the stage she took a well deserved rest. It was picture time with her friends and family, more dancing on the runway, with more loud music. My friend and I scooted out right after they announced it was time for the buffet.
Last week I was enjoying some moments on the computer reading about Abraham Lincoln's life. It was Thursday afternoon and I was looking forward to the beginning of our weekend. I could hear Langston and some friends making lots of noise in the backyard. I kept thinking, 'I ought to go see what they're up to.' In a few minutes Langston came screaming through the back door and stood at the bottom of the stairs. My first thought was that he was hurt. Seeing that he was okay I thought then someone else must be hurt. He kept screaming for me to come outside. In our back patio area water was gushing out of the reserve water tank by the side of the house. He had tried to get on top of it by standing on a pipe. The pipe had broken and out gushed gallons and gallons of water! I frantically called Jon who alerted the front office. I tried to think what the "Little House" characters would do in this situation since we're reading that series. I didn't know any way to cut it off so I decided to at least try to save some of it. I gathered all the large containers I could find and filled them with water. I filled the two bathtubs with water. Finally the plumber came. After he cut off the water at the main we had a confusing conversation about whether to fix it or not. He said it was a reserve tank so we didn't need it. When I asked if he could fix it next week he said I'd be without water if I didn't fix it now. Very confusing. I decided in the desert I wanted all the water I could get. I gave him 20 riyals for him to buy the part. In a few minutes he brought me 12 riyals back and they proceeded to fix the pipe. I stayed in the house not wanting to get in the way. When I went to check on them they were gone! I found the broken pipe across the street. I haven't received a bill. I guess it's covered through the compound fees. It took me awhile to calm down from that situation with Langston's screaming, precious water running into the street and me runniing up and down stairs to fill bathtubs.
After the flood experience had died down I was reading out front while Langston rode his bike. I barely heard him exclaim nonchalantly, "I enjoyed the water party." I was quick to ask him what he said, to which he clarified that he enjoyed the water out front, NOT all the water that came out of the pipe in the back. ;-)
Clint agreed to take us to the desert to look for camel bones for Jon to make musical ribs. Langston surprised us by being the first out of bed, with his clothes on and bed made! We should go to the dunes more often! Clint and his two boys, Nate and Luke were our guides. First we went to the animal souk in town. There were cars everywhere with sheep and goats herded together in tight quarters. This is the time to buy animals for their Eid sacrifice. The animals are to be killed facing Mecca and have their blood drained and then butchered. We found the back of the slaughter house and could see a man working on some animal. There was a stack of skins (probably sheep) on the back stoop. The stench was very strong. Clint found out that the next morning is when they would butcher the camels, so if nothing turned up in the desert Jon could come here first thing in the morning.
After an hour's drive to the desert Clint turned off to find some camel herders. We went over a few small dunes which the kids loved. They're okay for me as long as they're small. We saw a camel herder in a camel pen but he spoke something other than Arabic so we went on. Next we stopped on top of a dune to look around and let the kids play awhile. We could see a tent and some camel pens not far away and a four wheel drive vehicle. That was a sign that a Qatari was there. With Eid beginning Clint was doubtful we'd meet anyone. While we were stopped the SUV came our way. The man was on his way for a needle and thread for something. Since we were there he invited us for tea. Clint was great at befriending him and speaking his language. I wondered what I was suppose to do being a woman but it didn't turn out to be a problem. Abdullah is from a Bedouin tribe. He is Qatari and has a job in the city but prefers the desert life. You could tell he loves his camels. There were 2 pens with camels in them. One was for the mamas and one several feet away was for their babies. This made for some loud bawling from both pens. I was able to pet one of the babies. I'm not sure why they were separated. One mama was particularly upset because her calf had died. Abdullah had cut its head off and its tail. He would have his herder stitch the mouth together and place it near the mama. The smell of the baby was to keep her producing milk. Two bulls were separated so they wouldn't fight. One was hobbled with rope tied around his front legs. The other was beside a small leanto not far from the tent. This one would stick his tongue out to the side in a very strange way. This was a sign of mating.
The tent was maybe 15 feet wide with carpet and other floor covering. There were pillows along the edge to recline on and a couple of camel saddles to lean on as well. There was a treasure chest of sorts where he kept supplies, a fur-lined bedroll was folded to one side and at the entrance of the tent was a place for a small fire. While the kids explored he and Clint and Jon got to know one another and he began preparing tea. He offered us small muffins, small packaged crackers and two or three kinds of tea. I chose tea with canned milk as opposed to camel milk.
A few feet away from the tent was the "sink" area with a large basin for cleaning utensils, etc. There was a bowl with some cream-colored mush in it. I went back and forth from watching the three boys and listening in the tent.
Abdullah, dressed in typical Arabic style, enjoyed telling us about himself. He is a single man in his thirties and loves being out in the desert. He had sold 10 camels for Eid so he was pleased. His father died when he was four. He said next time he'd have his mother and sister there to visit with me. Tea was served in small cups. The custom with tea is when you've had enough you shake the cup back and forth. If you don't do that they'll keep giving you more tea! I had 2 cups of the tea with milk (my favorite) and another of red tea.
By this time Clint had told him we were looking for camel bones to make music with them. He said he'd take us to a place. We got in our cars to trek over the dunes not far from his campsite. We were so excited! Lots of camel bones, a skull in tact, the backbone and lots of ribs. All clean and bleached from the sun. A stone's throw away were more bones. We made our haul and Abdullah had still another place to visit. This was across the highway past another sheepherder's place. He must have spent 30 minutes looking for this last place. We never found it. All the while Clint was telling him we had enough, we understood if he needed to go. He had said he was going to town to clean up and go to work.
In all we spent two or three hours with him. We were able to leave him a gift which we pray God will grow in his heart. He certainly gave us a special gift of hospitality. We hope we can see him again. I must say I'm definitely with him on preferring the desert over the city. The whole event wiped me out. It hit me when we got back to town but we were excited at the blessing God had given us. It was more than we could have imagined!