Friday, 29 November 2013

Maitha's Getting Married


My friend Maitha is getting married. ‘I wanted a small wedding,’ she told me, ‘I was thinking of inviting around 250-300 people…’
‘Women?’ I asked.
‘Of course, women…’ 

The wedding ceremony is a ‘women only’ event in Emirati culture, with men only appearing at the end, when the groom’s immediate family bring him onto the stage and place him on the throne, next to his bride, for the final ceremony. This ceremony is the Aurs (urse), the final stage before beginning married life.

‘But, my mother said: ”What, my first daughter is getting married with such a modest affair…? You have become too Westernized!”
‘How many people were you thinking of inviting?’
“Seventeen hundred and fifty,” my mother said.
‘Mum…, you don’t know that many people!’

They settled on eight hundred and fifty.

What about the men? ‘Oh they don’t even have a ceremony sometimes; the groom’s immediate (male) family will invite a few of his friends and go for a meal. Then the friends will leave and the father and brothers will take him to the finale of the women’s ceremony.’ Often though, weddings have male parties too, although not as large as the women’s and not in the same hall. Men and women do not celebrate together here.

The bride will spend much of the day getting ready and she will be escorted to her party at 10:30pm, although it will have commenced at around 8pm.

The party sees the women arrive in their black abayas (gowns) and shelahs (headscarves) but discard them to reveal evening gowns, ornate jewellery and finely coiffed hair. They keep their scarves close by though, to use when the groom arrives.

The young girls dress to impress, hoping to find a husband, moving to the music in front of the stage; there, they can be seen by all the mothers and sisters.
Maitha: ‘I found a beautiful dress for my cousin’s wedding – I was really pleased with how I looked in it. But, I came home from work a few days before the party and my sister was admiring herself in it.
“Hey, I bought that dress to wear myself,” I told her, although she did look nice in it…
“Oh, you don’t mind if I wear it do you; …you know?” …Yes, she wore it.’

The men’s party starts at around 6:30pm and often includes traditional dancing. Most participants leave after the meal, some as early as 9:30, with only the groom’s close family remaining.

Engagements are not uncommon here but are falling out of favour. Marriage commences with a ceremony called Al Melcha. Melcha takes place a month or two before the (Aurs) wedding party and is where the marriage bond is signed. Unlike the wedding, this ceremony takes place in the groom’s house, or a hall; often he has a party with his friends first and once they leave he goes with his family into a separate room to meet his bride and her family. There they sign the contract in front of witnesses and a Muslim official.

Once the contract is signed at Melcha, the couple is married, but they do not move in together and do not consummate their relationship; they do plan their Aurs though.

The groom’s family generally pays for the wedding and it’s expensive, although the bride generally chooses the arrangements. One fellow at work paid $10,000 (₤7,000) just for the throne, then there’s wedding jewellery, hall rental, the party, etc… 

The importance of the Aurs planning must not be underestimated – in rare cases divorces, so called Melcha-divorces, can result from disagreements over Aurs arrangements.

The groom’s father and brothers bring him to join his bride on the stage at around midnight and then leave; the couple pose for pictures and cut the cake before leaving for their honeymoon. Finally, in the early hours, the women’s party ends. Married, at last…

Best wishes to Maitha for a long and happy marriage.

Sunset on the beach - Ras Al Khaimah

Saturday, 23 November 2013

RIver Jordan & The Dead Sea

Jordan has interesting neighbours, to be sure; Syria to the North, Iraq to the East, Saudi Arabia to the South East and Israel to the West. This western border includes Israeli-occupied Palestine or the ‘West Bank’ and this was the only border we got close to, a border defined by the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.

Within Jordan, the river runs south from the Sea of Galilee, and it was in this river that John the Baptist baptized Jesus, just north of where it enters the Dead Sea. The course of the river has moved west since that time and now the site is on dry land within Jordan. And, it’s within the militarized border zone so you cannot drive down there yourself. We parked and got on the bus; you drive through a checkpoint where a soldier boards and looks you over, then you drive down to the river. Gold embossed biblical scenes fill the Orthodox Church there – quite the change from icon-less mosques we’ve become accustomed to. From the church, you walk down to a wooden boardwalk beside the river, where you can dip your hand in – many were filling bottles…
Jordanian Soldier watches the West Bank 

The strange thing is, you are a stone’s throw (20 feet) from a wooden boardwalk on the West Bank side – I called out to the Israeli soldiers and they posed for me, as I stood beside a Jordanian soldier.

Posers
For the devout, Elijah’s Hill contains many well-documented sites from Jesus’ time, including the baptism site, as well as commemoration of the papal visits in 2000 and 2009.

Heading south you come to the cluster of resorts that sit on the Dead Sea; the destination of the River Jordan. This is the lowest point on Earth, well, the lowest point on land, and this is a lake from which no water escapes except by evaporation. Here you are encouraged to float, carefully, in the water, smear yourself in the famous mud, eat, drink and enjoy the spa…

You have to be careful because Dead Sea water is 10 times saltier than ocean water; nothing lives in it. The salt gets into any cuts you may have and it burns and stings there, as well as the sensitive tissue in your eyes, nose and mouth – lay on your back and stay still might be good advice! It feels strangely oily and tastes bitter (I had to try it). Floating is easy – you feel as if you are laying on the surface; it’s a struggle to get up again; it would be hard to get below the surface if you wanted to.

Salt on Rock - Dead Sea
There are white crystalline salt deposits all along the shore of the Dead Sea, sometimes huge rocks are caked in a thick crust – you can pull it off in one piece.

Who knew mud could be
this much fun?
On the beach are large concrete basins filled with black mud – you plaster yourself and those close to you with this claylike substance and then stand there for 20 - 30 minutes before showering off. By that time you can feel the salt penetrating your skin with a slight burning sensation. Then, you and a friend attempt to remove it – not as easy as putting it on, for sure… Odd thing is, once clean, my skin felt silky smooth for several days afterwards.

But, this is still the border to the West Bank; every hotel has high security. Steel pillars descend into the roadway to allow you to enter, but only after your car has been searched inside and out (mirrors under the vehicle; hood & trunk opened) and you’ve presented the passport of every person with you. Then you each go through ‘airport’ scanners on the way to reception… The Dead Sea is an effective border, there’s not a boat to be seen – apparently, they capsize easily and their hulls cake with corrosive salt.

Despite that, Jordan is a friendly place and one we’d go back to in a heartbeat.

Sunset in the Dead Sea

Saturday, 16 November 2013

Al Ain, Garden City

Oasis Date Palms bearing unripe dates
It’s the last thing you expect. Al Ain is one and a half hours inland and on the edge of the vast barren Empty Quarter – an almost impenetrable desert. And yet, it lives up to its name of the Garden City. At its heart is an oasis, a large walled area filled with date palms. There are seven oases in Al Ain fed by water from the nearby Hajar Mountains, but this one is the largest. Water is distributed throughout the region by a system of largely underground channels called the Aflaj. This system has been in use for more than three thousand years.

James gets stuck - almost!
You can drive into the oasis, but only if you are an owner or a tourist, and we did. The whole oasis area is divided into lots, each surrounded by a wall – you drive on roadways set between the walls. Or at least you try to… Many paths are only wide enough for one vehicle and one pathway we went down almost disappeared, it would have been a long way to reverse…

The city itself is laced with lush green pathways and parks; green with grass, flowering bushes and trees. It comes on you suddenly, like the cartoon depiction of an oasis only much larger. You are driving through the desert surrounded by sand dunes and suddenly you’re in a tree-lined boulevard, the borders carpeted with grass.

Sheikh Zayed Reception Room
Al Ain is also the home of the Abu Dhabi royal family. The Al Nahyan family have lived here for centuries and the charismatic Sheikh Zayed, considered the father of the UAE, was born and raised here. You can see his home, now a museum, where he lived a relatively Spartan lifestyle and where he received visitors, resolved disputes and built a reputation as a champion of the people.
Al Jahili Tower

The iconic Al Jahili Fort was built in the 1890’s to protect the palm groves; its ‘wedding cake’ tower is a symbol of the UAE. This Fort houses an exhibit featuring the photographs of Wilfred Thesiger, the desert explorer of the 1940’s pre-oil era.

On the southeast edge of Al Ain, right on the border with Oman looms Jebel Hafeet, one of the highest mountains in the UAE. Its road snakes up the side of the mountain exposing ever more spectacular views till you reach the top. There you can stop and have a beer or a shisha in the Mercure Hotel as you look out over Oman.
The Green Mubazzarah

A guy at work had told me he was going surfing…

‘In UAE, with the placid Arabian Sea?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he’d responded, ‘Al Ain.’
‘In the desert?’
Yes, in the desert… Wadi Adventure sits at the foot of Jebel Hafeet, beside the lush, Green Mubazzarah, a park filled with families picnicking in the shadow of the mountain.

I’ve seen many wave pools but this is my first surfing pool; it was amazing to watch dudes bailing out of the 10 foot high waves being churned out every 90 seconds.


A Garden City indeed.

Dusk in Al Ain from summit of Jebel Hafeet

Saturday, 9 November 2013

Camels




I must admit, I’ve always loved camels. Well, ever since my first camel-kiss, that is, on my first visit to UAE (InitialVisit). My wife Carol on the other hand was a bit disturbed by her’s…


Most of the world’s camels are dromedaries (one hump) and most of them live in North Africa and the Middle East (the larger Bactrian or two-humped, lives in the high steppes of Central Asia).


They’re charismatic animals and like most domesticated creatures, friendly to humans. Until the discovery of oil, they were the Bedouins’ most prized possession; a beast of burden, a dietary source of milk and meat, as well as a provider of hair and leather; their dung is used as fuel.

Moving the Herd
Nowadays, camels are farmed and it seems their most prominent product is chocolate (made from their milk).  Al Nassma, the most well known brand of camel chocolate hails from Abu Dhabi and has a cafĂ© in the Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, devoted to selling camel-chocolate-based food and drinks. Mall of the Emirates - Al Nassma Chocolate Dining


Robot Jockey drives Racing Camel to the Finish
Some dromedaries are bred with sleek, greyhound-like builds and are used for racing. Camel racing is popular in the UAE. The animals are ridden by robots the size and weight of the small children they replaced; child jockeys have been banned in UAE for more than ten years. Camel racing features a group of camels running around a 5km-6km sand track, being encouraged in their endeavours by owners driving parallel on a paved track in their SUVs, beeping their horns and manipulating their robot riders… Camels run by moving both legs on one side of their body together, giving them a swaying motion.

Of course, no visitor experience would be complete without a ride on a camel. Unlike horses, camels sit down in order to allow you to mount. Unfortunately, they have to get up again in order to go anywhere! And, it’s the going up and down that is the most unnerving, since they tilt front-end-down at the beginning and end of your trip. It’s as if you are being catapulted into the desert.

Time to Dismount!
Camels are amazing creatures though; able to withstand the loss of 25% of their body weight through sweating, although they rarely sweat; they limit moisture loss by increasing their body temperature from 34C to 40C during the heat of the day, trapping exhaling moisture in their nostrils, expelling syrup-like urine and faeces so dry it can be burned as fuel immediately. They withstand blowing sand by closing their nostrils and employing a a third transparent eyelid to clean sand from their eye, and eyelashes that are the envy of Maybelline models the world over… To gain sustenance from the meagre desert pickings they have a mouth like leather to chew the thorny plants.

Once you leave the city, camels are everywhere, often beside the roads. Roads through the desert are often barren, until you get to an intersection; there they are elaborately decorated and trimmed with grass, bushes and flowers. Sadly, compared to the thorny desert plants, intersection plants are fresh and tasty… …and camels don’t mix well with traffic.


We went to the Al Ain camel market this morning – this takes place every day and sees hundreds of traders from all over the area bartering for best animals – I had to turn down several offers…

Practice Run