SUSIE of ARABIA: traditions

Showing posts with label traditions. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

A Different Ramadan in the Time of CoronaVirus

This summer may be the very first summer I have ever spent in Saudi Arabia. Since we moved to Jeddah in 2007, I have been fortunate enough to leave here during the brutally hot temperatures of summer. I usually spend my summers in the beautiful cool Pacific Northwest in Washington State, where temperatures are generally in the 70s. The older I get, the less tolerant of the heat I am.

I must say that I am not exactly thrilled at the prospect of being here in the severe heat, but as long as our air conditioning works, I'm sure I will be okay. On the other hand, I certainly don't relish the thought of sitting on an airplane for almost 24 hours in close quarters, next to coughing and sneezing passengers who could potentially infect me with a deadly virus.

As it is, all flights have been indefinitely suspended here in Saudi Arabia, so my travel arrangements for early May have been changed to July, but at this point we cannot be sure if those plans will happen either. Of course this would be the year when we made plans and bought our tickets in advance, while I generally wait until about a month before we travel to make our arrangements.

I must say that I am pleased with how seriously the Saudi government has taken this pandemic since the very beginning. Before the first case was even confirmed here in Saudi Arabia, the government's first action was to halt all religious pilgrims coming into the country. Because of the religious tourism to Mecca and Medina, two of the holy cities of Islam, the kingdom has had a great deal of experience with travelers from all over the world coming to the country and bringing disease with them. Some Muslims save and plan their entire lives for this once in a lifetime trip to these holy cities, a requirement of Islam. So when the plans have been made and paid for long in advance, and the time for their trip comes, the pilgrims travel here regardless, even if they are very sick and highly contagious.

In addition, the Saudi government has also imposed strict curfews, closed schools and businesses, and even the mosques. Instead of the five daily calls to prayer instructing people to come to the mosque to pray, the calls now say that it's time for prayer, but pray at home. This is an unprecedented measure in this ultra religious country.

Ramadan - the holy month when Muslims fast during the daylight hours - will be starting in just a couple days. Ramadan is a very social time for most Saudis, a time when families generally get together to break the day's fast and share meals together. But this Ramadan will be markedly different. I'm sure there will be some families that will still get together no matter what, but with the strict curfews in place, police checkpoints to enforce the curfews and residents staying in their districts, and a 10,000 SAR ($2500 US) fine for those disobeying the curfew, I'm guessing most people will not take the chance.

This will actually be my very first entire Ramadan I have spent here in this country. I've been in Saudi Arabia for part of Ramadan before, but never for the entire time period. For the most part, the elegant Iftar dinners at homes and restaurants will not happen this year.

Instead, maybe these strange times we are living in will actually make people even more thoughtful. Maybe we will all make changes for the betterment of this world and the people in it, appreciate what we do have in life to be grateful for, and realize what things in life are really important. Those are some of the reasons for Ramadan, after all.

Wishing my Muslim friends and family a reflective and meaningful Ramadan.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Saudi Arabia - Architecture and Art in Abha

The city of Abha is the capital of the Asir Region located in the southwestern corner of Saudi Arabia and is rich in cultural heritage. It is more than a mile high in elevation up in the mountains, close to the Red Sea to the west and the country of Yemen to the south. Baboons are native to the region, dwelling in the national parks in the area.

Many Saudis from around the country flock to Abha in the summer due to its cooler moderate climate. Abha also gets more rainfall than most of the kingdom and boasts rich agricultural plateaus. The highest peak of Saudi Arabia is located in Abha. It's called the Jabal Al-Sooda, or Black Mountain, and its height measures an astounding 3.3 kilometers, which is over 2 miles high!

The old traditional architecture of Abha consists of buildings made of rocks and mud. Many are more than 300 years old. The architectural style of Abha was greatly influenced by Yemeni construction.

Art is important and popular in most regions of Saudi Arabia, and Abha is abundant with art. It could be said that the area is more colorful in its dress, architecture, and art than other more conservative areas of the kingdom.

The Al Miftaha Art Village at the King Fahad Cultural Center attracts many visitors and offers exhibits of all kids of artwork, ranging from paintings and sculptures to archaelogical treasures, handmade crafts and woven items by local artisans, as well as a variety of sourvenirs.

Arabic calligraphy features prominently in a lot of Saudi art. If you look closely at the painting above, you can see how the Arabic script is incorporated into the formation of the male figures on the right.

The painting above is reminiscent of the clothing, hats, and style of Mexican or South American figures.

I love the eyes of the above painting.

The remaining photos focus on the traditional wall painting art by female artists called Al Qatt, an artform that has been passed down through generations in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia. Al Qatt utilizes mainly primary colors and geometric shapes and symbols.

Thanks so much to my friend Vicki Callagan for the use of her wonderful photos for this post.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

A Peek Inside a Saudi Wedding

In December I attended a family wedding at the brand new Hotel Galleria by Elaf in Jeddah. The lobby is quite elegant and it's several stories tall. It has a grand European ambience. The exterior of the hotel is spectacular. We arrived after dark though, so I don't have any exterior shots, but you can see some HERE.

Traditionally, Saudi weddings are notorious for starting very late in the evening and lasting until the wee hours in the morning. I believe this is due to several reasons. First of all, people don't really start getting ready for the wedding until after the isha prayer, the last prayer of the evening. Also, the bridal party usually arrives early to take professional photos with the family before the guests arrive. Since many Saudi weddings are still segregated affairs, this allows for time for the male family members to be in the photos, even though they are not part of the actual wedding. This wedding was for women only. The men's affair was held the evening before at a completely different venue.

The wedding venue was so elegant and spectacular. Every detail had been well thought out. At one end of the hall was a raised stage with a gorgeous golden couch for the bridal party (the bride, her mom, and her sisters) to receive well wishers.

The table centerpieces varied from table to table, with some having candelabras and others with large floral centerpieces. Delicious dates were available on each table.

Once the female guests begin to arrive, photography is forbidden, so unfortunately I don't have any photos of the amazing evening gowns that were worn that night. But I can tell you that the gowns could have been worn at the Academy Awards. Some of the younger women wore short trendy party dresses. Many guests had their hair and makeup professionally done for the occasion.

The gorgeous seating area on the stage for the bride was surrounded by beautiful purple and white floral arrangements. It was picture perfect.

My husband and I took advantage of the free time we had before the other guests arrived to take photos. We don't get dressed up fancy very often. I think he looks so handsome in his traditional wear, don't you? He had to leave before the female guests began arriving.

At the other end of hall was an amazing space great for photos, decorated with flower streams hanging down over flowing white drapes. It was truly spectacular.

The female-only servers were all dressed formally in black and white. They were very attentive and brought us drinks of water and juices as soon as we sat down. They also served us a variety of finger foods that were delicious. The crystal chandeliers in the ballroom were exquisite.

Guests began arriving after 10 pm. It was fun seeing the variety of gorgeous dresses the ladies wore. The ladies danced up and down the center aisle you see above. The music was a live female percussion band that had a singer with a beautiful voice who sang in Arabic. The bride made her grand entrance at about 1 am, slowly making her way down the staircase and then gliding down the center aisle toward the golden couch at the other end. It was the family's choice that the groom did not make an appearance at the wedding before the women.

Above is just one of the platters of tasty delights that was served to us. These were all sweet and other platters of finger foods were savory. I would have liked to have tasted them all! Dinner was served at about 2 am in the adjoining banquet room. It consisted of table after table of scrumptious salads, breads, dips, vegetables, meats, and desserts. The variety was overwhelming. It was all delicious! Sorry I couldn't get photos of the amazing buffet spread, but the female guests were all around, so I couldn't.

My friend Vicki and I had an fabulous time that evening. It was Vicki's first Saudi wedding ever and I think she had a very memorable time. We sat with a table full of charming Saudi women who were old friends of my sister-in-law, the mother of the bride.

Below is the candelabra centerpiece which adorned some of the tables. Both types of centerpieces were placed on top of a large glass Lazy Susan, which made reaching things on it much easier.

One final shot of me and my Saudi Prince - we were actually celebrating a milestone ourselves the very next day - 40 years together! Gee, it seems like it was only yesterday ...

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Jeddah's Bastah Market

Last night was the opening of the seasonal open air Bastah Market, located in the heart of the business district adjacent to Jeddah's Corniche. It is near the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and the world's largest flagpole.

The market set-up reminds me of farmer's markets in the US, but on a much larger scale. The market is in its third year of operation and is operated through the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce in an effort to highlight and support local start-up businesses. It is open only on Fridays from 5-11pm, and runs from December 1, 2017, for 12 weeks only, and will end on February 16, 2018.

The booths are organized by rows, with about half of the businesses selling foods, drinks, and desserts. The rest of the booths offer a wide variety of services, clothing, jewelry, accessories, art, handmade crafts, and many other unique items.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable time walking through the rows amidst the friendly smiling vendors and happy customers. Frequently we could feel the delightful cool breezes coming off the nearby Red Sea. Many booths were manned by family members, from grandparents down to children. The market is very family friendly, with children's activities and a nearby playground for kids across the street.

Creativity and charm abounds in the various items for sale. Much of the clothing incorporates traditional Saudi designs and fabrics in the abayas, dresses, shirts and scarves. We were bombarded with free samples to taste from all the food booths, ranging from all kinds of tasty sweets to dried fruits to savory rice and meat dishes. My advice would be to go there hungry and carry a big empty shopping bag with you!

While there were plenty of people on hand, I didn't feel it was too crowded for the opening night.
But I have a feeling that as word gets out about this weekly event, more and more throngs of visitors will make their way to it. The upbeat mood made it evident to me that the people of Jeddah are hungry for this type of activity, making a fun night out with family and friends.